7D upgrade or wait for 5DX/III

[Reid_design]

Hi everyone,

I've been reading canonrumors.com for a while now, and have recently started diving into the plethora of information that you all share on the forums. Its been an incredible learning experience for a relatively unexperienced photographer.

I am looking to upgrade from an older Canon Rebel XSi to a newer, pro-amateur level camera. I currently have a EF 50mm f/1.4 USM which served as my first and only lens for a couple of years, until I got a EF 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6L IS USM. I shoot a huge variety of things from portraits to sports to landscapes. I usually use the 28-300mm during the day and then switch to the 50mm when the sun begins dipping (since the highest even remotely useable ISO on my Rebel is 800).

Anyway, right now I'm thinking my next addition to my gear will be a 7D or 5D. I don't think that I would consider a 5D Mk II since the AF and continuous shooting speed don't lend themselves well to sports. Having said that, should I wait on my purchase of a 7D in hopes that the new 5D will be improved in said areas?

I do like the idea that should i change to FF, every lens that I own, and will purchase in the future will now not be 1.6x. I even bought the 50mm f1.4 knowing that the 50mm was my AE-1 personal favourite, thinking that I would eventually purchase a FF body.

I don't have much of a budget, obviously I would like the 1Dx if it were anywhere within reach, but 6K is a little steep. I live in Canada and do lots of travelling, always taking my DSLR with me. I've included a couple of sample shots in case anyone would like to give me some tips or get an idea for what kind of photos I'm interested in!

Thanks for your input, and all of the wealth of information you've all produced for me and others around the world!

Peter

 

[briansquibb]

The obvious upgrade is a used 1D4 if the budget will go that far.

 

[Reid_design]

The four frames/second of the 1D mark II seems not that great for old tech. Cost wise its say ~2K as well, which is way over the $1300 price tag of the 7D, with more frames/sec

Again, correct me if I'm wrong!

 

[briansquibb]

The four frames/second of the 1D mark II seems not that great for old tech. Cost wise its say ~2K as well, which is way over the $1300 price tag of the 7D, with more frames/sec

Again, correct me if I'm wrong!

Are you thinking of the 1Ds2 ??

 

[Robert Welch]

If you can find a good condition 1DmkII, it would probably be the best camera for the least money. I sold mine about a year ago to get a mkIII, I think I sold it for $850, might be less now. The 1DmkIII can be a good buy too, though if you can find a reliable one (where the AF works well) then I'd think it would be more expensive than a 7D. Compared to the 7D, the 1DmkIII has a little more noise in the higher ISO range, but more detail. I think the 7D just has stronger noise reduction, which sacrifices fine detail. So in that respect, I think the 1DmkIII has a little better IQ, the 1DmkII would be a little less than that, you probably wouldn't want to shoot the 1DkmkII any higher than 1600, better to keep it at 800, the 1DmkIII is pretty good at 1600, fair at 3200, the 7D is less noise at those high ISOs, but less detail too. Sounds like they may announce a new camera soon, probably a 5D update, so seeing what that will look like may change your plan, but if your budget is your main concern, the 7D or maybe a 1DmkII would be your best bet in any case.

 

[wickidwombat]

If you cant stretch to a 1Dmk4 look for a 1D mk3 there are more and more coming up for sale
I used the same lens setup as you for ages the 28-300 L is awesome paired with the 1D mk3
also do yourself a favour and pick up a kenko DGX 1.4 teleconvereter it works on the 28-300 boosting your long end to 420mm plus you get the 1.3 crop on top of that giving you 546mm effective focal length that will autofocus at f8 I found in good daylight drop it to f11 and the image quality is still fantastic (it still autofocuses on the 1D)

the rebel hanging off the back of the 28-300L must look great got any pics of it?

 

[flanniganj]

I would say wait in either option. If the 5Dx/III lives up to what hope it would be, then you can buy it. If not, the 7D is still an option at that point. Plus, it might be cheaper.

 

[Reid_design]

Thanks for all of the replies...

Sorry, I had confused the 1Ds mk II with the 1D mk II... the issues I'm having with the 1DmkII are
-low light (High ISO)
-megapixel... now i have no idea here.. is an older tech better camera with lower megapixel better then a newer tech higher megapixel camera? regarding IQ?..

also.... I don't know how much of an upgrade this would be to my 450D.

Thanks, Robert, regarding the noise characteristics of the 1DmkII and the 7D....from what I'm getting the 1DmkIII has a significant AF tracking issue?...

I guess my budget sits somewhere around <$2000+any trade in value I would receive for a perfect condition babied 450D (??? anything?)...
the 1DmkIV seems a little out of the budget (>5K no?)

thanks @wickidwombat ...that sounds like a pretty good setup.. what were you shooting? do you have some samples of how it looked?

Attached is a quick pic of the 450D (rebel XSi) with the 28-300mmL at 28mm

The options now look like:
1. 5DX/mkIII (~$3K?)
2. 1DmkII (~$850 used)
3. 1DmkIII (autofocus?) (~4K used)
4. 7D (~$1300)

 

[wickidwombat]

I have some samples here are some jpg out of camera and resized to load here
no post processing exif data should be there so you can see focal length 420mm on some

i shoot anything really also the 28-300 with the TC works pretty good in the macro department to a certain extent.

the 1Dmk3 should be between $1500 and $2000 in good condition
my mk3 is a late model (2008 just before the mk4 came out) and the AF is great
the mk3 is fine at 3200 iso I prefer to shoot as low iso as possible but have no problem with this at 3200
it can go to 6400 but i prefer not to shoot that high even on the 5d2

 

[scotthillphoto]

I have worked at a University and shot extensively with a 1D Markiii. I personally own a 50D and 7D, the markiii has great iso performance over the 7D but is limited to 6400, unlike the 7D at 12800, but I try to keep the 7D below 2500 when shooting. In sports I shoot at 6400 iso all the time and when I shoot in RAW I can use noise reduction and get some really good results. But I would wait for the new 5D, its going to be awesome and I have been waiting for this camera WAY TOO LONG!