Any fellow croppers get a cheap 5D (CLASSIC) as a second body?

hanifshootsphotos said:
Any fellow croppers get a cheap 5D (CLASSIC) as a second body? Is it worthwhile to just get a taste of full frame goodness? In my market (Twin Cities) I've noticed these tools showing up weekly on Craigslist...this one in particular is selling for $250...

http://minneapolis.craigslist.org/hnp/pho/4095972932.html

12MP is very limiting. If I had to buy a 12MP body I would rather try a D700, but maybe that's just me. Of course those aren't very inexpensive on the used market, so I guess that's not a very good suggestion for your price range. I do think the D700 had better image quality and a better AF than the 5D. Seems like you could buy a 5D and try it a while. If you don't like it, sell it and not lose any money. My cousin owned a 5D back in the day, but I don't recall trying it for myself. He took a lot of bird images with his 600 f/4, and they were fantastic. Sorry I can't be of more help!
 
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5D classic image is good enough ONLY IF you hit and exact exposure. However, when it is necessary to lift the shadows in post-processing, noise appears very ugly. :( I'm not talking about unusual things. If you lift the shadows only 1 point, already sees colored noise horrendous. This was a good camera when it was released, but the noise and autofocus faltering are no match for the new 70D.
 
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I have 7d as main body and got a 5d for landscapes and backup body. Nothing wrong with it. If you have full frame lenses its a good thing to have if you have mainly EF-S crop lenses then you are limited in its use.

For that money its worth a gamble.
 
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ajfotofilmagem said:
5D classic image is good enough ONLY IF you hit and exact exposure. However, when it is necessary to lift the shadows in post-processing, noise appears very ugly. :( I'm not talking about unusual things. If you lift the shadows only 1 point, already sees colored noise horrendous. This was a good camera when it was released, but the noise and autofocus faltering are no match for the new 70D.

Currently I'm pushing my 60D to the edge, after getting deeper into my photography I'm noticing banding (with blacks) at low ISOs (100-200), I was hoping that was not an issue with the 5D, I definitely need to reconsider.
 
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docsavage123 said:
I have 7d as main body and got a 5d for landscapes and backup body. Nothing wrong with it. If you have full frame lenses its a good thing to have if you have mainly EF-S crop lenses then you are limited in its use.

For that money its worth a gamble.

OK - Already own L glass (16-35II, 135, 70-300, and 50mm 1.2) - ever use the 5d for portraits? did it yield positive results? What I've seen on the FLICKR pools have not been very flattering.
 
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ajfotofilmagem said:
5D classic image is good enough ONLY IF you hit and exact exposure. However, when it is necessary to lift the shadows in post-processing, noise appears very ugly. :( I'm not talking about unusual things. If you lift the shadows only 1 point, already sees colored noise horrendous. This was a good camera when it was released, but the noise and autofocus faltering are no match for the new 70D.

Probably half our pictures at Building Panoramics have been taken on a 5D mki and we have never had a problem lifting shadows from anything that was remotely correct in exposure.

Correct on the AF though; the lack of AFMA on the mki can be a drawback depending on body AF calibration, lenses, DoF etc.
 
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Guys, come on!!!
The 5D without mark is an excellent camera. Sure, newer cameras have more megapixels, but the 13MP do deliver excellent image quality. (Don't judge it on the display, though, 'cos this is horrible. Judge it on PC screen.) Dynamic Range is very good as well.
I regularly do prints in 50x70cm and they come out very nicely.

High ISO is still better than on any APS-C, for sure. No banding until ISO 1600, perhaps a bit at ISO H (=3200).

Prepare for a decent amount of sensor cleaning, however.

I'm confident the 5D it will become your first body and the 60D your spare second one. ;-)
 
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sulla said:
Guys, come on!!!
The 5D without mark is an excellent camera. Sure, newer cameras have more megapixels, but the 13MP do deliver excellent image quality. (Don't judge it on the display, though, 'cos this is horrible. Judge it on PC screen.) Dynamic Range is very good as well.
I regularly do prints in 50x70cm and they come out very nicely.

High ISO is still better than on any APS-C, for sure. No banding until ISO 1600, perhaps a bit at ISO H (=3200).

Prepare for a decent amount of sensor cleaning, however.

I'm confident the 5D it will become your first body and the 60D your spare second one. ;-)

I agree with all of this.

I have never owned or even used the 7D - so, maybe that would produce better images - and more often - not sure.

But I have used practically all the other Rebels and xxD Canons (including the 60D) and I very much still prefer the images from my old 5Dc (which I still use as a backup to the 5DIII).

The Sl-1, however, is growing on me as an alternate.
 
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my 5Dc has a golden center AF point, that works well in low light and often surprised with its accuracy with low contrast subjects.

but if your subject is moving, or if you decide to use anything other than the center AF point, best of luck with that :P
 
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5D + 50mm f1.8 will be enough for you to make it your primary body unless you do a lot of sports or fast moving events. For most other types of photography, the IQ and AF are sufficient and much better than APS-C. My only gripe with it is Live view as it's important for me for landscape. I've tried it and almost bought one but decided against it due to live view but I agree, just buy it and sell it later if you don't want it for a profit. Just make sure that it's really still working and the shutter is still alive.
 
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I've had a 5Dc for 9 years, and a 7D since the first release, and I can safely say that the images form the 5Dc exceed those of the 7D, for the work I do (Fly fishing photography = landscape, small product, macro) at 100 ISO. At higher ISOs, they're on par IMO.

The 7D's features will win if I'm shooting action sports.

The 5Dc is still producing double-page spreads and cover shots for our magazine, no problem. You just have to shoot RAW to get the most out of it.
 
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hanifshootsphotos said:
CarlTN said:
12MP is very limiting. If I had to buy a 12MP body I would rather try a D700, but maybe that's just me.

No, good advice, the Nikkor 58mm 1.4 is even more incentive to cross over.

Glad I could be of help. I just hate the Nikon ergonomics. The grip is too deep, you need long skinny fingers. The shutter release is wayyyy out front. Nikon just feels alien to me, but I still would like to us a D700 a bit. Not willing to pay $1200+ for a used and worn out one, though. I guess my 6D does everything the D700 ever did (and more) regarding image quality, but the D700 had a bit better AF...and a lot of points. Its viewfinder was probably larger too, I'd have to look it up. The rear lcd screen would suck by comparison to any modern screen, though. Of course that's true of the "5Dc" as well.
 
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Will you Americans please stop pointing out how cheap camera gear is in your country? ;)

I recently purchased a 5D for £300 and that's a bargain in the UK, usually £400-500. $250 for a 5D? that's almost a gallon of fuel over here! :(

Yes, not the best camera in the world, but a VERY affordable first foray into the FF world and is a great camera for what it is good at, ie. landscapes and slow moving targets.

I'm enjoying the extra width that FF brings :)

Enjoy! :-)
 
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