I can't decide between the 7D and the 5D Mark II

[kadadj]

I currently have an EOS 1000D, which is pretty bad, and the better I get at photography, the worse it feels.
So now I'm looking to upgrade.
I have spent about 8 hours today, looking at lenses and bodies, and I have narrowed it down to the 7D VS. the 5D Mark II. The problems is that I can't decide between them.

I do mostly Studio Photography, but I also love to shoot animals, and stuff that move. I have tried the MK II for a short while, with a wide angle, and I was blown away by the FF.
But on the other side, I want accurate and fast auto focus, and 8FPS sounds tempting. I won't be able to afford either of these for about another 4 months, If I'm lucky.

 

[Loswr]

I'd say the 7D. The 5DII isn't ideal for rapidly moving subjects. The 7D does fine in a studio setting, since you have control over lighting - give the 7D lots of light, it does very well. As for wide angles, the EF-S 10-22mm is an excellent UWA zoom.

Where the 5DII excels is in low light, and for the ultrathin DoF you only get with FF.

 

[papa-razzi]

7D isn't great in low light. Not bad, but the 5DII will be better there.

7D is great for tracking moving subjects, and if you need more reach from your lenses. Wildlife, birds, sports where you can't get close.

 

[Stebs]

With my first post:

I would suggest the Canon 7D over the 5D MKII. I have owned both, the 30D before that. I spend a good deal of time photographing dogs in and out of the studio. The 7D rocks for both. Just set your exposure compensation over by 1/3 rd of a stop if you are shooting either aperture/shutter priority. Or simply over expose by a third of a stop when shooting manual.

In the studio the 7D looks fantastic at iso 100, it will blow away your current camera. Outside the focus tracking is fantastic. I logged 40,000 shots on my 7D and had a tremendous keeper rate. The metering, and ability to customize the 7D buttons help make it a very fast handeling camera. I am sorry I sold the 7D. I also have the 5D MKII (I had both at the same time) and even though the image is absolutely stunning, my keeper rate is much, much lower with moving objects. Unless you centering your moving subjects the 5D autofocus pales in comparison to the 7D.

Now when I am in the studio with the 5D MKII I am back to manual focus through the precision focus screen. Which is fine when my subject will stay still more or less.

If the 5DMKIII had been a different camera, I would be getting another 7D or sorting out some other solution. Sadly the 7D ruined my 5D MKII experience....

Good Luck,

Jay

 

[kadadj]

Why did you sell the 7D?

 

[ronderick]

If you want a FF body that does AF well, the new 5d3 would fit your needs. However, the actual release is still a bit down the road, so you can wait and assess the situation when the actual camera comes out.

Now, if you have to choose between the 7D and 5D2, you'll have to rank your priorities. Both bodies beat the 1000D hands down, but they have different strengths and weaknesses.

If your priorities is studio works, go for the FF (you've already seen what it offers). If you want your camera to primarily capture moving objects and animals, go for the 7D.

It's not saying 5D2 cannot capture moving objects or the 7D can't do studio works: It's just a matter of which usage is more important to you, and you should invest accordingly.

Bottom line: there is no such thing as a "perfect" camera that deals with all situations.

 

[Stebs]

@kadadj Going into winter I decided to reduce the amount of gear I had. I sold the 7D because the 5D is a better lowlight camera. As winter is cold and dark I knew I would be indoors shooting ambient or studio where the 5D is great. I also figured it would force me to reconcile my issues with the 5D MkII handeling and AF. If you look around other photographers do amazing this with it. With that being said photographers do amazing things with the 7D as well.

Simply stated, I made a mistake by selling the 7D. If most my subjects were static then the 5D would have been fine, it is fine. I just had more keepers when shooting the 7D. People buy my images or hire me not because of how the file looks when you are pixel peeping. They buy my photographs because I was able to capture the image at a perfect moment, well composed and the focus falling on the right part of the image. I have plenty of prints framed and hanging on the walls. I can barely remember which camera took what. You certainly can't tell by looking closely at the print either.

Here is a link to one of my websites, this is my work: http://goo.gl/rjHGa

 

[BlueMixWhite]

@kadadj Going into winter I decided to reduce the amount of gear I had. I sold the 7D because the 5D is a better lowlight camera. As winter is cold and dark I knew I would be indoors shooting ambient or studio where the 5D is great. I also figured it would force me to reconcile my issues with the 5D MkII handeling and AF. If you look around other photographers do amazing this with it. With that being said photographers do amazing things with the 7D as well.

Simply stated, I made a mistake by selling the 7D. If most my subjects were static then the 5D would have been fine, it is fine. I just had more keepers when shooting the 7D. People buy my images or hire me not because of how the file looks when you are pixel peeping. They buy my photographs because I was able to capture the image at a perfect moment, well composed and the focus falling on the right part of the image. I have plenty of prints framed and hanging on the walls. I can barely remember which camera took what. You certainly can't tell by looking closely at the print either.

Here is a link to one of my websites, this is my work: http://goo.gl/rjHGa

Stebs, nice site u got there. Can't believe you sold your 7D as it is more suitable for your kind of work.

 

[kadadj]

Nice site indeed. Another small question. How big is really the difference between the focus on the 5D Mark II and the 1000D. The focus on the 1000D can result in some lost chances, but I have managed to photograph concerts, some wildlife and a motor sport even with fast moving bikes and cars.
I have sort of decided for the 7D, but the more sure I am of getting that DSLR, the more tempting the FF seems.

 

[or8it]

Is there any chance you could rent a body? For a small outlay it may be worth it in the long run, especially if you plump for the 7D.

Another factor is what Lenses do you own? If they are all EF-S then you will have to update them all if you go for the FF.

A hard decision at the moment with the 5D MkII dropping in price.

From a personal point of view I'm going to stick with my 7D and play a waiting game for the 5d MkIII. The AF is more important to me.

 

[kadadj]

I don't have any lenses that I won't replace when I get a better DSLR. I'm probably going to sell my equipment to fund a new, good quality lens.
As for renting. I don't think so, I live in a pretty small town, in the northern part of Norway, so I doubt there's anywhere to rent a DSLR.

 

[Stebs]

Thanks for the compliments on my website.

I have never shot the 1000D, but will guess the 5d MKii AF is better than what you have, certainly the center point as long as your glass is fast. The 7d is just on another level when it comes to moving objects. I second Orbit, rent one or find a buddy who has one and check it out.

Some lessons are expensive...

Knowing what I know now, I would take AF over a sensor for working with a moving target. An out of focus image, not matter how good the sensor is worthless, unless you are going to call it fine art..... But hey I have been there myself, fighting the lure of a full frame. I got it and was disappointed when my keeper rate fell through the floor. It is like shooting with the 30D all over again. Even with that 30D I scored a double truck in a kiteboarding magazine; but some of the best images that day remain unused because they were out of focus.

You can make anything work if you try hard enough, other things just make life easier.

Good Luck,

J

 

[pz-photography]

In my opinion its pretty simple:

7D WAY better allround camera (more features, better AF, integrated flash, better weather sealing etc.)
I'd only buy the 5D II over the 7D if I would just shoot portraits or landscape.
I had to make the same decicion almost a year ago and decided to buy the 7D. Especially for wildlife you won't be dissapointed.

 

[kadadj]

Thanks for the help everyone! I'm going with the 7D. It's true that an out of focus shot is useless no matter how good it is.

 

[truviz]

I've had a 7D since Dec. 2009 and love that camera for any action shots. However, at some point the IQ started to seem less satisfactory to me. I suppose my standards have been escalating.

I recently have been doing more portrait type shooting, and picked up a refurbished 5D MkII as a second body. I don't have a lot of outdoor field experience with it yet, but it's great in the studio and I'll be taking it on my upcoming vacations. IQ is noticeably better in low light, but not a huge difference in well lit situations. The metering on the 5Dii is not very reliable compared to the 7D, although I am trying to get used to it so I can compensate.

If I had to choose only one of those, it would probably be the 7D. I am hoping that the upcoming 5D MkIII will sort of bridge the gap between these two cameras so that I can use that as a single body.

 

[sheedoe]

If Image quality is important to you, go for the 5D II. If fast focus and frame rates are important, then go for the 7D.
Keep in mind that with the 7D, you'll get the same IQ as a Rebel T3i. The IQ of a FF 5D II is on a whole different level.

 

[7enderbender]

@kadadj Going into winter I decided to reduce the amount of gear I had. I sold the 7D because the 5D is a better lowlight camera. As winter is cold and dark I knew I would be indoors shooting ambient or studio where the 5D is great. I also figured it would force me to reconcile my issues with the 5D MkII handeling and AF. If you look around other photographers do amazing this with it. With that being said photographers do amazing things with the 7D as well.

Simply stated, I made a mistake by selling the 7D. If most my subjects were static then the 5D would have been fine, it is fine. I just had more keepers when shooting the 7D. People buy my images or hire me not because of how the file looks when you are pixel peeping. They buy my photographs because I was able to capture the image at a perfect moment, well composed and the focus falling on the right part of the image. I have plenty of prints framed and hanging on the walls. I can barely remember which camera took what. You certainly can't tell by looking closely at the print either.

Here is a link to one of my websites, this is my work: http://goo.gl/rjHGa

Like your work very much. Regards from a fellow Bostonian

 

[nitsujwalker]

As others have stated: 7D for autofocus abilities vs 5D for lowlight IQ. Personally I love my 7D and had to make the same decision as you. I don't regret my decision.

 

[Michael7]

I recently had them both, side by side. The 5D II just has better IQ. Sharper, less noise, better colors (much better colors).

But...the 7D is the better all around camera. Better controls, feel, etc. I love using the 7D. Also, I could not give up the reach. My 300mm prime is almost 500mm on the 7D, and only 300mm on the 5D II. This was why I sold the 5D II and kept the 24-105 that came with it.

Great camera. I loved it. But for wildlife, the 7D is more useful, even though the 5D II has just plain better IQ for feathers and fur.

If I shot landscape and studio excuslively, I'd still have the 5D II. The 7D is a rugged gunslinger, perfect for wildlfe. The only thing wrong with the 7D is that it should've had 14 megapixels instead of 18.

BTW, I found the 5D II's center AF point more reliable than the 7D's, both in AI servo standard in lowlight condtions with sprinting animals. The 7D's outer focus points were superior to the 5D II.

 

[scsnospam]

I currently have a 50D. I only ever use the center point for AF, and use focus and recompose as needed. Is the 5D2's center point AF the same as the 50D's ?