upgrade from rebel xti to 5oD or new 5D?

[Henry A Greenblatt]

I'd appreciate thoughts on this and comments on which particular features of each to weigh, other than video. I'm used to a 1.6 crop factor sensor and would welcome perspective on the different sensors too. thanks

 

[rsieminski]

What are you going to do with the camera? What type of shots? The 40D is much better at sports, quick action, focus, FPS, etc.(guessing the same for the 50D) 5D, well it's FF!

 

[2005magnum]

I have a 5D and an XTI. I like both. The FF cam is very impressive, especially if you shoot landscape. Keep in mind that the downside to the new 5D is the size of chip. this means that you better have really good glass. You had better be ready to invest in the best glass available to accomodate the resolution of that 21 megapixel chip. Also, the size of the files are huge. You had better make sure your computer has at least 4 ram. Also, the 5DII does not have a built in flash and although that is not a major factor, it is a convenience that you might not want to give up.

I think a decision between the two hinges upon your shooting style. If I shot a lot of landscape and/or weddings I would go with 5DII. If I were a studio shooter, I would go with the 5DII. If I shot sports, macro, kids (who move around a lot), wildlife etc, I would go with the 50D. If I shot a lot of telephoto I would go with the 50D. Also, keep in mind that the glass on the 50D will perform better because of the cropped sensor (especially if you have some L glass)

Both cams will more then do the job and for most things they are entirely interchangeable. Keep in mind that unless you are printing enoromous sizes, there is virtually no difference in what you are going to see in print or on the screen.

I changed my order from the 5DII to the 50D after considering all of the above and a few more things such as the fact that I already have multiple batteries for the 5D which takes the same battery as the 50D and I have 2 vertical grips that will fit the 50D (when I owned the D60 and the 20D) so I did not have to invest in new sets of batteries and a grip.

There is no doubt that if I had small children playing sports such as soccer I would go with the 50D

It is nice to have choices. It can be frustrating to make a choice.

--
http://digitalphotonut.zenfolio.com/

 

[Gerrit Smit]

Don't think I can help a lot, because I really don't know what you want with your camera, but I have an XTI, and will go to the 50D when po$$ible.

Don't see a single reason why a 5D MKII would be better for me. I do take quite a lot of low-light pictures of my kids at home at night, and have some AF issues with the XTI under low light, that's why I want to try the 50D. The 5D MKII is simply too mu$ch for me.

--
Gerrit

 

[JerryG1]

... Keep in mind that unless you are printing
enoromous sizes, there is virtually no difference in what you are
going to see in print or on the screen.
...

I would have agreed until I saw these high ISO pictures of bottles.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/novellsteel/sets/72157601729116479/

At ISO 800 and above the noise in the 50D images is terrible, especially compared to the 5D2. Unfortunately you don't have to pixel peep to see it; the noise is visible at ordinary magnifications.

The somewhat redeeming factor is the 50D images are so sharp that you can trade off some sharpness for noise reduction and get usable high ISO images, but I'm afraid they still look different from the 5D2. Also, that adds an extra processing step.

Having said that, I'll probably buy a 50D because of the cost difference.

--
JerryG

See my galleries at:
http://www.pbase.com/jerryg1

 

[Grenville Turner]

I've had a 10D since 2003 and so far avoided upgrading - like a lot of people I've been waiting since 2006 to see the new 5D replacement. Now it's arrived I'm tempted by everything except the price and meanwhile the 50D has appeared which does most of the things I miss on the 10D and some of the later upgrades. I have some L lenses 17-40L, 24-105L, 135L (fabulous lens, f2.0 and f2.8 with my 1.4x extender) and a 50 f1.4 (non L). These would be fine on the 5D. The 17-40L would give me the wide angle I miss but I might then be tempted to look at buying a longer (expensive) zoom. With the 50D the only lens I would be tempted to buy is the ultra wide angle EF-S 10-20mm (can't use EF-S lenses on my 10D).

So I think I've reached the conclusion that the 50D will do all I need (I'm an eclectic amateur). The pixel area is half that of the 5DII, which is why, I presume, the maximum ISO is also half. The linear resolution is not significantly different (square root of 15.1/21, i.e. 15% less) but both resolution and noise are major advances on my 10D. When the UK street price drops below its present ridiculous value (December/January?) I'll order the 50D and the 10-20mm zoom.

 

[Henry A Greenblatt]

2005 Magnum, I'll be shooting sports (college soccer and track) so please explain why the 50 D would be better for this than the 5D II.
thanks!

 

[olderbob]

He probably feels the xxD is better for sports etc.,faster frame rate plus the 'crop'factor..I had a 5D,I have a 40D.....I'm getting another 5D,the 'old' one and keeping the 40D,Bob

 

[Brunobl]

The larger sensor of the 5D, without 1.6X the crop factor, is best suited for wideangle shots. Longer-reach lenses are needed on the 5D than on the 1.6X sensors to yield the same field of view.

If you are into telephoto photography with your current camera, you won't be impressed by your current telephoto lens reach in the 5D: you will need longer lenses still (by a factor of 1.6) to achieve the same FOV.

Conversely, if you like wideangle shots, your current short lenses (provided they are not EF-S, those work only in 1.6X bodies) will yield even wider fields of view on the 5D.

This is why your shooting style and preferences should determine whether or not you should trade the 1.6X body for a FF one.

My 0.02.

--
Best regards,

Bruno Lobo.



http://www.pbase.com/brunobl

 

[gustabod]

thanks for a well thought out explanation. I have been going through the same dilemma. I am satisfied my 5D is good enough for the street and landscape shots I do, but want an improvement in IQ and focussing from the 40D which I use for telephoto based shots, although I am not a sports pro.

So I am left wondering if the improvements are "good enough" in the 50D. I think we all wanted something in between, and there is always the 1D3, but cost is difficult to justify. At the end of the day a 50D and another L telephoto may be the best value for money spent?
--
gustavo

http://www.pbase.com/gustabod

 

[Alan from Sunny Isles Beach FL]

I have a 5D and an XTI. I like both. The FF cam is very impressive,
especially if you shoot landscape. Keep in mind that the downside to
the new 5D is the size of chip. this means that you better have
really good glass. You had better be ready to invest in the best
glass available to accomodate the resolution of that 21 megapixel
chip. Also, the size of the files are huge. You had better make sure
your computer has at least 4 ram. Also, the 5DII does not have a
built in flash and although that is not a major factor, it is a
convenience that you might not want to give up.

I think a decision between the two hinges upon your shooting style.
If I shot a lot of landscape and/or weddings I would go with 5DII.
If I were a studio shooter, I would go with the 5DII. If I shot
sports, macro, kids (who move around a lot), wildlife etc, I would go
with the 50D. If I shot a lot of telephoto I would go with the 50D.
Also, keep in mind that the glass on the 50D will perform better
because of the cropped sensor (especially if you have some L glass)

This is inaccurate. The fact is, glass that is optimized for Film/FF will give you better results on the 5D/5DII. I don't know what makes you think otherwize. Its pretty easy to see the differences if you check out the lens tests on here (dpreview). Just compare the EF 50mm f/1.4 results on the XSi vs the same lens on the 1Ds. The results are night and day. The same lens performs better on a FF sensor at EVERY aperture. This will go double for the L lenses (which are all optimized for FF). You can then do the same tests for the 70-200 f/2.8 IS and the Sigma 50mm f/1.4 as well. You will find that the MTF scores on FF will beat the Crop at every f-stop.

If on the other hand you are looking at EF-S and other manufacturers' Crop-optimized lenses, then in fact, those crop lenses will perform better on the 50D.

Glass doesn't work better or worse because of the crop sensor, it works better or worse based on what imaging circle its optimized for, what sharpness characteristics are geared towards which imaging circle/sensor.

Both cams will more then do the job and for most things they are
entirely interchangeable. Keep in mind that unless you are printing
enoromous sizes, there is virtually no difference in what you are
going to see in print or on the screen.

50mm vs 80mm (50mm x 1.6) is not the same framing. They are not interchangeable.

I think a good rule of thumb would be that you should base your decision on what and how you like to shoot. If you want to shoot WA's and UWA's and or standard primes, you are doing yourself a disservice to think you can achieve the same results with a crop as you will with a full-frame - you simply can not.

If you miss the 50mm shots you loved as a kid, you have to consider FF.
If you like shooting wide angles (24-28mm) and ultra wide angle lenses (

If you like long telephoto's the crop is the way to go.

If you want a fast frame rate to chase after the little ones on the soccer pitch, you need to go with the 50D crop.

I changed my order from the 5DII to the 50D after considering all of
the above and a few more things such as the fact that I already have
multiple batteries for the 5D which takes the same battery as the 50D
and I have 2 vertical grips that will fit the 50D (when I owned the
D60 and the 20D) so I did not have to invest in new sets of batteries
and a grip.

There is no doubt that if I had small children playing sports such as
soccer I would go with the 50D

It is nice to have choices. It can be frustrating to make a choice.

--
http://digitalphotonut.zenfolio.com/

-Alan