Camera buying choices (Canon)

So you are saying that OP will have a harder time at shooting portraits because he is using a F/4 lens instead of a F/1.2 and that his models may or may not be professional and that his location may or may not be a studio.

I am so confused.
 
Raymond Lin said:
So you are saying that OP will have a harder time at shooting portraits because he is using a F/4 lens instead of a F/1.2 and that his models may or may not be professional and that his location may or may not be a studio.

I am so confused.
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I think I'm more confused, where have I said this, or given you that impression?
I struggle to see how the last part is even relevant...
 
An Exception said:
^^^
Most of the location work I see is around F8 or with plenty of DOF. Still 2.8 isn't that wide. I don't very often see fashion pictures at wide apertures tbh, but when they are, I doubt the 5D focus system is ideal. Prior to the D800, I would have imagined a 1ds would have been the tool of choice for those that could afford it, and I'v spoken to a couple of fashion togs (who like shallow DOF) who upgraded their 5D's to 1ds's just for the AF.
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I'd hazard a guess they're using the 85L though? That lens is worth a faster AF system definitely, but e.g. using a Sigma 85 1.4 like I do, the 5D1/2's AF system is perfectly adequate.

The 5D AF isn't inaccurate, it's just slow. Shooting portraiture and fashion stuff, that's rarely been a problem.
 
^^^
I heard the outer points suffer with accuracy. I know from the 550D and the 50D (which has all cross-types), that the AF isn't exactly what I would call consistent, at least with very wide apertures.

Tbh, I'm not sure if this was mainly due to the Canon 85 1.8, as others have reported similar inconsistencies. I would imagine the Sigma is a much better performer.
 
An Exception said:
I think I'm more confused, where have I said this, or given you that impression?
I struggle to see how the last part is even relevant...
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You are saying they have different needs.

The fact remains that you don't know the needs of the OP.

Who says he has to shoot at f/8 in every shot.

Who made the rule that Studio portraits has to be a certain aperture.

Who made the rule that fashion portraits has to be another aperture.

Who made the rule that head shots has to be anther aperture.

I am saying people are people, by portraits i mean it is people, they are not moving around much and you are in control of them for the shot. In that regard the AF is perfectly fine.
 
An Exception said:
^^^
I heard the outer points suffer with accuracy. I know from the 550D and the 50D (which has all cross-types), that the AF isn't exactly what I would call consistent, at least with very wide apertures.

Tbh, I'm not sure if this was mainly due to the Canon 85 1.8, as others have reported similar inconsistencies. I would imagine the Sigma is a much better performer.
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I am going to quote myself .... ala thread.

http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=411077&highlight=technique
 
Raymond Lin said:
You are saying they have different needs.

Yes a typical studio photographer with his pro photo heads will have different needs to lifestyle photographer shooting F1.2

The fact remains that you don't know the needs of the OP.
I know the Op would probably benefit from an AF system that is easier to use rather than harder.

Who says he has to shoot at f/8 in every shot.
I never said he had to.

Who made the rule that Studio portraits has to be a certain aperture.

I don't know who's made any rules, but if I had to guess, I'd say there are no absolute rules when it comes to a subjective subject, but certain scenarious tend to favour certain camera setting's.

For example, most tog's prefer the bump in IQ and resolution and depth of field when the background is plain white etc.

Who made the rule that fashion portraits has to be another aperture.

Same as above

Who made the rule that head shots has to be anther aperture.

Same as above

I am saying people are people, by portraits i mean it is people, they are not moving around much and you are in control of them for the shot. In that regard the AF is perfectly fine.

Portraiture has allot of variety and sub-genres. These sub-genres tend to have different requirements. For instance you say People don't move around much, but they do move, slight movement isn't an issue a F8, but it is at F1.2.

A fashion photographer isn't likely to use F1.2, instead F5.6, F8, F11 is much more common, as additional DOF is usually desirable.

Lifestyle pictures in less than ideal locations are usually at F1.4, F2, F2.8, as the lack of DOF is usually desirable.
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This thread makes me sad. OP wants a Canon camera, they are getting one, they want to know which way would be best to go. Where did all this pro Nikon nonsense come from? I think Ray has answered the OPs question already.
 
ElDude said:
This thread makes me sad. OP wants a Canon camera, they are getting one, they want to know which way would be best to go. Where did all this pro Nikon nonsense come from? I think Ray has answered the OPs question already.
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I am going to say the same thing again and quote myself again.

Raymond Lin said:
Mkii for portraits and landscape. You don't need a mkiii for that and if and when you can afford to upgrade then do it.

Personally if you can stretch to £2200 then I would save up for a little bit more and go for the mkiii, it will save you money in the lose you will incur in selling your mkii anyway.
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Btw, the reason that the AF points are not that far outside is because of physic.

The light fall off towards the edge on the lens barrel is a steep one and the amount of light on the edge compare to the middle is a big difference. Putting the 9 AF points in "what it should have been" means the outer points would be totally useless because there won't be enough light there for it to focus on.
 
ElDude said:
This thread makes me sad. OP wants a Canon camera, they are getting one, they want to know which way would be best to go. Where did all this pro Nikon nonsense come from? I think Ray has answered the OPs question already.
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Uhh... probably because Nikon has an affordable solution without the compromises that the Op seemed concerned about, therefore I thought I would bring that to the Op's attention as a viable option, which I thought was common sense tbh.
 
Alz_D said:
Afternoon,

I know that the following two cameras have been compared countless times in the past. I have googled and read / watched / listened to a huge amount of different peoples opinions on the pro's and con's of each…. but I thought I would ask for the thought's of you guys + girls before making a final decision as you are very rarely wrong.

So here is my situation. Current camera is a 550D which I have had for a couple of years. Love it and have been having loads of fun with it. Also have a few lenses but nothing expensive (18-55 kit lens, a 55-200 canon same quality as the kit lens and a 50mm 1.8 canon) and a 430 ex II speedlight.

Now there is nothing wrong with the 550D but my other half has been pining after it for a while now. She had a new laptop for her birthday and PS elements but her camera is pants. I was planning on getting her one for Christmas but at the same time I am thinking of upgrading mine and was just about to buy myself a 24-105 f4 L before I came up with this idea.

The two cameras that I am looking at (yes you guessed correctly :D ) the 7D and the 5D MKII.

So I can get the 7D for £1900 with the above mentioned L lens. It’s picture quality is going to be the same as what I have now as I believe it uses the same sensor as the 550D, but it has a faster burst speed, better AF system and still retains the pop up flash. I am sure if I go this way I will want to upgrade again to full frame sooner rather than later.

The 5D MKII can be had with the same lens for £2200 and is full frame which I think will suit me better as I mainly shoot portrait and landscape. I do think I would miss the pop up flash (for convenience as I do have a speedlight but it’s massive).

I can’t afford a MK3 :(

Reading this back I do think I am selling myself the 5D MKII :p

What are your thoughts? Am I leaning the right way.

And sorry for the wall of text – Thank you if you made it to the end.
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I'll answer the question directly and not join in the pointless argument thats going on.

What type of photos do you want to take? The 7D is a very capable body and its versatility allows you to dip into any type of photography you want as the AF system is quick, accurate and modern. If you don't want to try your hand at things like sports and wildlife photography, the 5D mk ii is a nice camera, but your 18-55 and 55-200 won't work on it (but they will on the 7D). That means you'd only have your 50mm F1.8 lens (which isn't that bad, but feels like a toy lol) if you went for the 5D mk ii.

The AF system is perfectly fine for most types of photography, regardless of what the pro nikon people say constantly. I wouldn't worry about the pop up flash as they are pretty much useless anyway, as you can use your speed light to get better results and buy a £30 radio trigger to use off camera flash modes instead of using the pop up flash to trigger it.

The 5D mk ii has 9 focus points with the centre one being the most accurate in low light, with all of them working perfectly in good lighting conditions. The camera has no autofocus assist light btw whilst the 7D does (as far as I'm aware), which forces you to use an external speed light even if you don't want to use the flash itself just so you can focus in very low lighting conditions.

However, those situations are rare tbh and the centre point with a fast lens will still autofocus in most conditions anyway.

I'd say look at the second hand market for both cameras. The 7D has just had a big firmware update on it, so it'll keep its value well, whilst the 5D mk ii can be picked up for around £1100 second hand in very good condition, leaving more cash available for lenses.

Purchase your lenses from hong kong based companies to save a fortune over UK prices as canon have international warranties on all of their lenses anyway. This will save you a few hundred quid.
 
An Exception said:
Uhh... probably because Nikon has an affordable solution without the compromises that the Op seemed concerned about, therefore I thought I would bring that to the Op's attention as a viable option, which I thought was common sense tbh.
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Sorry mate, but you've gone all fanboy. The OP has clearly stated what they want. Telling them Nikon is better is a moot point. Yes Nikon do better bodies at the moment, but the OP like myself, uses Canon currently, and probably doesn't want to sell everything at a loss, just to change brands.

Oh, and for the OP, Canon have just announced new firmware for the 7D, so that camera is looking quite nice again :)
 
Yeh I'm a fanboy, call me whatever you like bud. I don't think I'v said anything that wasn't true.
And sell ALL his gear at a loss? He's hardly got a large selection.

Lastly, I keep reading comments around these forums like, "if I started out again, I would go Nikon".. You pretty much said it yourself.
Well, this might be a good time for the Op to be sure in his choice...
 
Yet all of his 3 current lenses will work with a 7D, which has had a massive firmware update. He could even buy a 5D mk i along side the 7D for cheaper than replacing his lenses with nikon equivalents and a D700.
 
An Exception said:
Yeh I'm a fanboy, call me whatever you like bud. I don't think I'v said anything that wasn't true.
And sell ALL his gear at a loss? He's hardly got a large selection.

Lastly, I keep reading comments around these forums like, "if I started out again, I would go Nikon".. You pretty much said it yourself.
Well, this might be a good time for the Op to be sure in his choice...
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Canon make the best lenses though ;)
 
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