5D MkII still a good investment?

E

eco_bach

Well-known member
I'm poised to drop some cash on a 2nd camera body. I have a 7D and a variety of lenses, L + EFs.


After looking at the price differential between the MkII and MkIII I am seriously considering getting the MkII.
Primarily for the better low light noise handling than the 7D(though I am well aware that the MkIII is in another league altogether)


Question
Am I crazy?
considering how old the MkII design is and the fact that Canon will most likely announce another DSLR sometime in the next few months.
 
No I think your logic is sound, It will open ya up to the full frame world w/out breaking the bank. The advantages of the mkIII are well documented, it seems like you already know them, so I would go ahead and get it. The MkII is still arguably the best bang for your buck when it comes to DSLR video.
 
IMO as far as real world situations go. I find the 7D and 5D2 very comparable in noise performance. Even with that, there is something about the 5D that I love. If the price is right, the 5d2 is still a great investment. It didn't just stop working as soon as the 3 came out, which a lot of people seem to forget.
 
I started with the 7D and then got the Mk2. I love both cameras but tend to use the 5D more. I originally bought it because I found a killer deal and could sell and easily make a few hundred bucks, had no intention of keeping it. But I used it and that was it, definetly a good investment still.
 
AFAIK the video quality is superior to the 7D in 3 inherent ways
-slightly sharper
-about a full stop more dynamic range
-at least 1 stop less noise, making 1280ISo perfectly usable(on the 7D it isn't, I know I've tried)

In addition you get the more extreme shallow DOF with the larger sensor.

Even if Canon comes out with the rumored entry level FF DSLR, I think the 5D will continue to be a workhorse for indie filmmakers who cannot afford or justify spending $7000+ for a camera.
 
Yeah it's tad sharper but still very low resolution. There are several other cameras you could consider for a much more of an "upgrade" in your case as a 7D owner.
 
Adam J McKay said:
IMO as far as real world situations go. I find the 7D and 5D2 very comparable in noise performance. Even with that, there is something about the 5D that I love. If the price is right, the 5d2 is still a great investment. It didn't just stop working as soon as the 3 came out, which a lot of people seem to forget.
Click to expand...
I do a lot of lowlight at the clubs and I think that the 5D Mark II compared to my 7D and 60D has a lot better performance on noise levels. In fact I notice that my 60D is a tad better than my 7D, Pretty crazy but true.
 
IMO the most important thing is what do you do. Are you a photographer and where/what do you shoot? Like JoeJITSU mentioned, shooting in dark clubs and having a wide view such as the 5d is king + low noise levels. Now if you are doing professional studio work with lights then any dslr will do. Me personally I made the switch to GH2, the main reason being due to lack of detail on wide shots with Canon dslr camera.

After my latest Music video project was the final straw. I had to shoot an extreme wide shot with dancers in front of cars. The amount of aliasing and moire was disgusting and luckily I saved the project due to a lot of mixed in medium + close up shots where Canon dslrs shine. For wide shots though and especially 720p which I used a lot it was hit and miss and I made the jump. The Panasonic GH2 with the Hack which I am using now has detail that I never seen with the Canon dslrs. The only thing I don;t like of the GH2 is the form factor and slightly more cropped view + lack of companies supporting micro 4/3 natively.

Overall no camera is perfect and for now the most important thing to me was quality, GH2 at least for me is giving a motion picture that Canons could simply not do.
 
Or -

Sell the 7D, buy a 5D3 and a used T3i.

The used T3i should cost less than $500. For about the same total investment, you can have the 5D3 quality and the T3i is basically the same sensor & performance as the 7D.

That is my setup, except I have the T4i, which includes face tracking auto focus. Nice feature to move a little more toward where a camcoder would be reuired. I am very very happy with the T4i for stills and video at $850.


Quick math on total "invested" with different setups (sell price or buy price):

1) 7D $1,200 + 5D $1,550 = $2,750

2) 5D3 $3,300 + T3i $450 = $3,750

3) 5D3 $3,300 + T4i $850 = $4,150


I actually bought the 5D3 for about $3,000 net price, so that becomes $3,450, or +$800 for a big, big move up in performance in stills, low light, moire & aliasing.

If you look at Philip Bloom very detailed video comparison on the 5D3 to the D800 and D4 (and to all other DSLRs he has used, including GH2), the 5D3 is still the best out there for video, with the D800 a close second (wins in HDMI out, loses in aliasing & moire, plus low light).


Unless the rumlored new Full Frame camera is a video instead of still camera, with C Log codec and 4:4:4, etc. ?? Then say bye bye 5D3! :kiss:

Good luck!

Michael
 
I decided to go with the 5d3. I will be using it for all of my low light filming. It was a hard choice to make due to the differences of prices from the 5d2 but I figured that I will be using this camera for quite sometime so it was the move I made. Down the road I find a better setup for filming I will use this camera to take still and it will be a long time before something will come out that will take better stills to make you want to move up.

IMG_0572.jpg
 
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