5D sensor vs 7D sensor

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WJWProductions

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The 5D has a vista vision sensor, the 7D has more of 35MM sensor. Will the 5D get more shallow depth of field (selective focus) then the 7D, how could the newer version have a sensor, not quite as good as the older 5D?
 
The 5D is capable of much shallower DOF than the 7D.

As to newer or later versions, it doesn't work that way. The "5" series is a full-frame series. The "7" is an APS-C. Doesn't matter when they came out, the "7" will never have anything other than an APS-C sensor. The "1" series has a smaller sensor than the "5", but larger than the "7". So don't look at the numbers for any clue to what sensor is installed.
 
They have different purposes at different price points. The APS-C sized sensor (the 7D, 60D, T2i, etc) is much cheaper to produce and, since it is smaller, it makes the camera cheaper to produce as well (the mirror box, pentaprism, shutter, etc can all be smaller). Since all that stuff is smaller, it makes higher burst rates (7D 8fps, 60D 5.3fps) easier as there is less stuff to flip out of the way.

You can still get very very good shallow DOF on an APS-C sized sensor. The 5D's sensor is bigger and is better in lowlight because the photosites are larger, but that isn't to say is it a *better* sensor. Each camera has its purpose (neither of the cameras' main purpose is video, of course) and each of the sensors reflect the purpose/price point of the camera.

Does that answer your question some?
 
Barry_Green said:
The 5D is capable of much shallower DOF than the 7D.

As to newer or later versions, it doesn't work that way. The "5" series is a full-frame series. The "7" is an APS-C. Doesn't matter when they came out, the "7" will never have anything other than an APS-C sensor. The "1" series has a smaller sensor than the "5", but larger than the "7". So don't look at the numbers for any clue to what sensor is installed.
Click to expand...

Barry beat me to it.....
 
That helps a hole lot, yes. Thanks you. my sole purpose is filming my short film. im a little confused as to my camera choice. looking for REAL GOOD low-light, great (DOF) and good shutter speed for shots were the camera is in motion, no rolling shutter. im thinking 5D now.
 
For my film i will use separate external audio. for my Bar/restaurant advertising reels, id like to just use a vidmic pro on top of the camera, and have it be in-camera audio, since its just simple in front of camera stuff. sound okay..
 
It also depends on the client. A rode vmp straight into a dialed down 5d will likely sound like gold to most of your clients, unless you're shooting for an audiophile or for a doc.

That's my $0.02. I've gotten great audio (comparable to zoom h4n) with the vmp when you know what you're doing.
 
Larger sensors are not always better. I prefer the 7D for not going over the top on DoF. 35mm has been a standard as long as film has been in use, and the 7D continues that. Nothing wrong there. It's also much more convenient in stills, since wide angles are pretty hard on the 5D. Shallow focus also does not equate high production value.

As for sound, in camera audio isn't the part that won't sound good. It's the microphone sitting on top without being properly positioned near the talent that won't sound good. Sometimes it works, like when you have no alternative (I use that position as one of the sources at weddings), but if you can get it on a boom you should.
 
So does this mean if I already have a hard enough time keeping something focused at a low f-stop on my 60d, when I upgrade to a 5d Mk3 I'm going to have even more of a problem with it?

Barry_Green said:
The 5D is capable of much shallower DOF than the 7D.

As to newer or later versions, it doesn't work that way. The "5" series is a full-frame series. The "7" is an APS-C. Doesn't matter when they came out, the "7" will never have anything other than an APS-C sensor. The "1" series has a smaller sensor than the "5", but larger than the "7". So don't look at the numbers for any clue to what sensor is installed.
Click to expand...
 
Krunko said:
So does this mean if I already have a hard enough time keeping something focused at a low f-stop on my 60d, when I upgrade to a 5d Mk3 I'm going to have even more of a problem with it?
Click to expand...

Yes. But the 5dmkII is also more sensitive. I'm not sure how big the difference is as I've never shot them side by side, but you can probably shoot with the aperture closed down a bit more on the 5dmkII in lowlight situations where the 60D would be at max aperture, thus giving you a bit more DOF to play with.
 
Yeah, when I shoot on a 5D I rarely ever shoot at really wide open aperture - but the nice thing is that you can stop down a lot more on a full frame sensor and still have a relatively bright image compared to the same ISO/aperture/shutter on an APS-C.

I disagree with the guy that said a 7D is more convenient in stills - having worked as an assistant on a lot of shoots for medium print campaigns, I can't think of a situation where the 1.6x crop of a 7D would have helped on one of the shoots. You have more options for going wide if you need to, and you can shoot at a higher ISO than a 7D without sacrificing IQ.
 
Rolling shutter is not better on the 5D. In fact it is not good on any of these cameras. It is one of the bugaboos that hopefully the next generation will have dealt with. The 1D has better lowlight behavior than the 5D, but the latter is still better than the 7D on that front. For sound you probably still need a box. Either a pre-amp with XLR's and the manual (or Magic Lantern hack) setting on the 5D or an independent unit like an H4N.

The advantage of having both a 5D and 7D, is that it is essentially like having two sets of lenses, you have greater wide angle AND faster longer lenses available to you with only a single set if they are well chosen.

The 7D has better HDMI monitoring.
 
the sensor-sensitivity vs sensor-size and DoF is as follows:

a camera with a sensor which is X% bigger in area should be able to shoot X% higher ISO with the same level of noise, any less than that and it is less sensitive at the same FoV and DoF

given the sensor on the 5D is 2.56 times larger than that on the 7D/60D/600D/550D (1.6^2), it should have the same noise at ISO 1600 as the smaller brothers have at ISO 640

if that is so, you can shoot:
* with a 50mm set at f/2.8 on the 5D at ISO 1600
* with a 30mm set at f/1.8 on the APS-C camera at ISO 640
and you'll have the same field of view, exposure, depth of field and noise on both images
http://www.similaar.com/foto/dof/dof.php?f_x=1&f_r=1.778&f_mm=50&f_f=2.8&f_d=3
http://www.similaar.com/foto/dof/dof.php?f_x=1.6&f_r=1.778&f_mm=31.25&f_f=1.75&f_d=3

I think ISO 1600 on the 5D has a bit more noise than ISO 640 on the 7D/60D/600D/550D, so unless you want to crush your DoF the APS-C option is slightly better for low light

on the other hand, if you really don't have enough light, so the alternative is not shooting, then the 5D will allow you to get the shot, even if DoF is just 2 or 3 cm (as it will be in a closeup with a lens set at f/1.4)
(same goes for the GH2 with voigtlander 25mm f/0.95, but this one is even better for low light because the sensor is 1.9x and has about the same noise as the 5D at high ISO values (around 1600), so it allows you to shoot at nearly 4x lower light with the same DoF)

(isn't it amazing how fast the world has changed from 1/3" cameras to "too shallow depth of field"?)
 
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