Basic Questions

D

DDirector

Veteran
Thinking about upgradin my T2i for a used 5D MKII, unless if I find a good video camera for roughly same price..

I have the Canon 17-55mm IS. Will this work on the 5D?

Is the 5D sensor 35mm equivalent or is it larger? I heard it was larger than 35mm then again, I heard it was the same.
A 50mm on a 5D will be 50mm equivalent to 35mm? Or the RED MX sensor?

I use SDHC card for my T2i, I believe 5D is CF cards. They are also 16gb and roughly 40-60mb/s. Don't remeber exactly. What would I need for the 5D to be capable or recording high quality with Magic Lantern? How much would one set me back? And also 16gb or do I need more now?

I am low on cash and I would love to own a bunch of primes, but since I can't, ill probaby stick to an all around zoom lens. What kind of zoom lens is best for wide to tele or at least close enough that's a 2.8?
 
Like I thought. It is larger than 35mm. Never used the 5D, so I don't know if it will be that big of an issue. But hey, people use it all the time for filmming. So, it should be fine.

Hm. What I don't understand is, how is 50mm on a 35mm film camera also 50mm on the full frame when its obviously bigger? But that's not really important I guess. That's why I asked about the sensor size. But its apparently a 1x, so no issues here.

Now I just need to know about the other stuff I asked. Thanks :)
 
I have the Contax Zeiss 85mm f/2.8 from Japan.
I'm pretty sure it will work on the 5D as it does work on the Red. Hopefully :S
I might just get some primes instead of the zoom as it would be the same price in the end or less probably. But I just want to make sure that they will be okay for this camera.

EDIT:
I did find this info out on the Contax Zeiss lenses. It seems it will work, but I may run into troubles with the mirror depending on the lens and adapters.
 
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A 50mm is a 50mm no matter what you put it on. It's a 50mm on S35, it's a 50mm on a 5D2, it's a 50mm when I hold it in my hand, it's a 50mm if I throw it to the bottom of the sea.

What changes is the field of view.

On a 5D, a 50mm will give you a wider FoV than what you get on your current APS-C camera.

Thus the use of "equivalent focal length". That is: you'll get the same field of view with a 50mm on a T2i and with a 80mm on a 5D2. So, you can say that on a T2i the 50mm becomes 80mm-equivalent.
 
Samuel H said:
A 50mm is a 50mm no matter what you put it on. It's a 50mm on S35, it's a 50mm on a 5D2, it's a 50mm when I hold it in my hand, it's a 50mm if I throw it to the bottom of the sea.

What changes is the field of view.

On a 5D, a 50mm will give you a wider FoV than what you get on your current APS-C camera.

Thus the use of "equivalent focal length". That is: you'll get the same field of view with a 50mm on a T2i and with a 80mm on a 5D2. So, you can say that on a T2i the 50mm becomes 80mm-equivalent.
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Yeah, I know. I was asking what the 50mm would be equivalent to on the 5D. If it would be a 50mm or it if would be like a 40mm or 45mm since its a larger sensor.
 
One thing to really keep in mind about shooting with sensor sizes larger than standard academy format (ie. super 35mm size) is you will get shallow depth of fields much easier at the same or higher aperture settings than if you were shooting on the super 35mm format. True this makes a lot of people happy when they see all that "awesome" blurriness - but what about when you don't want all that shallow DOF and it works against you? You will have to stop down more on a FF camera to get around the same look as you would have on super 35mm.

I would not say its a "big deal" but this is just something you need to keep conscious of as you develop your favourite shooting apertures, or work with cine lenses since the DOF will be different with the same aperture setting.
 
i also don't quite agree with the wording that a 50mm is 50mm no matter what you put it on. The focal length equivalence does in fact change depending on the sensor format you put the lens on. So why would you say that it is 50mm no matter what you put it on? that is incorrect, or just tricky wording.

Either way, if you put a 50mm FF lens on a BMC camera it becomes 115mm, if you put it on a camera with super 35mm or APS-C it becomes 80mm.
 
DDirector said:
Yeah, I know.
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I don't think you have it quite right yet, to be honest Michael. You guys are talking a bit over each other's heads.

A 5D has a FULL FRAME sensor. Same as 35mm FILM NEGATIVE. Not as in S35mm format used when making films, i.e. movies.

When focal lengths are discussed the FULL FRAME is the reference, so a 5D has no crop factor. It's 1:1. 50mm on a 5D is true 50mm.

A RED, C300, C100, FS700, Alexa... they all have a S35 sized sensor, like the movie format. All of those cameras have a crop factor in relation to full frame. It's similar to a Canon 7D in size.

Lenses that are made specifically/only for the S35 frame, like the RED that you mention, won't work on a 5D, just like EF-S lenses (17-55 2.8) won't work.
 
starcentral said:
if you put a 50mm FF lens on a BMC camera it becomes 115mm, if you put it on a camera with super 35mm or APS-C it becomes 80mm
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It all depends on your frame of reference. Unfortunately too many video people are using the Full Frame 35mm Still Photo format as there frame of reference, which kind of screws things up, especially when you start talking about Cine lenses, where most of the Cine lenses won't cover the 35mm FF Still Photo format at all.

Personally I agree with the statement that a 50mm is a 50mm no matter what format it covers, so you have to become familiar with what lens focal lengths look like based on the format you are using.

i.e. When I shoot with my GH3 a 50mm is a portrait/interview lens, where if I was shooting still photos with a Pentax 645D a 50mm lens is a moderate wide-angle
 
DDirector, if you decide to go full-frame with the 5D, your 17-55mm won't work with it (it's an EF-S lens, which is only for "crop-sensor" cameras like the 7D, 60D, and your T2i). You'll need EF lenses. The good thing is your 17-55mm is pretty valuable; you'll be able to make a pretty penny off of it. The lens combined with your camera, you'll be able to afford the 5D.

Now what about the lenses? If you can spare an additional $1000 or so, Canon's got some great inexpensive EF prime lenses that can cover the most common focal ranges AND give you great speed: 35mm f/2.0, 50mm f/1.8 II, 85mm f/1.8, and 135mm f/2.0. If you want fast zoom lenses, it's going to cost you.....a LOT. If you want an inexpensive, all-purpose zoom lens, you can look at something like the 28-135mm f/3.5, but you sacrifice speed, or low-light performance, as a result.

5D is a full-frame sensor camera, just like a 35mm film camera. EF lenses were specifically built for full-frame cams, so a 50mm lens on a 5D is 50mm.
T2i, 7D, 60D, etc., are crop-sensor cameras, with a sensor size equivalent to Super35, smaller than the full-frame sensor. It minimizes the standard 35mm field of view by 1.6. What does this mean? It means when you take a lens and put it on a crop camera like your T2i, you multiply the focal length(s) by 1.6 and THAT'S your actual focal length. A 35mm lens on your T2i becomes a 56mm lens.

Hope this sheds light.
 
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I can sell my T2i & lens for the price of a used 5D mkII. I still have warranty and adding accessories to it which would even give me an extra $100 or so in the end.

If I need lenses, Id get used Contax Zeiss lenses. They are awesome and dirt cheap! I can get a full set for $1500 with shipping and with adapters.
But like I said, not until mid summer.

I'm still iffy on the full frame sensor though. Its larger than Super35, so Im not too sure.
The extra shallow depth of field isnt what im really looking for. Ill have to think about this one still.
I might as well just get more universal gear for my camera which i can use for other cameras in the future. But, still deciding.

Thanks
 
starcentral said:
Either way, if you put a 50mm FF lens on a BMC camera it becomes 115mm, if you put it on a camera with super 35mm or APS-C it becomes 80mm.
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If you put a 50mm FF lens on a BMC camera it stays a 50mm, and gives you the same FoV as you'd get from a 115mm on a FF camera, so you could call it a 115mm-FF-equivalent.

As long as we all know how this works and we understand each other, I'm fine with any wording people decide to use. But if I'm in a BMC shooting and I say "please, pass me the 50mm", I expect to get a 50mm lens for a portrait shot, not a 21mm for a normal shot.
 
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