Opinion: Upgrade to a 5D?

Zissou said:
other than sensor size which equates to better low light and shallower DOF performance, the 5D is basically the same as the lowly T2i; SD out during record, same options for audio/video formats, no manual audio controls, etc. if you need manual audio, go with the 60D; if you need HD out during record (which IMO is FAR more useful; you can ALWAYS add an external audio recorder, but you can NEVER see HD during record with the 5D MkII, 60D, or T2i) go 7D.

Given the choice of upgrading to a 5D, 60D, or 7D from our 3 T2i's, i would easily pick the 7D, hands down.
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Teddy is right, the 5D Mark II has manual audio controls. So the only thing the 7D has over it would be more frame rates and HD out the HDMI.

But honestly, I agree that the whole 5D Mark II full frame argument is over rated. For me, a crop frame gives me all the shallow depth of field that I want; too much of it in fact. Pulling focus is a nightmare with a focal plane that is paper thin!
 
greeches said:
[...] I really like the DOF options of the full frame as well as being able to use my full lens-range without crop factor.[...]
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Keep in mind that using an EF lens on a crop body takes advantage of the "sweet spot" of the lens. On full frame, the lens's limitations and flaws become much more apparent.

That being said, I recently bought a used 5d mki because most of my work is stills and that's the full frame camera I could afford. Am I happy with it? You bet. The difference in bokeh while using the Cannon 70-200 f/4 IS on a 7d versus this 5d is like I traded my lens for the f/2.8. It's also pleasant to use a 50mm lens without the feeling that you're "closer" than you want to be.
 
I've used the 5D mkII, 7D, 550D/2Ti and the 60D for video. If you're not planning on a 35mm film out, then I'd suggest you'll do very nicely with the crop frame cameras. After owning a 550D, I upgraded to a 60D for manual kelvins, manual audio and the tilt lcd. I'd wait and see what new digic chips and the like do for the next generation of canon cameras.

my .02
 
Looking at the original post with shopping list: is it just me, or is the battery grip kind of a silly purchase for serious filmmaking? I use one on my D90 (stills camera) for the larger gripping area and vertical release - but on my (video) Canon, it's hard enough getting rail systems, follow focus, and screen hood working properly together, not to mention a fig rig or a shoulder setup. I've never seen a matte box that raises 5" off the rails, either. None of my gear would work with a battery grip added. Everything in this market still seems designed for the horizontal size of a video camera vs. the more vertical orientation of an SLR body (minus the newer DSLR cages we're seeing now - but would you really want to use a cage with a grip?) Making a setup even taller gave me balance problems in addition to gear fit (I have shot video with the D90 but pulled the grip off within 30 minutes in favor of a fig rig).

I did take an angle grinder and cut a corner off my base plate so I can change the Canon battery without taking anything off the rig; I may go through three batteries at a very long shoot, but it's about the same frequency I'd change tapes in the past.
 
mr bill said:
After owning a 550D, I upgraded to a 60D for manual kelvins, manual audio and the tilt lcd.

my .02
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I have to say the 60 manual audio may be worth an upgrade from a 550D alone. I have not had to shoot any dialogue so far with my 550D but last week I had to shoot a short interior demo for a new car model. The audio was planned to be recorded as V/O in a studio later, but we ran out of time, the job had to be delivered yesterday and had to use the camera audio. Ouch it really sucks with the AGC. I wouldn't want to rely on external audio recorders alone either because a lot of the work I shoot is not in English and creates new confusion for me in post.
I've been wanting to get a 5D for a while now, but it will probably cause more focus problems than it's worth on real shoots where you have to get it right in one second.
The Tokina 11-16mm and the Canon 80mm 1.8 with a 60D have moved up the list of next investment for me.
 
I also prefer the picture quality of the 5D over the 7D/t2i. I'm not sure what it is, but it just looks better to me. But it does suck to have to shoot at f5.6 all the time. I am thinking about picking up another one and removing the mirror so I can use more lenses on it.

It is cool to be able to open up your aperture all the way and shoot those hyper-shallow focus shots that you can't really do on any other DSLR. Not something that you'll do all the time, but very cool that you can. Mike Kobal posted some samples with the 50mm 1.2L in the 5D forum that are incredible. http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?224949-5D2-50mm-1.2-wide-open
 
I have the canon 7d and the 5d mk2. I brought the 5d thinking it was an upgrade to the 7d. I would say it a side grade or even possibly a downgrade when shooting video.
Below are the reasons why

The Moire and Aliasing issues are more on the 5d

The 5d tends to show more distortion and vignetting on wide angle lenses
You have less choice of lenses with the 5d
It's easier to focus with the 7d
It is very hard to tell the difference in image quality. In fact there has been times that the 7d has looked better than the 5d
No 60p

 
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