7D & 5D MkII

[Digiphilic]

Hello everyone,

Does anyone own both of these bodies together? When do you use the 7D and the 5D MkII and do you often carry both with you?

Which one did you have first before acquiring the 2nd? And is it an overkill to own both (if one can afford it)?

Your opinions on this would be most helpful. Thank you.

[I @ M]

I'm not a Canon expert but in the current range of models they seem to compliment each other nicely in much the same way as the Nikon DX and FX models that share similar bodies and batteries work well together.

And is it an overkill to own both (if one can afford it)?

In my humble opinion there is no such thing as overkill when it comes to owning gear that you can afford. Go forth, purchase and keep the economy moving.

[etherial]

I would love to own both. Would be very useful for me with the type of shooting I do, being dog events. To have a 5D setup with a wide zoom on it which I would use for standing posed shots and then the longer zoom on the 7D (with benefit of crop sensor) for use in the events ring, where reach and speed is the premium.

That would be my dream setup. Not at all overkill IMO

[Babu]

I've owned both since their respective releases and have found them to be a magic combination. They were purchased as upgrades for my previous combo (5D & 40D).

In each case the crop factor body supplied the extra speed over the full frame but each pair shared the same battery type (different grips though).

My wife and I travel extensively and capture wildlife, panoramic, architectural, macro & people shots. In many locations, a range of shot opportunities present themselves and there's no time to change lenses- in many circumstances, dust, salt spray, snow, rain or sleet prohibit changes anyway. So a 100-400mm or a 500mm on the 7D and a 16-35mm or a 24-105mm on the 5D Mk II can cover quite a few situations.

You could be using the 7D & 500mm (800mm effective) to shoot a cheetah pulling down a Grant's gazelle 100 metres away and, seconds later on the other side of the vehicle, using the 5D Mk II & 24-105mm to shoot a pack of hyaenas cleaning up an earlier kill 10 metres away - no lens change required. Believe me - there can be a lot of dust when on safari!

In the Arctic, my wife captured tight stills of a polar bear (90m away) galloping and then plunging through a breathing hole in the ice to kill a seal while I captured a wide view to put it in perspective. Guess who had which camera?

The 5D Mk II has image quality equal to or better than the 1Ds III . The 7D's image quality is very good for 18 M pixels on an APS-C sensor. However, their DLA's are all inferior to those of their predecessors.

All things considered, I could not countenance setting out without both the 5D Mk II & the 7D.

[MarkChap]

Not really owning what you are asking about, but

I have a 7D and a 5D
Have had the 7D since Christmas and the 5D only about a month or so.
Before acquiring the 5D, I had a 7D and 40D combo and pretty much the first camera I reached for in all circumstances was the 7D
Since acquiring the 5D things have changed, portraits/people, I reach for the 5D and 24-70, first, great IQ.
The 7D is now more reserved for the 70-200 when shooting a wedding/function and then bolted to my 120-400 for outdoors

[Digiphilic]

Thank you for all your replies to my questions. I appreciate your time spent to tell me your thoughts.

I have a 7D since January and got into seascape shoots mainly since May-June. I found myself shoot pretty much exclusively with the EF-S 10-22mm but at times when I wanted to shoot long, I found switching to my EF 70-200mm was a bit of pain.

I also have 3 young kids who are actively involve in music and play a lot in concerts and especially when in the SOH concert hall, it was also a pain to constantly changing my EF17-40mm for wide and EF 70-200mm to zoom in for portraits.

I just acquired the EF 85mm F1.2L II and I was thinking the 5D MkII would be a better match for this awesome portrait lenses (the sharpness and DOF is so good!!! and I don't feel the AF is slow at all despite a lot of reviews saying so, may be it's faster with 7D compare to 5D (???)) and also to shoot wide when I do seascape. Because I only have the 7D at the moment, I find the 85mm is bit too long (at 136mm) for portraits. I like the 70-200mm for candid portraits as it's not intrusive with the crop bodies 7D.

My plan is to use the 5D MkII with:
- 17-40mm on 5D MkII for Seascapes (can't afford 16-35mm F2.8L if I buy 85mm F1.2L II and 5D MkII in one week, LOL). I have read conflicting reviews on IQ of this lenses but it will do for me for now.
- 85mm for Portraits.
-
And to use the 7D with:
- 70-200mm for zoom shoot (considering extender 1.4X II later on) - wildlife and candid portraits.
- EF-S 60mm (96mm equiv) for macro (until I can afford 100mm L macro)

My 10-22mm will be going to a family member to use on their 550D (he takes photos for real estate business)

I hope that makes sense and I would love to hear if anyone think that's NOT the right way to go. What would you do differently?

Thanks again for helping me out. Cheers, Quang.

[Digiphilic]

Hi Babu,
Can you explain a bit more about DLA. I know it stands for Diffraction Limited Aperture but how are the 5D and 7D inferior to those of their predecessors? Thank you.

[QUOTE=The 5D Mk II has image quality equal to or better than the 1Ds III . The 7D's image quality is very good for 18 M pixels on an APS-C sensor. However, their DLA's are all inferior to those of their predecessors.[/QUOTE]

[Babu]

Hi Digiphilic,
I'd like you to check out this review which contains a table of specs for a number of Canon bodies. The last column on the right lists their respective DLAs and there are some explanatory notes below the table.
Notice that the 5D (12.8 Mpixels & f13.2DLA ) changed to 5D MkII (21.1 Mpixels & f10.3) : the 40D (10.1 Mpixels & f9.3) changed to 7D (18 Mpixels & f6.8). As more Mpixels are crammed into the same size sensor
the lower the DLA becomes.
Hope this helps.
http://www.the-digital-picture.com/R...ra-Review.aspx

[Digiphilic]

I took the plunge and ordered the 5D MkII body tonight, really looking forward to having both 7D & 5D. With much reading and seeing some feedbacks from AP members, I believe they will compliment each other very nicely.

This hobby is quite costly but very enjoyable. Life is short, we should all work & play while we can.

[fabian628]

i think these cameras would compliment. the 5D has slower fps, with the 7D 8fps. I originally owned a 7D then bought 1D 3. I noticed that the 1D3 was doing most of my shooting, and although a great camera, the 7D is a compromise as it covers all bases pretty well. I recently sold the 7D as my primary action camera is the 1D and now hopefully will pick up a 5D2 to cover wide angle and make the most of the shallow depth of field provided by EF lenses.

[Babu]

Good for you, Digiphilic.
I hope the combination works out as well for you as it has done for me!

[ozimax]

I own the 5DMkii and have use of a 7D when required. The image quality of the 5D is unparalleled IMHO. The only time I would use a 7D is for action, sports, wildlife etc.

[Clubmanmc]

i have ordered a 5D ii as a replacement for my ageing 40D and will use them in unision... for weddings as they have vastly different characteristics, the 5 will have a 24-70 the 7 will use a 70-200 and both can use my 16-35 for wide or extra wide shots...

was going to get another 7D but i have been swayed to go the 5D for the above reasons...

7D will capture 1st kiss / rings
5D II will capture wide shots and well posed shots...

M

[Bear Dale]

I would like to update my 50D with a 7D to compliment my 5DMKII.

[Digiphilic]

Go for it Jim. I'm sure you won't regret it.
My 5DMkII came yesterday and I know have the best of both worlds in my hands. I have enjoyed photography so far and I am sure it's going to be even better now.

I would like to update my 50D with a 7D to compliment my 5DMKII.

[Digiphilic]

Thanks Babu. I'm sure it will.

Good for you, Digiphilic.
I hope the combination works out as well for you as it has done for me!