anyone contemplating the new canon 5d?

Osmer_Toby · Oct 7, 2005

am thinking it's my next big purchase... wondered if anyone had any thoughts on it.
am specifically wondering how it performs af in low light- currently shoot with the 10d and get frustrated with the poor performance of af in dim situations. have read buncha reviews but no mention of this in any of them.

seems the 5d has most of the features of the 1d mark II at half the price...

Big Mike · Oct 7, 2005

I've been drooling over the reviews and spec sheets but I haven't entertained the notion that I could afford it. Maybe the next version in a few years, when it's cheaper.

I haven't read anything about AF performance, but I'm sure something will be on the net soon.

danalec99 · Oct 11, 2005

5D AF, I read (from a photographer who does commercial/wedding work), is "not-so-good-in-low-light" >> his words.

If you do not care for the robust body of the MKIIS, 5D could be the way to go. I hear nothing but good.

vonDrehle · Oct 11, 2005

I have already started a 5d fund.

I really like how its sensor doesn't have a conversion factor like most other dslr's.

**Questions about 5D,
It the size of the viewfinder the same as a film SLR or is it smaller? I can't find it anywhere.

Big Mike · Oct 12, 2005

I've read that the viewfinder is bigger & brighter than on the 20D/350D etc.

ksmattfish · Oct 12, 2005

Contemplating yes, but it will need to drop in price substantially. I just can't see forking over that much moola and not getting a weather sealed body. I would love the bigger viewfinder. I'm happy with my 20D, although I won't be buying anymore x1.6 lenses, unless it's a heck of a deal.

danalec99 · Oct 12, 2005

I've read that the LCD is bigger than the 20D's.

Big Mike · Oct 12, 2005

Yes, the LCD is 2.5" compared to the 1.8" of the older DSLRs. That would be a really nice thing to have. I think I read somewhere that they have improved the view-ability of the screen (in sunlight & at an angle) but one review I read, said that the screen is still not as good as what's available on other brands....and is still very hard to see in direct sunlight.

usayit · Oct 12, 2005

I currently shoot with 10d and print mostly between 4x6 to 11x14 with an occasional 13x19. There seems to be enough data captured by the 10d to maintain quality. Now I'd like the extra pixels to allow for some crop. So, yes. I'm definitely considering it although its a little out of my price range at the moment ( bought a lot of nice glass recently ) and I normally wait until its available used and about 1 year behind the latest and greatest.

I'm definitely also leaning towards the 1d-mark II as the next step on my upgrade path. There are some good conditioned 1d-markII bodies available for good prices now. There are some points that attract me to the 1d-markII.

* Superior build quality and weatherproofing
* Same/similar feel and control as my 1v
* Autofocus is similiar to my 1v. 45 points ( 1dmarkII ) vs 9+6inv points ( 5d)
* Tighter spot meter. 2.4% ( 1dmarkII ) vs 3.5% ( 5d ). The 1dmarkII also has 8 point multispot.
* Same image processing on both cameras
* 8.3 fps ( 1dmarkII ) vs 3 ( 5d ) really not that important

To be honest the LCD display is the least of the features that concern me. No matter how large they make that display ( short of laptop size ) it will not be enough to adequately evaluate the picture. In fact, the auto-preview option is turned off on my 10d. I like the feel of my 1v and I would love to have the same feel in a digislr.

lsasseville · Oct 12, 2005

The 5d will definitly give a better print when a size
of about 11x14" is exceeded. At 8x10" I strongly
doubt if anyone could detect a difference in print
quality between this and a 20d.
The other thing to seriously consider is the full
frame sensor. In the past their have been 3 attempts
at a full frame (35mm sensor), the Canon 1Ds, the
Kodak 14n and the Sigma Fovean. Kodak and Sigma have
both discontinued their cameras due to technical
problems and the 'net is rife with complaints about
the 1ds...especially edge sharpness.
In short...I'd wait before if the issues involved with
full frame sensors have been rectified with the new
Canon.

hope this helps