Shall I get a Canon 50D or 5D?

jay2jay99 · Oct 22, 2008

Hi all,
I currently own a 400D and I love taking landscape photos but I do also delve into other areas. After taking some long exposures I want something that can handle noise better at high ISO's so I'm wishing to upgrade but am torn in my decission, ideally I'd have the 5D MkII but with a £2k price tag I wont be going down that route for a while. I'm looking to spend around £1k and here are my options.

5D - £1100
Pros:
Is a Professional model,
I know it takes stunning pictures (depending on lens),
Is sturdy and well built,
Is a full frame camera.

Cons:
£1100 is a bit much,
It's about 3 years old and is a bit dated,
only uses the digic II processor,
Cannot use my 10-20mm lens on it.

50D - £860
Pros:
Is a brand new model out this month,
Is the cheaper option,
has 2.4MP more and can take photos at 6.3 fps,
Uses the Digic IV processor,
Has other new stuff like live view etc.

Cons:
It's only a semi-pro model,
Has a 1.6 crop factor,
Unsure on the photo quality as I don't know anyone with one to play with it for long enough.

So.... taking that all into account what do you people reckon? A salesmen said to me today he recommended the 40D as there isn't a big jump to the 50D and the 40D is a fair bit cheaper... I know, never listen to the sales person but I just had a look and it's £563, £300 is £300 and not to be sniffed at I suppose.

TUX424 · Oct 22, 2008

If i were you i would go with the 50D or the 40D because as u said the 5d wont use the 10-20 and is a bit dated as is the 40d.
Also as you said that it is a bit pricey already and i dont think full fame is that big of a deal (I know people are gonna get on my case about that) at with the 10-20 not working u might have to buy anougher wide angle for the 5d and those arnt cheap adding to the price of the already expensive 5d
but its up to u is the full frame worth it.
I mean im a nikon guy and i would take a D300 over a D700 and day (D700 is full fame and D300 is not full frame)

jay2jay99 · Oct 22, 2008

Thanks for you're comments, I'm not too bothered about full frame, I know it is better but as long as the picture comes out good that's the main thing, I mean, if you can't fit it all in, take a step back! Lol, Now I'm gonna get it! Too be honest, I'm heavily leaning towards the 50D, but as it's new I don't know too much about it and wanted to see what others thought. Oh, one other thing I forgot to mention, to get the 5D at that price I'd have to purchase it from over there in the US whereas the 50D I can get for that price here.

Ls3D · Oct 22, 2008

I read on this very forum that the 5D splashes oil inside the camera body,.. and have confirmed this with 1 user who said it even ended up of the focus screen. Not that that makes it GOSPEL truth, but something I think about when I see low use bodies for $1,600 to $2K (US) on the net.

If you already have great lenses get the 50D, if you need a great lens maybe get the 40D and spend twice as much on glass? I've also seen used 40D's with kit lenses around $850, some under 2,500 actuations and all the original packing... leaves room for glass - buyer beware, et all.

I'm still tempted to try a used 5D and wonder if people are doing modifications, sucking up some oil or running dry-ish.. sorry a bit Off Topic now.. Good Luck! -Shea

jay2jay99 · Oct 22, 2008

Ah, hadn't heard about that, that's not good really if it is the case. I have pretty good lenses, I am happy with them and don't think I need to upgrade as yet. I mainly use my Canon 17-40L lens which suits me for my landscapes and I also have a Sigma 10-20mm which is good for some more extreme landscapes, I was originally gonna get the Canon 10-22 but I was put off by the fact it wasn't an L series and the Sigma one seemed to have less travel and was a fair bit cheaper. (I've had trouble in the past with lenses sucking in too much dust... going off topic again)

table1349 · Oct 22, 2008

Personally I feel that you need to define what you want to shoot a little better and then choose the body from there. The 5D and the 50D are totally different beasts. The 5D is a full frame body geared towards the portrait/landscape/studio shooter. That is where it excels.

The 50D is a more rounded crop sensor body that does nicely in the portrait/landscape/studio world as well as in areas like sports.

You need to decide which body will suit your needs best and go from there. Good luck

rdompor · Oct 22, 2008

I think either the 40D or 50D would suit you well. EF-S compatibility is a plus and I've heard of/seen samples of the 50D taken at ISO3200 and they certainly seem usable. As for pro/semi-pro, both the 50D and 5D cameras are not considered "pro" by Canon, and unless you plan on dragging your camera through the mud and the muck, I wouldn't worry about it too much.

I think the 50D would be an excellent choice as would the 40D. I don't think the 40D is all that dated. It is still fairly new technology even though it is a generation behind. Remember that many people were surprised that Canon unveiled a successor to the 40D so soon.

jay2jay99 · Oct 22, 2008

Hmm.... So maybe, I should be looking more at 40D or 50D then by the sounds of it? I'm not sure what the 50D has to offer that the 40D doesn't but I'll go look at that now.

RyanLilly · Oct 22, 2008

jay2jay99 said:
Hmm.... So maybe, I should be looking more at 40D or 50D then by the sounds of it? I'm not sure what the 50D has to offer that the 40D doesn't but I'll go look at that now.

The one real benefit that sticks out in y mind, I at least a stop better in noise control at high iso, over the 40D, while still adding pixels.

I was set to buy a 40D for my main camera, and move my 20D down to a secondary camera, but sometimes I find myself shooting at ISO 3200, and f/1.4, so the extra stop or two offered by the 50D, is worth the price. Ive seen them as low as $1359, after rebates(probably expired now).

TUX424 · Oct 22, 2008

im having regrets shooting nikon
but i cant stand the canon rebels and the XXD were alittle to pricy for me at the time
let the bidding start at $450 haha jk (sorry so off topic)
Not sure what other lens that you have because if u need more peacies of glass( dont we all need more) i would save the money on the body and pick up a tele or somthing i mean i dont know what u have right now
just the 10-20 sig for all i know?

jay2jay99 · Oct 22, 2008

I also have the Canon 17-40L and a Sig 50mm Macro. I did sell off some other lenses that I just wasn't using. I would like a good tele lens but I'm not in urgent need a and I would let that sway my choice in cameras.

From the comparisson I can see that the 50D has the following over the 40D:
5mp extra,
6400 & 12800 ISO levels,
2 levels of RAW conpression (40D has one),
a much higher resolution LCD screen,
and an HDMI connector.

Might have missed something out but that's what I notice at a glance. I also like the handling of the noise and the higher ISO's, I hate noise and would also like to do some night/star-trail shots and I need a camera that can handle it.

Iron Flatline · Oct 23, 2008

5D. The aspects that make it "dated" are largely irrelevant to landscape photography, with the possible omission of LiveView. But landscape photographers have been working without it for 100 years, so it can't be that important either.