Canon 5d MKII or Nikon D700

[Sw1tchFX]

I regularly shoot with a 5DII, and own a D700. I think there are few people here who have that kind of an opportunity, and I think I can give a pretty unbiased, and multifaceted perspective on this.

With that in mind, in a nutshell stick with Canon.

If you shoot in a Studio, or you shoot landscape, two applications that don't need speed, the 5D excels. The files are just beautiful to work with.

If you shoot anything that moves, or in less then ideal conditions, the 5D could be the worst thing you can use.


Build quality. D700's are sealed and gasketed. I've used my D700 in the rain before, got soaked, it also got partly submerged one time due to my clumsyness, it performed like a champ. I don't know if I could get away with that on a 5D since it's not sealed.

The largest group of failures through were among the Canon 5D MKIIs. Of the 26 samples of this camera onboard, one quarter (six) failed at one time or another, and while three recovered, the other three never did. In all cases it appeared to be water or humidity damage. Of particular concern were two cameras which stopped working while completely protected within Kata rain covers during a light rain ashore. They came back to life the following day though and were mostly fine for the rest of the trip, but one died permenently just before the end of our voyage.

No Nikon bodies (mostly D700s) failed in any way.

Original post: Antarctica 2009 - What Worked This is a really interesting read, and really has me concerned with the build of canon gear, there were alot of failures.


Speed. I need more then 3.some-odd FPS. 5fps is ok, but I often set my 700 up for 8fps without the grip (just google it and you can see how it's done).

AF. The 5DII's autofocus is pedestrian compared to the D700's. It's slow, less accurate, when using f/1.4 lenses, it's almost a crap-shoot if a point is in focus, and the coverage sucks. The 700 has the same module as the D3, 51 points that can track by color!

Functionality. The 700 is simply more customizable, I have my CLS comander hotkeyed to my preview button. Just tap a single button and I can change the power of my speedlights lightning quick. Not to mention, the 700 has a pop up flash.

Resolution. The 5DII's files are more beutiful to work with then any Nikon i've used. They're smoother, 21MP has lots of detail, they're really a joy to work with.



Bottom line:

The 5DII's absolute image quality is far superior, it's really a camera that's geared towards the best possible final product.

The D700 is a joy to work with. It's more of a camera geared towards making the experience of making that final product as easy and fast as possible. The D700 is truly a camera that "doesn't get in the way of making photographs". __________________

 

[Overread]

its interesting about the 5DM2 dealing with harsher conditions as reported above - I remember a few users (AlexB to name one) in the past give quite a good review of their 5D cameras in adverse conditions. I guess without proper sealing they are able to deal with rain, but not the more harsher conditions of vapours.

 

[inTempus]

its interesting about the 5DM2 dealing with harsher conditions as reported above - I remember a few users (AlexB to name one) in the past give quite a good review of their 5D cameras in adverse conditions. I guess without proper sealing they are able to deal with rain, but not the more harsher conditions of vapours.

I'm not too worried about that single story.

First, there were 26 5DMk2's. 3 died, 3 did something odd but continued to shoot.

There were only a couple D700's. Had there been 26 of them, who's to say a couple of them wouldn't have had issues?

The 5D was by far the most popular camera on the trip in terms of use.

Also, the D700 is weather sealed. It's no secret the 5D isn't weather sealed. It's a studio camera. If you're going out into harsh conditions, take the proper equipment. Canon does make 1D's for this purpose... or Nikon's D700 or D3. Despite not being weather sealed, 20 of them endured some of the harshest conditions without any issues. That's pretty tough if you ask me for a camera not designed for that type of environment.

I will never go to Antarctica. I will never go to the North Pole. I will never be a photo journalist in Iraq. I shoot in Chicago and Indiana, and in California next week. If there's a down pour outside, the last thing I think of doing is going out to take some pictures. It's not what I do, nor do most people.

If I did do those things, I would have a 1D.

 

[Village Idiot]

I've been in a medium rain for more than an hour with my 5D MKII with a 70-200 f/2.8L IS and a 24-70 f/2.8L on it and had no problems..

And for those that are saying the 5D MKII doesn't have weather sealing...

Construction and environmental seals

As you can see from the first image below the body is made up of three pieces of magnesium alloy, the only plastic elements being the sides and the base. With the advent of the Mark II Canon are finally talking about the dust / water resistance of the body, the second image below shows these seals, Canon's description: "The battery compartment, memory card door, LCD and the camera buttons are all fitted with sealing materials (indicated in red). In addition the adoption of high precision split-level alignment of the magnesium-alloy external covers, high precision dial construction and external rubber grip covers (indicated in green), has improved the camera's dust and water resistance."

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[schumionbike]

I'm not too worried about that single story.

First, there were 26 5DMk2's. 3 died, 3 did something odd but continued to shoot.

There were only a couple D700's. Had there been 26 of them, who's to say a couple of them wouldn't have had issues?

Just to clarify your statement, 30% were Nikon shooter and 70% were Canon. 50% of the Canon were carrying the Mark II. There were 26 MarkII. So if the math is right, there were 22 Nikon and 52 Canon give or take 1. The author did mentioned that most of Nikon shooter were carrying D700 so it's quite a bit more that a couple D700. You're right though, it's only one test, it's just part of the story, the OP can give it whatever weigh he want.

I say the OP have too much gears invested in Canon making the switch very expensive and it doesn't seem the two camera have too much different to justify such an expensive switch.

 

[phototrek]

Thanks for all the replies and info. I will think about this some more so that I make the right decision. I know it will be expensive to change but I know I won't be happy if the camera fails because of the weather. Maybe I should buy the 1D Mk III. Does anybody know if they fixed the auto focus problem yet? I know it will be heavy to carry on hikes.

 

[schumionbike]

I guess if you really want a weatherproof camera, get the 1Ds MarkIII. Switching system is probably gonna cost you more.

 

[inTempus]

Thanks for all the replies and info. I will think about this some more so that I make the right decision. I know it will be expensive to change but I know I won't be happy if the camera fails because of the weather. Maybe I should buy the 1D Mk III. Does anybody know if they fixed the auto focus problem yet? I know it will be heavy to carry on hikes.

Yes, the AF problems have been resolved if the camera has a blue dot if new, or otherwise has been sent back to Canon for the update.

 

[Village Idiot]

There was another recall about two weeks ago.

 

[shivaswrath]

There was another recall about two weeks ago.

WOW, lots of recalls from the Canon side. . .

 

[inTempus]

WOW, lots of recalls from the Canon side. . .

It's related to the AF. As VI noted, there are two updates. Those coming from the factory with a small blue dot sticker have all the updates. Earlier ones with I believe yellow dots are not updated cameras and need to be sent to Canon for the updates.

Yeah, I was >< that close to buying a 1D Mk3 but decided on the 5DMk2. Part of the reason was that I wasn't all that excited about the AF problems (the primary reason I wanted a 1D was for the superior focus).

 

[KvnO]

Cool thread, lots of info.

WOW, lots of recalls from the Canon side. . .

At least they've acknowledged the issue(s).

 

[phototrek]

I checked the price of a 1Ds and that is way too much money. I could go for the 5D MK2 or start with the D700 and start with the 24-70 f/2.8 lens. What compact flash are people using with the 5D MK2 or the D700?