Which camera for Portraiture in Studio??

[gsgary]

Well..........


Ive changed my mind and told my mate im not going to buy his stuff.

Ive just bought a camera and a lens off ebay and im very happy.

Ive bought a Canon 5d Mk1 and a Canon 24-105mm F4 lens!

Really lookintg forward to it being delivered.

I know the 5dmkII felt horrid in my hand but im sure if this is the same ill get used to it.

Matt

You will get used to it, i hate using Nikons because i don't like how they feel

Yeah im sure i will.

Only thing im worried about a bit is that its second hand. It does say on the listing that its excellent condition with just a small bit of paint missiung on the hotshoe (all of em say that though) and its done 5k clicks approx.

I just hope i dont buy it do a few thousand shots and the the shutter box go (apparantly quite common)

Matt

I bought mine secondhand not had a problem

 

[Montana]

Congrats! Yeah, those hotshoes always had wear...I think those are the ones that had the finish on them rather then the shiny steel type, so its typical wear.

I haven't heard about a lot of shutter failures, but there was a mirror box issue. I think if you have that issue and press Canon its a free fix. Don't quote me, but IIRC, its done for no charge. 99% chance you will have zero issues.

 

[Derrel]

Congrats--you made a wise decision on buying a 5D. Five thousand shutter actuations is nothing. The fix for the mirror is free from Canon USA. You will really appreciate the image quality and ease of working indoors with a 5D. As for the hot shoe, yes, the top is simply black paint. Mine has about half the paint worn off the top on the left side, and only a tiny bit worn on the right side. The lens hood on the 24-105L seems to get small wear marks right on the top of the shade. Otherwise, the 5D seems to handle wear almost invisibly.

 

[xposure]

With me living in the UK , would Canon offer the free repair if it failed?

Matt

 

[skieur]

I own both Nikon and Canon d-slr bodies and lenses--and I understand fully what you mean about the "feel" of Canon cameras. They are different from Nikon bodies and lenses. I can appreciate personal preference; I have often times used my 5D, even though it is a less-superior camera *body* than a Nikon I own,simply because the 5D and a full-frame body is a better solution than a crop-body Nikon. The body and the sensor are different things...

For studio and people work, small-format APS-C or 4/3 bodies like the Olympus with its 2x FOV factor and almost infinite depth of field (lol) are really not in the same category as FF bodies. Montana's suggestion of a first-generation Canon 5D is actually a very good suggestion--the 5D has an excellent sensor in it, and at close distances on people, high MP count really is of very little advantage, even on large prints. The 5D has superb detail,right down to the pore and eyelash level when shot under studio lighting with any decent Canon lens. You cannot utilize more than 12-14MP indoors at distances of 7 to 25 feet...no matter how large the print.

Hand-held versus tripod-mounted studio portraiture--the two are very different situations. I have done a lot of both. Tripod-mounted is excellent for many reasons--less fatigue, easier interaction with subjects, better for small kids, consistent framing,etc. I can understand the positive feeling for Sony equipment, but there are a number of underlying technical advantages for a FF camera--Nikon,Canon,or Sony. Sony bodies are priced reasonably, but many of their lenses are somewhat more expensive than Canon or Nikon lenses of roughly comparable range. In studio portraiture, the camera "format" used plays a huge part in the process. The camera's format impacts how you shoot virtually every single frame.

Derrel,

Im really grateful for the help here.

I would truly love to go full frame but with a budget of £2150 and the a900,5dmkII and d700 all roughly £1600-£1700 , that leaves me with only £550 maximum for a decent zoom lens. Ive always been led to believe that for portraiture you should be working in the 85-135mm range on a FF camera. Where on either of them cameras could i get a decent, sharp lens for £550? as i cant see how

Matt

Consider the Sony A750 which is a full frame coming out shortly which will be cheaper than the A850.

skieur

 

[Derrel]

Yes, Canon USA, Canon Canada, and Canon USA all offer the free mirror clip reinforcement process on the cameras of users who have had the mirror release from the adhesive that hold it on the mirror carriage. The link below has Canon UK service center contact info. The problem is not all that common ,and some people seem to see a pattern of it occurring in hot,humid climates like Vietnam and Malaysia more so than in temperate climates.


Canon EOS 5D recall: 5D Digital SLR cameras whose main mirror has detached - AVForums.com

 

[inTempus]

I believe you'll grow to absolutely love the 5D. It's a classic body, one that really set the standard for pro-sumer full frame bodies. It will give you absolutely stunning images.

I'm sure the ergonomics will grow on you. I don't care for the feel of Nikons as the shutter release points almost straight up and I've found after a few minutes of using them my index finger cramps up. But then I have huge hands and long fingers.

 

[Iron Flatline]

I believe you'll grow to absolutely love the 5D. It's a classic body, one that really set the standard for pro-sumer full frame bodies. It will give you absolutely stunning images.

I'm sure the ergonomics will grow on you. I don't care for the feel of Nikons as the shutter release points almost straight up and I've found after a few minutes of using them my index finger cramps up. But then I have huge hands and long fingers.

Ditto all of that.

 

[MrLogic]

I believe you'll grow to absolutely love the 5D. It's a classic body, one that really set the standard for pro-sumer full frame bodies. It will give you absolutely stunning images.

I'm sure the ergonomics will grow on you. I don't care for the feel of Nikons as the shutter release points almost straight up and I've found after a few minutes of using them my index finger cramps up. But then I have huge hands and long fingers.

As do I... and sure... the (IMO, horrible) ergonomics of the 5D (my friend has 2) will grow on you. The same can be said for any camera, of course. If you use it day in day out... it will grow on you.

 

[gsgary]

With me living in the UK , would Canon offer the free repair if it failed?

Matt

Yes i'm sure,i get the EOS mag free and i'm sure i read it in there but if it is a newer one i don't think there is a problem

 

[inTempus]

I believe you'll grow to absolutely love the 5D. It's a classic body, one that really set the standard for pro-sumer full frame bodies. It will give you absolutely stunning images.

I'm sure the ergonomics will grow on you. I don't care for the feel of Nikons as the shutter release points almost straight up and I've found after a few minutes of using them my index finger cramps up. But then I have huge hands and long fingers.

As do I... and sure... the (IMO, horrible) ergonomics of the 5D (my friend has 2) will grow on you. The same can be said for any camera, of course. If you use it day in day out... it will grow on you.

Yup, totally. Had I shot Nikon for the last year Canon would feel odd to me. Once you get used to something you tend to prefer it.

 

[skieur]

The A700 is due for replacement very soon--perhaps in as little as five weeks. The PMA show is February 21-23, 2010...the A700's replacement, with a better sensor is possibly going to be announced before February is out.

"I'm just sayin'..." as some Americans say.

The exact same can be said for the D700.

Except that the Sony A750 will be full frame at around $1600.

skieur

 

[xposure]

Hi,

Sorry i havent replied to this thread, ive just been really busy trying to sort out the conman who sold me this camera. The camera is fine , it just didnt come with the 24-105 , it came with a 24-85 usm and the chap is claiming it was sent with the 24-105. Ive called the police and all sorts and it seems ive been shafted.

Anyway..... i cant get a decent picture out of this setup at all. The images are just soft and the white balance always seems to make the pics golden in colour. I shoot in raw so can correct this but its driving me nuts.

Also , im findning itr very hard to get a decent shutter speed on iso100 even in decent light.

I have used newer cameras in the past and recently and found it almost easy to get a decent pic and not that hard to get a brilliant pic. Now im finding it very hard to even get an ok pic?

Any ideas?

 

[xposure]

Also forgot to add , im going to buy a flashgun tomorrow (430ex) as i stupidly forgot the 5d doesnt come with a built in flash. Are they much harder to use than the internal ones?

Matt

 

[xposure]

thanks for the reply. i sold the camera at a loss and bought something else. thanks for replying , not

goodbye