What camera for a Amateur

[HotRod]

I've owned a canon 450D for a while now and now my daughter is doing photography at school for the next 2 years so I have lent her the camera and 2 kit lenses to use and looking to get a replacement .
Do you think these cameras are too much camera for an amateur with a passion for photography?
I will start with my lens choice..
EF 24-105mm F2.8
EF 70-200 F2.8l is ii
EF 2xiii Extendor
EF 100mm F2.8 macro is
And yes i do know the cost of them but this will be for the rest of my life and I don’t want to be wonting more , i don’t smoke or drink and I’m 53 time to lash out while I can before the wife finds out ...
I like sport the beach and the Aust landscape so I’m looking to the 7D but what about the 5Dii I will be joining a club to learn more I am a amateur and always be one so I won’t something to use now and not be that hard that it stays in the cubbed or i could wait for the 650D to come out and just be happy with that with the lenses i have picked it will make it a good camera .
so will the 5D or 7D be a good camera for me

[Darey]

I'm not a Canon user but from what I know both cameras you mentioned (5D & 7D) are excellent cameras.
The only choice you have to make is do you want to go Full Frame (large sensor) or the smaller DX size sensor.
I personally would probably go for the 5D with the larger sensor for landscape and seascape shots.
Whichever way you go you will have a great kit.
Enjoy your photography.

[Bennymiata]

While the 5D2 has a larger sensor and CAN ultimately take better quality pictures, the 7D is probably the more versatile camera in that it has a superior focussing system and is a bit smaller and lighter too.
The 7D also has a built-in flash where the 5d2 does not.
If you are only into landscapes and/or portraits and static shots, then the 5D is the camera for you, but if you want to take action shots (car racing, kids running around etc.), then the 7D would be my pick.
The 7D will also take excellent landscapes etc, but for ultimate image quality, you can't go past a full frame.

Your choice of lenses is very good indeed and would suit both cameras well, but if you get the 7D, you may also want to get yourself a wide angle such as the 10-22mm Canon, or the Tokina 11-16mm.
For the 5D, this may be unnecessary, as the 24mm of the 24-105 is pretty wide on a full-frame camera, but not so wide on a crop sensor like the 7D.

[Kerrie]

From what I know....little lol....don't all cameras have a shutter count limit. Given its 100,000 or so, it's a few years worth, but......if our still snapping away in your late 60's, you will prob upgrade again maybe.

Given that.....the Pentax k5 is a steal right now at $800 new.....and all the lenses you get will go onto your next Pentax......so you will,only outlay once for lenses, if you look after them.

Not sure if you already had the canon ones.


Just a thought :D


But yep, I hear the 5d is a gem.

[fabian628]

yes this is a good set-up for 5d or 7d. You will know when or if you need more lenses when the time comes :D

[roastman]

I have the 5DII and the 7D. I have not used the 7D a lot so far, but have been really impressed with its focussing and shooting speed. It far surpasses the 5DII in that respect alone. The 5DII is a sensational landscape/general use camera. As a sports shooter, it is at best marginal. Focussing speed is OK, but not in the same league as the 7D. Frame rate is just too low for fast moving sports. Having said that, it I had to have one camera only, it would be the 5DII every time. The image quality is amazing. If you shoot sport regularly, the 7D is a clear winner.

[Arg]

HotRod, for your stated use I would get the 7D, and I would change the 24-105 (it's f4 not 2.8 BTW) for something with a wider bottom end, 10-22 or 15-85.

[Roosta]

Hotrod, some useful info above, but I would suggest going to a good shop and trying both models in your hands and see what fits. If you are going to have it mounted on a tripod for a lot of it's life, them go the 5D, the fullframe is what the lenses you've selected are designed to work with at best.

but, the 7D is also a good body, some say better focus, yes more FPS and so on, but, do you need it. Do you want to shot HD movie?

Watch the 2 x TC as it wont work with all lenses, the 24-70 would be a better choice than the 24-105 F4, only for coverage of focal length, 24-70 , 70-200 and so on. Being both are F2.8, and both newer models have IS, low light and high ISO are at your fingertips, but will you use it? do you need it?

Me, I would go the 5D, having gone to a larger sensor body, I find it hard to go back. The 1D's are dropping in price and will give you the best of both bodies, FF and focus, but do you need it???

Try what works in your hands, feel and function should be your goals with selecting the body.

Have fun.

[bricat]

Buy once buy right. 7D or 5d 3. Get the latest model you can afford. The 5D 2 will always be an older model now and the price is falling. The 5D 3 has all the latest technology. JMHO. cheers Brian

[HotRod]

Thank you all ..have taken it all in and of to see who will be the best price .... then the fun begins...rod

[Tannin]

The 5D 2 will always be an older model now and the price is falling.

And the 5D III will always be an older model next year. And every year forever after. And the price is falling faster now than the 5D II price ever will. There are good reasons to buy a 5D III, but this isn't one of them.

With lenses, yes indeed, buy once, buy right. Camera bodies, though, get replaced much more often. It's always nice to buy a nice one (hell, I just bought a 1D IV) but the rational thing to do is buy cost-effective camera bodies and go long on quality regardless of cost with lenses.

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Hotrod, those are nice lenses you list, but I'm battling to see the sense in selecting lenses when you don't know what camera type they are for.

The 24-105, for example, is a superb general-purpose lens on a 5D II, but an oddball long-normal thing on a 7D. You can't sensibly use a 24-105 as your primary GP lens on a 7D unless you have something wider handy to cover the things the 24-105 simply cannot do. (A 10-22 would be ideal, but there are others.) The function of a 24-105 on a 7D is far, far better performed by its equivalent for smaller sensors, the excellent 15-85, which is actually even more versatile on a 7D than a 24-105 is on a 5D.

And the very expensive 70-200/2.8 IS will be quite short on a 5D. Are you OK with that? And, given that you are OK with a slowish 24-105 GP lens, do you really need an ultra-fast medium telephoto? Don't count on the 2X converter too much either, by the way - you'd almost certainly do better to get a longer lens in the first place.

Should I recommend a camera despite not knowing enough about your needs? Why not - everyone else has!

Get a 5D III (5D II if pushed for cash) with the 24-105 (equivalent to a 15-65/4 on your 450D, and sweet as) and a 100-400 or a 70-300L. Either of these will make up for the reach you lost when you skipped the 7D, and the very significant extra noise handling ability of the 5D will let you get up around the same sort of shutter speeds with no loss of quality. The money you saved on lenses will let you step up to the 5D III without breaking the budget. That's a win-win-win.

(Hotrod yells - But Tannin, you just contradicted yourself! Yup. So sue me. :) )

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Oh, FFS! Whgat is the story with this bloody software?

Two completely different points to make, two posts. What's wrong with that?

Sheesh

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^ And again, I see. This is just making it too hard. I give up. I won't bother again.

[roastman]

So which model did you settle on Hotrod? If I had limitless cash, I would have the 5DIII in my bag. Having purchased the 5DII before the 5DIII came out however, the 7D was added afterwards. As the image quality of the 5DII is so good, the 7D will probably only ever get used at sporting events or when I fear the camera may be damaged (eg. trekking). If I had the opportunity to get either a 5DII or 5DIII at the time I was purchasing, I would have got the III, as it would have given me the superior image quality of the II (plus a very slight improvement), but also faster shutter speeds for the very rare time I need it. If you only need the image quality, I would be getting the 5DII and splashing some serious cash on good lenses. I am amazed at the difference between "L" glass and the stuff I was using. If I had to give up the 5DII or the glass, I would keep the glass!

[Bennymiata]

If it's any help, I bought a 5D3 after using a 60D for 18 months or so, and I found the transition pretty easy.
I thought the focussing system would be a bit daunting at first, but once you play withit, its very easy to use, and amazingly fast and accurate too.

Picture quality is fantastic, and I can see a definite improvement from my 60D, whcih uses the same sensor as the 7D.

Basically, a 5D3 is a 7D on steroids, as you still have pretty quick FPS, fast and accurate focussing for moving objects, and that full frame goodness, and dual card slots can come in handy too.
However, I do wish it had a built-in flash and moveable screen.

[HotRod]

I’m getting the 5D iii and i think the 24-70mm f2.8, .. I like to do more macro so the100mm f2.8 L now after reading Tannin’s post makes me think instead of the 70-200 go for the 28-300 mm ..This is the first lens i was looking at but changed my mind (reading too much) as i like the Idea of one walk around lens being on the beach and bush but will also look at 70-300m and 100-400mm...so of to the shops to look at them on a 5D iii and see what i think.. .. hotrod

[Ventureoverland]

For what it's worth, I've used a 350D since 2006 I think, only recently moving to a 5diii - I love it, but that's hardly surprising given the several generations I missed out.

Lenses... I'm much more qualified here. Over the years I've upgraded mine with a FF body in mind. I've now got the 100mm 2.8L Macro, 24-70 f2.8 L & 70-200 f2.8L.

If im being picky, the worst lens of the 3 excellent ones is the 24-70.

My only real problem now is that the 200 is noticeably shorter on the full frame 5d so I'm considering the 1.4x. Having said that I have also noticed the 24 is much wider on the FF compared to the 1.6 crop.

Bottom line, I think the lenses are still the choice ones, but if i was buying today I'd hang fire for the 24-70 II. If you need length, then perhaps look at the 100-400 L rather than the 70-200, but that's not 2.8, so you need to ask yourself if you need the speed.

HTH
J

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