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Canon 5D MII or Lenses?

D

Dukey

macrumors member
Original poster
Sep 25, 2011
82
0
Hi there all,

I currently own a canon 50D with a 28-135mm lens (along with other lens but 28mm is the widest I have now). I do a lot of portraits, street, night and events whether it's for a client or personal. I'm looking into the 5D because of its superb performance in low light, full frame, video etc. At the same time I know I can put money into getting faster glass and ultra wide lenses for my 50D. Just wanted a second opinion on this. What do guys think? Thanks!
 
There is no point whatsoever to put a mediocre lens on a high-end camera in the hope of better photos. It is also slow and a faster lens will do you much more good than cranking up the ISO. The 50D is a very good camera, its »successor« is much less robust. I would spend money on a few select good lenses.
 
Yeah, great lenses on crappy body is much better than great body with crappy lenses. Not to say the 50D is crappy but you get the idea.

I'm sorta in the same boat as you and I've been hunting for better lenses. Since my T3i can use EF and EFS lenses, it works out for me at the moment however, I'm looking a bit ahead now and only looking to get EF lenses as I'll eventually jump ship to full frame in the near future.

I'd say get a nice piece of glass first and then work on getting an upgraded body. Perhaps the 24-70L or 24-105L would be of interest to you?
 
The 50D is a decent body , go for the glass . Maybe a 17-55 if you need speed or 15-85 if you need more length .Both will get you a lot more on the wide end than you have now , with less at the long end . (of course if you go full frame later these won't fit , but you can always sell 'em and put the cash towards something that will) If you get the 5D2 you'll end up spending money for L glass on top of the body cost as the full frame body isn't real happy with crap optics.
 
Just a quick comment: the 50D isn't merely a good body, it's a great body. And regarding getting only full frame lenses, I disagree with this piece of advice: (quality) lenses retain their value and you can sell them at a modest loss (sometimes at no loss at all!). You should get the lenses that you need now and not the ones that you may need after upgrading to a different sensor format.
 
OreoCookie said:
Just a quick comment: the 50D isn't merely a good body, it's a great body. And regarding getting only full frame lenses, I disagree with this piece of advice: (quality) lenses retain their value and you can sell them at a modest loss (sometimes at no loss at all!). You should get the lenses that you need now and not the ones that you may need after upgrading to a different sensor format.
Click to expand...

I agree with all of the advice in this thread so far, especially this bit about getting the lenses you need instead of something that might be best for a future camera. I have sold a lot of lenses and have always broken even or even made money on them. Buy used to save money in the first place and you'll almost certainly be able to sell later for about the same price. Even if you sell at a slight loss, you can look at it as a cheap, long-term rental.

At any rate, if you don't yet have a good lens for the type of work you're doing, then that is the obvious next step for you.
 
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Phrasikleia said:
Buy used to save money in the first place and you'll almost certainly be able to sell later for about the same price. Even if you sell at a slight loss, you can look at it as a cheap, long-term rental.
Click to expand...
Seconded, I've bought all of my lenses used, the oldest one is 20 years old (perhaps a little older).
 
+1 for lenses.

I love my 5D2, but the lens is more important than the body. Invest in good lenses, the bodies will change over time, but lenses rarely will.
 
Get the 5D mkII!

Then you can slowly address your lense issues.

The 5D2 is an awesome camera, I had a 1D mkII then a 1D mkIII and after owning the 5D mkII for about six months and NEVER using the 1D mkII, I decided to sell it.
 
A camera is only as good as it's glass. I have a discontinued Canon XSi and a 100mm f/2.8 macro L lens. This combination continues to amaze me with it's sharpness.

Dale
 
lenses

rent some good glass from borrowlenses.com, put it on your 50D and then see if you feel like you need a new body. chances are good glass is all you need.
I'm addicted to the image quality of prime lenses so I would sell my 5D before my 35L.

the 24-70 would be your best bet for image quality if you need a zoom but it's a monster, super heavy. so is all L glass really. if you can stand a prime and you have the money, the 35L is amazing. or a really high value lens is the 50mm 1.8 II. Only $100 but totally amazing lens. not the 50mm 1.4 though, less accurate focusing.

you can go to flickr and find any lens/body pairing to see the kind of shots that are taken from a nice cross section of photographers, pro to enthusiast. first go to groups and find a group for the body you want to see, and then within that group search for the lens you want to see. that's what sold me on the 35L. in case your wondering the 50mm L is a waste of money. the 85L is unbelievable but much harder to use unless you're a pro. the 135L is superb but a little long if you're not on a full frame body, and even then a little long, great for portraiture though. that's why the 35L is nice on a crop sensor because it ends up roughly a 50mm.

good luck with your selection!
 
Thank you all for the reply. My whole logic behind getting the 5dMKII was the fact that it was a full frame (which is kind of like buying a wide angle lens), great in low light and superd video quality (as long as it's stable and the subject isn't moving back and forth too much).

Also the 5dmkII has almost become an industry standard(esp. commercially) it's like everywhere you look, people are looking for the 5DMKII, whether its short films or weddings. But I definitely understand what you guys are saying. I will have to look into it some more.

I know some lenses have been mention on this thread already(thank you!) But could you guys recommended any other good affordable lenses, particularly something you have experienced with?

@jkleigh - will look into the 24-70mm, 50mm 1.8 II and 35mm L thanks!
 
Dukey said:
I know some lenses have been mention on this thread already(thank you!) But could you guys recommended any other good affordable lenses, particularly something you have experienced with?

@jkleigh - will look into the 24-70mm, 50mm 1.8 II and 35mm L thanks!
Click to expand...
My most-used lens is my 30 mm Sigma f/1.4. Although optically, it clearly isn't as good as Nikon's or Canon's 35 mm f/1.4 lenses, it costs a fraction. I got mine for 300~350 €, I think. Nikon charges 1,800 € for theirs while you have to spend 1,350 € for the Canon (both new, of course).

I would also have a good long look at Tamron's 17-50 mm f/2.8 lens which is great value (in particular the older version without image stabilization).

Since you mention wide angle a few times, I recommend against 24-70 mm lenses as 24 mm corresponds to ~35 mm on crop sensors. That's not very wide.

I also have a 50 mm which is cheap and good, but I don't use it that much.

If you're looking into UW zooms, Tokina makes optically suburb UW zooms. Their 11-16 mm f/2.8 is the best crop sensor UW lens on the market and optically and mechanically superior to Nikon's and Canon's offerings. I have the 12-24 mm which is more versatile and I'm very happy.

I recommend you start with the 30 mm Sigma and the 17-50 mm Tamron. Try to look around for used lenses.
 
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