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Archive 2009 · 50D for you wedding Photogs

stromm
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p.1 #1 · 50D for you wedding Photogs

Just wondered how many of you purchased this body and, has anybody shot any weddings with it. How do you like it and compare it to the 40D

Jan 03, 2009 at 11:21 PM

scott shoemake
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p.1 #2 · 50D for you wedding Photogs

I've heard good things about it and at the price, it's pretty hard to beat. My friend second shot with me last month using a 5D and 50D and his files looked great out of the 50D especially in high ISO (like 1600 looked good). From what I've heard the AF locks is pretty good too. I think I'll pick one up this year.

Jan 03, 2009 at 11:53 PM

Sam Hassas
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p.1 #3 · 50D for you wedding Photogs

Buying one today actually.

~Sam

Jan 03, 2009 at 11:59 PM

scott shoemake
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p.1 #4 · 50D for you wedding Photogs

Dude, Sam I'm still waiting on the 5D II you're buying me

Give us a detailed report on the Sauciness of that thing.

Jan 04, 2009 at 12:00 AM

Sam Hassas
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p.1 #5 · 50D for you wedding Photogs

Mainly only buying it for the LCD resolution. The 40D's LCD is utter crap. That amongst other bells and whistles made sense to sell the 40 while it was still young and pick up a 50 for just over $1000. Will do Scott

~Sam

Jan 04, 2009 at 12:02 AM

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p.1 #6 · 50D for you wedding Photogs

50 is nice... the 40 is just as good in the IQ department, maybe better. It IS NOT a high ISO camera. I thought it was based on the hype and was very disappointed with a wedding I shot at 1600. YMMV

Jan 04, 2009 at 02:29 AM

Mike Mahoney
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p.1 #7 · 50D for you wedding Photogs

Read an unbiased review or two before "upgrading" to the 50D. Otherwise be ready for some disappointment.

The 50D has it's niche .. and weddings it ain't.

Jan 04, 2009 at 02:45 AM

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p.1 #8 · 50D for you wedding Photogs

I had dinner last night with some of my local wedding buddies. Two have 50Ds and have shot weddings with them.
Opinion compared to teh 40D is the 50 is one stop cleaner in ISO (not pixel peeping mind you, but we're talking prints, real world output) and the one photog who shoots two bodies thinks the 50 does better in low light, focus wise.

Jan 04, 2009 at 03:06 AM

The Grays
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p.1 #9 · 50D for you wedding Photogs

We shoot with a 30D and a 5D and the 30D is great, so I am sure that the 50D is much better!

-Zach

Jan 04, 2009 at 08:24 PM

flash
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p.1 #10 · 50D for you wedding Photogs

Between the two of us we have 40D, 50D, 5D, 5D2 and 1Ds2. The 50D is marginally better in IQ, AF and ISO performance than the 40D but much better LCD. I wouldn't upgrade from a 40D. But it's a great camera if you need a new body.

I have no issues with 1600 ISO. Not as good as the 5D or 5D2 but as good as the 40D. And certainly better at 1600 ISO than any 400 ISO film ever shot with. Then again I have no issues with a bit of "grain" I've been known to add it to low ISO shots just for effect. My clients can't tell the difference and we don't get a lot of requests for low light shots to be printed at poster size. If we did we'd just use Noise Ninja on them.

Gordon

Jan 05, 2009 at 04:23 AM

Cathy Yount
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p.1 #11 · 50D for you wedding Photogs

Mainly only buying it for the LCD resolution. The 40D's LCD is utter crap.

Amen to that, Sam. My color on the LCD is never right and the images are much softer than normal.

We're thinking of selling the 40D to get a 50D. Put my hands on a 50D at Wolf Camera and the difference in the LCD is breathtaking.

Jan 05, 2009 at 05:37 AM

weeums
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p.1 #12 · 50D for you wedding Photogs

I'd be very curious to hear some thoughts from the FM wedding crew regarding having 2 bodies for weddings that are different. Such as Sam shooting with a 50D and a 5D2.

I had a Nikon D80 backing up my D300 last year and found it particularly annoying to have different controls to do similar things in the 2 models... and I really had to think about what lens needed to be on which camera during ceremonies and receptions to make sure I wasn't shooting too high ISO for the D80 and so on.... it really bothered me.

I ended up selling the D80 and picking up a 2nd D300 - so now everything is identical and I can use all my lens and not worry about a camera that isn't as good in low light situations and so on... it's super nice. Now my thinking is which lens do I want on the body that has the grip. Only have 1 grip for the 2 D300's ..

anyways... don't you find it hard not to have 2 bodies that match if you are actively shooting with 2 bodies? Having say in my case a D80 in the car as a "backup backup" just in case is one thing... but interchangably shooting with 2 differnt bodies really cramped my style. I know every camera has it's nitch but seriously..

thoughts?

- travis

Jan 05, 2009 at 06:03 AM

The_Duke_Of_El
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p.1 #13 · 50D for you wedding Photogs

weeums wrote:
I'd be very curious to hear some thoughts from the FM wedding crew regarding having 2 bodies for weddings that are different. Such as Sam shooting with a 50D and a 5D2.

I had a Nikon D80 backing up my D300 last year and found it particularly annoying to have different controls to do similar things in the 2 models... and I really had to think about what lens needed to be on which camera during ceremonies and receptions to make sure I wasn't shooting too high ISO for the D80 and so on.... it really bothered me.

I ended up selling the D80 and picking up a 2nd D300 - so now everything is identical and I can use all my lens and not worry about a camera that isn't as good in low light situations and so on... it's super nice. Now my thinking is which lens do I want on the body that has the grip. Only have 1 grip for the 2 D300's ..

anyways... don't you find it hard not to have 2 bodies that match if you are actively shooting with 2 bodies? Having say in my case a D80 in the car as a "backup backup" just in case is one thing... but interchangably shooting with 2 differnt bodies really cramped my style. I know every camera has it's nitch but seriously..

thoughts?

- travis

I think that there's two reasons why people have mismatched bodies.

First: money factor; obvious one here.
Second: crop; some people like having that 1.3,1.5 or 1.6 built-in teleconverter to give them the extra reach on some lenses. It also has a different feel or comfort.

It really comes down to your shooting style.

As for 40D vs. 50D I've tried both (but own neither), and I think that the 40D has really become the best bargain midrange body right now. Although it has a small-ish sensor (by today's standard), it has become the bargain the 30D became a few years ago.

Jan 05, 2009 at 06:33 AM

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p.1 #14 · 50D for you wedding Photogs

I've shot with mismatched bodies in the past, 30/20 and then 40/30. The 30/20 combo wasn't terrible, but the 30/40 drove me nuts as the 40 is soooo much better than the 30 in focus and overall speed, so I actually gave up on two bodies!

I have a 5D arriving tomorrow and will likely do the mismatched body thing at my next 2 weddings (2/14, 3/7) then i'll be getting a 5D2 in late march...so I'll have more choices then for matching/mismatching.

One local guy that runs a 1D3/5D combo just keep the 16-35 on his 1D3 and swaps lenses on the 5D all day long. Less confusion that way, and he's always ready when mom walks up and says " hey, take a pic of the four of us!"

Jan 05, 2009 at 02:42 PM

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p.1 #15 · 50D for you wedding Photogs

I'm really not seeing an ISO improvement.... the same or maybe even a bit worse is the 50D compared to the 40D, IMO. I know you had better absolutely nail exposure at anything over 400ISO, or you will be sorry. You can't bump it up a stop in PP and get away with it like on some cameras.

Jan 05, 2009 at 02:49 PM

DB
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p.1 #16 · 50D for you wedding Photogs

weeums wrote:
I'd be very curious to hear some thoughts from the FM wedding crew regarding having 2 bodies for weddings that are different. Such as Sam shooting with a 50D and a 5D2.

I had a Nikon D80 backing up my D300 last year and found it particularly annoying to have different controls to do similar things in the 2 models... and I really had to think about what lens needed to be on which camera during ceremonies and receptions to make sure I wasn't shooting too high ISO for the D80 and so on.... it really bothered me.

I ended up selling the D80 and picking up a 2nd D300 - so now everything is identical and I can use all my lens and not worry about a camera that isn't as good in low light situations and so on... it's super nice. Now my thinking is which lens do I want on the body that has the grip. Only have 1 grip for the 2 D300's ..

anyways... don't you find it hard not to have 2 bodies that match if you are actively shooting with 2 bodies? Having say in my case a D80 in the car as a "backup backup" just in case is one thing... but interchangably shooting with 2 differnt bodies really cramped my style. I know every camera has it's nitch but seriously..

thoughts?

- travis

I thought the same thing, so grabbed a second 5D right before a wedding when my extra one wasn't available. Later I sold/traded the 5D for a 30D and the controls are nearly identical. I believe the biggest differences are between the 20/30D and 40/50D. The 30D is set up like the 5D -- at least with where all the buttons are located.

What I hate, though, is that it makes more sense to stick my telephoto lenses on the crop body. But the crop body has worse noise at 1600 than the FF camera at 3200. And I need to go higher on ISO on my telephoto shots, so it doesn't make any sense. I am considering the 1D3 because i've realized that the high ISO on the 1.3 crop might be ok with a telephoto lens

Anyway, that's why I think the 5D/1D3 combo makes more sense than the 5D/50D combo. But as far as cost goes, well...

Jan 05, 2009 at 03:12 PM

deepbluejh
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p.1 #17 · 50D for you wedding Photogs

weeums wrote:
I'd be very curious to hear some thoughts from the FM wedding crew regarding having 2 bodies for weddings that are different. Such as Sam shooting with a 50D and a 5D2.

I had a Nikon D80 backing up my D300 last year and found it particularly annoying to have different controls to do similar things in the 2 models... and I really had to think about what lens needed to be on which camera during ceremonies and receptions to make sure I wasn't shooting too high ISO for the D80 and so on.... it really bothered me.

I ended up selling the D80 and picking up a 2nd D300 - so now everything is identical and I can use all my lens and not worry about a camera that isn't as good in low light situations and so on... it's super nice. Now my thinking is which lens do I want on the body that has the grip. Only have 1 grip for the 2 D300's ..

anyways... don't you find it hard not to have 2 bodies that match if you are actively shooting with 2 bodies? Having say in my case a D80 in the car as a "backup backup" just in case is one thing... but interchangably shooting with 2 differnt bodies really cramped my style. I know every camera has it's nitch but seriously..

thoughts?

- travis

I used to shoot with a 5D and 1D Mark II. I never did like the 1D Mark II because it changed all of my lenses in ways that I didnt like. While the crop is more acceptable on the long end than the wide end, either way it robs bokeh. Instead of just using whatever lens I need at the time, I now have to think about the crop factor of my camera - which is one more variable I would prefer not to have to think about.

Having two cameras of the same format makes things a lot easier.

Jan 05, 2009 at 03:24 PM

flash
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p.1 #18 · 50D for you wedding Photogs

We've always shot with mixed formats since the 5D came out. I tend to favour the full frame but my shooting partner shoots 80% crop on his 40D/1DsII combination. It's a very personal choice. The 5d and the 20D were similar to operate and the 5D2 and 50D are almost exactly the same in layout so moving back and forward is pretty easy. For me cost wasn't the issue. It just didn't make sense to have two bodies doing the same thing when I could choose a crop body for a different "feel" when I want it. I virtually never shoot at more than 800 ISO if possible so noise and file size aren't a problem. And if i need 3200 or something ridiculous I just live with the noise to get the shot. None of my clients have ever mentioned an issue, so I don't have one either.

I do wish the 50D/5D2 batteries wer the same though.

Gordon

Jan 05, 2009 at 11:12 PM

weeums
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p.1 #19 · 50D for you wedding Photogs

Gordon...

I love your feedback and your screenname is "Flash" ... very clever!

I have to agree that the nice thing is that when I was using the D80 it still used the same battery as the D300 - and now that I have 2 D300's of course they use the same batteries... so I've found that 4 batteries between the 2 camera's has been perfect always.

good feedback from everyone.. sorry for the partial hijack of the thread. hope everyone learned something !

I learned that the 50D and the 5DmkII have essentially the same control layout and chimp screen resolution.

- travis

Jan 05, 2009 at 11:16 PM

hsw21
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p.1 #20 · 50D for you wedding Photogs

So far I've shot with 5D and either 30D or Xti.
My 17-55 is glued to my 30D or Xti for general shots and I use primes (either 28mm, 50mm, 85mm or 135mm) or 70-200 or lensbaby with my 5D.
So far works good.

Jan 09, 2009 at 07:46 AM

Saad Syed
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p.1 #21 · 50D for you wedding Photogs

flash wrote:
We've always shot with mixed formats since the 5D came out. I tend to favour the full frame but my shooting partner shoots 80% crop on his 40D/1DsII combination. It's a very personal choice. The 5d and the 20D were similar to operate and the 5D2 and 50D are almost exactly the same in layout so moving back and forward is pretty easy. For me cost wasn't the issue. It just didn't make sense to have two bodies doing the same thing when I could choose a crop body for a different "feel" when I want it. I virtually never shoot at more than 800 ISO if possible so noise and file size aren't a problem. And if i need 3200 or something ridiculous I just live with the noise to get the shot. None of my clients have ever mentioned an issue, so I don't have one either.
Gordon

+1,000

After using a 5D, I really appreciate the 40D. I think it's best to have two different sensor types - allowing yourself different applications of your lenses. On the 5D, the 35L became decently wide and on the 40D, it gave a classic ~50mm portrait FOV (which I love). Since the 50L has so many problems, I decided not to use it on the 5D. Instead, I went with the 35mm on the 40D.

Also, at one point I was going all crazy about doing everything with natural light - had this whole infatuation with Jeff Ascough's work and shooting style. Then I quickly realized that my clients are not having their weddings in the same type of places his clients are. Moreover, I don't have the luxury of picking and choosing clients based on their venue like he does. A lot of Pakistani/Indian weddings I shoot wind up in the bowels of the Marriot or Hilton and there is rarely anything gorgeous about indoor ballroom hotel lighting. So, I started to use flash more often. Speedlites and strobes can make such a huge difference in one's photography if used right and used creatively - just takes practice. Hence, I no longer shoot over 800iso. Some people are super sensitive to noise, however, it doesn't bother me at all.

The 50D has one major thing over the 40D imo - the screen. Other than that, I think the 40D is a really nice deal for right now if you don't need the higher megapixel sensor.

Jan 09, 2009 at 12:16 PM

form
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p.1 #22 · 50D for you wedding Photogs

I haven't shot with the 50D; I've used a 40D and 20D for weddings for a while now. I checked reviews constantly and assessed the benefits of the 50D and the big conflict surrounding the high ISO performance, and since I do a very large amount of shooting in low light where I may or may not be able to effectively use flash, keeping noise low at high ISO is important to me.

I am at the point mentally where I find a lot of benefit in the narrower DoF and better high ISO noise that full frame cameras offer. The narrow DoF really makes the subject stand out, and the ability to go wider more easily while still keeping f/2.8 with full frame, and also have some DoF control at those focal lengths, gives more wide-angle versatility. I know that swapping out my crop sensor body with a full frame 5D will alter the style of some of the photos I capture, simply because I spend a lot of time with a 24-70 or 28-75mm f/2.8 standard zoom and it will suddenly get much wider on a 5D.

So, for me a crop sensor camera upgrade would be mostly a lateral move. The 50D would never satisfy me because it does not have that narrow DoF or lower noise at higher ISOs of the full frame cameras. I would sooner buy a used 5D, even if it is less responsive and speedy, because of the changes in image quality style.

Jan 09, 2009 at 04:01 PM

McGrattan
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p.1 #23 · 50D for you wedding Photogs

Love mixing FF with Crop because it doubles the number of lens options I have, and lens options are cheaper than lenses

Jan 09, 2009 at 04:24 PM

rema86
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p.1 #24 · 50D for you wedding Photogs

I have a 50D that i recently bought, i am thinking about selling it to buy a 5D for the full frame. but
Since i plan on shooting weddings soon, now I'm thinking of keeping the 50D as a backup..

Jan 09, 2009 at 09:43 PM

asparkes
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p.1 #25 · 50D for you wedding Photogs

I have shot wedding with a 1DMKII, a 20D, 40D, 5D and just got a 5D MKII. I spent all of last year using mostly two 40Ds. I can honestly say that differences between the cameras are subtle once the image shows up on my screen. I don't think that you'd have any problems using the 50D as a primary wedding camera. I used to work for a guy that used Fuji S1 Pros and almost all Sigma glass. And he was using the the little 6 AA battery trays in them! Blew my mind, when I first saw it, but his work really showed my that you cannot categorize a camera to any one kind of shooting.

Jan 10, 2009 at 01:55 PM


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