i shoot portraits,high school seniors,families,and sports. the progression has taken me into wedding photography and i have been asked to shot some portfolios for a couple of model prospects.
i currently use 2 canon 40d's and have a good supply of lens. getting good results and as a result,more work. i want to provide the best that i can (at my level) and have been considering going full frame. the current 5dmk11 is out of the question for now (2700.00).as we all know, the 5dmk1 has come down alot and i can p/u a 5d with low actations for 1200-1300.00 and new in box for about 1500.00 from a couple of spots.
for you guys that shoot alot more wedding than i have or will this year, am i going to see enough of an improvement in terms of high iso performance,image quality and resolution for printing to justify picking up a 5d to compliment what i currently use. its been a difficult decision to make. almost feel like i need to stick with the 40d's, save some $$ and wait a little longer to p/u the current 5dmk11.
your opinion would be greatly appreciated. i get very mixed responses from very experienced wedding photogs
current glass
24-70,24-105,70-200 f/2.8(is),35L,50mm1.4,85mm1.8 and a 10-22
sam hassass, for one, uses a 5DmkII and (i think he still has it) a 40D-the 40D supposedly has better AF than the 5D or 5DII-you could keep on of each but the 40D provides enough image quality, IMHO, that you don't necessarily have to upgrade
i went full frame nearly a year ago and i haven't looked back-5D has better high iso performance than the 40D as well as a brighter viewfinder (both of which i find enormously useful) but the 40D has a lot of bells/whistles that you don't get with the 5DII-depends on what's important to you-can't go wrong IMHO
Personally... I think you could probably continue to do an adequate job with the 40D's.. The 5D would be an improvement for sure in IQ and ISO, but maybe not a necessity and it really comes down to style. Do you find that you're missing out on truly wide angle situations? The EF-S 10-22 is essentially a 16-35 on your 40D's and your widest EF lenses are the 24's on the 5D, so in actuality you won't be getting any wider unless you invest in some other lenses as well (17-40 or 16-35). I think you should stick with your current set up and spend the money to take a nice wedding photography seminar, a business class or something to help your business grow in another area... after you do that and book more jobs, use some of that profit to re-invest in yourself on some equipment upgrades down the line... but that's just my two cents.
My wife and I shoot with a 5D and a 40D. I find the 5D easier to "get the shot" with, and I'm not even sure I can explain that. It's kind of like playing a nice $300 guitar and sounding good, then picking up a Taylor and not wanting to stop. I don't quite know how to explain it.
FF is very nice with Canon L lenses. My 24-70 is a bit long on the 40D. My wife loves the 24-105, the 50 1.4, and the 85 1.8 on the 5D. They all are great. Certainly, you pop that 85mm on the 5D and your Getting Ready and bride/couple portraits take on a new light. The bokeh is fantastic.
The high ISO performance is better, yes, but I have to watch that I expose well with the 5D or I get banding at 3200, and some at 1600. On the other hand, I won't even use the 40D above 800 if I can help it.
The 40D is faster than the 5D (nice for bouquet toss and such), and it has sensor cleaning which is nice. I think the combo is great, and if you do go FF, keep a 40D (or both using one for a backup) and shoot with both bodies. You'd have the best of both worlds.
Yes, I think FF (especially 5D) is very nice for weddings and would recommend you go for it.
I've used the 5D for half a year and now use the 40D. I started off w/ the XT and have used the 20D and 30D on occassion. Honestly, I love the look of fast primes w/ FF due to the ultra thin and 3D like bokeh. However, I enjoy the 40D much more. The 5D was limited to center point focus when using AI Servo - something that really constricted me imho. Some people don't use AI Servo - it's a matter of style.
As far as IQ goes, I've seen bad photographers use a 5D or D3 or 1DS mk 3 and come up w/ pics that some of the better photographers on this forum could've taken half asleep and without even trying. Well exposed 40D files are very clean, even at iso 1600-3200.
I used to work with a second shooter who used a 5D and 20D. On one of the albums I was working on, I had to go through his pictures to see which ones to use. Again and again, I would see a really nice piece and would think it is from his 5D - kept turning out to be the 20D. I've been fooled enough to know that a good picture taken from a 1.6 crop camera can easily rival a good picture taken from a FF - at least on 15x10 albums.
If you're going to go FF, get a 5D2 or 1DS2. After using (and loving) the 5D (original), I feel the 40D is superior. Also, Sam Hassas and Ed Pingol are just two of the excellent photographers here that had been using the 40D extensively for the past year or so.
I've progressed from 300 to 20/30 and now run with 3 40Ds and have a 5D 'classic' on it's way ($1200). I plan to get a 5D2 in march.
I used a 5d a couple years back for few weeks and i hated the position of the focus points - the 5D2 is the same, unfortunately. But I want/need cleaner high ISO than the 40 will give me. I will use 1600 but only when I have to. A 5D2, based on my side by side testing, will shoot cleanly to 3200 and it's 6400 is between the 40/s 1600 and 3200 in noise. A big change/improvement. And the 40 does focus a shade faster in low light. Don't know if it will make any difference in the real world though.
Have you thought about a 50D? I hear from those that have moved from 40 to 50 or shoot both that it's a stop cleaner and does better in low light. It's more MP, got more features, etc than a used 5D classic for the same price, and comes with a warranty.
I'm going FF...1200 for the 5D, $950 for a 16-35II and then $2700 ish for a 5D2 and i'm tossing in a 15 fisheye for good measure. Will spending $5400 allow me to take images that will eventually make me more money, enough to pay for the gear? I think so or else I'd invest my money in something else that would pay for itself.
THat all prolly don't help you much though, does it?
I personally love my 40D & 5D combo. Both have their strengths, like mentioned already by pp. One of my faves being that I get more range/options out of my lenses.
my brother has a 40D and i have a 5d and i've used both quite a bit. the 5D and 35L just sing, dude. it all comes down to that LOOK. i can look at a photo and 8/10 times know if it was FF or crop. the natural vignette, the better bokeh... nothin beats full frame.
We use 30Ds and 40Ds and were recently faced with the decision of upgrading (or not) to the 5DII or D700. I used to have a 5D with various L lenses but I sold them to get another crop sensor camera or two.
After hiring both potential upgrades I can conclusively say that the full frame cameras are superb and you can't go wrong with either, in your case the 5DII. Did I upgrade? No! Why?
Non-photographers could not tell the difference between the photos. Even when I had the 5D for a year or so no customer said certain photos were better than the other because of technical reasons (high iso rendition or dynamic range). In fact, I now get more compliments from customers with shots from the 30Ds/40Ds, not because of the camera but because of my style and how I use the kit I have. The benefits I saw of the full frame esp with the new full frame cameras were only benefits for me as a photographer. Customers will increasingly look for certain quality in photos ( what we would refer to as DOF, bokeh etc) which the full frame can provide but I am noticing they are more concerned with price of booking.
That leads me onto another reason I did not upgrade... The other big reason I did not upgrade is the economic situation around the world effecting every single country. Bookings are coming in for 2009 and beyond but customers are being more careful about how much they spend.
Printing wise for wedding photographs, I have never printed anything larger than A3 size and I have never been let down by my cameras.
slowdad, should you upgrade? If you are going for a used 5D and have the money then do it but only for yourself. Don't expect customers to notice unless you and your style actually develops.
i want to thank you all for your responses.i really appreciate you time and advise. i am a victim of our lovely economy, worked 26 years in the auto industry in service management and working with the public.photography was always a hobby first but as i got better at it, i always thought,,what if ??. when the delership folded,,what if became reality.we are generating business now and my management and people skills that were developed over the years are serving me well.
after reading the responses from you folks that have used both bodies, i think the best thing is to hold off and save some $$ for the 5dmk11. i was mainly concerned about shooting in a church in low light and dealing with high iso noise on the 40d's. personally i try to avoid going above 8-1200. not so sure now that the old 5d would resolve much of the original concern. really do like the live view function on the 40d and would miss that.
as far as training and seminars,,,yup ive done thst this the past year. attended a couple a seminars with some master photogs and learned alot and i work with another photog who is extremely technical. i belong to a photography association(mppa) in minnesota and contacted a ton of master photogs about working with them as a 2nd shooter to gain some more experience before striking out on our own. that was a lost cause in this economy. most of them are just keeping afloat right now. anyway, we have done a couple weddings and got some good results,,learned a ton,,so we will keep moving forward. like i said at the very beginning,,i only want the best for my customers. good points from everyone,,thanks alot.
I use 40D and 5D. 5D has some mojo the 40D doesn't. The 5D2 is like having the features of the 40D on full frame, which is great in my opinion.. but since you can't afford that, get a 5D, it will take your imaging to the next level like mine did for me.
