Sports: any reason to opt for 5D Mk II over 40D?

Is there any reason to opt for the 5D Mark II over the speed of the 40D (or 50D)? I'm not concerned about reach as I can just but a 1.4x to use with the lens on a 5D Mk II. I realize it is 3.9fps vs 6.5fps but surely the 5D MkII must have something that it does better than the 40D or 50D when shooting sports. Does anyone own both and have some comparative info?

Not really, for sports. If you need the 6.5 fps then, I assume, 3.9 won't even get you the shot with the 5DII.

The difference between 3.9 and 6.5 is huge, in my experience.

The 5DII isn't aimed towards sports shooters. Just because it's a more expensive body doesn't mean it will be better in every situation.

well, the 5Dii has a great center AF point (better than a 40D/50D) and with the slower FPS you'll get a better keeper rate. It's got much cleaner high ISOs, so jacking them up to get shutter speeds isn't an issue. It's also got a cool 30fps mode if/when you need/want it.

The 5Dii isn't a camera that CAN'T shoot sports, but the 40D/50D would probably be better. But why not a 7D? Seems tailor made for this situation and if you're considering a 5Dii you can afford a 7D no?

Also, what sports?

^ This ^

Even my 5D Classic (3fps) v 20D (5fps) = Epic Fail

I personally would rather have a 5DMkII for sports than a 40D. The high ISO capabilities take the cake, and the AF system is more than capable. Adam Lewis on here loved the 5DMkII for sports.

FPS is very over-rated for sports.

jacobsen1 wrote in post #8610803
well, the 5Dii has a great center AF point (better than a 40D/50D) and with the slower FPS you'll get a better keeper rate. It's got much cleaner high ISOs, so jacking them up to get shutter speeds isn't an issue. It's also got a cool 30fps mode if/when you need/want it.

The 5Dii isn't a camera that CAN'T shoot sports, but the 40D/50D would probably be better. But why not a 7D? Seems tailor made for this situation and if you're considering a 5Dii you can afford a 7D no?

Also, what sports?

My thought was the 5d mkII's ISO would allow me to get better evening shots or use an even higher shutter speed. I also thought it would have a far better crop ability. On the other hand, if I have to use the center point for most accurate focus, wouldn't this give me less keepers if cropping off center?

Sports are HS football, soccer, indoor dance competition, etc. Also a lot of indoor band (JH and HS) stuff.

How about weather sealing? We get light rain on occassion during games. Does the 5D improve over the 40D or 50D in this area? I can use one of the plastic covers but some moisture is inevitable.

I don't think that fps is critical to any of those things you have mentioned.

If you are shooting things like roller bladers going off ramps and you have to prefocus otherwise you won't get anything, then 6.5 works well and 3.9 doesn't work at all.

The only sports will be football, soccer, dance, basketball, swimming. Nothing fast like racing, etc.

A lot of this depends on you, how well you can anticipate a shot. I have no problems with my anemically slow 5D and had a 40D before (for those roller bladers).

He did 3 leaps in a row running accross the stage and I nailed all of them. Single Shot, AI Servo.

jacobsen1 wrote in post #8610803
well, the 5Dii has a great center AF point (better than a 40D/50D) and with the slower FPS you'll get a better keeper rate. It's got much cleaner high ISOs, so jacking them up to get shutter speeds isn't an issue. It's also got a cool 30fps mode if/when you need/want it.

The 5Dii isn't a camera that CAN'T shoot sports, but the 40D/50D would probably be better. But why not a 7D? Seems tailor made for this situation and if you're considering a 5Dii you can afford a 7D no?

Also, what sports?

+1 =)

The lens is just as important (or more so) than the body. If you have a really nice piece of 'L' glass with a 2.8 max aperture you are going to utilize the AF points to their fullest, and get many more keepers regardless of the body. You can strap a slower lens on a 1D Mark III and rip off 8+ fps, and you are going to find many of them aren't tack sharp. When I had my 1D MkII, and borrowed a 400 f2.8 from a friend I found the # of keepers went up dramatically. My 100-400 zoom really wasn't up to the task of servo tracking like the 400 2.8 was. Of course the 400 2.8 was way out of my budget range!

-Jim

It depends what sports you are shooting, to be honest.

Some sports you need one shot, others, you'll need a burst.

Football and tennis are two very different sports when it comes to shooting. Same goes for snowboarding and soccer. Just way different.

The shutter lag just isn't fast enough for me. I shoot some dance from time to time, and the shutter lag of a 400D (same as 5D2) and a 40D is very different.

After I tried my 5D mkII on an ice hockey game I have stuck to it in place of the 40D I used before.
The image quality makes up for the slower framerate and I come home with more keepers.