60D vs 7D to Complement a 5DII or...

I currently have the 5DII and am looking into either a 60D or 7D body to complement my setup. Why I would want a different second body:

1) I need a second camera for coverage/backup, $1k-1.5k cheaper than 5DII
2) I like the extra reach the 1.6x crop can give the lenses
3) availability of wide-angle 2.8 stabilized zoom lens made only for crops

Does anyone balance a 5DII with either of those crop bodies? I have a mix of uses, mostly low-light indoor events and also some travel/landscape. I'm not looking for a head-to-head between the 60D and 7D, just whether you recommend going with two crop bodies instead of a mix? Low-light versatility is important, I just hate the idea of buying an EF-S 2.8 IS that I cant even use on my full-frame. Any advice is appreciated.

If you don't need the AF features, MFA, or 8fps* of the 7D, then get the 60D.

I was looking for the same thing earlier and decided to get a used 1D3. It truly complement the 5D2 well and you don't have to buy EF-S lens.

7D for me.

I have both 5D2 + 60D. I took the 60D over the 7D mainly because I wanted something cheaper and lighter for casual photography and extra reach when needed.

If you don't need the 8 FPS* or MA I'd say the 60D is largely the better choice.

ahendarman wrote in post #12347684
I was looking for the same thing earlier and decided to get a used 1D3. It truly complement the 5D2 well and you don't have to buy EF-S lens.

How is the quality at 3200-6400 ISO compared with the 5DII?

bswpu012 wrote in post #12347844
How is the quality at 3200-6400 ISO compared with the 5DII?

In my opinion, at 3200 the 5D2 is better but only marginal. At, 6400 (HI for 1D3), the 5D2 is clearly better. However, the 1D3 files respond very well to pp and noise removal, but I won't use it above 3200.

jwcdds wrote in post #12347642
If you don't need the AF features, MFA, or 8fps* of the 7D, then get the 60D.

I hear good stuff about the AF system of the 7D, do you find the higher ISO shots (3200) respond well to noise reduction in Lightroom (or whatever you may use)?

I have both a 5DII + 7D. Personally it was a mistake since it doesn't make my lenses more versatile except for maybe the 70-200. Other than that, no matter what lenses I mount, I get a lot of overlap or combinations that are just not very useful, for me. I plan on replacing it with another 5DII soon. Plus I usually need 2 cameras in situations where I am shooting high ISO and I am not happy with the 7D but am happy with the 5DII.

The 7D does have a better AF but for concerts, which is why I have 2 bodies, the 5DII does the job, for me.

I would seriously think through the lenses you have and combinations that you would normally use with a crop and a FF. I also don't want to buy any EFS lenses like the 10-22, which I had and was a very good lens, imo.

17-40/24/28-75/85/135/70-200

bswpu012 wrote in post #12348607
I hear good stuff about the AF system of the 7D, do you find the higher ISO shots (3200) respond well to noise reduction in Lightroom (or whatever you may use)?

I use LR3. I find the NR on LR3 to be sufficient (and exceptional). But that's just my opinion.

But that's a feature of LR3, and between the 7D/60D... you're looking pretty much at the same performance. (as well as the T2i/T3i). So for *you*, it boils down to whether you care about the additional features of the 7D. IF not, then the 60D will be great for you and you won't pay more for features you don't plan on using.

i would go with 7D for MA alone, very useful for fine tuning sharpness.

7D shares the same battery as the 5DmII. Less batteries to buy.

ThreeSixty wrote in post #12352277
7D shares the same battery as the 5DmII. Less batteries to buy.

The 60D does too, actually this was another reason I took it over the T2i as a smaller second camera.

I chose the 60D simply because I was looking for a backup emergency camera and to save a couple dollars. I took the 60D on my trip to the southwest a couple of weeks ago and it worked well and captured some nice images. I doubled my shots, 5D2 and 60D. I can't speak for the 7D I didn't try it, but the 60D is a good performer. Don't think you could go wrong with either.