Landscape Photogs--Are you Full Frame or Crop?

Im primarily a landscape shooter with a 5D2 and 7D. There is no doubt the 5D2 makes better images than my 7D and it was the same back when I compared my 40D and 5Dc. But, the differences arent as stark as you might think - a little sharper here, a little less noisy there etc - but no wins by knockout, especially at ISO 100.

There are 3 areas where FF really has an advantage:

-Using the wide primes in their native FOV - TS-e 17, TS-e 24, 24 1.4, Zeiss 21 etc. These lenses kick the snot out of anything a crop camera has to offer.

-Long exposures are significantly less noisy with my 5D2.

-If I need to stop motion in low light, my 5D2 does a much better job at keeping the noise down. For example, if Im doing a sunrise shoot, its still early and I dont want a glass surface on the lake - actually want to see the waves - I need to crank up up my ISO to 1200+. The 5D2 images look better - although I still end up exposure blending the waives in so my sky and foreground are still ISO 100.

However, crop cameras have their own benefits for a landscape shooter:

-You get more DOF at the same aperture which means shorter shutter speeds for more handholdability (nice for hiking w/o a tripod)/lower ISO to get the same DOF.

-IMO, the 10-22 is superior to the 17-40.

i like the 5D for landscapes, it's often called the 5Dc here. It has a weak AA filter and can produce very nice images.

I love my 5D2, but when I win the lottery I will go to 4.5x6.

I have shot extensively with both. for large prints, if one is not doing stitching, the larger sensor gives a definite advantage. on the down side, the cost is higher in both the body as well as quality lenses, esp if one is looking for a zoom. the larger sensor also gives generally slightly better dynamic range. I shoot 5d2 with a selection of primes and zooms for landscape.

Absolutely no issues shooting landscapes with a crop sensor camera. I've used everything from the 350D, 30D, 40D, 50D for such and have full intention of using my 7D hiking in Glacier NP this summer.

The 5D Mark II has already been selling for $1999.95 from an authorized Canon eBay seller but they seem sold out of the ones listed for that.

I'm shooting with a cropped sensor (600D). Can't afford a full frame body yet (yes, ideally the 5D MKII).

I think for the technique you use, a 5D2 would be great. The 5D3 (if we take the rumored specs at face value) is significantly higher and the 61 point AF will be of no value to you.

watt100 wrote in post #13985260
I'm crop for landscapes - I wouldn't be tempted until full frame model gets to $1,000

You can get a good used 5d for $700. Hard to beat that for an entry into full frame.

I believe the price of the 5D2 is suppose to drop March 4th to $1999

Tsmith wrote in post #13985881
Absolutely no issues shooting landscapes with a crop sensor camera. I've used everything from the 350D, 30D, 40D, 50D for such and have full intention of using my 7D hiking in Glacier NP this summer.

Nice. I'll be there with my 7D in September.

I shoot landscape and wildlife and recently had the 5D II and the 7D side by side. The 5D II takes sharper photos with less noise. However, the 7D isn't bad at ISO 100, and I prefer the reach for wildlife. Having the cameras together taught me quite a bit. The most important thing was that location + timing + eye > gear.

I sold the 5D II and kept the 7D. In a year or two I might grab a FF body for landscape, but until then I'm beyond satisfied with my gear, especially this new 24-105 IS I have in my kit. Sometimes it's too easy to get distracted by consumerism.

5dII here. Dynamic range, resolution, sharpness all good. I do a fair number of panos, and software is the major factor in success here.

I was never entirely happy with my 40D for landscape shots and that was after using medium format film. However, the 5D2 is a vastly different beast and I find that I have more than enough detail in my landscape shots now. I would consider a 5D2 when the price comes down if I were you and I wouldn't worry about it having old technology. It is a very capable camera, producing results that will be hard to be bettered by the 5D3 or D800 (In my opinion).

As an advanced amateur I'm using a 60D (cropped). I also do a lot of national parks and find it more than adequate.

I use my 5D2 and TS-E or Zeiss glass to shoot landscapes, but some of the images I'm most proud of came from a 40D and the much maligned 17-85. The most important factors are use a tripod, manual focus using live view and an lcd loupe, mirror lock up, a cable release and a bubble level in the hot-shoe. A good selection of GND's and a polariser will help too

You might find that buying a really good tripod, ballhead and L-bracket are far more valuable than changing cameras. This will allow you to stitch images using Photoshop. After that, it's really easy to emulate the 4x5 "look."

I use a 1d Mark III, which I suppose is a semi crop camera