5D vs 20D Comments please

Upgrading to the 5D was hard call for me as well, but no looking back now!

The AF on the 5D is seems perfect, AF had always been my biggest issue before. The images look great too. Not sure if its the 12MP or a different AA filter, but my out of camera shots now need no or very very little sharpening, that was not the case before.

I purchased with the option to return it, but quickly decided its a keeper and sold off my EF-S lenses and camera to pay for the upgrade.

The only downside is if your doing heavy cropping for bird shots is the lower pixel density but that would not show unless you printed over 9" wide anyhow.

Here's a thought.... get the 5D and a longer lens or a TC. . Personally, I think it's really silly to allow the 1.6 crop factor to be a gating factor in upgrading to the 5D from the 20D. The money issue is valid though. The 20D is much much cheaper and the money saved could be used to buy some really wide lenses to make up for what's missing on that end and more. I personally think that you could crop to the same FOV without much if any loss in quality. Anything is possible in Photoshop

Why the repeated use of the word 'upgrade' in this thread ?
These are different horses for different courses.
Architecture/portraits​/landscape= 5D
Sports/wildlife = 20D

Possibly because OP asked about trading up from his 20D to a 5D. Ya think?

Understood- but it's not 'trading up'.
They're different tools for different tasks.
'Costs more' is too often equated to 'trading up'.

You'd move from the 20D to the 5D if you're moving from airshows to weddings.
If you're still shooting airshows, it's a trade down (8mp to 5mp).

In your opinion it isn't. They're different tools for different tasks to the extent that they have different features which optimize them for different areas, but people have been shooting air shows with full-frame 35 mm cameras, and larger formats, with slower frame rates for decades. There's nothing outside of personal preference saying one camera or another is an "airshow" camera, a "wedding" camera, or any other "kind" of camera. OP sees it as trading up. His call. Not yours.

So you are saying the 5D is better for weddings?

I just feel that the unquestioning acceptance of terms like 'upgrade' or 'trade up' is selling the superb 20D short.

There are many photographic circumstances when the 20D is the better tool - specifically, where your feet can't get you close enough to the action. When frame-filling is not usually an issue (like weddings) then the amazing resolution/rendition of 5D comes into its own.

Of course you can shoot airshows with anything, even a box brownie. As with all photography, the eye behind the camera is more important than the technology. But the 5D will need significantly heavier/costlier lenses to equal the shots from a 20D. And this thread is about trading bodies, not glassware.

In the good old days of film, I don't recall debates on moving from 35mm to medium format described as upgrading. It was/is accepted they both have their niche.

I have a 20D and would rather have the 1D Mark II N over the 5D.

In the good old days of film, the 35 mm, medium format, and large format cameras weren't all part of a unified and interchangeable product line. I repeat. If OP chooses to refer to his prospective change in models as an upgrade, you contribute nothing, zero, nada to the thread by saying "no it isn't".

Ken Rockwell did an interesting comparison of the two cameras here: http://www.kenrockwell​.com/canon/5dvs20d.htm Bottom line: the 5D isn't worth the extra money.

Carrigman

Like most people have mentioned the crop factor is "a bonus" for telephoto shooting. Since the 20D has a higher pixel density, which leads to more detail coming out of the same square inch of glass (obviously only to the point of the quality of the glass), you can the same detail out of a 200mm lens on it as you could from a 300mm lens on the 5D (approx.). Ask any avian photographer what their favorite camera is and most likely they will answer the 20D. Besides having a fast shutter speed, the 20D is the current record holder for pixel density avaliable on the market today.

carrigman wrote:
Ken Rockwell did an interesting comparison of the two cameras here: http://www.kenrockwell​.com/canon/5dvs20d.htm Bottom line: the 5D isn't worth the extra money.

Carrigman

I have little respect for Ken Rockwell's opinion. Bottom line: this wouldn't be the first dumb thing he's posted.

Ouch!

If standing up for the 20D and reminding anyone moving to the 5D that they might need to reassess their glassware contributes nothing, then I'm guilty as charged.

carrigman wrote:
Ken Rockwell did an interesting comparison of the two cameras here: http://www.kenrockwell​.com/canon/5dvs20d.htm Bottom line: the 5D isn't worth the extra money.

I'd really suggest if possible to try the 5D and decide for yourself, for many its a keeper.

FF and in my case just perfect AF, I've had 3 Canon dSLR's in the past, and with this one AF just works. Add to that 12MP, spot metering, AA filter that offers more detail, and a FF view, the wide view with a 24-105 lens, I just cant put the camera down!

If you can keep your 20D for Tele use, even better, but in choosing between the two once I used the 5D for a couple days it was an easy choice.

Bonus if you waited, the price has dropped!