Upgrading from 5D to...

Well, I'm looking for advice and opinions.

At long last I'm considering upgrading my trusty old 5D, which has served me well since 2005.

The choice for me comes down to either a 5D3 or a 5D2, with the latter being significantly cheaper (new, not secondhand) - about half the price of the 5D3.

I'm not a professional, and I don't print a whole lot either.
I don't care about megapixels, 12 has been more than enough for me.
I don't care one way or another about video.
More FPS is a "nice to have" feature on paper, but if I'm being honest with myself, I'd hardly use it; I've been satisfied with the 3 FPS of my 5D.

What I do care greatly about is MFA and live view.
Decent high ISO performance is a definite positive too, but considering my benchmark is tech that's seven years old, the bar for that might not be too high.

With those bullet points in mind, is there any justification for spending more to get the 5D3 over its predecessor? Longevity? Any features on it that I've missed but would be useful?

I can afford the 5D2 now, but would have to save a bit longer for the 5D3. OTOH, I'm in no rush to upgrade, and wouldn't even be considering it if it wasn't for MFA and live view for manual focusing.

If you don't need fps, don't need extraordinarily high ISO at decent quality, and if the 5Dc has treated you quite well in the past for what you shoot, there is no need for the 5D3. Buy a 5D2 and save your money for other accessories, lenses, etc. The 5D2 is a 5Dc on steroids due to features and better high ISO handling.

The best thing of the 5D3 is that it solves all the complaints about poor outer point AF performance by giving them 1D AF features with more points, faster and more accurate AF, and low-light support, at least from what folks have posted thus far.

Well, I have had my 5D2 for over 3 years and I am having a hard time justifying the upgrade to a 5D3. I am not particularly interested in additional focus points and faster AF. What I am interested in is image quality, but I don't think there is any discernable difference between the two. A 5D2 at half the price sounds like a very nice choice1

Thanks for the replies.

The extra focus points and quicker/more efficient AF don't concern me too much either. Again, the 5Dc has served me well, and I doubt the 5D2 has worse AF than the 5Dc - but someone correct me if I'm wrong.

I'm clearly leaning towards the 5D2, just wanted to make sure there wasn't a compelling reason to get the 5D3 that I was missing.

I have a 13 month old who's kicking my 5D AF's ass. The improved AF is the big draw of the MkIII for me. If you took that out of the equation, I'd probably just stick with my 5D since I really love the camera otherwise.

I also have a 5D2. I went and tried out a 5D3, it is very impressive. The focus system is so far advanced to the 5D2 it is not even in the same ballpark. Also higher ISO shooting was pretty impressive, as was the viewing screen. It is shaped slightly different as well and actually feel smaller to handle, even though it is not. I think it is a significant upgrade to the Mark 2, but it was not enough to make me want to buy it. I am sticking with my mark 2 for a while longer. I don't really have an issue with the focus on it, the only thing that would make me upgrade is the high ISO performance. You can now get the Mark 2 for around the $2k mark (new), which is pretty good for what you get. I think they will sell a lot at that price.

I have also had the 5DII for 3 years and purchased the 5DIII as soon as it was released, am I selling my 5DII? NO BLOODY WAY!

The 5DIII is a simply incredible camera which in my opinion makes the 1DX unnecessary thereby saving me $3000+ but do you need the MKIII, not unless like myself you want a FF for BIF photography and even then it is a luxury as I have a 1DMKIII and that best value for money camera ever made the 7D.

So unless you are like me,old, injured in a serious M/Cycle accident that was the fault of a sleeping at the wheel 18 year old driver, and I was very adequately financially compensated for having to walk like a Robot for the rest of my life (I would still rather have the full use of my legs back) no need to spend the extra, get a 5DMKII, you will love it. The movies it makes will blow your socks off, the image file size will fill up every nook and cranny of your hard drives (buy large USB preferably USB 3 storage drives) you will also need a A3 printer and a good friend who does framing and never insult a FF 21 Mpix Camera by putting anything but the best glass on it.

The 5DMKII will take you from being a happy snapper and, with patience, turn you into a Photographer.

Have fun.

I have a trusty 5D C and just got a 5D MKII refurb from Canon.

Could not see twice the price {$17.5} to get the 5D MKIII for what the AF improvement brings.
After the 5D C the plan was for another FF and was going to skip a Generation.
Was going to skip the MK II but when I saw the small and pricey improvment of the MK III ...
it was time to get the MK II refurb.
Maybe there will be a MK III in my future ... but prob not till the MK IV is introduced.

the 5d2 is a clear upgrade choice if you dont need the better AF.
you'll love that 5d2 Im sure.

Thanks people.

Seems like I'll be getting a 5D2 in the near future then!

As nice as the 5D3 is, I can't possibly justify paying twice the price for better AF (which I don't need) and modestly better high ISO performance (which the 5D2 gives me over my 5Dc anyway).

EL_PIC wrote in post #14607663
After the 5D C the plan was for another FF and was going to skip a Generation.
Was going to skip the MK II but when I saw the small and pricey improvment of the MK III ...

This was my situation as well. I thought I'd skip a generation too, but the 5D3 was nowhere near as ground-breaking as the 5D2. Since the 5D2 has everything I want in my ideal camera - including the right price point - I guess the 5D3 might be the generation I skip.
I hope the 5D2 will also serve me well for at least as long as the 5Dc did!

Yeah, if you don't need the advanced focusing system of the 5DIII then the 5DII is e way to go. I got the 5DIII for fast moving subjects to compliment my 7D but I have kept my 5DII as a backup. A great camera with stellar image quality.

The ISO performance in improved on the III, for sure, but, again, if you don't need the new AF I don't think there's enough improvement there to merit the higher price tag, frankly.

If you shoot moving subjects and need great AF performance there, the III is the way to go, but you don't seem to need that so, yup, it's older brother will doubtless deliver the goods.

not so fast. you stated MFA is important to you. I believe the 5DIII can mfa on a zoom at BOTH ends of the zoom range. depending on your lens's, maybe this might be worth considering, though with the price differential, only you can decide. I am surprised higher iso is not important, unless all you shoot is studio. without a flash, high iso capability comes in handy unless you always have a flash in your back pocket. good luck.

i've got a 5dc now and have been considering a change. i've gotten used to using center point AF, i'm pretty sure a 5d2 would work fine for me. i don't sell/print much either. when i want speed, i can always use my 7d.

I upgraded from the 5Dc to the 5DII and couldn't be happier. The noise performance is definitely better, and the camera is everything I wanted. I would love to have the faster AF of the 5DIII, but not for $2,000 more than I got my 5DII for.

mike_d wrote in post #14607431
I have a 13 month old who's kicking my 5D AF's ass. The improved AF is the big draw of the MkIII for me. If you took that out of the equation, I'd probably just stick with my 5D since I really love the camera otherwise.

My wife just bought me my 5D3 for Father's Day (I must have been a pretty good Dad this past year) to replace my 5D. The above (I have a 15 month old) was my primary justification to my wife, and Ron Martisen’s website helped a lot with the WAF: http://www.ronmartblog​.com …more-dark-blurry-and.html Also, better high ISO performance, more mega-pixels for cropping, and auto-ISO when the wife uses the camera, was the other reasons for me. I've only taken a handful of pictures and already the biggest difference is the incredibly quick and accurate auto-focus in poor lighting conditions. It’s very impressive.

The reality is, the 5D was a “significant” step up (very noticeable IQ increase) from my 30D, and had that “wow” factor. The only complaint I have with it is a-not-as-fast AF and it takes forever to write if you shoot RAW+JPEG. The 5D3 is a “moderate” step-up. I could have been happy with meeting my needs with a 5D2, but was lucky enough to have extra play-money to justify the 5D3. In fact, I am still pretty happy with my 5D, and doubt I’ll ever sell it used (only worth about $600-$700 in the used market). I bet the 5D3 is a must-have if you’re a wedding or sport photographer. Unless you have funds to burn and have a pretty good list of lenses that match your shooting style, it’s not worth the upgrade.