5D mark II or 60D

Hi, i'v been shooting with a 20D which belongs to my ant for a year, and now she wants it back. I don't know if i should spend the money on the mark II or save it for other things i want (i'm 15). Are the differences between the tow worth the price?

uri1411 wrote in post #14844397
Hi, i'v been shooting with a 20D which belongs to my ant for a year, and now she wants it back. I don't know if i should spend the money on the mark II or save it for other things i want (i'm 15). Are the differences between the tow worth the price?

Hi there!
What type of photography are you doing?
Are you planing to go to some photography class ?
At your age I'll save my $$$ and go even with a rebel if you're not planning to go pro soon!

Pick up a rebel, like the Canon EOS Rebel T2i (also called the 550D - depends on what country you are in). What type of photography do you like to shoot? You need to evaluate that before choosing a camera body - as each do particular things to suit certain areas of photography. The 5D2 is a fullframe camera, and the 60D is a crop sensor camera. If you don't know what the difference is between those two, or you don't think you would appreciate the difference right now where you are at with photography, than I say go with a rebel series camera and use the extra money to put towards some lenses down the line. The 60D is a good camera too but unless you have to have the ergonomics of it (size, heft, etc.) a rebel series DSLR will suit you fine too and see if your highschool has a photography class! Unfortunately for me when I was in highschool, they had a class but were stubbornly staying in film and at the same time, required you to buy all your equipement. One year later (after I graduated) they switched all to digital. But by then I was in college and taking photography classes as part of my multimedia program

uri1411 wrote in post #14844397
Hi, i'v been shooting with a 20D which belongs to my ant for a year, and now she wants it back. I don't know if i should spend the money on the mark II or save it for other things i want (i'm 15). Are the differences between the tow worth the price?

I agree with the previous post
It looks to me that, as Cristina mention, you are not aware of the differences between the 60D and the 5DmkII
If that is the case, you might be better off with a less expensive camera, a 60D or 50-40-30D used, or a nice Rebel T3i or T2i would be a great all around camera to learn and develop your skills.
A 5DmkII would be a tool that you might not appreciate its benefits at this time, making you spending money and resources unnecessarily
Just an opinion

Whatever you do- don't show this thread to any of your teachers at school ! And probably not your parents either. Surely, not your ANT nor your aunt.

If you are serious about any aspect- get as much body that is reasonable- I would not recommend a 5D Mark II- because that relegates you to EF lenses - most of which are pricey L lenses. I would suggest that you get as much of - say - a Rebel that you can afford- mainly- and I say mainly- because - pretty soon, you will enter the world where you have to pay for the stuff you get- and being young- you won't be able to upgrade that easily and quickly- unless mom and dad has a job already lined up for you at their store. Otherwise, I suspect that you will go thru the very lean years ( money wise ) of High School, followed by perhaps even leaner years as you go thru college- and then as you get into the real world.. So, yes- get as much as you can - and button down for the next few years.

The joys of being young.. And without much money.

But then and again, you are 15- soliciting ideas from the internet.. Want to impress your parents ? Ask them - but before you do- do your homework, and show them what you've considered, and why, and then ask them for their input - because I am pretty sure that they would want to be involved with a decision on how you spend a few thousand dollars.

Thanks for the comments, i know the differnces between those cameras. for those who commented about the money and my parents, it's me who will pay for it (i saved over the years money from birthdays, allowance..) i just dont know if is should spend most of it now or not. About the lenses, i shoot almost all the time with the 50 f1.4 so i think it will be fine if not better on the mark ii (i always feel like i need a little bit wider lens).

uri1411 wrote in post #14848353
Thanks for the comments, i know the differnces between those cameras. for those who commented about the money and my parents, it's me who will pay for it (i saved over the years money from birthdays, allowance..) i just dont know if is should spend most of it now or not. About the lenses, i shoot almost all the time with the 50 f1.4 so i think it will be fine if not better on the mark ii (i always feel like i need a little bit wider lens).

Buy the least expensive camera you can (T2i/550D, T3i/600D, 60D, 7D and T4i/650D all use essentially the same sensor, so there's no concern about image quality). Then put some money into an additional lens or two.

Different strokes for different folks... I love my 50/1.4 on my crop cameras where it's a great little portrait lens.... But I find it a boring and predictable focal length on full frame so practically never use it on my 5DII. But, hey, that's just me.

A 60D... or perhaps one of the Rebel models... will be a more general purpose, versatile camera than 5DII (the 5DIII is more versatile, but I'm assuming the +$1000 price tag pretty much rules it out).

Someone mentioned, and it's true, that for a crop sensor camera like the 60D you have a greater selection of lenses available - both from Canon and from third party manufacturers. All lenses EF and EF-S can be used on that camera.

A full frame camera limits you to EF lenses only, which on the whole tend to be bigger, heavier and more expensive. For example, I often use an easily handheld 300/4 IS on my 7Ds. If I switch to my 5DII and want the same effective reach, I'll need to get out my 500/4 IS and a tripod to put it on.

Plus, what do you do with your images? If you are making prints... really big prints perhaps 20x30" or bigger, well maybe then the full frame camera might make sense. If you are making 8x12s and sharing your images online, it would be largely a waste to spend the extra for full frame.

But, mainly, since you are 15 years old I'm assuming you are still learning photography... and eventually one thing you will learn is that lenses are far more important than the camera you use them upon. The lens determines how the image will look... the camera just captures what the lens sees. So I'd suggest a less expensive camera that leaves some money to experiment and explore with other lenses that can broaden your capabilities and offer new results. For example, if you have the yen for something wider, and you like primes such as the 50/1.4... I'd recommend trying the 28/1.8 or perhaps the 20/2.8. The 28 is compact and a fun lens, giving you just slightly wider angle of view on a crop camera than the 50mm would on full frame. The 20/2.8 is a bigger lens, but nice and about equal on a cropper to using a 35mm lens on full frame.

I also suggest the 60D/50D/40D or a recent Rebel. You will get 95% of the enjoyment out of it, for a lot less money.

I would especially emphasize this in your situation because you had to save so long to afford your own camera. If it truly represents years of allowances and birthday money for you, then as the saying goes, "don't spend it all in one place." Set some aside in case another interest/hobby comes along, or save it to spend on another lens or a flash.

If at some point you end up getting a job and have a steady flow of money coming in, then you could consider getting a more expensive body. I just wouldn't recommend doing it when it would use up all your savings and you have no reliable way to replace that money.