Torn between changing 20D to 5D

I have been shooting with the 20D for over a yr now. I love the 20D. I also just bought the 5D for basically doing landscapes. Its amazing how my 24-70L lens looks on the 5D. Its like night and day. I will use my 20D for its quickness 5fps and I will use my 5D for my landscapes. Er, by the way, I just saw some sports shots that were taken with the 5D on continuous mode........they are excellent. 3FPS sounds slow compared to 5 FPS but It doesn't mean you can't get any sports action with it.

Another perspective on that, is that if the 20d is replaced, it will lose value. If you are banking on today's values to put towards a 5d, it might not fetch what you hope. It's very hard to predict what effect an announcement may make. Probably just best to buy for your needs when you need them.

Graham

Also consider that the 5D is the first root in another evolutionary tree. The first step is likely to be much more dramatic than the incremental change to be expected for the 20D.

For me the action side of things isn't that important as most of my pics are landscapes or people - hence the 3fps sec will be more than adequte, in fact I have never used the 20D in continuos mode.

What's there to "contend with"?

The 1.6 crop factor thing is merely a reference to compare the field of view of a lens on a camera such as the 20D (with an APS-C sized sensor) to the field of view of a different focal length used on a 35mm film camera. A user of a camera with an APS-C digital sensor - and no 35mm or "full-frame" digital cameras - only needs to know what the focal length of a "normal" lens is for his/her APS-C camera (31mm is the value).

There is one thing that you should consider before even thinking of the 5D. What lens focal lengths do you frequently use with the 20D? That should answer the question for you about whether or not it's smart to move "up" to the 5D.

If you shoot a lot of wide-angle stuff, then the 5D makes sense. That's because there are quite a few wide-angle lenses for 35mm film and "full-frame" digital cameras that, while they can be used on the 20D (and it's APS-C sisters) don't provide the same wide field of fiew on them. The extreme wide-angle lenses such as the 16-35mm f/2.8 are expensive, and you might not need something that wide with a 5D.

On the other hand, if you find yourself using the longer focal lengths a lot then the 20D is - by far - the better choice. If you use a 200mm lens to take a shot with both cameras, you can crop the image from the 5D to match the image from the 20D. However, you will have far fewer pixels making up the cropped 5D image and won't have the resolution of the 20D's image. To buy lenses for the 5D that will give you the same field of view of a long lens on the 20D will cost you a bundle. For example, if you now use a 200mm lens on the 20D, you will have to buy a 320mm lens to give you the same field of view. Look at relative pricing - it's not only the cost of the body but also longer telephoto lenses.

Another fact - you can buy two 20D's for the price of one 5D, giving you a backup camera if you get into situations like wedding photography where it is imperative to have a working backup with you.

Thanks Skip - I do a lot of wide angle shooting, which is why I thought the 5D would suit.

Well, GS, you really ought to sit down and write a list of pros and cons for each camera.
A few ideas in favor of the 20D:

• Price
  
• Higher pixel density helps on long-telephoto shooting.
  
• Higher frame rate (though smaller buffer)
  
• Uses the sweet-spot center of EF lenses (though sacrificing angle-of-view for a given focal length).
  
• Popup flash
  
• Shooting modes (sports, portrait, etc.)
  
• 1/250 flash sync speed.
  

• More megapixels
  
• About 1/3 stop better noise at the pixel level (which isn't really relevant on its own). (Also note that if the subject is framed equally, the higher number of pixels of the 5D will result in a finer-grained noise in the final print, if the final print size is also equal. IOW, an ISO 3200 5D shot scaled to match sizes with an ISO 1600 20D shot will exhibit very similar noise).
  
• Benefits at the wide angle end - 24 mm is very wide on FF.
  
• Big viewfinder
  
• Use of DOF markings on prime lenses
  
• Improved AutoFocus
  
• Big buffer (though slower frame rate)
  
• 2.5" LCD
  
• Spot metering
  
• More custom functions
  
• User-customizable mode on mode dial
  
• Picture styles (debatable advantage)
  
• ISO 50
  
• ISO adjustable in 1/3 stop increments
  
• ISO in viewfinder
  
• RGB histogram
  
• Interchangeable focus screens
  
• File numbering selection
  
• Greater DOF control (not to be confused with greater DOF)
  

Thanks for that Tom, I'll think about it carefully over the weekend...either invest in more L Glass or get the 5D.