7 D MK II or 5D MK III

Well, been thinking about selling my 5 D MKIII and getting the 7D MKII.
I shoot mostly birds and wildlife.
Any thoughts?
I cant afford both so I am throwing the idea around.

I did it
Don't do it.

NeilB0147 wrote in post #17443837
I did it
Don't do it.

Really?

How come?

Sgt. wrote in post #17443831
Well, been thinking about selling my 5 D MKIII and getting the 7D MKII.
I shoot mostly birds and wildlife.
Any thoughts?
I cant afford both so I am throwing the idea around.

Better idea may be just rent the 7D II and see if you like it.

I can't speak to the 5D-III but I like my 7D-II a lot. That said what is it about the 5D-III you find limiting?

Mike

I had a play with Pondrader's the other day and I really like the 10 frames per second. Add the crop factor to my 400 F 5.6 and I am thinking.....
It pretty much has the same autofocus system and high ISO capability.

Sell my 5D MKIII and pick up the 7D MKII and get a decent tripod with wimberly head.....
My current tripod sucks..

Sgt.
Having used a pair of 7D's over the last several years, I made the upgrade to the 5D Mark III at Christmas 2013. Full frame Image Quality was apparent. Higher ISO's as well. For the last year I have shot a lot of sports with the Mark III. Sure it is slightly lower at 6fps than the 7D's 8fps but I adjusted. The Improved AF of the 5D Mark III was and is great compared to the innovative 7D AF which is the foundation. Over the last several months I decided I needed an additional Mark III. Weddings, Events etc. you just don't have the time to swap lenses back and forth.
Then the 7D Mark II was introduced. WOW!
Well I bought another 5D Mark III and could not be happier. Will I ADD a 7D Mark II to my tool kit.? Most likely, but not at the expense of the 5D Mark III.

Sgt. wrote in post #17443831
Well, been thinking about selling my 5 D MKIII and getting the 7D MKII.
I shoot mostly birds and wildlife.
Any thoughts?
I cant afford both so I am throwing the idea around.

Heya,

It depends on the lenses to me.

If you're shooting at physically 400mm, on full frame, then moving to a 7D2 would be a nice thing if you're always finding that you're having to crop. More pixels on target is a good thing and you keep great ISO performance and AF.

If you were shooting a 500 F4 or 600 F4, or a 300 F2.8 or 400 F2.8 with TC's, then I would stick with the 5D3 for now.

If you are shooting a 400mm lens or less, then the 7D2 makes a lot of sense.

It all comes down to what you shoot, how far you are from your targets, and your overall budget. Since you can't have both cameras per budget, that means to me you're not shooting the big white lenses beyond a 400mm.

So that then begs the question... have you considered a Tamron/Sigma 600?

Very best,

Nick5 wrote in post #17444157
Sgt.
Having used a pair of 7D's over the last several years, I made the upgrade to the 5D Mark III at Christmas 2013. Full frame Image Quality was apparent. Higher ISO's as well. For the last year I have shot a lot of sports with the Mark III. Sure it is slightly lower at 6fps than the 7D's 8fps but I adjusted. The Improved AF of the 5D Mark III was and is great compared to the innovative 7D AF which is the foundation. Over the last several months I decided I needed an additional Mark III. Weddings, Events etc. you just don't have the time to swap lenses back and forth.
Then the 7D Mark II was introduced. WOW!
Well I bought another 5D Mark III and could not be happier. Will I ADD a 7D Mark II to my tool kit.? Most likely, but not at the expense of the 5D Mark III.

I shoot the odd wedding
Mostly birds and wildlife.
I am only considering the 7D MKII not the 7D.

MalVeauX wrote in post #17444164
Heya,

It depends on the lenses to me.

If you're shooting at physically 400mm, on full frame, then moving to a 7D2 would be a nice thing if you're always finding that you're having to crop. More pixels on target is a good thing and you keep great ISO performance and AF.

If you were shooting a 500 F4 or 600 F4, or a 300 F2.8 or 400 F2.8 with TC's, then I would stick with the 5D3 for now.

If you are shooting a 400mm lens or less, then the 7D2 makes a lot of sense.

It all comes down to what you shoot, how far you are from your targets, and your overall budget. Since you can't have both cameras per budget, that means to me you're not shooting the big white lenses beyond a 400mm.

So that then begs the question... have you considered a Tamron/Sigma 600?

Very best,

I am shooting with 400 F 5.6, 70-200 F2.8 IS, 24-105 and a shorty forty.
Funds are limited, so not considering lenses.
My thought was sell the 5D MKIII, turn that cash into 7D MKII and new tripod with wimberly head.

Understand.
Look at my last paragraph.
Just giving a history of me comparing the move from the 7D to 5D Mark III and whether the new 7D Mark II would make me sell my 5D Mark III for a 7D Mark II. The answer is no.
Would I add a 7D Mark II to my kit without sacrificing a 5D Mark III, Yes.
If I could only choose one body period, the Mark III.
What lenses are in your arsenal and have you considered a Tele Converter for more reach?

Sgt. wrote in post #17443831
Well, been thinking about selling my 5 D MKIII and getting the 7D MKII.
I shoot mostly birds and wildlife.
Any thoughts?
I cant afford both so I am throwing the idea around.

Gosh from the image quality I have seen, I personally wouldn't dream of it even if they gave me a great deal.

Lose money to lose IQ - not for me!

Sgt. wrote in post #17444217
I am shooting with 400 F 5.6, 70-200 F2.8 IS, 24-105 and a shorty forty.
Funds are limited, so not considering lenses.
My thought was sell the 5D MKIII, turn that cash into 7D MKII and new tripod with wimberly head.

Heya,

Rent a 7D2 perhaps and see what you think. It's better than just going blind on it.

Personally, if I had to choose the 7D2 or the 5D3 for wildlife and had a 400mm lens only, I would go with the 7D2. I shoot a ton of wildlife, and I shoot full frame, APS-H and APS-C all alike. And frankly having more pixels on target is what matters with wildlife, unless you want to just call it "context" when you have to include a lot more environment than you initially wanted to make up for lack of reach. If you already had a longer lens, then I would probably stick with the 5D3. But trading it out and getting the 7D2 and gaining more gear for wildlife purposes is a better deal to me, as another wildlife shooter. In wildlife, you're always wanting more reach. And as many will think the full frame is "better" the answer to what you need lies in the pixels on target count. If you're cropping your images with the 5D3 down to 6~8MP, then there's not much of an advantage compared to using the 7D2 and cropping less, or not at all, depending on how close you are and you're preferences.

I don't think I'd throw the cash down on a Wimberly head, not for a 400mm lens at least. Not unless you think in your future you will be housing a 500F4, 600F4, etc, or other heavy lenses. A 400 F5.6 and camera is hand holdable it's so light. And on a tripod, while it's nice, I would get good stuff but not buy stuff that is way overkill for it. A good tripod and a nice GH1 gimbal or something instead. Keep the extra money for other accessories, or saving towards a new lens. You may find you want more reach, yet again, so being able to potentially trade in that 400 F5.6 for a Sigma 120-300 F2.8 and a 2.0x TC is where I'd go next for cost effective reach, or a straight Sigma 600 or Tamron 600. Depends on what you shoot mostly.

This is in the context of being primarily a wildlife shooter and going for birds and stuff. From a wedding perspective I'd stick with the 5D3, but ultimately if it's not your primary thing, it's not something I'd really worry over. The end result image quality is good enough for print and a client is not going to know a file from a 5D3 from a 7D2 nor from a Rebel for that matter. So this comes down to what YOU think in terms of image quality.

Very best,

Those were my final choices for my camera upgrade. I chose the 7D2, despite the focus issues thread. I went from an XSi that I still use for business trips.

My reasoning was, in no particular order:

• I shoot a mix of critters when I can and landscapes. I felt the crop frame was useful for the critters but I could still shoot landscapes as I did before
  
• I wanted more better low light response. Both these cameras do well, perhaps an edge to the 5D2 but the 7D2 works well enough
  
• I like the 10 frames per second burst in the 7D2. It will do that as long as I have memory
  
• Up to 7 bracketed images for the HDR I sometimes do
  
• Live view focusing, my experience is that works very well
  
• I did note the focus threads; mine appears to be working well. I feel there there are a handful of very vocal users. I am still only using the basics of the autofocus, it is more complex than my XSi, but I should be able to get better bird in flight images as I learn. I once thought I had a focus issue with my XSi but as I used he camera, it seemed to go away. I'm not sure what I did except use the camera when I didn't need to so I could get good images when it counted. I also note those that were getting very good shots with the camera.
  
• Cost. I feel I'm getting most of a 5D3 at a lower cost, in some things, I may be getting more. I do like the built-in GPS but I'm used to geotagging off-line.
  

The 7D2 will be less forgiving of lens resolution flaws, due to its higher pixel density (more "pixels on target"). Because of this higher resolving power and its extremely low noise, it will provide superior performance if you ever decide to use the camera for astrophotography - in fact, it's a better choice even than the 6D in Canon's current lineup.

Be aware that the 5D3 will also give you less depth of field if you frame similarly, because you'll need to be closer to the subject. Sometimes this is a help, other times a hindrance if you don't have control over the light and f/stop.

I've tested my 7D and 5D3 so as to give a comparable number if pixels in the captured image and found very little difference in image quality at normal ISO values. In fact, if the lens is good enough, the 7D itself will meet or exceed the 5D3 in terms of image sharpness. I would expect the 7D2 to be even better, having 10% more pixels on its sensor than the 7D. Based on the reviews and a short hands-on demo, I am buying one as soon as I can afford it.

Bottom line, decide whether you will need the greater "reach" / pixel density and autofocus, vs. depth of field control and fractionally better high ISO performance. I'm fortunate in being able to have both cameras, choosing the one which fits my needs for the individual shoot.