20D over 30D for my specific needs?

Well, Im currently shooting with a 5D. I would like a second 1.6x body mainly for my 100-400L and my 100mm macro. Its a cheap way to attain more FL and retain the IQ. lol. I thought it would make sense for me to save and get the 20D since I would be using my 5D for everything else. Am I missing something? Any input would be appreciated! I plan on purchasing the 20D tomorrow. I'm also getting this used. Would anyone think used is better than refurbished? Thanks!!

I would go for it. I am using the my 30D with my 70-200 to get more zoom and it is faster than my 5D(fps). I would get used one instead of refurbished. I'll tell you why. My sister works for Canon beleive it or not, and I get info when the refurb items come out. I purchased a refurbed p&s and it broke after a few weeks. I couldn't return it so I had to deal with the loss. Oh well. Live and learn.

Thanks jdizzle, that is excellent advice!!!

jdizzle wrote in post #3181602
I would go for it. I am using the my 30D with my 70-200 to get more zoom and it is faster than my 5D(fps). I would get used one instead of refurbished. I'll tell you why. My sister works for Canon beleive it or not, and I get info when the refurb items come out. I purchased a refurbed p&s and it broke after a few weeks. I couldn't return it so I had to deal with the loss. Oh well. Live and learn.

I'd get a used 20D too. You can get a good one for arond $650 which is a great deal for a great camera.

I used the 20D for 2 years with the 300 f4 and the 70-200 and the extra reach was really good.

^ Mind showing me where to find a 20D for under $700?

Thanks for your input 4x4 Rock!

Sickness, you can get a refurbished 20D or a used 20D for under $700 on ebay. Take a look. I jus happened to find one here in the forums.

I'd get a refurb from Adorama and slap a Mack Warranty onto it if I intended to keep it around for awhile.

Yeah...I'd like to stay as far away from eBay as I can. Thanks though. I check the forums daily, I'll find one one of these days.

I don't quite understand what is being written here! You want a 2nd body JUST to gain the extra focal lenght of the 1.6x crop factor? Can't you just crop the image from the 5D in photoshop. Surely as there's more pixels on the 5D the end result would come out the same.... If i'm totally wrong please excuse my naivety :-/

Sickness wrote in post #3181735
^ Mind showing me where to find a 20D for under $700?

https://photography-on-the.net/forum/forumdis​play.php?f=14

Ade wrote in post #3182895
I don't quite understand what is being written here! You want a 2nd body JUST to gain the extra focal lenght of the 1.6x crop factor? Can't you just crop the image from the 5D in photoshop. Surely as there's more pixels on the 5D the end result would come out the same.... If i'm totally wrong please excuse my naivety :-/

If you crop the 5D to the same FoV as the 20D/30D wouljd have you only get about 5 MP, not the 8 of the 20D. The 12 MP of the 5D are spread over about 2.5x the area of the 8 MP in the 20D/30D.

OP - I have the 20D/5D combo and it's great for just what you're thinking about it for. Differences in operation of the two cameras are limited to minor things like the date change and Picture Styles. Day-to-day functionality is essentially identical.

The 30D is a very incremental improvement on the 20D and has two things that could be useful for wildlife. The spot meter is useful if you are shooting against a bright background such a snow since you can take the reading off just your subject. The larger buffer means you can take more shots in a sequence of something like elk fighting where you want to get as many action shots as possible because it is impossible to tell in advance which part of the action will give the best picture.

If those features are important to you, the 30D would be the better choice. Otherwise, there is nothing wrong with the 20D.

I too have the 20D and 5D and would not trade for any other setup I can think of. The 20 is truly amazing for wildlife photography.

Jon wrote in post #3183363
If you crop the 5D to the same FoV as the 20D/30D wouljd have you only get about 5 MP, not the 8 of the 20D. The 12 MP of the 5D are spread over about 2.5x the area of the 8 MP in the 20D/30D.

Aha, i see now , Thanks Jon..

Jon wrote in post #3183363
If you crop the 5D to the same FoV as the 20D/30D wouljd have you only get about 5 MP, not the 8 of the 20D. The 12 MP of the 5D are spread over about 2.5x the area of the 8 MP in the 20D/30D.

OP - I have the 20D/5D combo and it's great for just what you're thinking about it for. Differences in operation of the two cameras are limited to minor things like the date change and Picture Styles. Day-to-day functionality is essentially identical.

Yah! That is exactly what I have read about also. Cropping the 12mp is not the same quality as the 8mp. I also definitely wouldn't mind getting 640mm out of my 100-400 and a 160mm on my 100mm macro! LOL.