5D, 40D & Lens or AB Lights?

Coming in January I will probaby habe $2500 or so(hopefully a little more to spend for photography stuff.

I already have the Rebel XT with Canon Grip and
17-40mm f/4L
24-70mm f/2.8L

Personally I think the focus system in the XT Sux. Is the 40D worth the upgrade? I am in a Bachelors program for photography, so this is what I will be doing from here on out. I know the 5D is a proven workhorse and has an amazing color range. The lenses I have will be rather short on the full frame compared to a crop sensor, but I could deal with it I guess.

Should I get a 40D or a 5D? Or should I keep the XT and get the Alienbee Busy Bee 1600 set with pocket wizards and the vagabond II?

What do I do?

Spring for the 5D! It is by far the best body on the market under $5000. In a word...exceptional

Good advice. Thanx.

Ide go 70-200f2.8 L (Or the IS Model) and 40D if it can be squeezed?

nymitch1 wrote in post #4298067
Spring for the 5D! It is by far the best body on the market under $5000. In a word...exceptional

i would second this as well. i too have been saving up for this one as well.

I think with your lineup....you could get a used 5D....seen em for $1700-1800 and grab a 135L for $700 or 800 used....Buy them from this site from reputeable members who have good feed back...I gotta say, I've bought, sold and traded with some of the best folks I've ever dealt with right here on this site...I love POTN...That's cool your in Photography class....I start this winter quarter...It's been 20 years since I've been to school but am really excited about it...good luck with whatever you decide to get.
Matt

well if you look in market watch, the shop.com extra 10 percent is back...so you could get a new 5D and lens at a great price.

Well there you have it, problem is....he's gotta wait til January. Thanks for the tip Big Country...I need a 17-55 for the 30D you sold me Wonder if it's cheaper than B&H at $854 (sorry not trying to hijack this thread)
get a 5D

Unless you're shooting sports, and need the extra reach of the 40D, I'd spring for the 5D if you can afford it. What about sell the xt, and the 17-40, and pick up a used 5D and a 70-200 2.8 IS? The 24-70 would be wider on the 5D and the 70-200 would give you extra reach like you were asking for.

$400 for Xt
$600 for 17-40 (guess)
$2500 of your own
that gives you $3500

-$1900 used 5D
-$1500 70-200 2.8 IS

That leaves you with more or less $100 for beer money!

Your current lens setup is begging to be on a 5D IMO.

This is good advice. The 24 on a FF body is like a 15 on a crop. Which is wider than you are currently going now. If you like the UW perspective then you can keep the 17-40. If the 24 seems wide enough then you can sell the 17-40. Plus if a new 5D is announced in Feb the market should be cheaper then.

Yeah, I definitely think the 17-40 is ultra wide on my Canon A2E Film Camera. I honestly don't know if it will be somthing I use on a FF camera. I really want a 5D, but Don't want to lose the focal length. I like the 1.6 crop factor, but man the IQ on the 5D is amazing.

So far I haven't heard anyone reccomend getting the Alien bees. I am greatly considering holding off on the body and getting a set of Alien Bees and Possibly some pocket wizards. I would get th Vagabond to do location photography.

It is a tough choice. I could probably swing the Alien bees and the 40D and go with the Poverty Wizards on Ebay.

My main Question is whether or not the 40D is worth the upgrade from the XT. Is the focus system that much better? Is the Noise that much better?

I want the 5D, but I just bought the 17-40mm f/4L like two months ago. This is a tough choice.

Good luck in School. I love it.

EOS MAN1 wrote in post #4310241
It is a tough choice. I could probably swing the Alien bees and the 40D and go with the Poverty Wizards on Ebay.

My main Question is whether or not the 40D is worth the upgrade from the XT. Is the focus system that much better? Is the Noise that much better?

I want the 5D, but I just bought the 17-40mm f/4L like two months ago. This is a tough choice.

First, I sold my xti and bought a 40D a month ago and absolutely love it. The focus is definitely better plus there is just so much more on the camera that is customizable. I no longer feel like I'm taking pictures with a toy (which is nice for my ego:lol, before I bought it I thought live view was a gimmick, let me tell you that now I think it's a pretty serious feature to have on your camera.

Second, I bought a set of the poverty wizards 2 weeks ago and am really impressed with them. (Cactus V2s's). If you have open space I'm sure the range could be up to 100+ feet. I was able to trigger them in the back room of my house from the front. Pretty stoked about that.

Depends on what you want to shoot...The xt is a good camera. The only thing I don't like about it is the auto-focus with fast lenses. If you're missing a lot of shots because of this then it might definately be smartest to get a new body.

Are you a people shooter? I've shot nothing but people for the past 10 years and love the 1.6x on the 40d. It's possible to shoot at longer focal lengths with lighter lenses. I also like the skin tones. The Auto-focus is dead -on with wide apertures. FF on the 5d does absolutely nothing for me.

Also, I'm not impressed by alien bees for a serious shooter (just an opinion). I'd make the jump to Elinchroms and start off right. INvesting in a lighting kit is serious business because it's too expensive to start wrong. You'll want something that will change as you change over time. Something that can keep up with you as you get better. I bought my first set of elinchroms right out of school and am still using them today .They've NEVER misfired once...color is always exacty the same...I've never had to wait for them to recycle or anything. They are bulletproof and the light quality is incredible.... especially gradations with fine grids. And elinchrom has changed with the times...they've added lots of great accessories and new additions since I bought my first set and all of it integrates perfectly. Just an opinion. I figured a student needs to hear everything. Good luck with whatever you decide.