To 5D or not to... in addition :)

Ok, I received an unexpected bonus, which will cover me, together with the recent sale of the 85 F/1.8, for a 5D in addition to the 40D that already resides in my bag.

I'd really like to get a 5D Mk II, but it looks now like it will only be announced at the Photokina, fall this year, with expected availability early December of this year. I reckon it'll take another 6 to 12 months before the bugs are all ironed out, as for the price to settle a little, so I guess I won't be getting it until about 18 months from now.

This would leave me another 18 months without a back-up camera. Before you ask: no, I am not a pro, I am just a crazy hobbyist.

The way I see it, I am presented with the luxury of a few options, and in order of appeal to me they are as follows:

1. 5D. The price is at an all time low currently, and there is a 200 euro cashback as well, so I could afford that. This, in my view, does really add a new dimension, especially considering all the gear I have already. And it should be even better at low light photography than the 40D, plus better at landscapes and portraits. It also adds a new dimension to the definition of a back-up camera .

2. XSi/450D with 18-55 IS and grip, and a G9. Back-up slr, and a compact to take everywhere; still APS-C or smaller, however.

3. G9 and a 135 F/2L
This will give me a kind of back-up, a pocketable camera for when I don't want to carry a lot of heavy equipment, and one of the lenses I'd still love to add . However, I don't feel the same rush to add lenses now as I did before. I feel I have everything I have good use for.

4. XTi/400D with grip (I loved that camera, because of its small size and excellent IQ) and a G9. Same as above; for the XTi/400D I could reuse the CF-cards I have already.

5. 16-35 F/2.8L II
For those low light, no flash shoots I like to do. I do have a 17-40L and a 24 F/1.4L already, though, so that area, I feel, is covered well enough already.

6. Keep on saving for the 5D Mk II .

What I don't necessarily like about the 5D option, is the Digic II processor, the smallish and not so good LCD compared to the 40D, the supposed dust sensitivity, and the general idea of a camera which is about to be replaced. BTW, the 40D replaced my 2 XTi/400D bodies, mostly because of the better noise performance shooting in low light.

So far the #1 option regarding appeal, to me is the 5D. #2 is the XSi/450D + G9 option.

The longer I think about it, the more attracted I am to the 5D.

So, my question to you is: what should I do, what would you do in my place, especially considering the gear in my bag (see gear list: https://photography-on-the.net …p?p=4683166&pos​tcount=966), or do you maybe have any other suggestions?

Please help me out ...

Thanks in advance!

Kindest regards, Wim

Personally, if I didn't have a 5D, I would want one, so I voted for the first option

The nice thing about having both the 5D & 40D is that they both do their own things well, so they compliment each other more than compete. So while I might consider my 40D a backup, its really just another camera I have that does some things my 5D can't do, and my 5D does some things my 40D can't do.

OMG your gear list is begging for full frame. Im surprised your using a lot of the lenses you bought on your crop. 50mm is awesome on full frame, 24-105 is brilliant, your primes will be fantastic.

Definately 5D
Adam

wimg,

You gotta go FF. You will not regret the 5D purchase. Not one bit. Not ever.

-rang

Man withh that lens lineup you need a 5D. Sell off the ef-s lenses and buy something else.

Another vote for the 5D. Once you get one, I highly doubt you will worry about additional features. It will do everything you will need.

you already have a 40D. keep on saving up for the 5D, if the hype is true, it will be well worth it!

timnosenzo wrote in post #5517496
Personally, if I didn't have a 5D, I would want one, so I voted for the first option

The nice thing about having both the 5D & 40D is that they both do their own things well, so they compliment each other more than compete. So while I might consider my 40D a backup, its really just another camera I have that does some things my 5D can't do, and my 5D does some things my 40D can't do.

Great thinking - my lines of thought were very similar .

Thanks!

Kind regards, Wim

Hi Adam,

Rankinia wrote in post #5517790
OMG your gear list is begging for full frame. Im surprised your using a lot of the lenses you bought on your crop. 50mm is awesome on full frame, 24-105 is brilliant, your primes will be fantastic.

Definately 5D
Adam

Thank you . I guess it is rather obvious I spend most of my time in the lens forum. OTOH, everybody always says "glass first" .
I guess the surprising thing may be the primes; I do a lot of low light shooting, no flash, which may explain it. That is also the reason why I got the 40D and sold the 400Ds in the first place.

Hi rang,

rang wrote in post #5517911
wimg,

You gotta go FF. You will not regret the 5D purchase. Not one bit. Not ever.

-rang

Ok, thanks!

Hi sevans16,

sevans16 wrote in post #5518243
Man withh that lens lineup you need a 5D. Sell off the ef-s lenses and buy something else.

Thank you, that is another confirmation .
I'd like to keep the EF-S lenses, for use with my crop body. I was planning on keeping a crop body, so they'll come in handy. And the Tokina will work on FF as well .

Hi elysium,

elysium wrote in post #5518275
Another vote for the 5D. Once you get one, I highly doubt you will worry about additional features. It will do everything you will need.

Thank you, that certainly is one of the things I worry about.

Thank you all for you input, it really is appreciated!

Kind regards, Wim

Hi djthemac,

djthemac wrote in post #5518284
you already have a 40D. keep on saving up for the 5D, if the hype is true, it will be well worth it!

I agree. And that was my original plan. However, I was also one of the first guys to get the 40D when it came out, and I do have battery problems with the 85L, which I didn't have with the 400Ds before that. Essentially, it'll have to go back sooner rather than later, and I don't want to be without a camera for another 6 weeks, like when Canon tried to fix it the first time around. Hence the mention of a back-up camera.

Furthermore, considering my general luck, or rather lack of it, with equipment, I think I really need to wait for a year at least after the introduction of the 5D II, and I don't think I can wait that long to get an additional body, especially after doing some more thinking about it. I guess by now I have, emotionally anyway, struck out the option of continuing to save (all), or to get another lens.

It now boils down to options 1, 2, maybe 4, or maybe just a G9. In the latter case I would continue saving starting with what is left after the G9. BTW, I did own a G5, and I still regret I sold it .

Kind regards, Wim

Wim--I'm a little amazed that you don't already have a 5D! I look to your posts for advice all the time, particularly on primes and JUST assumed you had FF. I've no doubt you'd love it. This is not a ding against the 40D, just a love of the FF on the 5D.

I just picked up a 5D and don't know how I lived without it this long.

I would put that money out of reach to where it can gain some interest over the next year and a half. Then get the 5D Mk. II.

I would probably get the G9 for now to keep my G.A.S. at bay though.

I voted for the 5D ... been there, done that!
Got my 5D last July because I really wanted one. Worth every penny spent on it!

You can wait for a MK II or a MK III or even a MKIV, but in the meantime, you're missing a lot of 5D shots and I find that no matter what will or does come out in upgrades, those "old" cameras STILL take as good a photo as they did when I got it.

5D FTW cant go wrong with FF!