40D vs. 5D for weddings??

Hey guys, just sold my 30D. Which camera will be better (for the money) for weddings?? 40D or 5D?? Thanks for your help!

Im sure many people will suggest the 5D and they arent wrong with that suggestion, The full frame sensor makes it ideal for wedding photography with the shorter DOF for nicer (potentially) portraits, also the superior high iso performance is a big plus shooting indoors with low light. On the plus side for the 40D is certainly its price, faster and potentially more accurate af, faster continous shooting (although this probably isnt so important for weddings) liveview (again you probably wouldnt use this for weddings)

If you can afford the 5D its potentially more of an upgrade from your 30D tan the 40D is, but in some respects the 5D is lacking in features (but not ones where it counts so much like image quality) If you go with a 5D you can use your 50mm f1.4 and 70-200F4, in conjunction with a 35L or 135L youd have quite a nice setup - alternatively you could get a 40D with the 85mm F1.8 which makes for an ideal close in portrait lens on a cropped camera with equiv focal length of 136mm, or with the left over money you could upgrade your 70-700 to a f2.8is which covers a fair focal range has great IS and very good image quality.

Otherwise you could of course wait for the release of the fabled 5DmkII which Im sure will outdo both cameras in Image quality and features (hopefully) However it will be considerably more expencive than the current 5D, and wont make either the 5D or 40D incapable of producing beautiful photos.

Naturalworldphotograph​er wrote in post #6114960
..the release of the fabled 5DmkII...wont make either the 5D or 40D incapable of producing beautiful photos.

I'm not so sure about this.

I heard a rumor that Canon has a remote "kill switch" similar to the Apple iphone which makes all previous models produce soft, OOF images, forcing all users to upgrade.

If you can afford it go with the 5D

yuriyo923 wrote in post #6114853
Hey guys, just sold my 30D. Which camera will be better (for the money) for weddings?? 40D or 5D?? Thanks for your help!

A 40D with 17-55mm f/2.8 IS is a better combo to use than the heavier 5D + 24-70mm f/2.8 without-IS, for weddings!

But then you have to also consider a FF image is always better than APS-C image for making enlargements over 13x19" because of inherenly less image magnification.
And you have to consider that 24mm on FF camera allows better scene-establishing shots of church interior than the narrow AOV (10 degrees less) provided with 17mm lens on APS-C.

But then again, the typical B&G would never know which body took a shot, if viewing images on the PC monitor or looking at an 8x10 print!

versedmb wrote in post #6115014
I'm not so sure about this.

I heard a rumor that Canon has a remote "kill switch" similar to the Apple iphone which makes all previous models produce soft, OOF images, forcing all users to upgrade.

The 5D-II may be half the price of the 5D, but it will cost you more by virtue of consuming disk storage space much more rapidly (for the higher pixel count and greater number of bits per pixel being stored) and for consuming CF/SD memory much more rapidly, and I am sure that they'll figure out other ways to up the cost-per-shot, just like they upped the iPOD cost for usage while cutting the purchase price!

versedmb wrote in post #6115014
I'm not so sure about this.

I heard a rumor that Canon has a remote "kill switch" similar to the Apple iphone which makes all previous models produce soft, OOF images, forcing all users to upgrade.

Dammit I hadnt heard about that; sorry for mis informing everyone, has this info just been leaked or something??? Thats really sad to hear cos I find the AF on the 40D so good.... I dont know if Ill get any sleep tonight now. Maybe I should write a letter to canon pleading for them not to release the kill switch.


Oh and for the 40D there is also highlight tone priority and 14bit raws, so you would be able to squeeze out some detail in highlights that would clip with the 5D but as versdmb just pointed out, with the "kill switch" not only will your 40D shots be oof and soft, HTP mode will actually just make the whites clip more easily and reduce dynamic range by around 8 stops, so would have no choice but to photograph pictures of neutral grey, oof cardboard. D:

Which ever you choose.......remember, you will need 2 of them!!! 2 cameras, amongst much more equipment is needed.

Either will be more than enough camera for weddings. Eeny meeny miny moe it.

Naturalworldphotograph​er wrote in post #6115149
Dammit I hadnt heard about that....Maybe I should write a letter to canon pleading for them not to release the kill switch.

Occasionally Canon accidentally sets it off early, like they did with the 1DmkIII.

I have used both and the 5d is head and shoulders above the 40d for weddings, I have heard people say the af is faster on the 40d but in practice I do not find this true and in fact I find the 5d much more capable to lock on in low light than the 40d. It might have highlight priority but the 5d captures more information and a far better range, depth of field is also sublime on the 5d.

They both work.

The 40D is a lot cheaper than a 5D even today, but it isn't going to offer much past what your 30D could do. It isn't like 6.5 fps or live view are must have features for wedding photography. IQ is identical between the 20/30/40D cameras for all intents and purposes.

5D offers a little better resolution due to the reduced enlargement while also bringing a noise reduction advantage. It costs more, which may be compounded by the need for a 30D shooter to re-juggle the lens lineup.

cdifoto wrote in post #6115632
Either will be more than enough camera for weddings. Eeny meeny miny moe it.

Thanks for embedding a song in my head!!!
.... and I agree with your statement.

But, that song is way too catchy.

madhatter04 wrote in post #6116277
Thanks for embedding a song in my head!!!
.... and I agree with your statement.

But, that song is way too catchy.

IMHO, it ain't the song.

JeffreyG wrote in post #6115880
They both work.

The 40D is a lot cheaper than a 5D even today, but it isn't going to offer much past what your 30D could do. It isn't like 6.5 fps or live view are must have features for wedding photography. IQ is identical between the 20/30/40D cameras for all intents and purposes.

5D offers a little better resolution due to the reduced enlargement while also bringing a noise reduction advantage. It costs more, which may be compounded by the need for a 30D shooter to re-juggle the lens lineup.

I find the 40D 14 bit raw files to be very smooth and pretty in comparison to the 20D/30D raw files. The gradations are smoother and there is more shadow and highlight detail. I was actually really surprised at the difference when I first looked.

Anyhow, I was debating between the two a while ago and shot a lot of them side by side. My opinion is... if you want pure image quality, go for the 5D.
If you want a camera that is nicer in an operational sense, in just about every way, go for the 40D.

My pick... I'd take a 40D over the 5D any day of the week. 5D is still a great camera, but it's just showing its age featurewise, alongside all the new cameras.