Upgrading to a FF camera..suggestions?

I am looking to get into a full frame camera and have been reading lots of reviews and articles and the more I read the more I am confused. I am shooting with an XTI now and have several good lenses. I will be using it mostly for portraits and want the larger sensor to get wider angles from my lenses and perhaps better picture quality. What is the best "bang for the buck" Canon camera. I would like to stay as far below $2000 as possible. I am thinking that the 5D would be a good choice......any opinions?? Thanks!

For that price, your ONLY choice is the 5D version 1, and that's if you buy it used.
You list an 18-35 kit lens, but there is no such kit lens in existence. I assume you mean 18-55? That lens will not work on your 5D.

As Lloyd says, the 5D original is your only option at under 2K. New they are right at 2k. Used maybe $200 less. It's a great body for portraits.

picturecrazy wrote in post #6662644
For that price, your ONLY choice is the 5D version 1, and that's if you buy it used.
You list an 18-35 kit lens, but there is no such kit lens in existence. I assume you mean 18-55? That lens will not work on your 5D.

The junk (kit lens) is an 18-55 and the only thing that is good for is to keep papers from blowing off my desk! I have a 50mm 1.4, 100mm 2.8, and Tamron 28-75mm 2.8 as my "good" lenses. I have seen brand new 5D's for $1800, so there is no need to buy used, just to keep under the budget.....although I wouldn't balk at a used camera with a relatively low shutter count. Thanks for the reply!

gjl711 wrote in post #6662701
As Lloyd says, the 5D original is your only option at under 2K. New they are right at 2k. Used maybe $200 less. It's a great body for portraits.

Good used 5D bodies can be had for much less than $1800. Check eBay and use live.com $200 off. (well, not anymore I guess.)

from ur lens line up why not just get better glass? i think beside the 50 1.4 and 28-75 it wouldn't be the best it can be on the 5D unless ur planning to buy better glass for it

samurairx7 wrote in post #6662803
from ur lens line up why not just get better glass? i think beside the 50 1.4 and 28-75 it wouldn't be the best it can be on the 5D unless ur planning to buy better glass for it

I wouldn't consider my 100mm 2.8 to be a less than average lens! I really need to get to a full frame camera as my studio space is rather limited and the crop body is making it hard to get far enough away from the subject. Thanks for the replies guys!

If you really need FF camera then yeah 5D is your best choice

but if you just want to get wider angle, why not EF-S 10-22? (16-35 equivalent at FF camera, which is wider than FF + your current lens)

Point-n-shoot-n wrote in post #6662948
I wouldn't consider my 100mm 2.8 to be a less than average lens! I really need to get to a full frame camera as my studio space is rather limited and the crop body is making it hard to get far enough away from the subject. Thanks for the replies guys!

Surely it would be much cheaper just to buy a wider lens?

I agree with the majority of others in here - it is possible to get wider angles from different lenses.

I think you should seriously consider as to why you need full frame, as oppose to wanting it. And I think you'll understand that there may be more affordable routes/solutions to your needs.

I do have to add though that the 5D is absolutely brilliant. So even without any reasonable logic or justification I think you should just do the upgrade

There's also the 1Ds Classic you can consider. Plenty of people will tell you it's old, noisy and slow, but if possible, rent that and the 5D, shoot both and then decide. It's not a small sum of money so choose carefully, and to that end, ensure you've tried as many options as you can before buying.

Check out the classifieds in this forum now. There's a 5D and a 1DMkII for sale in your budget.

justAL wrote in post #6664286
Check out the classifieds in this forum now. There's a 5D and a 1DMkII for sale in your budget.

Been doing just that. I really want the IQ of a FF camera as well as the wider angle. I don't like the distortion of some of the really wide lenses. My studio is only going to be about 10' x 12' so space is at a premium!

Point-n-shoot-n,

I own the 30D, 50D, and 5D. While I understand your need for the effective focal length to be closer to that stated on the lens, you can still do excellent photography with the crop bodies. And one word of warning: My 24-105 and 24-70 lenses both have significant vignetting at 24 mm on the 5D. The downside of the full frame sensor.

Personally, I just think of my lenses as being "one size larger" when mounted on the 1.6x bodies than they really are. Hence, 24 becomes 35, 35 becomes 50, etc. I realize the math isn't correct, but it is close enough when selecting a lens for a certain look in the image I want to capture. Yeah, 85 to 135 mm is considered by many to be the best range of focal length for a portrait, but you would be surprised what you can do with a nice 50 on a crop body.

Oh, and since you think the kit 18-55 is junk, can I have it? I need to pick one up for underwater photography, and if you aren't using yours.........

Point-n-shoot-n wrote in post #6664380
Been doing just that. I really want the IQ of a FF camera as well as the wider angle. I don't like the distortion of some of the really wide lenses. My studio is only going to be about 10' x 12' so space is at a premium!

Hmmmm - I wondered if you were thinking that. FF isn't going to help avoid this. The distortion you refer to arises from the distance (or lack thereof) between the subject and camera; neither focal length nor sensor size affects it. Once you back up as far as you can in your cramped space, your perspective is fixed; all that varies with focal length of format is the amount of the scene that you capture.