5D is it a want or a need?

Hello again Garden - sorry for my "attack" on your finances. I do tend to be a bit loud mouthed and opinionated. In your OP you painted what appeared to me to be a pretty bleak financial picture, living paycheck-to-paycheck..... etc. My misinterpration. That's a pretty impressive 8% CC rate btw.

That being said, maybe I can offer some actual constructive advice. You mention high ISO/high noise issues. What type of shots are these? What sort of settings are you using? Perhaps I can offer some suggestions. - Stu

Garden, I really like your pictures. It sounds like you have your financials under control and you are correct, it is certainly your business. I love my 5D and if you get one, I think you'll be very happy! Prices are pretty good right now. Good luck!

gardengirl13 wrote in post #6685424
Having both the 30D and 5D and 35L can you really see improvement from the 30 to the 5? I'm not expecting life changing I just want ISO improvment. But if it's only a small improvment then I guess it's not worth it, I can always upgrade my 24 to the L to make up the good primes I want with FF.

I did not see a mention of what you lens collection consists of.
The reason I ask is from the standpoint of that ISO improvement there is about a 1 stop ISO/Noise difference in favor of the 5d.

While this might not be the best comparison to judge with you can go to this post I made comparing a 5D/24-105mm f/4 IS setup to my 40D/17-55mm f/2.8 IS setup.

Just a thought.

Needs = food, warm place to sleep, clothes to keep me comfortable

everything else is a want. . .

I want a 5D MkII

gardengirl13 wrote in post #6685229
I shoot mostly landscape, but not really wide, band gigs in some very low light areas, macro, and gardens.
I really REALLY miss my film days and not having to worry about the crop factor with my lenses.

Do you think I should upgrade? I want my images crisper, less grain for the low light shots, and to just use my primes the way I think they should be used.

gardengirl, I think you will LOVE the 5D. It's no magic bullet, but given these comments, I think you'll love a few things about it:
a) HUGE viewfinder, it'll remind you of your film days, and makes shooting with primes a real joy.
b) Makes lens selection make more sense - your wider primes will actually be wide, and I know you have the 200L, and that lens is SUPERB on the 5D.
c) It doesn't get much better than the 5D for low light, not at the price.

Garden, I echo what Perryge says about the viewfinder. It was certainly one of the deciding factors in my choice of the 5D. I came from a Hasselblad 503CW which has a huge, bright finder and everything seemed miniscule by comparison. The finder on the 5D was not perfect, but it was a significant improvement over competing models.

sapearl wrote in post #6692177
Hello again Garden - sorry for my "attack" on your finances. I do tend to be a bit loud mouthed and opinionated. In your OP you painted what appeared to me to be a pretty bleak financial picture, living paycheck-to-paycheck..... etc. My misinterpration. That's a pretty impressive 8% CC rate btw.

Ditto again. If your not having to use credit card debt to fund the 5D then go for it!

Nice narrow DOF even with f/4 zooms....

24-105, f/5...

I'm sure lots of us feel like turds for trying to get into the whole money situation but didn't fully understand the situation on hand. I'd like to apologize.

Nothing is wrong with the 5D and you're ultimately the one to decide when and if you should get it. In terms of ISO capabilities, it's very good. Image quality is better. I really enjoy the larger viewfinder. Definitely a nice step up from crop body. Whether you make the choice now, later for a 5D, or even for a 5Dii, it'll be great.

Sometimes huge improvement in noise can be accomplished by being even more precise in your exposures, also the more I work with a combination of the original exposures and my PP, I become amazed now much better my camera seems now at higher ISO's and I thought I was doing really well before.

I've a friend who does a lot of wildlife/scenic/landsc​apes with a 30D and the work is simply stunning, and there are times I'm amazed at the quality and beautiful images I've gotten out of my little Canon G9 point and shoot as long as you're not pixel peeping at 100%, just doing things like the internet and making really nice prints, not murals but you can sure get good photos out of these cameras. What you have is a really good camera right now today, it's so easy to move up only to have the manufacturers fill a need by upping what the new cameras will do, that need of course works with their profiting too which is also fair but having been there, life is so much sweeter when you have no debt; I am very grateful that every bit of camera gear I have is paid for.

i was beating myself when i got the 40D as the 50D just came out. Once I got over the I was wondering if I should have got the 5D.

My plan is to use the 40D for a couple of years or at least until the price of the new 5DII drops to somewhat affordable levels.

gardengirl13 wrote in post #6685424
Having both the 30D and 5D and 35L can you really see improvement from the 30 to the 5? I'm not expecting life changing I just want ISO improvment. But if it's only a small improvment then I guess it's not worth it, I can always upgrade my 24 to the L to make up the good primes I want with FF.

the 5d is definitely noticeably better. in noise yes but more importantly in the tonality of high iso files. the 5d files take edits much better as well. that being said it is absolutely possible to get beautiful images out of the 30d at high iso. it's all about nailing the exposure and massaging the files in post.

In addition to my wedding and landscape work, I'm a volunteer at the local PBS station. Several times each year they contact me to cover a speaker or event, and I donate my time and talent.

This shot was taken of Kai Ryssdal from the program "Marketplace". Image was made at ISO 1600, 1/50 sec f/4 with the 24-105. I shot RAW and adjusted in ACR, no flash used, and very little PP. The station was pleased with the results.

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Just go buy it.I didnt need new golf clubs this time of year either but what the heck now I own a new set of ping s57..

gardengirl13 wrote in post #6685424
Having both the 30D and 5D and 35L can you really see improvement from the 30 to the 5? I'm not expecting life changing I just want ISO improvment. But if it's only a small improvment then I guess it's not worth it, I can always upgrade my 24 to the L to make up the good primes I want with FF.

I had the 30 D and have the 5D and IMO the biggest difference is not in high ISO results ( they're just OK IMO) the real advantage is in the plastic smoothness and just sheer IQ of the 5D images over the 30D at normal ISO

That was what decided me , more than the FF even which I really wanted as I too was an avid film shooter and missed the lenses working 'properly'.

The disadvantages to the 5D are: dust is a bigger prob IMO than the 30D; and it is not as unobtrusive as the 30D, i.e. it's quite a bit bigger, so less good for shooting street discreetly. The advantages thoyugh are obvious and far outwheigh the disadvantages

If you can accept a second hand onthen that's what i would do, but if you're hankering after a nice shiny new camera as a pressy then get a new one

If going secondhand there will be some very good ones out there as there must be more like me who altough they carry the camera alot really don't shoot too prolifically. For example I still shoot like I used to shoot film, i.e. sparingly. I try to tell myself that I dont need to but I just am not one for firing off at all and sundry - I lie to consider my shots. Now if you can get someone like me to sell you their 5D when they upgrade you'll have a real bargain.

Either way it sounds lik you want it pretty badly, so take a CF card into a shop and take the results home if you need any more convincing.