7D vs 5D Mark II

I know that this has been discussed many times before - but I want to give my scenario - I am an Equine Photographer - doing indoor and outdoor shows. I also do lots of Portraits with Equines. Mostly Events.

I have been told that the 5D Mark II is more of a Portrait camera.. I was told that the 5D Mark II is great in low light (indoors) I have heard that this camera has some auto focusing issues.

I have been told that the 7D is more what I am looking for.

Can you please give me the pros and cons - especially sports shooters. What are you using? My glass is the Canon 70-200 mm 2.8. That lens rarely leaves my camera.

Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Sounds like you've summed up the general pros and cons of both cameras. It's easy though to obsess over stats on paper or issues that you hear or are told. In reality, you'd probably be happy with either and you may find the "issues" are acceptable and do not impact your work (i.e. 5DMII may focus fine or 7D low light quality are good/acceptable). Based on you scenario, I think the 7D would be a slightly better fit. Sounds like you'll be doing a majority of distance shots with the zoom lens and the added reach of the 7D might be beneficial. Also the 7D has the higher FPS which might be nice if you do a lot of action shots as well.

Sounds like you are in the same boat I am. I have waffled between the 7d and 5D Mark II so many times it is almost laughable.

Here is what I have finally decided. . .

5DMark II takes UNBELIEVABLY GREAT pictures. . .7D merely takes GREAT pictures.

5dMark II has xxD-style autofocus. . .does that suit you? Or do you need something better?

Is price a factor? 5D Mark II is $1000 more.

That's about it. Let me know what you decide. . .I might change my mind, yet again.

My price range is $2500... which I was DEAD SET on (the 5DMarkII) However - after speaking to many photographer friends - This is mearly an amazing PORTRAIT camera.. It is not as fast as I need it to be for low light situations such as an indoor arena with a horse jumping a 3ft fence. (Totally Action)

I also have been told that I do not need the 21+ MP.. which in all reality I do not..

My biggest worry.... is the 7D going to perform well in an indoor arena.. ( low light ) with my Canon 70-200mm 2.8 and no flash.. Can I use flash? Of course.. do I want to.. nope. I just need to hear opinion other then my friends.. I know that the 5DMarkII will perform well in low light.. the ISO on the 7D is expandable to 6400... although after reading this yet again.. I think it will perform well..

ISO 100-6400 (expandable to 12800)
With a broad range of ISO settings, the EOS 7D enables shooting from dawn through dusk and ensures capture of the finest detail. With enhanced, low-noise high-sensitivity optimization, shooting in situations previously possible only with flash are easier than ever before.

Do I need the full frame camera? no..

I am primarily a Sports/Event Photographer w/Weddings & Portraits on the side.. decisions.. anybody else up for replying?

I made this decision a few days ago, and picked the 5D Mark II.

What I did was to look at old images made with my XSi and asked what was the single biggest reason behind missed shots. For me, it came out to be high ISO noise or blurry shots in low light conditions at higher ISO's. Sure, there were some issues with missed focus here and there; but not nearly as many from not having enough low light sensitivity.

Sounds as if you have a good base of work to make your decision.

PS: have fun with the ponies.

5Dmkii...i will recommend, beats 7D totally for night shooting... i came from 7D to FF. look at the pics posted by the 5Dmkii owners! else 1dmkiii for speed.

Just looking at your last sentence, I think the 7D is the camera for you. We just purchased a 5D yesterday, but I shoot rock concerts (low light) and my fiance does weddings/portraits. I also shoot wildlife but that's more secondary. I know the 7D would be sufficient for what we are doing at this point in the game, but when we made our decision we looked at what was best for our primary use. My dad shoots a lot of wildlife photography and the 7D is awesome for that.

If you plan on shooting the horses in motion at any point the 7d would be a better bet.

I have a series of shots taken of a performer running accross a stage and leaping 3 times. I caught all three leaps at the apex of the jumps. It's timing... the 5D is fast enough, imo.

What it doesn't do is high fps. I have found that usefull on rare occassions such as BMX going off of ramps. the lens had to be prefocused, it was that fast. High FPS would give you more in-the-slot shots.

A horse going over a jump would probably benefit from high fps...so on just that alone, a 7D would be better. All the other arguments for the 7D are moot, imo.

PS: To get the high FPS you are going to have to be shooting at a reasonably high shutter speed.

3 of us above are 5Dmkii users!!!

now you need to change your sn

What are these "focusing issues" I am hearing so much of with the 5DMII..? Bad chips?

The outer points are not cross type. If you know how to use them, they work fine, imo.

The center point is deadly accurate, imo. Certainly better than the one on the 40D.

I own both!

For your needs though it sounds as if the 7D will suit better.

AF and FPS of the 7D might suit you better for moving horses.

For your portaits, although the 5D2 would be ideal, the 7D will do almost as good a job.