Say I have 6k SGD, upgrade to FF?

[Shin Howard]

Actually if you are a amatuer or hobbyist, I'll not suggest you to spend $6K one shot.
(You might not need 21mp, the image filesize will be really large too.)
Unless you've been dreaming of the 5D Mk II day & night.

Else you actually have a pretty good coverage from 11-300mm for your lens.
If I were you, probably I'll:
- upgrade to 50D
- buy 580EX II @ $599 (flash is nice for indoor shots and creativity wireless flash photography)
- get a few prime lens (50mm f/1.8 II, 85mm f/1.8 USM or 135 f/2L USM)

 

[solasido]

400D is a good cam considering ur current use.
i would suggest get gd lense instead, like uwa 10-22, 24-70 for indoor event shoot and perhaps 70-200 for outdoor candit shoot during family event.

these 3 lenses will cost u abt 5k-6k

i used sigma 17-70 before, u will find img quality difference one u use L lense.

on top of that cam body price drop quickly within months. Lense price drops much slower.

I've been looking around for reviews and articles to guide my decision, but i think it'll best be answered by people who are using the gear.

Currently I own a 400d with a tokina 11-16f2.8, sigma 17-70, ef 70-300. I'm an amatuer who gets asked by friends and family to help cover family gatherings, and I enjoy landscape photog. I use lightroom with a calibrated monitor and enjoy walking around at dawn to hunt for good light.

Question is, if i only print A4 at most, will ff on a 5dmk2 make a difference? or should I get L lenses? or the 50d with L lenses? which would benefit me more?

If I do get the 5dmk2 it'll be with the kit lens.
If it's an L lens, I'd prefer something that takes over the sigma, I don't mind getting the 24-105 as a walkabout lens.

Thanks very much for any suggestions

 

[2evans]

Another option would be to use some of that money on a photography trip? Canon organizes some photography trips every few months.

Trying to figure out what to do with 6k is a nice problem to have.

 

[ManWearPants]

cover family gatherings, and I enjoy landscape photog. I use lightroom with a calibrated monitor and enjoy walking around at dawn to hunt for good light.

Question is, if i only print A4 at most, will ff on a 5dmk2 make a difference? or should I get L lenses? or the 50d with L lenses? which would benefit me more?

If I do get the 5dmk2 it'll be with the kit lens.
If it's an L lens, I'd prefer something that takes over the sigma, I don't mind getting the 24-105 as a walkabout lens.

Thanks very much for any suggestions

There are so many questions. Not too sure what your focus is? To have good coverage of scene, low light shooting, choose between APS-C and FF, choose between EF-S and L lenses, to have a good walkabout lens, benefit you in which aspect - lighter pocket, heavier gears?...blah, blah, blah.

IMHO, a FF camera will give you UWA for covering group shots and landscape with EF16-35f2.8 or EF17-40f4. Of course you can achieve the same on APS-C using the AT-X11-16.. So not much point if it is coverage. EF lenses on APS-C will not give you enough UWA for your requirement.

If you are just looking for a walkabout lens. The EF24-105f4 is probably a good choice. For APS-C, it can't get any better than EF-S17-55. 24 on APS-C may be a bit too long. So your choice of lens will go along with the choice of your bodt type.

If you want to save $, stay with AT-X116 and get a EF-S17-55. If you have the $, just go FF with 24-105. That will serve most of your requirements.

I upgraded from a 40D to 5DII. What's the difference? Technically speaking , yes there is. But on the other hand, not much. Both camera can take pictures. In fact, the 40D takes better pictures as there is little vignetting. But I really appreciate the focal length of FF and the ability to crop photos. 24mm is 24mm. 200mm is 200mm. It used to be a PIA to have to consider cropped factor.

 

[ManWearPants]

if you have 6k, why spend it on bits of plastic and glass? give me half and you'll have a friend for life! :thumbsup:

Don't you know friends nowadays cannot be trusted , especially one bought with a mere 3k

 

[memorylane]

If I had 6k to spare, I'd buy the 5D MKII kit in a heartbeat.

me, i will start indian rojak stall....

 

[iMac08]

me, i will start indian rojak stall....

not funny....ppl died because of this....

 

[midicity]

I'll get the 5d2 body only and a 24-70 f2.8 L Lens...

 

[CS TAN]

I'll get the 5d2 body only and a 24-70 f2.8 L Lens...

That will surely use up every cent of the $6,000...

 

[thorn2ee]

Thanks everyone for the points.

Yes, I've been bitten by the BBB bug and the 6k is budgeted for entertainment, not my rainy day fund . I do tend to arrange trips a few times a year to places just to pack around, and photography is a major part of it (it helps keep me sane in this world), but I've never been on a photo group trip...

I'm leaning towards keeping my 400d for the moment and replacing my sigma. The 70-300 is fun on a crop sensor and I get good results from the Tokina. I might get the 24-105L since I think this would be a good walkabout lens, even on a crop sensor.

Maybe I'll use the extra money for a photo group trip, learn more, especially pp. This simple hobby seems to be becoming serious

Now if only I can rent a 5dmk2 to be definite just to see the difference in feel, in weight, in processing the pics.

 

[engrmariano]

Say I have 6k SGD, upgrade to FF?

save abit more and get 5DII & 85/1.2LII.

 

[askpaul]

Why dont u save up.... and get a Medium Format...

by the time u have the $$$ to get a Medium Format digital feedback, i am sure u know what u need.. haha

 

[thorn2ee]

Renting the 5dmk2 from camerarental.biz (great service btw) and a 24-70L lens. Must say that I actually don't need this camera. Rather, I really want this camera and lens combo. My computer and hard drives are enough to cater to the extra size, and editing is lovely. The lens on my 400d is great too, but a bit unbalanced

I don't need the extra resolution for my type of printing. but wanton cropping is available..(maybe i shouldn't get it, would lessen discipline)

Side note; the tokina 11-16 can be used on the 5dmk2 as a 16mm fixed, with barely any vignetting.

so, in the end, i'll get myself a new toy. i understand that there really wont be that much difference in my end prints, but this gives me some more options and a much better interface.

thanks all for the points and ideas. helped me quite a bit in understanding a bit more.

 

[CS TAN]

Test out the 5D2 on auto ISO under low light and compare that with your experience with the xxxD. That was what win me over...

 

[thorn2ee]

Actually, that's one of the main reason I was considering ff. I was sitting in the cold in the yukon to celebrate my birthday by trying to capture the northern lights. (400d works well at -25degC) The guide had a 5dmk2, the other guy had a d700. on their screen, the night sky looked lovely. on mine it was good.

Came back and noticed quite a bit of noise, chroma at 1600, useable pics at 800 with quite a bit of pp noise reduction. I shot a lot at 800 as my camera has quite a lot of splotchiness at 1600, but at 800, was a bit hard to get detail without star streaking... this was with the tokina at 2.8, my sigma was useless, and the 50mm f1.8 did get some useable ones.

useable means, it's not a total mess. havent finished processing any of the photos to the point that I'm satisfied. Hind sight. should have practiced really no light photography first before going off to the yukons

mind that this is the only time i've had to take photos with practically nil light, less than quarter of a moon. Usually my 400d does nicely.

tried the 5dmk2 in the house last night with no lights on and compared the photos with the 400d and was quite pleased at the results. will go out tonight to get some light trails by cars from some overhead for fun

 

[CS TAN]

I am now regularly shooting at 1600 and 3200 as compare to my max. 800 on my previous 40D (which already is consider quite good with less noise under low light in the xxD series).

 

[iMac08]

TS-So now you buying e 5d2 w 2470?yes is a great combo.i'm using it for family and hobby only and i'm loving it.i just send them in for calibration.now is even better.

 

[whizzard]

TS-So now you buying e 5d2 w 2470?yes is a great combo.i'm using it for family and hobby only and i'm loving it.i just send them in for calibration.now is even better.

CAn you plse share why did you send them in for calibration? How much did Canon charge you for it?

 

[iMac08]

CAn you plse share why did you send them in for calibration? How much did Canon charge you for it?

NC. Within warranty. I find it soft on the wide end. now it looks much better.

 

[afrodizziact]

Actually, that's one of the main reason I was considering ff. I was sitting in the cold in the yukon to celebrate my birthday by trying to capture the northern lights. (400d works well at -25degC) The guide had a 5dmk2, the other guy had a d700. on their screen, the night sky looked lovely. on mine it was good.

Came back and noticed quite a bit of noise, chroma at 1600, useable pics at 800 with quite a bit of pp noise reduction. I shot a lot at 800 as my camera has quite a lot of splotchiness at 1600, but at 800, was a bit hard to get detail without star streaking... this was with the tokina at 2.8, my sigma was useless, and the 50mm f1.8 did get some useable ones.

useable means, it's not a total mess. havent finished processing any of the photos to the point that I'm satisfied. Hind sight. should have practiced really no light photography first before going off to the yukons

mind that this is the only time i've had to take photos with practically nil light, less than quarter of a moon. Usually my 400d does nicely.

tried the 5dmk2 in the house last night with no lights on and compared the photos with the 400d and was quite pleased at the results. will go out tonight to get some light trails by cars from some overhead for fun

Think you can post some shots for comparison's sake ? TIA !