Looking at other forums etc people seem very happy with the image quality,Its an easy step up from the 20D as its a similar set up on the body,It seems you only need use the best L lenses with the full frame otherwise your images wont be any better than with the 20D,Jessops doing good deals with 12 months interst free/no payment for 12 months,The 24-105 kit has mixed reviews as its prone to bad vignetting,A few pros using them-toons and rousey as back up so cant be bad,Excellent value as well
I bought the 5D earlier this year to compliment my 20D. The 5D is essentially the same camera as the 20D except with the full frame sensor and 12 megpixels. Operationally the cameras are pretty much identical.
I bought the 5D primarily for landscapes and studio/portrait type work. The 12 megapixels gives a bit more flexiblity for cropping and is more acceptable to stock agencies.
However the 20D is more than capable of landscapes and portrait work. The cropped sensor is an advantage for portraits as you never need to go too wide and you avoid edge softness and vignetting issues. The 20D plus the 50 1.4 and the 85 1.8 is a perfect combination for portrait work. For landscapes the 20D + the 10-22 is a good combination, or the 17-40 F4 L.
Before buying the 5D I would step back and assess if you need it.
Advantages of 5D ;
1. 12 Mpixels, good for bigger prints (bigger than A3)
2. More pixels for cropping (handy for square, 10x8, sized prints)
3. More pixels are generally more acceptable to stock agencies (if this is a target)
4. Nice view finder
Disadvantages of 5D ;
1. Full frame sensor, need to be aware of edge softness and vignetting issues
I have used the 5D for a few months now for a variety of tasks from studio and outdoor portraits, landscapes, and a bit of wildlife when I can get close enough. I really like the camera and the image quality is excellent as you would expect. The viewfinder is a big plus but not that huge an advantage over the 20D.
I would also consider just upgrading to the 30D (or not upgrading at all) and spending the dosh on lenses and if you are serious about portrait work investing in some flash gear, brollies, remote triggers, etc.
If you do get the 5D I don't think you will regret it. But get the battery grip to go with it, it makes a difference.
Feel free to email or PM me if you have any specific 5D questions and I will be happy to help if I can.
The 5D has a redesigned mirror swing/pentaprism, it works fine with Canon EF lenses, but the problem with Canon WA lenses and FF DSLRS is that they are mediocre at the corners. If you print big then the softness becomes an issue.
Many 1Ds users gave up with Canon EF WA lenses and looked to using Leica, Zeiss or Oly OM manual focus lenses with adapters but there are mirror swing clearance problems with a lot of the Zeiss and Leica lenses on the 5D, the Oly Zuiko OM lenses still fit fine.
For landscape work the 21mm F3.5 Oly Zuiko is a real gem as are the Zeiss C/Y mount 28mm F2.8, 35mm F2.8 and 50mm F1.7 - avoid cheap chinese EBAY adapters if you do go down this route they are rubbish with infinity focus issues - you need to invest in Fotodiox, Cameraquest or "Sonny" - huge amount of info on the fredmiranda website - alternative digital systems discussion forum - discussing 3rd party manual focus lenses, albeit they seem to be heavily sidetracked with Leica only at present
Been to Mull so sorry for late comment on this. I moved from D60 to 5D a few months ago. It is now immediately after the wife, children, dog in terms of most loved objects. Bliss to operate and fabulous quality images. It is great to get back to proper wide angle for landscapes, which is my main stock area. of course the D60 and the 20D are not comparable. Agree that the large viewfinder is no great shakes as out in the field you can never see the bloody thing anyway, apart from the histogram which is the most important item in my view.All the best Pete.
Discussion
5 repliesI'm thinking of trading in my 20D for a 5D, as I'm wanting to do more landscapes and portrait work.
Just really wanting some feedback from those who have experience of using it and if they have got any teething problems.
Any advice greatly appreciated
Regards
Rob
I bought the 5D earlier this year to compliment my 20D. The 5D is essentially the same camera as the 20D except with the full frame sensor and 12 megpixels. Operationally the cameras are pretty much identical.
I bought the 5D primarily for landscapes and studio/portrait type work. The 12 megapixels gives a bit more flexiblity for cropping and is more acceptable to stock agencies.
However the 20D is more than capable of landscapes and portrait work. The cropped sensor is an advantage for portraits as you never need to go too wide and you avoid edge softness and vignetting issues. The 20D plus the 50 1.4 and the 85 1.8 is a perfect combination for portrait work. For landscapes the 20D + the 10-22 is a good combination, or the 17-40 F4 L.
Before buying the 5D I would step back and assess if you need it.
Advantages of 5D ;
1. 12 Mpixels, good for bigger prints (bigger than A3)
2. More pixels for cropping (handy for square, 10x8, sized prints)
3. More pixels are generally more acceptable to stock agencies (if this is a target)
4. Nice view finder
Disadvantages of 5D ;
1. Full frame sensor, need to be aware of edge softness and vignetting issues
I have used the 5D for a few months now for a variety of tasks from studio and outdoor portraits, landscapes, and a bit of wildlife when I can get close enough. I really like the camera and the image quality is excellent as you would expect. The viewfinder is a big plus but not that huge an advantage over the 20D.
I would also consider just upgrading to the 30D (or not upgrading at all) and spending the dosh on lenses and if you are serious about portrait work investing in some flash gear, brollies, remote triggers, etc.
If you do get the 5D I don't think you will regret it. But get the battery grip to go with it, it makes a difference.
Feel free to email or PM me if you have any specific 5D questions and I will be happy to help if I can.
cheers
Sean
p.s. A useful 20D to 5D comparison ;
http://www.bobatkins.com/photography/digital/full_frame_vs_aps-c_2.html
Many 1Ds users gave up with Canon EF WA lenses and looked to using Leica, Zeiss or Oly OM manual focus lenses with adapters but there are mirror swing clearance problems with a lot of the Zeiss and Leica lenses on the 5D, the Oly Zuiko OM lenses still fit fine.
For landscape work the 21mm F3.5 Oly Zuiko is a real gem as are the Zeiss C/Y mount 28mm F2.8, 35mm F2.8 and 50mm F1.7 - avoid cheap chinese EBAY adapters if you do go down this route they are rubbish with infinity focus issues - you need to invest in Fotodiox, Cameraquest or "Sonny" - huge amount of info on the fredmiranda website - alternative digital systems discussion forum - discussing 3rd party manual focus lenses, albeit they seem to be heavily sidetracked with Leica only at present
Mike
Thanks all for taking time to comment.
Regards
Rob