Need a backup camera, what to do?

09/19/2013 02:26:11 PM · #1

I shoot with my Canon 5DMII and am need of a second body very soon. I would like to keep it under $1000 and was thinking of picking up the 7D. I need something suitable as a second body for weddings and my other business. I know canon has a few new options out there so I am not sure on what to get. Thoughts?

09/19/2013 02:51:51 PM · #2

Get a 1D, any variety.

I never realized how soft all my images were out of the other bodies.

Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 USM Macro

09/19/2013 02:53:11 PM · #3

Another killer option, if it's really just a backup, would be the EOS-M... Put it in a small pocket in your bag, and if you need it, it's there and can use all of your lenses (with an adapter)

Alex_Petrini

Sony Alpha a7R III

Sony FE 24-70mm f/2.8 GM

09/19/2013 02:58:31 PM · #4

Originally posted by Cory:

Another killer option, if it's really just a backup, would be the EOS-M... Put it in a small pocket in your bag, and if you need it, it's there and can use all of your lenses (with an adapter)

I shot some wedding videos with a photographer who had an EOS-M as a third body with a Samyang 8mm. mounted on - quite funny! I would consider that option.

Spork99

OM System OM-1

09/19/2013 03:20:37 PM · #5

Originally posted by Cory:

Get a 1D, any variety.

I never realized how soft all my images were out of the other bodies.

As much as I loved my 1D MkII I'd hesitate unless they've changed the menu system. If you're at all familiar with the look and feel of how settings change on your 5DmkII, the 1D menus will make you insane and vice versa until you get used to how different they are.

My suggestion would be to just bite the bullet and get another 5D mkII...or get ther mkIII and use the mkII as backup. Totally blows your budget, I know.

Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM

09/19/2013 03:42:19 PM · #6

Another 5D really isn't in my budget so I will scratch that. i had looked at used 1D's before and they are tempting but not sure how that would work wit the different menus. How would a 1DMIII compare to the 7D? Used they are comparable. Not sure how it would look using a eos-m as a second body but it would be interesting seeing the 70-200 mounted on that.

Simms

Canon EOS-5D Mark II

09/19/2013 03:46:33 PM · #7

Originally posted by MinsoPhoto:

1D mk3 V 7D are actaully very similar - to be honest it's just the crop factor difference (1.3x on 1d and 1.6x on 7D) and the screen on the 7D has more clarity than the 1Dmk3 - if you can live with the 1.6x crop factor then that could be the one for you. I would say that the 1Dmk3 is the weakest (at the time of release) of any of the 1D series - but you can pick them up for next to nothing, relatively speaking.

Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM

09/19/2013 04:01:32 PM · #8

Originally posted by Simms:

Originally posted by MinsoPhoto:
Another 5D really isn't in my budget so I will scratch that. i had looked at used 1D's before and they are tempting but not sure how that would work wit the different menus. How would a 1DMIII compare to the 7D? Used they are comparable. Not sure how it would look using a eos-m as a second body but it would be interesting seeing the 70-200 mounted on that.

1D mk3 V 7D are actaully very similar - to be honest it's just the crop factor difference (1.3x on 1d and 1.6x on 7D) and the screen on the 7D has more clarity than the 1Dmk3 - if you can live with the 1.6x crop factor then that could be the one for you. I would say that the 1Dmk3 is the weakest (at the time of release) of any of the 1D series - but you can pick them up for next to nothing, relatively speaking.

All very true. I paid next to nothing for mine, and it's still a far cry better than most of the other Canon stuff that I've used and owned.

The big difference between the 1DIII and the 7D would be resolution (the 7D kills the 1DmkIII), the fact that the 7D is noisy at all ISOs, and never terribly sharp. (I know I'll catch flak for saying that, but unless you own a 1D series you probably just don't understand)..

Simms

Canon EOS-5D Mark II

09/19/2013 04:06:08 PM · #9

Originally posted by Cory:

Originally posted by Simms:

Originally posted by MinsoPhoto:
Another 5D really isn't in my budget so I will scratch that. i had looked at used 1D's before and they are tempting but not sure how that would work wit the different menus. How would a 1DMIII compare to the 7D? Used they are comparable. Not sure how it would look using a eos-m as a second body but it would be interesting seeing the 70-200 mounted on that.

1D mk3 V 7D are actaully very similar - to be honest it's just the crop factor difference (1.3x on 1d and 1.6x on 7D) and the screen on the 7D has more clarity than the 1Dmk3 - if you can live with the 1.6x crop factor then that could be the one for you. I would say that the 1Dmk3 is the weakest (at the time of release) of any of the 1D series - but you can pick them up for next to nothing, relatively speaking.

All very true. I paid next to nothing for mine, and it's still a far cry better than most of the other Canon stuff that I've used and owned.

The big difference between the 1DIII and the 7D would be resolution (the 7D kills the 1DmkIII), the fact that the 7D is noisy at all ISOs, and never terribly sharp. (I know I'll catch flak for saying that, but unless you own a 1D series you probably just don't understand)..

I forgot to mention one great thing about he 1Dmk3 - the battery, it goes on forever - thats a huge plus - I've had over 2500 shots on a single charge. Oh, a dual media slot for both CF & SD - thats nice as well.

Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II

09/19/2013 04:11:12 PM · #10

Originally posted by Simms:

Originally posted by Cory:

Originally posted by Simms:

Originally posted by MinsoPhoto:
Another 5D really isn't in my budget so I will scratch that. i had looked at used 1D's before and they are tempting but not sure how that would work wit the different menus. How would a 1DMIII compare to the 7D? Used they are comparable. Not sure how it would look using a eos-m as a second body but it would be interesting seeing the 70-200 mounted on that.

1D mk3 V 7D are actaully very similar - to be honest it's just the crop factor difference (1.3x on 1d and 1.6x on 7D) and the screen on the 7D has more clarity than the 1Dmk3 - if you can live with the 1.6x crop factor then that could be the one for you. I would say that the 1Dmk3 is the weakest (at the time of release) of any of the 1D series - but you can pick them up for next to nothing, relatively speaking.

All very true. I paid next to nothing for mine, and it's still a far cry better than most of the other Canon stuff that I've used and owned.

The big difference between the 1DIII and the 7D would be resolution (the 7D kills the 1DmkIII), the fact that the 7D is noisy at all ISOs, and never terribly sharp. (I know I'll catch flak for saying that, but unless you own a 1D series you probably just don't understand)..

I forgot to mention one great thing about he 1Dmk3 - the battery, it goes on forever - thats a huge plus - I've had over 2500 shots on a single charge. Oh, a dual media slot for both CF & SD - thats nice as well.

I bought an extra one with it, and I now realize that it wasn't needed really. (Still damn good feeling to have a spare)..

And the dual cards has saved me once already when a CF went corrupt on read. Yeah, I do like this camera.

..

Still. You can put the EOS M in your pocket. :) And it has that cute 22mm pancake lens available.

Brent_S

Canon EOS-5D Mark III

09/19/2013 05:40:58 PM · #11

A while back I found myself also looking for a backup to my 5D Mark II, mainly to be safe shooting events. I originally was looking for a second 5DII or possibly even a 5D classic. I ended up going a little above the budget I had set when I came across a great deal on a lightly used 5DIII.

Now that I have two similar cameras I find I am shooting with two camera at once a fair amount rather than having the extra camera strictly for backup. It's just great to not need to switch lenses as often. With that in mind, I would recommend doing your best to end up with two bodies with similar menus as well as feel in hand. Maybe consider a 5D classic which can be had for well within your budget, or if you can find the right seller maybe another 5DII would be possible as prices for them continue to go down?

It sure would be nice if your second body could be full-frame. Then if disaster did strike and you had to finish out an event with just your backup you wouldn't suddenly find yourself feeling uncertain about which lens/settings to be using.

Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS

09/19/2013 05:44:17 PM · #12

Originally posted by Brent_S:

It sure would be nice if your second body could be full-frame. Then if disaster did strike and you had to finish out an event with just your backup you wouldn't suddenly find yourself feeling uncertain about which lens/settings to be using.

I totally agree. Look around for a used 1Dx. ;)

--

Kidding of course, but if you rely strongly upon pre-set ideas, then this is indeed a great idea, if you have set ups that work for you, and you treat each wedding like a scripted event, then changing crop-factors could actually be a killer.

However, the other thing to consider if you did go the 1D route... 10fps. You don't need it often, but for fast moving critical events, it's not a bad option to have available.

I'd also vouch for the ol' 5D classic as well. I still love mine, not a darn thing wrong with it.

vawendy

Sony Alpha 1

09/19/2013 05:55:49 PM · #13

I disagree about the sharpness of the 7D. Very sharp. Hate the noise on mine. But definitely will live with it because I love the crop factor for wildlife and the frames per second are awesome.

Why not get the 7D as a backup, but then also you have it for things like wildlife. Which really, still have the full frames beat. (except for that stupid noise. Which seems to be on a camera by camera basis)

Have the best of both worlds.

Message edited by author 2013-09-19 17:56:06.

09/19/2013 10:09:50 PM · #14

I had a 7d a few years back and the quality was great, the noise was disappointing. Switching from full frame to crop really isn't an issue but I did like the 7D as the menus were very similar to the 5DII. Any word on the new offerings from canon like the 70d I believe? A 1D is tempting but the mp bothers me a bit. I push selling large canvases and I am worried how a 20x30 from a 1D would look. Thoughts?

09/19/2013 11:15:22 PM · #15

Originally posted by MinsoPhoto:

Want an original file to play with?

ETA: I think you'll find that quality of pixels matters more than quantity of pixels.

Message edited by author 2013-09-19 23:16:00.

09/20/2013 07:23:59 AM · #16

Cory, I would be interested to see an original file from a 1d

09/20/2013 10:23:29 AM · #17

Originally posted by MinsoPhoto:

Cory, I would be interested to see an original file from a 1d

PM'ed you the files.

For anyone else interested

Here's a test shot from that splash shoot I did. - this is ISO 800.. At base ISO this thing is really crazy clean - but it's so darn clean at 400-800ISO that I never hesitate to bump it. In this case I was firing a speedlight at 10 hertz (and running the camera at 10fps), so the ISO 800 was needed to boost the 1/128 flash power.

(Note the lens used here - the 28-135IS isn't exactly known for detail rendition..)

Here's ISO 3200 on a gradient background with text

ISO 6400 (maximum for this body) .. Two images - one is slightly underexposed, revealing far more noise than the more proper exposure.

--

These are all full size jpegs straight out of the camera. Obviously it looks even better at base ISO, but I've found that what little noise is present is 'good' noise with fairly random distribution and almost film-like character.

Oh, and look at the detail in that test shot - sure it's only 10 megapixels, but those are some sharp and clean pixels.

Message edited by author 2013-09-20 10:27:07.

Fujifilm XF 18-55mm f/2.8-4 OIS

09/20/2013 10:43:52 AM · #18

Originally posted by MinsoPhoto:

A 1D is tempting but the mp bothers me a bit. I push selling large canvases and I am worried how a 20x30 from a 1D would look. Thoughts?

Just measured it, and found that my monitor is about 27x48 inches for the display area.

I can absolutely tell you that a 1D file looks fantastic on it - and I've found that pretty much anything that looks good on this monitor will print to a canvas at the same size with no perceptible problems. (Canvas is super forgiving like that).. So really, since a 1D file is about 4x the resolution of my monitor, I'd say that you could possibly go as large as twice your stated size (40x60) and still get an acceptable print, maybe even more.

Remember - the printers do have really good upscaling software, so if you're giving them a really sharp and clean image, they can do some pretty shocking things with it.

Now, if you want to print to aluminum, I'd say that 20x30 is probably a reasonable maximum, since aluminum shows so much wonderful detail that you wouldn't want to skimp on.

Message edited by author 2013-09-20 10:44:21.

docpjv

Fujifilm X-E1

09/21/2013 11:39:10 AM · #19

Some guys recommended the EOS M. Please do not even think about it. Maybe now with the second firmware upgrade there are claims of faster auto focus and focus in general. EOS M is the holder of the record for the slowest focus, slower than point and shoots. Where do you think is mine?

The little body toy that just came out, 100D, excellent touch screen, body around $600. Light, and excellent quality. Please, not the EOS M.

scalvert

Canon EOS-5D Mark III

Canon EF 24-105mm f/4.0L IS

09/21/2013 01:03:30 PM · #20

FWIW, a refurbished 6D is $1499 direct from Canon with 1 year warranty. That would be my choice for a backup.