To Rent 5DmkII or 7D

TrumandrummerTrumandrummer Taylor Michigan Icrontian
edited February 2012 in Lifestyle
Me and my girlfriend of 6 years are planning a trip to California National Parks. Its going to be an important trip because I will be proposing to her.

I want to rent a better body and lens. Im still gonna bring my XSi with me because of all the accessories that I have for it. (filters, battery grip, memory cards etc). It will be my backup for if the rented camera runs out of battery/CF storage.

But we will probably be going to Big Sur, Yosemite, Sequoia NP, and San Francisco.
I love taking landscape pictures and that is what I will be doing, along with portraits of me and her.

I posted a topic about this on ThePhotoForums, but I figured I would ask everyone's opinion here too.

I really had my mind set on the 5Dmkii. I really want to use that full-frame sensor. But others have suggested the 7D over it. Because of the better AF system, and the cropped sensor giving me more "reach" with the lenses. (which I feel could be a bad thing, because I love wide angle) And I don't think that the AF system will bother me that much, as my XSi is obviously not a great AF system as it is, so I won't feel like I am missing much. Im used to it.

I was thinking about renting a 5Dmkii and the Canon EF 17-40mm F/4L.
Along with bringing my nifty fifty 50mm Prime. EF 50mm.

And my XSi for my filters and a backup camera (my fitlers are not gonna fit on that nice L lens)

What do you all think? 7D or 5DmII?


I already have a CF card, and a flash (since the 5D doesn't have a pop-up flash) so that really doesn't bother me either.

Comments

  • AlexDeGruvenAlexDeGruven Wut? Meechigan Icrontian
    You could go with a wider lens to account for the smaller sensor on the 7D.

    Looking at the specs, I'd say go with the 5D MkII. The larger sensor AND higher pixel count will give you better pictures right from the start. And at 21.1Mp, you can crop a 20x30 print from 2/3 of the frame.
  • SnarkasmSnarkasm Madison, WI Icrontian
    The 5D and 17-40 will be a great pairing for you. It pincushions a bit at the REALLY wide end, but I think you'll like it a lot.
  • primesuspectprimesuspect Beepin n' Boopin Detroit, MI Icrontian
    edited February 2012
    If you want to seriously get the most out of your images (as well as compensate for some of that subtle pincushioning), I cannot recommend DxO Optics Pro as your RAW image processing software highly enough. I've been using it since 2006 and it is pure science in a box. They have profiles for every body/lens combo that are custom-designed to accommodate subtle flaws in each lens, as well as correct skew, pincushion, color imbalance, and other things. It's beautiful stuff.
  • shwaipshwaip bluffin' with my muffin Icrontian
    edited February 2012
    I don't know why, but i feel like the 17-40 might be a little too wide on the 5d2. Maybe better with the 24-105.
    If you want to seriously get the most out of your images (as well as compensate for some of that subtle pincushioning), I cannot recommend DxO Optics Pro as your RAW image processing software highly enough. I've been using it since 2006 and it is pure science in a box. They have profiles for every body/lens combo that are custom-designed to accommodate subtle flaws in each lens, as well as correct skew, pincushion, color imbalance, and other things. It's beautiful stuff.
    lr3 does that now too. (and is currently ~$20 from adobe if you are a student)
  • TrumandrummerTrumandrummer Taylor Michigan Icrontian
    edited February 2012
    Yea, considering that 24mm on full frame is still wider than 18mm cropped. Maybe 17 is to much. Although I do like wide..... but 24-105 gives me more reach if needed.

    Does anyone know which lens has better Image quality?

    But everyone agrees on the 5D?
    That was my original choice, I always assumed the 21mp and the full frame would be a better choice for my needs.

    @Prime,
    Thanks for the software recommendation....
    Looks nice, and not too expensive.
  • primesuspectprimesuspect Beepin n' Boopin Detroit, MI Icrontian
    The 30 day trial will sell you.
  • SnarkasmSnarkasm Madison, WI Icrontian
    In my mind, the lens hierarchy in that range goes 24-70 > 17-40 > 24-105. That's just me, though. The 24-105 is still on my list of stuff to get as a walkabout lens.
  • shwaipshwaip bluffin' with my muffin Icrontian
    edited February 2012
    @Trumandrummer What FF lenses do you have?
  • TrumandrummerTrumandrummer Taylor Michigan Icrontian
    @Shwaip Just my EF 50mm f1.8

    I only have 2 lenses. The nifty fifty. and the EF-S 18-55 which obviously won't work on the 5d.

    But most the time I just use the 18mm wide angle for landscapes. So renting a 5DmkII and a nice wide to mid range L lens would be perfect, I think.

    I just can't decide if that 17-40mm would be too wide.

    Plus the 24-105mm has IS I think
  • shwaipshwaip bluffin' with my muffin Icrontian
    I'd say go for the 24-105 then. You'll have the fast 50mm in case you really need it, and 70mm is pretty short on a FF body.
  • TrumandrummerTrumandrummer Taylor Michigan Icrontian
    edited February 2012
    That sounds great. Can't Wait.

    I just wish my expensive B&W 6-stop ND filter, my Hoya Circular Polarizer, and my Cokin ND grad filter would fit on the nice lens :(

    Im not quite sure, I think my cokin filter might work with a new adapter. I swear I remember it saying that it supported up to 77mm thread size. After all, I did get the wide-angle "slim" holder. But with the Full Frame, it will probably cause vignetting anyways.

    Were probably gonna be going in Late April, Early May maybe.

    Just trying to plan everything ahead.



    EDIT:
    It says on B&H that my adapter can be used on Wide Lenses down to 20mm on 35mm format (full frame)

    And I read a couple reviews that said it works with little to-no vignetting on their 5D past 19mm.

    So If I buy a $20 ring for 77mm thread, I can at least use my ND Grad filter! Woohoo
  • TrumandrummerTrumandrummer Taylor Michigan Icrontian
    edited April 2012
    So, I Have to start this thread back up for a bit.

    Planning on making my reservation for the body/lens rental soon. We pushed our trip back to late May.

    But has anyone ever rented or purchased anything from LensGiant.com ???

    Stumbled upon it, seems very legit, better prices than a lot of other rental companies, and best of all.....
    Its like 30 minutes away. Its right outside Detroit pretty much !!

    I called them and asked if you could just walk in and rent something if your that close, but they said its just a warehouse, not a store, that it still has to be shipped. But anything that close is pretty much obvious next day shipping.


    I thought this was pretty cool. I figured id ask to see if anyone has dealt with them, and to tell people about the place... seeing how a lot of Icrontians are from this area.


    Although it does kind of suck that they want me to pay $19 in shipping, for someone to drive it 30 minutes to my house, when I could just go pick it up. I think im gonna give them another call, see if I can place an order online and just come pick it up.
  • primesuspectprimesuspect Beepin n' Boopin Detroit, MI Icrontian
    Man, that place is an awesome find. They have the delicious Canon EF 14mm f2.8 wide angle lens for rent for $66. I've been thinking about taking some really good shots of the new house for posterity, but that lens is out-of-the-stratosphere expensive (it's around $2100). When the time comes, this is a perfect opportunity to get a dream lens for a few days to take the important shots. Thanks for introducing me to that company! Definitely let me know if they're willing to allow local pickup, because Northville is not that far.
  • TrumandrummerTrumandrummer Taylor Michigan Icrontian
    edited April 2012
    @primesuspect ,

    I know. I stumbled upon them on accident, clicked contact us, and when I seen "Northville" I was like "whaaaat?"

    And their prices are a bit lower than some of the bigger rental companies.

    Im gonna try and call on Monday. But according to what im reading online, you can do a local pickup. You have to order online, pay for shipping, and specify in the comments that you want a local pickup, after pickup they will refund your shipping costs.

    http://www.flickr.com/groups/exposuredetroit/discuss/72157626514175785/
  • TrumandrummerTrumandrummer Taylor Michigan Icrontian
    edited April 2012
    Ok,
    So I gave them a call. The guy that I talked to was really nice,

    He said upon placing an order or reserve online, that there is no option for local pickup. He said to just choose the cheapest shipping, and then specify in the "order comments" that you would like to do a local pickup. He said when the order processes, they will take off the shipping charge and email you the address to their UPS store where they do the pickups.

    He also told me that camera bodies book up quick this time of year, and so do the more popular lenses.

    He told me that for the body and lens that I want, that I need to book soon.

    So I just reserved the 5d mkii and the EF 24-105 IS USM. Were leaving on May 17th, so that's over a month in advance.

    Even though $18 shipping, for both ways is probably comparable, if not cheaper than driving 30 minutes each way twice. It will take a lot of stress out of the situation, knowing the exact date and time that I will get the camera. (the day before our flight)
  • SnarkasmSnarkasm Madison, WI Icrontian
    Nice choices.
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