Travel Photography - new canon EOS for wife

a year ago i got her a 400 mm L(non is), i just got her a beautiful 600 mm L(non is). the new 35-40 lb tripod is on the way. she shoots wild life at about 100-300 feet. she is currently using a canon T1, which i would like to upgrade. no need for high speed video, i don't think. we move up to a 60D or a 7D, which for some strange reason seem to be available on the street for the same price. then we get to a 5D mk II which is the start of real money(at least to me).

although she is not shooting now(no wildlife), activity will start with the geese and the foxes in dec, tnen the bluebirds in feb. she shoots over 1000 images a year.

all advice please.

This one is easy to answer. For wildlife, definitely 7D. Fastest and best autofocus, and most frames per second, other than a 1-series EOS.

X2 for 7D, she is what crop bodies are made for.

7d for new or used 1d3

I'd seriously consider a 1d3 or even a 1ds2 before looking at a new 7D.

does a 5DmkII fit into that mix anywhere? there are so many with small number changes and the same basic specs i cannot tellone as better than the other.

Perhaps, and when the MkIII comes out soon, I bet the prices of the current model will plummet.

The problem is that her 600 mm lens is just that on the 5D, where it's equivalent to a 960mm when mounted on a crop sensor body. That's a lot of reach she will be giving up

does a 5DmkII fit into that mix anywhere? there are so many with small number changes and the same basic specs i cannot tellone as better than the other.

No, because the 5D (I and II) are not built for sport or wildlife. That's why they make the 7D.

Same reason why they used to make separate 1D and 1Ds series, until the new 1D X. Maybe for the next generation, they'll unite the 5D and 7D series like they did with the 1.

The 5D Mark II is just superb, and in a different league from the crop-sensor cameras. It can handle any kind of photography, in my opinion (speaking as an ex-pro who worked on diverse stuff). It's really quite fairly priced at the moment. I picked one up last month from Amazon.com for about $2400, no sales tax. My only regret is not buying one years ago.

The 5D Mark II ... ... can handle any kind of photography, ...
With that 3.9 fps continuous shooting speed, I think a lot of folks would disagree with you. The 5DMII IS a superb camera and used by many top pros - just not for sports or bird (or really any wildlife) shooting.

I love my 7D. It is really fast (even while shooting RAW) and the picture quality is superb.

what is a crop body? like on a 7d?

By crop body they mean that the camera has a censor that is smaller than 35mm equivalent. In the case of the 7D (and the non-pro Canons) the effective crop--or magnification factor, if you will--is 1.6 times. Thus, a 100mm lens on a 7D produces essentially the same image as a 160mm lens on a full frame camera like 5D.

Great for people who want to get "closer to the action"; bad for people like me who want to get back from it to photograph buildings and landscapes in very wide shots.

Right, imagine the image circle projected by the lens is significantly larger than the sensor so the camera only "sees" the central part. It has basically the same effect as "cropping" the image.

Great for people who want to get "closer to the action"; bad for people like me who want to get back from it to photograph buildings and landscapes in very wide shots.

Nothing bad who wants the wider shots. Just need to get an appropriate lens. Well, unless you cannot find a good enough quality (or specific-featured) lens that wide.

Just need to get an appropriate lens. Well, unless you cannot find a good enough quality (or specific-featured) lens that wide.

That's true, but the appropriate lens cannot be had with Canon glass. There are no EFS primes and the only EFS lens with significant coverage at less than 30mm full-frame equivalent is the 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5. If the only option is a slow, clunky zoom then you really have no option at all in my opinion.

Now, if Canon starts producing some EFS primes below 20mm which are somewhere in the f/1.8-3 range and don't have terrible distortion then I will revise my position. Until then, I remain unconvinced. Also, as an aside, the only way to produce 180 degree fisheye on a 1.6x camera is in your computer "darkroom." Again, what I need is simply unavailable.

That's true, but the appropriate lens cannot be had with Canon glass. There are no EFS primes and the only EFS lens with significant coverage at less than 30mm full-frame equivalent is the 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5. If the only option is a slow, clunky zoom then you really have no option at all in my opinion.

Now, if Canon starts producing some EFS primes below 20mm which are somewhere in the f/1.8-3 range and don't have terrible distortion then I will revise my position. Until then, I remain unconvinced. Also, as an aside, the only way to produce 180 degree fisheye on a 1.6x camera is in your computer "darkroom." Again, what I need is simply unavailable.

The Tokina 11-16/2.8, which I have used, will satisfy a good number of people, at a fraction of the cost of say Canon's 16-35II for full-frame. It has minimal barrel distortion once you get it out to about 13mm, and this lens is razor sharp. It is not clunky, and while its autofocus doesn't compare to Canon's USM, for an ultra-wide, quick focusing is not as critical as in a tele.

Clearly, if one need the best fast prime, fisheye or tilt-shift lens for critical wide-angle stuff, then full-frame is the way to go. But for plenty of the dSLR owners out there, a crop camera can get it done with Canon's 10-22, Tokina's 11-16 or Sigma's 8-16. Add a Tokina 10-17 fisheye if desired.

she is not interested in shooting wide in this ap. she has shot wide for underwater. she wants to shoot birds at 100-150 meters. i got her a 400 L and a 600mm canon L. what happens that is bad with a "crop"(the 7D in particular) when she uses it with the 600 on a heavy tripod that will be improved with a 5 D mkii for example?

she is not interested in shooting wide in this ap. she has shot wide for underwater. she wants to shoot birds at 100-150 meters. i got her a 400 L and a 600mm canon L. what happens that is bad with a "crop"(the 7D in particular) when she uses it with the 600 on a heavy tripod that will be improved with a 5 D mkii for example?

The 5D Mk II has a much larger sensor, with slightly higher resolution; so the captured image has lower noise (especially at higher ISO) and to many (including myself) it simply "looks better" - which is subjective. The viewfinder is also bigger in the 5D Mk II.

As long as you understand what we've been talking about crop factor AND the difference in the focusing and frames-per-second between the two cameras. If you still don't understand about crop factor, please bring any Canon EF prime lens and try on both cameras at a store. Look through the viewfinder and you see know for sure.

My wife has 5D mkii, and it is a fantastic portrait/ landscape/ still life/ macro camera - all of which are her preferences. But for telescopic wildlife photography - yes, I would agree with 7D recommendation. Crop sensor, much faster FPS.

got her a 7D today, which is her birthday. she now has the 7d. a 400mm, & a 600mm in addition to the "small lenses". we are waiting for the big tripod. and the return of the birds. all this equipment, and no birds. they should arrive in feb. i cannot believe she is waiting for feb??

now. we have a 7d. i need memory cards. i notice this thing takes cf memory. i have a 2 gig from a former life, so we have something.

however, cf seems to cost real money, and seems to be spec-ed i about 3 ways, or not at all. how much speed on the chip(card?) do i need to do what? it will probably be a while before we shoot our full length feature film with name brand stars,(portman is busy) so what do i buy?

I always recommend buying the fastest card you can, even if it means a smaller card for your budget. The premium for speed seems to be less than for size, and you reap the benefits in burst rate, and more importantly, download to the computer using the super high speed card readers.

Go with a fast card and stick with a good name brand (Sandisk is my favorite) bought from a good source.
There have been reports of fakes bought on e-bay.

A fast card will make a difference if you're shooting the 7D at 7fps in RAW or RAW+JPEG. The fps will drop after about 20 shots since the camera can't write the card fast enough. If you're only shooting JPEG, unless you have a very slow card, you should have no problem with shooting continuously at 7fps until the card fills.

Personally, I use Sandisk's Extreme (60MB/s). Not sure if their Extreme Pro (90MB or 100MB) will make a difference in writing RAW at 7fps. Perhaps.

Always check the MB/s value. Older versions of Sandisk cards have slower speed even if they have the same name.

... Personally, I use Sandisk's Extreme (60MB/s). Not sure if their Extreme Pro (90MB or 100MB) will make a difference in writing RAW at 7fps. Perhaps...
My experience is that the buffer clears significantly faster with the Extreme Pro. Obviously, that only really matters if you routinely fill the buffer by shooting a lot of hi-continuous shots. I suppose it would also be faster to write to hard drive if I had USB 3 but I am still limping along with v 2.

wife used the camera for teh first time yesterday. complaint #1. no zoom. #2 how does she figure out how to get out of raw and into jpeg mode.

i bought her a big chip i got her a 32 gig Adata 533x. it is so much cheaper than all other chips i know it must have some problems or other. right after i bought it, adorama dropped the price 2 bucks.

got her a 7D today, which is her birthday. she now has the 7d. a 400mm, & a 600mm in addition to the "small lenses". we are waiting for the big tripod. and the return of the birds. all this equipment, and no birds. they should arrive in feb. i cannot believe she is waiting for feb??

Congrats on the 7D.

Take her to Huntley Meadows; there are birds there all the time.

We did have bluebirds scouting our yard a few days ago, so I'm sure your wife will see them before February, too. :)

Congrats on the 7D.

Take her to Huntley Meadows; there are birds there all the time.

We did have bluebirds scouting our yard a few days ago, so I'm sure your wife will see them before February, too. :)

Huntley Meadows is a great suggestion - I haven't been there in years. Dyke Marsh is another area that has birds/wildlife most of the year. Or a day trip over to the eastern shore.

The 7D has a learning curve to it. I'm still learning about mine 2 years in, mostly from lighting situations that are out of my typical patterns.

we live exactally 4 miles due east of huntley medows. will get the bluebird box up today.

we live exactally 4 miles due east of huntley medows. will get the bluebird box up today.

Assuming you're on the Virginia side (depending on where you measure the 4 miles from), you're within blocks of where I grew up...

from huntley medows. east is probably the other east. i live in maryland. the bluebird box is up. had two eagles this morning on the tree at the water.



we had bluebirds for 10 years running. none last year. considering selling the house.

we did have osprey in the osprey box.

from huntley medows. east is probably the other east. i live in maryland. the bluebird box is up. had two eagles this morning on the tree at the water.

we had bluebirds for 10 years running. none last year. considering selling the house.

we did have osprey in the osprey box.

Ah, so you were across the water from my childhood home. Probably a mile as the eagle flies. I was on the VA side.

I might suggest that you remove the link to the map. Never know who's reading these boards.

7D is a great camera.

I just bought one as an upgrade for my trusty old 20D.

But come on, 'fess up - who read the thread title (like me) and thought sounds like a fair swap! :D