Finally landed a 5D

[laydros]

I'm not quite sure how I got away with this, but I managed to talk my wife into letting me trade in the 40D + grip + Tamron 17-50 and then a couple hundred bucks to get a used 5D. On top of that I picked up the Canon 28-135IS used to have something wider than my 50/1.8.

What a delightful camera. For what I shoot (portraiture/art) I love FF. I have been shooting film a lot, and really enjoying the look. Some of the grain and contrasty look of Tri-X isn't there out of the box (possibly not even with PS) but the DOF sure is there.

In theory I miss some of the nice features of the 40D, like the better screen, menu, and dust cleaning. And I HAVE noticed the AF not being quite as good (plus it is kinda like having a big single focus point, the AF system doesn't cover much of the frame), and miss auto ISO, but geez, it has been totally worth it. Yesterday was my daughters birthday and we took her to a kids museum. I left the 50/1.8 on the entire time. I never found myself short on shutter speed, and love the angle of view. The images have the pop I have wanted.

And don't get me started on how great the 85/1.8 is on this thing...

So I have to decide if I want to keep the 28-135 or try to swap it (and squeeze another hundred or so out of my wife) for the Tamron 28-75 and deal with the noisy AF that I hate. But I can certainly say that if you have been on the fence about moving to the 5D if you shoot this type of stuff (if you shoot sports just stay away) that it is a worthwhile move.

[Elisha]

Good job.
I just sold my 28-135mm that I had fort a couple of weeks.
It was really sharp and IS on it was great as well as USM.
But I'm gonna have another go at the Siggy 50mm f/1.4 or a 24-105L if I can find one under $900.

[laydros]

The thought has crossed my mind to sell all my glass for the 24-105L. The 28-135 isn't very wide or fast, and certainly isn't as sharp as the 24-105L. I also wonder if I should just suck it up and get the Tamron 28-75, but I kinda promised myself not to buy any more noisy lenses. The Canon 35/2 is another idea, I love 35 and 85 on FF, but still no USM.

I wonder if dr4gon has any input on living with just the 24-105.

[TenD]

Your gonna love the 5D. I have a 24-105 and a 5d, and if I were to have just one lens I think the 24-105 would be it. I find 24mm to be plenty wide enough for landscapes (although I am a closet 50mm shooter) , and the range is just great for that body. I do have a full range from 17mm to 400mm, but the 24-105 is on my 5D probably 95% of the time.

[dr4gon]

Congrats! (I didn't know the 5D didn't have auto ISO, that's kind of a bummer, but manageable I suppose).

It's great for photo taking. It isn't so great for low-light movies, which is why I now have the 50mm F/1.8 II. It'll give me 2+ stops ISO and a thinner DOF, which should do wonders for movies :)

The 24-105mm otherwise, is an awesome lens. IS is very handy. I now see the benefits of it over in-body stabilization. I do like the stabilized viewfinder (who knew?).

Even on crop, the 24-105mm is great. I haven't had a real need for anything wider. There were scenes in a film I was shooting in a tight bathroom that I wish I had a wider lens, but I worked around it as much as possible.

[Elisha]

What scenes are you shooting in a bathroom?

[dr4gon]

What scenes are you shooting in a bathroom?

zombie movie lol

[Csae]

Congratulations!

Having the 17-40 & 70-200 F4L /nois, i can tell you that if you that if its the DOF you're loving, not to stick with the 24-105, F4 doesn't give as nice as a DOF as i'd like, im mostly using my 50 1.8 now stopped down to about 2.2 / 2.8, and will probably get a 85 1.8 and either the 24-70 or a 50 1.4.

Thats just my opinion though, im sure the shooting style depends alot.

[michaelb]

Congrats!

The 24-105 is a good lens for walk-around, but I don't like to use it for portraits generally.

The 85 1.8 is a great lens for portraits on the 5d.

One of my favorite lenses on the 5d is the 70-200 f/4. At this FL you can still get nice background blur at f/4 with FF. Used copies go for $450-500 - incredible deal at that price.

Here's one from the 70-200 f/4 at f/4 on the 5d2....
http://brownphotography.smugmug.com/photos/746851736_knQTw-XL.jpg