Finally Made a Choice - Going 5D

[jcvalenti]

Okay ... after waffling for months and vascillating wildly (even going so far as to preorder a 40D when it was announced), I've decided to bite the bullet and join the ranks of happy 5D shooters. An honest assessment of what I like to shoot made it clear this was the camera for me. I love shooting landscapes and portraits, and I almost never shoot wildlife or action shots. So the advantages of a 1.6x body seem somewhat lost on me, and the advantages of a 5D for my interests are clear.

So in typical fashion, after taking months to commit myself to spending money, I now need to get my new gear "immediately". I'm done waiting for "new models" and "double rebates", and even though I'll probably be kicking myself in a couple months when the rebates are announced, I'm just tired of waiting and want to start shooting.

Here's what I'm thinking of doing ... let me know if I'm off base on anything:

Current Lineup:

Rebel XTi
Kit Lens
Canon 50mm f/1.8
Canon 70-200 f/4 L
Tamron 28-78 f/2.8
Speedlite 580EX

I'm thinking of selling the Tamron and possible the Rebel + Kit Lens + 50 mm (though I might hold on for a month or so to see if I might want to keep a "smaller" DSLR).

I plan on ordering a 5D with the 24-105 L lens to use for most of the shots, but I'd like to add a faster lens for inside shooting and was thinking about going to the 50 mm f/1.4. I'm also doing a trip to Napa in a couple months, and would like to take some nice landscape shots ... so I'm wondering if I shouldn't ask the wife for a 17-40 L for my birthday. Do you think that's a little unnecessary for those kind of shots (ie, is 24 enough) ? I'm afraid of investing that kind of cash in a lens that will be basically redundant. Even though I doubt I'll have a ton of use for 17-40, I can see that range coming in handy for some vistas along the Boardwalk (or on a terrace overlooking a Napa vineyard).

I'd also like to add a circ polarizer filter for outdoor shots. Anyone have a brand suggestion or a good source for same ?

Don't worry about a tripod. I actually gave in to the brainwashing and ordered a Velbon the other day. Should be here this afternoon.

 

[Roger]

Well congrats Excellent choice. For outdoor shots you may find that 24 is wide enough. I took 90% of my pictures in the film era with the 28-105.

But don't knock the 17-40. For landscapes you may want to have the true wide angle. Maybe you should rent it after the 5D comes and see if you would use it. It's not that expensive.

And for interiors - don't knock (okay if cost isn't a concern) the 24 and 35L's. I love my 35L.

 

[jcvalenti]

Oh, cost is going to be a concern all right ... especially once the wife sees the Amex bill.

As for the 17-40L, I think the rental route is a great idea. It looks like it would cost about $50 to rent for a week from lensrentals.com . I might check them out and see if they're reputable and if worthwhile, rent one for the trip and do some comparison shots.

 

[Roger]

Oh, cost is going to be a concern all right ... especially once the wife sees the Amex bill.

D'oh!!! Uh she does know about it in general though, right? I mean she'll probably forget that you told her when it comes, but still....

Look at the bright side:

(5D + 24-105/4L IS) < 1DMk3

 

[jcvalenti]

Yeah, she knows about it in general. I've been saving for a while for this one, and I've got her convinced it will be worth it to take wonderful shots of the kids all the time (of course, I didn't tell her I'll have to invest in some lighting for a portrait studios). I managed to save up some expense checks and some cash to "offset" the charge somewhat

I'm one of those people who doesn't spend a lot, but when he does, spends big.

 

[gary]

i think the 17-40 and 5d are a fine landscape/wide combo
this is a victorian era restoration near my home, i really wish i had a before pic, so rundown we all expected it to go up in flames any day, about 2 years of work and countless dollars later, it's now a fine dining,catering and inn establishment

taken around 1915 this evening from the lawn in front, with management's permission, i have about 15 of them on my gallery site, under the jedediah hawkins house

i think it's a good combo, not meaning to hijack the thread, but i wanted you to see a sample of that combo at work, from luxif tripod, timer release, f8, iso 50,

[This attachment has been purged. Older attachments are purged from time to time to conserve disk space. Please feel free to repost your image.]

 

[Tim]

my opinion:

sell everything but the 70-200L and the speedlight, and if you don't plan on needing a tele lens for awhile, sell that too. the 17-40L is very different from the 24-105L, which vignettes a bit at complete wide angle. once you start shooting with the 5d, i guarantee that you won't be using the rebel so recoup some cash that way.

 

[jcvalenti]

Yeah, Tim, I think that's what I'm going to do. I've already got a buyer for the Tamron lens, and I think I can get $350 -400 for the Rebel, kit lens, 50 f/1.8 and some miscellaneous junk I've got. That should just about offset the 17-40 L if I want to go that route. I'm thinking that at least as pertains to Disney, my decision will be whether to pack a P&S or a DSLR on a given day ... not whether I need the "big" DSLR or the "small" DSLR.

Now I just need to give my insurance agent a call and talk about insuring this stuff. Funny how when I was a kid, we'd go to the park and take along an old Kodak rig. I take my kids, and suddenly I "need" to haul a 5D, multiple lenses, an HD camcorder, etc etc. Forget the photo pass .... Disney needs to rent out personal video assistants that follow your group around and record the whole event.

 

[Tim]

pretty sure it would be covered under your homeowner's, which covers you while on vacation, no?

 

[Roger]

Ahh yes, but some of us have odd deductibles. Since I live in the end of Tornado Alley and the end of Hurricane Shotgun Targets, I have a percentage of house value deductible, which is over the value to replace a body and a lens. Add that with "claim=higher premiums or non-renewal notice".....

 

[jcvalenti]

pretty sure it would be covered under your homeowner's, which covers you while on vacation, no?

For those of us who use our gear solely as a hobby, most homeowner's policies have a camera equipment exclusion limiting coverage to a minor amount (usually $1,000 or $1,500). On top of that, it's usually limited to theft (not loss or idiocy - like leaning too far over the Ferry and having your strap break). If you've got serious $$$ invested, it's important to contact your agent and specifically list gear on a ridger, listing serial numbers, model #s and cost. Here's a good overview on the topic: http://photo.net/learn/insurance

My insurance agent is used to special riders. I have all kinds of expensive hobbies that are capped or excluded. Wine collecting, computer gear, videographic gear, my photography. It pays to create an inventory of what you have and review it with your agent to make sure you're covered. Maybe it's because I'm a litigator and I see these battles fought every day, but I actually bought a bar code scanning inventory system, inventoried my whole house (books, games, movies, etc) and sit down with my insurance agent every 12 -18 months to make sure I'm covered. I shop it around too - amazing how much difference there is in the price of different coverage.

 

[jcvalenti]

Only had a few minutes to play around with the new toy tonight.

Here's a few snaps of the everyone's favorite subject - their own kid !. Used my 50mm f/1.4. Shooting from the dim kitchen (shades drawn) into a dark brown family room with little light has always given horrible results, but this 5D was shining ! And I only had it tagged to ISO 400 (at 1.6). I can't wait until the weekend to put this thing through the ringer.

I knew it would be "differnet" ... but I never imagined how much better it could be. The huge viewfinder, the responsiveness, the low-light performance. None of the usual "buyer's remorse" yet, and I haven't even played with the 24-105 yet !

 

[Roger]

Maybe it's because I'm a litigator and I see these battles fought every day, but I actually bought a bar code scanning inventory system, inventoried my whole house (books, games, movies, etc) and sit down with my insurance agent every 12 -18 months to make sure I'm covered. I shop it around too - amazing how much difference there is in the price of different coverage.

Well the last part is absolutely correct. Most people don't do that. Ask the victims of the San Diego wildfires from a few years back. I didn't realize that you were that kind of attorney BTW. Had wayyyyy to much experience with that in my last job, and actually avoided it completely during my paramedic career even though I carried my own personal malpractice insurance.

 

[jcvalenti]

Well the last part is absolutely correct. Most people don't do that. Ask the victims of the San Diego wildfires from a few years back. I didn't realize that you were that kind of attorney BTW. Had wayyyyy to much experience with that in my last job, and actually avoided it completely during my paramedic career even though I carried my own personal malpractice insurance.

It's my cross to bear. Everyone hates lawyers - except for their lawyer. And even then, they resent having to pay him : )

I did a good deal of medical malpractice defense work for a while (including paramedics) ... I enjoyed defending those bogus cases, but dealing with the insurance companies was intolerable. They simply refuse to pay bills to the point where anyone who has any other options in the legal field would rather pursue those options than work with the insurers. Thus, the defendants (doctors, paramedics, etc) are generally represented by the "worst" attorneys out there. Either that or ones who are less than honest in recording the amount of time they spend on matters. It's a horrible system.

I do mostly product liability defense and business disputes now - much more reasonably work.

In any event, nothing balances the psyche after a day of paper pushing and screaming than taking the camera out into the field and trying to actually "create" something.

 

[Scottwdw]

In any event, nothing balances the psyche after a day of paper pushing and screaming than taking the camera out into the field and trying to actually "create" something.

Amem to that brother! 8)

 

[gary]

so i got to wondering ( it hurts my brain less than thinking), how many full frame owners does the forum now have??

5d = tim, gary, jc,

any others out there, any makes

and yes jc, i really am shining on the 5d, i think it's going to be a real happy partnership, of course there are a couple of factors those considering full frame need to know

1. you really need to spend your dollars on the best glass, full frame exposes any weakness in glass

2. you really need to plan for computer upgrades, i have multiple hard drives(5), 2gb of ram and i already see that next year's planned upgrade needs to be double the ram, twin processors, and replace 2 of the 250 drives with 500 or larger
these are huge files

hdr files from my xti hit 250mb, i'll bet my first hdr experiments with the 5d will top 350

 

[jcvalenti]

I run a Pentium IV 3.2 Core Duo with 4 GB ... and it's definately stretched out working with my catalogue in Photoshop Elements 5.0. I've got 2 400 GB drives on the main frame, a 500 GB HP Mediashare network server, and 2 500 GB USB hard drives connected to that. I save all photos on the secondary HD, and back the whole catalogue up to one of the USB drives about every other week.

Neither of my big hobies (photo or video) are cheap when it comes to computing resources.

I do agree - full frame is clearly an expensive way to go ... but I'm already loving it beyond measure. It was clearly the right move for me and what I like to shoot. There's a lot to like about the 40D or any of the new Nikon crop bodies, but at the end of the day, if you like shooting low light, landscape and portraits, the 5D is just a great option.