7D Mk ii to 5D MkIV maybe (1 Viewer)

[Pauhana]

Considering a change from my 7DMKii. Main reason since moving to Tennessee I find myself shooting in lower light levels. Forested trails, in the rain, lots of cloudy days. A majority of my birds are static. BIF larger birds, swallows occasionally if light is good. High ISO on 7D just not working for me. When i lived in Florida high ISO was typically never an issue. Read some older post here and elsewhere on those making change. Have general idea of issues with both. Just looking for more input.

I use primarily 100-400 mkii. Guess adding 1.4x would be an option.
Don't really want to go to big Sigma because of weight. And weight overall is an issue. Don't want to go any heavier than i am right now with my gear.

May rent a 5D MKIV to try out for a few days too.

Upcoming R5 will be out of my price range, R6 maybe. Guess we will know details on both first of July

 

[Peter Ericsson]

Looking forward to your update...

 

[marcsantacurz]

The 5dIV is 30MP. At a 1.6 crop, it is 11.7 MP. The 7dii is 20MP. So, you'd lose about 41% of the pixels, but the 5dIV will have better pixels . For equivalent MP, you'd be around a 1.2x crop from full frame.

Do you crop your 7d much? If you only do minor crops on the 7d, the 5d is probably just fine. 10MP is plenty for most uses. Even 8 MP is pretty good for viewing on screen or regular size prints. An 8x10 print is around 5MP at 250dpi.

I've not used the 5div and I mostly shoot Nikon, though I dabble with Canon and Sony at times. I recently got a used Nikon d5 (20MP). I normally shoot a d850 (45 MP, or crop 20MP), so I was worried about only have 20 FX pixels. Not a problem at all so far, and high ISO performance really blows away the d850. I am getting perfectly usable shots at ISO 25600. I shoot raw and use Topaz Denoise AI in post. I bet I could go up to 37,000.

I have rented the Canon R and used it with the Canon 500/4. The IQ is fantastic, but the tracking was not-so-great. This was pretty early after they released it, so maybe its better. As the R is basically a mirrorless 5dIV, I bet the IQ will be equally great on the 5dIV.

Definitely rent the 5dIV. You'll probably love it.

 

[Pauhana]

Rental 5D mkiv arrives tomorrow

 

[marcsantacurz]

Let us know what you think of the 5div. I'm interested in how you think it compares to your 7dii.

 

[Pauhana]

Was out before 6 this morning to catch the early morning light. First thing i figured out is after all these years i still stink at BIF for smaller birds 8-P

Static birds was able to get shots at various distances used 100-400 mk II. No extender. Spent last night watching videos on how to properly setup the camera for bird photography so was ready for today.

To be honest I didn't feel there was huge difference in static shots vs my 7Dmkii. I did think the 5D did perform better in the early morning light in particular when in the shadows. Was able to maintain a low ISO setting. Personally I thought it performed better overall than my 7Dmkii. One thing that did impress me was the shot i got of the Broadwing hawk (pic 4). This bird was sitting high on a snag and it jumped up to fly about the same time I saw it. Was pretty happy to be able to get a decent shot for ID purposes. Only got 4 frames off before it was gone. Was also hoping to find some butterflies to shoot but weather stayed to cool for them to fly that early.

Would i switch over to 5D MKIV still not sure. Not at a point i feel this is it. Look forward to shooting with it more this weekend and maybe that will change.

Looks like the cheapest price now new is $1750.00 US. I would need to add a lens or two going full frame along with probably at some point adding 1.4x. This is a 4 year old body which i feel is something to consider along with overall expense.

Right now my feelings are not to rush into making a change until after Labor Day (September) when we might see further sales. I don't have any major trips planned for this year. With Covid mess all that changed. Think it's still best to wait to see what R6 might offer (R5 $$ will probably rule that out) Still considering a move to Fuji. I really liked shooting the XT-3 i rented. There was wow factor there for me when using it. XT-4 is a maybe but want to see more real world reports from bird/wildlife shooters.

Here is a few from today. First and third one were in fairly close. Second was a distant shot but still not bad for posting on ebird.

 

[Pauhana]

Ok now starting to see the benefits of full frame in low light. Couple of shots from this morning. Went into the woods before full light. Captured this shot of Acadian FC. Had to manual focus, handheld 1/200 6400 iso 400mm. Yeah not going to win awards but what is important me is that it provides a good ID of the bird. In spring when chasing flycatchers in woods this would be a shot i dont know that i would get with 7Dii. Starting to like this camera more

 

[njlarsen]

To be honest with you: I think I have done better at iso 6400 with my Pana G85 (m4/3 sensor)

Niels

 

[marcsantacurz]

Was that shot in raw or jpg? It looks like an unprocessed raw. To get good results out-of-camera, you need jpg and for 6400 make sure high-iso noise reduction is on. If its raw, it needs more post-processing.

Or was it a big crop? copping heavily on higher-iso images will need more post processing to clean up.

 

[Pauhana]

No processing....as I said was a junk shot that could be simply used for I’d purpose....big crop too

 

[Manolito]

I have to admit that the only thing I miss from the 7D II is the 10FPS.
As you mentioned before, you are seeing the benefits shooting low light. Focus is much accurate than the 7D and has better DR.

 

[Pauhana]

Well final verdict is to wait and see what R6 will have to offer. I did like shooting the 5D mk IV and low light improvement was a major plus. Hoping release will be first of July as rumors indicate on R5/R6