I shoot a lot of work for nature books, magazines and the like with the occasional larger print required. At what size magazine or book photo printed at 300 dpi would a 5d's more mp show a noticeable improvement (to an art director)over a 1d markII? I realize anything larger requires interpolation, as well. By the way, I currently have a 5d and a 20d. I've shot a lot of book work and magazines with the 20d over the past year, but have often had to interpolate the files up to 5400 pixels on the longest side for a large spread. Would you be able to tell the difference in a high-quality 300dpi magazine spread (say 11x17") between the 3 cameras, given the amount of interpolation required? And lastly, just because the 1d MKII and the 5d have the same size pixels, would a 8.2mp crop out of a 5d have the same overall quality of an 8.2mp file from a 1d MK2? Or is there some intangible quality inherent in a 1 series image file? I hope I'm not rambling too much here, but would very much appreciate any feedback. Thanks.
You clearly see a difference in a 13x19 or a 11x16 two page spread. At single page levels, its hard to spot a difference but once you get above that, there are differences especially in fine detail, This assumes that the frame has the same scene in it - in otherwords youa re either closer or shooting with a longer focal length on the 5D.
White Balance so easy, even our 5 year old can do it.- Melissa Strickland
There are likely differences in the anti-aliasing filters in the two cameras; typically the "non-1-series" series cameras have had different (stronger?) AA filters which reduced sharpness. I saw this firsthand when realizing that the 4 MP Canon 1D made much sharper images than did my 6 MP 10D. I'm not sure how this relates to the current discussion (1DM2 versus 5D), but it may be a similar situation.
While I own a 1D Mark II, I haven't shot (a job/event, for example) with a 5D; I've only briefly tried it at a store, so I can't really comment on the image quality. It feels a lot like a 20D, and after using 1-series cameras, I might have a hard time adjusting. The light weight is certainly welcome, and the 2.5" LCD screen is very nice, although it seemed dark, even in the dimly lit store (I did not try adjusting the LCD brightness, which probably would have "fixed" it). I remember commenting that the 5D would make a nice wedding camera, and it would certainly be good for studio use. I'm mulling it over, but I'm guessing I'll get another 1DM2 (or N) instead.
White Balance so easy, even our 5 year old can do it.- Melissa Strickland
I am just wondering if I have a different 1D Mark II. I have tested it against the 5 D and found little difference in picture quality, although I tried prints up to 50x 75 cm of both cameras. It was a side by side comparison with the same lens 24-70/2,8, with tripod and mirror pre release so i think quite fair.
While I would love to have a lightweight travel, hiking camera I think the 5 D is an overpriced 20 D with the drawback that for nature when some animal action occurs it is too slow and the buffer is too small. I really dont care about sensor size, I care about the picture quality, if only full frame would do it than ok, but as long as you are not shooting permanently in the 1600 asa range it really makes no difference. Ok one plus, as there is a problem with canons wide angle lenses - my 17-40 is a poor performer even after recalibration at canon - you get more wide angle with a better quality (I think the 24-70 is very good or the new 24-105 is). Another plus is the way better viewfinder of the 5 D over the 20 D.
In the end it depends what style you are shooting, just slow nature or all which is getting in front of your camera. As I do as a professionel photographer from studio to wedding to sports and also nature, landscapes architecture and so on, I have to stick with my Mark II, although I must confess as a former nikon shooter the D 200 seems from the specs like a very versatile camera, a camera I would like to have in the canon world as a replacement of the 20 D which I own as abackup body and use for hiking.
Christian
White Balance so easy, even our 5 year old can do it.- Melissa Strickland
For my work the extra pixels of the 5D make a big difference, as does the less strong anti-alias filter. With 5D Raws & RSP I need no post processing at all.
The 1D2 is a fine camera by for sheer image quality my 5D wins quite easily (as it really should, it is newer, has 50% more pixels and is inherently sharper by design)
Leigh
White Balance so easy, even our 5 year old can do it.- Melissa Strickland
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