Canon Body & Lenses for Time Lapse

[curtd]

I am thinking that I'm now used to full frame again and that hopefully a more expensive body is of higher build quality. I would hope it has better color, clarity etc. than the 40D. I have no experience with any other Canons in my life besides the 1Ds3!

[KevinWeatherly]

I wouldn't worry too much about the build quality of the 5D, I've dropped mine a few times without any ill effect (but I don't recommend trying it yourself!!). The 1 Series cameras are a different build quality but don't think that the 5D is a wimp. However if build quality is an issue and you want full frame, why not look for a good used 1Ds Mk2, especially if it's going to be your second camera when the job is over - what is the job, it may help us to advise you better?

[curtd]

Kevin, thanks for the thoughts! The job is a time lapse of plants growing for a tv commercial and print. I do them a lot and thought that the 1Ds3 would be serious overkill, file wise. I'm sure the 5D will be built well enough and will be an adequate 2nd body in my bag when it's not on time-lapse duty.

[Noel_Carboni]

I don't believe the 5D is built any differently than the 40D. The big difference in price finances the much larger imager.

Regarding image quality, some folks claim the 40D has superior image quality, owing to the better A/D converter and updated processing logic.

That said, I'm sure the 5D will be a great camera for the job.

Just curious... Is the camera going to be inside or in a housing outside?

Make sure you think through the settings... I guess you'd have to set up for manual for most everything, including a white balance setting that won't change (i.e., I wouldn't think you'd want auto white balance). Exposure might be tricky if the light will be changing a lot across the entire shoot.

Even with fixed settings, I wonder at how much post processing might be necessary to make sure the frame to frame illumination and color will flow smoothly when animated. Sounds like a fascinating aspect of photography to get into. Please let us know how it goes!

-Noel

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