is it worth it?

[Moklet Kcuf]

The cheapest I'm finding the 50D body for on Amazon.co.uk is £849.99 - pretty much what Dixons was charging for the body with lens.

Oh, sorry didn't see the Dixons price. But the question still is whether you'd actually like and use the lens?

Back to looking at the 1DMk3 - I've just found out a friend from the US might be in Berlin the same time I am . . .

Ok, now I'm confused. It's a common suggestion in photography to 'buy the best you can afford'. Hop onto the 1D boy, and don't look back, especially for kit lenses

 

[bwana]

Ok, now I'm confused. It's a common suggestion in photography to 'buy the best you can afford'. Hop onto the 1D boy, and don't look back, especially for kit lenses

Well I can't really afford it now but I will be able to in the near future. However I need another camera by the end of the month so it might be a worthwhile investment. A 50D would have been a stopgap purchase at best.

 

[koffiejunkie]

Well I can't really afford it now but I will be able to in the near future. However I need another camera by the end of the month so it might be a worthwhile investment. A 50D would have been a stopgap purchase at best.

Are you flying via the UK to Berlin? If so, just rent a body here.

 

[bwana]

Are you flying via the UK to Berlin? If so, just rent a body here.

Only in UK long enough to get from Terminal 3 to Terminal 5.

Besides - that gets me back to [an expensive] SA still in need of a camera . . .

 

[ldmelsa]

Why not save an extra R3000 (230 Pounds) and just get the body? (ref amazon.co.uk)

Or if money isn't too tight, go for the 5DII instead. I can't praise mine enough.

The 50D is a current gen camera too. It is an intelligent camera, with a nice screen, nice functionality and everything else. The 5DII is twice the price. It's a great camera, but it's twice the price!

EDIT: The FF cams are great at lowlight

 

[SubliminalThought]

while i drool at the FF and 1D series cameras, the 50D for me is awesome coupled with good glass. I haven't yet outgrown the features of the camera and shooting speed, resolution and noise is acceptable for my purposes. I would have jumped at buying the kit for R10k - assuming there wasn't any customs payed when bringing in. Pretty sure you'd be able to sell the kit again in a year for 8.5-9k. So if you look at it you rented a 50D for 1.5k for a year. Thats worth it i think.

 

[ldmelsa]

What is worth it is my 28-135IS, which came off some dude's 40d kit. It's hardy been used (can't even see any lines where the lens zooms in and out). R2k

 

[bwana]

The 50D is a current gen camera too. It is an intelligent camera, with a nice screen, nice functionality and everything else. The 5DII is twice the price. It's a great camera, but it's twice the price!

EDIT: The FF cams are great at lowlight

They are indeed but I'll have to make do with the 1.3 crop the 1DMk3 has. The 1DsMk3 is well out of my price range.

while i drool at the FF and 1D series cameras, the 50D for me is awesome coupled with good glass. I haven't yet outgrown the features of the camera and shooting speed, resolution and noise is acceptable for my purposes. I would have jumped at buying the kit for R10k - assuming there wasn't any customs payed when bringing in. Pretty sure you'd be able to sell the kit again in a year for 8.5-9k. So if you look at it you rented a 50D for 1.5k for a year. Thats worth it i think.

And I would have had they had stock.

 

[koffiejunkie]

Only in UK long enough to get from Terminal 3 to Terminal 5.

Besides - that gets me back to [an expensive] SA still in need of a camera . . .

Can't you catch a later flight?

They are indeed but I'll have to make do with the 1.3 crop the 1DMk3 has. The 1DsMk3 is well out of my price range.And I would have had they had stock.

Even if I can afford either 5DmkII or 1DSmk3, I'd want a faster computer before moving to a higher resolution camera!

 

[bwana]

Can't you catch a later flight?



Even if I can afford either 5DmkII or 1DSmk3, I'd want a faster computer before moving to a higher resolution camera!

Nope - I'm hatching a plan though to get something from B&H

After two weeks on the missus' MB it is such a pleasure working on my old MBP!

 

[koffiejunkie]

After two weeks on the missus' MB it is such a pleasure working on my old MBP!

Yeah, the dedicated gfx makes quite a difference. I'm looking forward to this OpenCL business in Snow Leopard - it should make generating previews, exporting and so on faster too. From what I can figure out Aperture only uses the graphics chip to update the image display as you work on. When it generates the resulting preview, it's still done with CPU.

 

[bwana]

5DMk2 vs 1DMk3 . . . considering the inevitable future of photojournalism where the still photographer is also going to need to be a competent short form videographer wouldnt the 5DMk2 be a better bet or is there enough life in the industry to make the 1DMk3 worthwhile?

 

[koffiejunkie]

I suppose it depends on what you see yourself shooting more of. The 1Dmk3 is a nice sport camera, but the xxD range are perfectly adequate tool Maybe a 5Dmk2 with a 50D as backup?

 

[bwana]

I suppose it depends on what you see yourself shooting more of. The 1Dmk3 is a nice sport camera, but the xxD range are perfectly adequate tool Maybe a 5Dmk2 with a 50D as backup?

I've still got one of my 400Ds as a backup - I've still got all the accessories for that so I'm not in a hurry to ditch it all together.

Pity the frame rate for the 5DMk2 is so low.

 

[koffiejunkie]

I meant "backup/sport"

 

[bwana]

I meant "backup/sport"

TBH I hadnt considered the 50D as a sports camera.

 

[koffiejunkie]

TBH I hadnt considered the 50D as a sports camera.

That's why I'm mentioning it. If you're trying to decide between a 1Dmk3 and 5Dmk2, adding the 50D will give you the speed and improved AF you miss on the 5DmkII (although neither as good as on the 1Dmk3).

 

[ldmelsa]

bwana, are you doing pro sports?

 

[bwana]

bwana, are you doing pro sports?

Not exclusively but yes - sports are now a large part of my decision making process when it comes to buying gear.

 

[ldmelsa]

cool