I have a 6MP Canon Rebel 300D. I want something better.
Rather than getting into that discussion again (I just opened up a
thread on that), I'd like to get a couple of opinions on whether the
following is a good deal:
I have a line on a second-hand 5D. I've held the unit, cracked off a
few images, including a dust test against a white background and a hot
pixel test (10 seconds). I also attached each of my EF lenses, and
took some test shots. I'll be reviewing the images tonight, looking
for aberrations due to the full-frame sensor against my (not L-class)
lenses. For the moment, let's assume I have no issues with the
functionality of the unit. I found it physically lighter than I'd
expected, and the feel was fine in my hands.
Retail for this puppy, lets's say for argument's sake, is $3300
(Canadian). That's the price of the closest retailer to me, after
taxes and a $350 Canon rebate. The fellow wants $2300.
Here are the points that give me some confidence:
1) He's a professional, who's apparently in the process of moving to
medium format. Hence the sale.
2) He definitely gives a crap about how his gear is handled. I pulled
out a blower to puff some dust off the mirror, and he poopooed that in
favor of a little motorized oscillating brush that he has. Whatever.
Point being, I'm not expecting to be ******* over.
Here are the points about it that are making me less than super-eager.
1) The camera's definitely seen some use. He claims 17000 actuations
in an 18-month period. Physically, the case looks fine - lots of dust
in the crevasses around the controls, some in the viewfinder, but
nothing that can't be cleaned.
2) The only other object from the original box that he definitely has
is the strap, the battery and the charger. No docs, no disc, and no
cables.
I'm thinking of offering $2000 for the body.
Any long-time 5D users out there care to comment? I'm sorely tempted
to by retail, just to get the warranty coverage, and the knowledge
that what I'm buying is truly 'new'. But the savings here would be
considerable.
Low ball him, and if he doesn't bite for something around $1200C, move on.
If he's a pro, then the camera has seen some use. Likely a LOT of use. Don't
overpay!
"BD" <robert.drea@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1182983970.396896.16570@u2g2000hsc.googlegrou ps.com...
> Hey, all.
>
> I have a 6MP Canon Rebel 300D. I want something better.
>
> Rather than getting into that discussion again (I just opened up a
> thread on that), I'd like to get a couple of opinions on whether the
> following is a good deal:
>
> I have a line on a second-hand 5D. I've held the unit, cracked off a
> few images, including a dust test against a white background and a hot
> pixel test (10 seconds). I also attached each of my EF lenses, and
> took some test shots. I'll be reviewing the images tonight, looking
> for aberrations due to the full-frame sensor against my (not L-class)
> lenses. For the moment, let's assume I have no issues with the
> functionality of the unit. I found it physically lighter than I'd
> expected, and the feel was fine in my hands.
>
> Retail for this puppy, lets's say for argument's sake, is $3300
> (Canadian). That's the price of the closest retailer to me, after
> taxes and a $350 Canon rebate. The fellow wants $2300.
>
> Here are the points that give me some confidence:
> 1) He's a professional, who's apparently in the process of moving to
> medium format. Hence the sale.
> 2) He definitely gives a crap about how his gear is handled. I pulled
> out a blower to puff some dust off the mirror, and he poopooed that in
> favor of a little motorized oscillating brush that he has. Whatever.
> Point being, I'm not expecting to be ******* over.
>
> Here are the points about it that are making me less than super-eager.
>
> 1) The camera's definitely seen some use. He claims 17000 actuations
> in an 18-month period. Physically, the case looks fine - lots of dust
> in the crevasses around the controls, some in the viewfinder, but
> nothing that can't be cleaned.
> 2) The only other object from the original box that he definitely has
> is the strap, the battery and the charger. No docs, no disc, and no
> cables.
>
> I'm thinking of offering $2000 for the body.
>
> Any long-time 5D users out there care to comment? I'm sorely tempted
> to by retail, just to get the warranty coverage, and the knowledge
> that what I'm buying is truly 'new'. But the savings here would be
> considerable.
>
>
> Thanks!!
>
> BD
>
"BD" <robert.drea@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Here are the points that give me some confidence:
> 1) He's a professional, who's apparently in the process of moving to
> medium format. Hence the sale.
This sounds suspicious. 6x6 printed square and 6x7 will certainly edge out
the 5D, but not by enough to be worth the effort. (In my experience as
someone who does both. I haven't shot any MF since the 5D arrived, despite
good intentions to take the Mamiya 7 and Rolleiflex TLR out occassionally.)
> 2) He definitely gives a crap about how his gear is handled. I pulled
> out a blower to puff some dust off the mirror, and he poopooed that in
> favor of a little motorized oscillating brush that he has. Whatever.
> Point being, I'm not expecting to be ******* over.
>
> Here are the points about it that are making me less than super-eager.
>
> 1) The camera's definitely seen some use. He claims 17000 actuations
> in an 18-month period.
That sounds way low: I run off well over 100 shots a day when I'm actually
shooting. I'd expect a pro to shoot 1000 shots a week, at least. Not 1000
shots a month.
> Any long-time 5D users out there care to comment? I'm sorely tempted
> to by retail, just to get the warranty coverage, and the knowledge
> that what I'm buying is truly 'new'. But the savings here would be
> considerable.
I'm a wimp: I'd save the money for a new body...
(Actually, what I'd do if I didn't have a 5D right now is buy a 400D and FF
glass and wait for the next version of the 5D.)
In article <1182983970.396896.16570@u2g2000hsc.googlegroups.c om>, BD
<robert.drea@gmail.com> writes
>
>Here are the points about it that are making me less than super-eager.
>
>1) The camera's definitely seen some use. He claims 17000 actuations
>in an 18-month period. Physically, the case looks fine - lots of dust
>in the crevasses around the controls, some in the viewfinder, but
>nothing that can't be cleaned.
>
Don't bet on it. Dust in the 5D viewfinder can be almost impossible to
get rid of. It can be in several places which are readily accessible by
the user, like either side of the focus screen. However it is just as
likely to be between the superimpose (SI) plate and the pentaprism,
which is not accessible to the normal user.
Get him to clean the viewfinder before assuming its easy to do. It is
probably why he wasn't keen on the blower - despite Canon's
recommendation, they acknowledge that it causes dust to get trapped
between the IS plate and the pentaprism on the 5D.
--
Kennedy
Yes, Socrates himself is particularly missed;
A lovely little thinker, but a bugger when he's ****ed.
Python Philosophers (replace 'nospam' with 'kennedym' when replying)
On Thu, 28 Jun 2007 09:32:15 +0900, "David J. Littleboy" <davidjl@gol.com>
wrote:
:
: "BD" <robert.drea@gmail.com> wrote:
: >
: > Here are the points that give me some confidence:
: > 1) He's a professional, who's apparently in the process of moving to
: > medium format. Hence the sale.
:
: This sounds suspicious. 6x6 printed square and 6x7 will certainly edge out
: the 5D, but not by enough to be worth the effort. (In my experience as
: someone who does both. I haven't shot any MF since the 5D arrived, despite
: good intentions to take the Mamiya 7 and Rolleiflex TLR out occassionally.)
:
: > 2) He definitely gives a crap about how his gear is handled. I pulled
: > out a blower to puff some dust off the mirror, and he poopooed that in
: > favor of a little motorized oscillating brush that he has. Whatever.
: > Point being, I'm not expecting to be ******* over.
: >
: > Here are the points about it that are making me less than super-eager.
: >
: > 1) The camera's definitely seen some use. He claims 17000 actuations
: > in an 18-month period.
:
: That sounds way low: I run off well over 100 shots a day when I'm actually
: shooting. I'd expect a pro to shoot 1000 shots a week, at least. Not 1000
: shots a month.
:
: > Any long-time 5D users out there care to comment? I'm sorely tempted
: > to by retail, just to get the warranty coverage, and the knowledge
: > that what I'm buying is truly 'new'. But the savings here would be
: > considerable.
:
: I'm a wimp: I'd save the money for a new body...
:
: (Actually, what I'd do if I didn't have a 5D right now is buy a 400D and
: FF glass and wait for the next version of the 5D.)
I second David's opinion. My impression is that at this point in time the 5D
is nothing more than a superior implementation of yesterday's technology. The
6D (or whatever it will be called) will be at least 12 MP and better in other
respects as well.
Full disclosure, however, elicits the confession that …
a) I'm a 400D owner, and
b) The last professional I saw working (at a wedding 11 days ago) used a 5D.
And while I didn't actually see his work (being too busy with my own camera at
that event), I have it on very good authority that his pictures ranged from
excellent to superb.
> That sounds way low: I run off well over 100 shots a day when I'm actually
> shooting. I'd expect a pro to shoot 1000 shots a week, at least. Not 1000
> shots a month.
Isn't there a way to check the real image count number from the RAW
file? I read that the counter could be reset somehow, so that a person
could reset to #0001 whenever they wanted - but I'm not sure.
Nor am I sure what happens when you hit the 10,000 image mark. My
Rebel's at 9300 and change, so I won't find out for a little while yet.
"Robert Coe" <bob@1776.COM> wrote:
> :
> : (Actually, what I'd do if I didn't have a 5D right now is buy a 400D and
> : FF glass and wait for the next version of the 5D.)
>
> I second David's opinion. My impression is that at this point in time the
> 5D
> is nothing more than a superior implementation of yesterday's technology.
> The
> 6D (or whatever it will be called) will be at least 12 MP and better in
> other
> respects as well.
Huh? The 5D is currently 12.7MP.
If the "5DII" uses the 1DIII sensor's pixel technology, it should be about
_16MP_ with similar per-pixel noise characteristics to the current 5D at
high ISOs, and maybe better at ISO 100.
I'm not expecting much in the way of "better in other respects as well",
though. Canon is pretty clear about what they consider a "mid-range" dSLR
feature set to be. We were lucky to get a spot meter in the 30D and 5D.
> Full disclosure, however, elicits the confession that .
>
> a) I'm a 400D owner, and
>
> b) The last professional I saw working (at a wedding 11 days ago) used a
> 5D.
> And while I didn't actually see his work (being too busy with my own
> camera at
> that event), I have it on very good authority that his pictures ranged
> from
> excellent to superb.
The difference between 10MP and 12.7MP isn't all that large: about 12%
better resolution. The 5D came out before the 10MP APS-C cameras and looked
a lot more interesting than it does now. If the "5DII" has 16MP, and you
want to make 13x19 prints, you'll want one. So spend half your money on FF
compatible lenses and put the other half under your mattress.
> the user, like either side of the focus screen. However it is just as
> likely to be between the superimpose (SI) plate and the pentaprism,
> which is not accessible to the normal user.
I found several spots on the images, and this was with using at least
two different lenses. He had cleaned the mirror off before we started,
so that suggests the dust is on the sensor. I sent him the images, and
basically said that if he would clean the thing properly, I'd have
another look. He must have thought I was daft, asking over 2 grand for
a camera in this condition.
> Perhaps you could make a deal with him based on you...FIRST...telling him
> that you'll pay him a fraction of his asking price in proportion to what the
> Service Center indicates the actual number of shutter-trips are (which
> you'll assure him you'll do, and he'll agree in writing to).
Good call. I wonder how accurate they can estimate that...
Question for all Canon 5D owners... 
Linear Mode
