# 5d mark ii (should I keep it )



## Niki (Mar 5, 2014)

my question is about the 5d mark ii Since I have a 5d mark iii should I keep my 5d mark ii?


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## Dylan777 (Mar 6, 2014)

Niki said:


> my question is about the 5d mark ii Since I have a 5d mark iii should I keep my 5d mark ii?



I love to shoot with 2 bodies. Until you ready for 2nd 5D III, I say keep it. The IQ from mrk II is wonderful.


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## Mt Spokane Photography (Mar 6, 2014)

It depends on you. 

Having a backup body is important if someone is relying on you, or if you are traveling or taking images that can't be retaken later.

You can usually figure that a trip to Canon for repairs will take a week or more, depending on distances involved and shipping methods.


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## BL (Mar 6, 2014)

If you're asking, you should sell it.

If you were using the 5DII and found it useful as a second body, I don't think you would be wondering about this.


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## The Bad Duck (Mar 6, 2014)

I kept mine and don´t regret it, but the main reason I got the 5DIII was to get a total of two bodies when things got more serious and the 30D did not hold up as a backup/second body.

Qualitywise I usually just grab the body with the most suitable lens on or the body closest to me, unless there are some special demands lite very high ISO, high demand on AF or silent mode.

In the end, it´s up to you. I have no idea of what you are shooting or how. So it is impossible to give advice 

Good luck!


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## verysimplejason (Mar 6, 2014)

If you need a second body, give the 6D a try. If you like it, sell the 5D2. If not, keep the 5D2. Why? It's because 6D will hold its price better than a 5D2. Right now, 5D2 has still a high price (very near the price of a new 6D). At least you got something new by just shelling out a little bit more. If you don't like the 6D, then keep the 5D2. It's better to have a 2nd body just in case...


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## tron (Mar 6, 2014)

I have sold my 5DMkII and bought a second 5DMkIII. No regrets. Now both of my cameras are the same model so no thoughts in choosing.

In addition when you shoot with both cameras the controls are the same and this is a plus.

I would suggest to upgrade if you can afford it...


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## mackguyver (Mar 6, 2014)

tron said:


> I have sold my 5DMkII and bought a second 5DMkIII. No regrets. Now both of my cameras are the same model so no thoughts in choosing.
> 
> In addition when you shoot with both cameras the controls are the same and this is a plus.
> 
> I would suggest to upgrade if you can afford it...


I have been thinking about doing that for a while, but there are four reasons I haven't:

#1, I won't get much out of it 
(Yes, I realize the prices will only keep falling, but losing $1,000 - 1,500 sucks)

#2, I have the EF-S screen in it and that works great with my fast lenses. The 5DIII viewfinder is a grainy, blurry, piece of junk in comparison and is all but useless for manual focus.
(I also realize that there are 3rd party solutions to this problem, but I'd rather not fool with them)

#3 I find myself shooting fewer events (and thus less need for two bodies with prime lenses on each one) and focusing more on shooting with a single body, so the 5DII has become more of a true back up body.

#4 I have spent way too much money on camera gear over the last few years and really need to get back to taking car of the house, cars, and other things like that


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## tron (Mar 6, 2014)

mackguyver said:


> tron said:
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> > I have sold my 5DMkII and bought a second 5DMkIII. No regrets. Now both of my cameras are the same model so no thoughts in choosing.
> ...


All your reasons are quite personal so quite reasonable too.
The only reservation I would have is about #1 where you said it yourself: "the prices will only keep falling".
By doing this exchange I saved about 40% of the price of 5D3 so I have no complaints myself


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## mackguyver (Mar 6, 2014)

tron said:


> mackguyver said:
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Yes, they are very personal and probably don't apply to others, but I thought I'd share them in case any of them do. Also, my 5DII is pretty beat up, so I think I'd be lucky to get a $1k for it, and after reading about the latest 1DX firmware, I think that's what I'd really like. Besides the obvious upgrades over the 5DIII, I'm so jealous of the new features, especially exposure compensation in Manual and being able to set a shutter speed over 1/250s for Auto ISO. Why anyone at Canon thought 1/250s was reasonable, I'll never understand.


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## tron (Mar 6, 2014)

mackguyver said:


> tron said:
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Likewise. But being an amateur I could not/would not afford a 1Dx just for that. 5D3 is still very nice (plus I prefer to spend money on lenses  ) so I thought that two 5D3s are enough for me  
I just don't use auto iso a lot...


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## Dylan777 (Mar 6, 2014)

tron said:


> Likewise. But being an amateur I could not/would not afford a 1Dx just for that. 5D3 is still very nice (plus I prefer to spend money on lenses  ) so I thought that two 5D3s are enough for me
> I just don't use auto iso a lot...



+1....I'm waiting for 1D X II to come out so I can buy a decent used 1D X  

For now, having two 5D III to shoot with 24-70 II + 70-200 f2.8 IS II is a dream comes true for "an amateur" like me


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## mackguyver (Mar 6, 2014)

Good points, guys, and I use Auto ISO almost all of the time for wildlife because the light levels change too fast to adjust. For portraits, landscapes, and just about everything else, I manually set it.

The other factor I meant to state is that I'm also waiting to see if the 7DII raises the bar enough to make me go back to crop. I'm doubtful, but as a wildlife guy, I'd be tempted to go back to crop if the noise levels are close to the 5DIII at ISO 1600-6400.


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## jprusa (Mar 6, 2014)

I did keep my 5dII because I am happy with IQ but not AF so I mainly use it with my Macro lens.


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## sdsr (Mar 6, 2014)

Niki said:


> my question is about the 5d mark ii Since I have a 5d mark iii should I keep my 5d mark ii?



What do you use your 5DII for? If it's something you take with you just in case your 5DIII breaks but don't otherwise use it, you might as well keep it. If you don't use it at all, you might as well sell it. If you need to have two bodies you can use in identical ways but like a different lens on each so you can just switch cameras rather than swapping lenses, sell the 5DII and get another 5DIII. If you want a second camera but with better noise performance than the 5DIII, sell the 5DII and get a 6D. If you want a rather different experience altogether (including higher resolution), sell your 5DII and buy a Sony A7r + EF adapter (+ Sony/Zeiss 55mm 1.8). Is replacing the 5DII something you can readily afford?

In short, I don't think anyone can usefully answer your question: it depends on what you do/want/need/can afford, and you haven't told us anything about any of those considerations....


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## bvukich (Mar 6, 2014)

mackguyver said:


> tron said:
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Those and spot AE linked to AF point make me lust for a 1DX. Still love my 5D3 though, and I can't really justify the additional expense right now.


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## tron (Mar 6, 2014)

bvukich said:


> mackguyver said:
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+1 on 5D3. Even if linked spotmetering is hardware related, the other issue (Auto iso/exp comp/ 1/250 limit) is completely software related and a shame not to be fixed


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## Niki (Mar 9, 2014)

tron said:


> I have sold my 5DMkII and bought a second 5DMkIII. No regrets. Now both of my cameras are the same model so no thoughts in choosing.
> 
> In addition when you shoot with both cameras the controls are the same and this is a plus.
> 
> I would suggest to upgrade if you can afford it...



this is what I was going to do…(i'm working enough now and i can afford another 5dm3) but I think there is something unique about the 5dm2…(on some jobs I use an old film camera for the same reason…there is something still very unique to me about film)….getting back to the 5d mark 2…I think it works well as back up camera and has a unique image..??

thanks to everyone at the forum for your replies…!


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## tron (Mar 9, 2014)

Niki said:


> tron said:
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> 
> > I have sold my 5DMkII and bought a second 5DMkIII. No regrets. Now both of my cameras are the same model so no thoughts in choosing.
> ...


If you believe so. However, when the 5D2 was the current model, the same was being said (a unique film-like image) about the original 5D...


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