# Buying used 5d2 or wait for the new FF?



## jensv (Sep 11, 2012)

Hi everybody 

I'm kind of new to photography, but over the last 1.5 years I've been shooting a lot of pics and built a small collection of gear. 

Currently I own a 600 EOS with a Tamron 17-50, 50 f 1.4 and a 70-200 f 4.0 (and LR and 430 ex). 

I really like to shoot with the 70-200 and I could see myself at some point with the f 2.8...

However now I think it's little 'long' so with a ff camera a could probably get better use of the two canon lenses.

So I'm thinking about selling the EOS 600 with the Tamron and getting a used 5d2. 

I shoot a lot of different stuff, but mostly my GF (who's very patient) I travel a lot so I shoot street and architecture and what not, but I'm not really into sports and stuff like that. 

I know I could probably get better pictures from practice and LR, but I'm all so a bit of gadget freak  

So used 5d2 or wait for new entry level FF?


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## erwinrm (Sep 11, 2012)

Since you shoot mostly stills, the 5D2 will suit you nicely. I'd also think twice about selling the Tamron. That's a good lens, which I actually use as my walkabout lens.


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## mathino (Sep 11, 2012)

jensv said:


> Hi everybody
> 
> I'm kind of new to photography, but over the last 1.5 years I've been shooting a lot of pics and built a small collection of gear.
> 
> ...



If you shoot mainly stills and dont want to capture action - look for 5D Mk II, its still a great camera and you can exploit full potential of your lenses and work with DoF. More on that, 5D Mk II used price will be much lower from 6D or whatever it will be called. My bet is that new FF would cost around 2100 USD (but I might be wrong).

...Im waiting for "6D" to be announced because I want to buy new and with rumored specs I would be pleased for 5 years or so. I shoot some action from time to time, so better AF would be really useful.

Final suggestion:

if you want to buy new and you can wait - wait for new entry FF
if you want to buy new and cant wait - look for 5D Mk II
if you want to buy used - 5D Mk II is your choice


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## Dylan777 (Sep 11, 2012)

Do you have real specs for new FF? When will the new FF get released? 

The only option you have now is stay at crop or get 5D II.


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## jensv (Sep 11, 2012)

erwinrm said:


> Since you shoot mostly stills, the 5D2 will suit you nicely. I'd also think twice about selling the Tamron. That's a good lens, which I actually use as my walkabout lens.



hm I thought the Tamron was made for crop? Anyways I like it for the price but sometimes I find it annoying with the focus hunting, but it's the only wideangle I have so have to use it. I guess I would have to get another wide angle for the (potential) new purchase.


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## jensv (Sep 11, 2012)

mathino said:


> If you shoot mainly stills and dont want to capture action - look for 5D Mk II, its still a great camera and you can exploit full potential of your lenses and work with DoF. More on that, 5D Mk II used price will be much lower from 6D or whatever it will be called. My bet is that new FF would cost around 2100 USD (but I might be wrong).
> 
> ...Im waiting for "6D" to be announced because I want to buy new and with rumored specs I would be pleased for 5 years or so. I shoot some action from time to time, so better AF would be really useful.
> 
> ...



Thx for the advice, yes I know we can't predict what will happen in he future, the reason I'm looking for a used 5d2 is that's it's easy to go overboard with buying new stuff, however now I'm fairly confident that I'll actually use the camera. I would feel kind of bad shelling out a lot of €€€ and never use the it.


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## jensv (Sep 11, 2012)

Dylan777 said:


> Do you have real specs for new FF? When will the new FF get released?
> 
> The only option you have now is stay at crop or get 5D II.



true  the purpose of the post was to assess if it was a stupid idea to go for the 5d2 now.


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## mathino (Sep 11, 2012)

> Thx for the advice, yes I know we can't predict what will happen in he future, the reason I'm looking for a used 5d2 is that's it's easy to go overboard with buying new stuff, however now I'm fairly confident that I'll actually use the camera. I would feel kind of bad shelling out a lot of €€€ and never use the it.



...sad is that as EU citizens we dont have such good deals like CLP (Canon Loyalty Program, when you return your old Canon camera they give you discount on refurbished stuff - US citizens could get refurb 5D Mk II for around 1500 USD) and we have all prices close to 1:1 ratio USD:EUR. Thats why Im waiting before pulling the trigger and...Im in no rush for new camera. I will wait and see and then decide...


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## erwinrm (Sep 11, 2012)

jensv said:


> hm I thought the Tamron was made for crop? Anyways I like it for the price but sometimes I find it annoying with the focus hunting, but it's the only wideangle I have so have to use it. I guess I would have to get another wide angle for the (potential) new purchase.



My bad! You're right, it's a Di II, made for crop sensors.


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## robbymack (Sep 12, 2012)

I fully expect a "entry level" FF from canon to be priced somewhere between $2200 and $2500, if that doesn't give you sticker shock and are able to wait (and wait) then by all means wait for an annoucement and make a decision. 

On a side note it doesn't sound like you are being creatively held back by your camera per say, other than it has a crop sensor and you don't like the length you get with the 70-200 on crop. My $0.02: Don't become a gear collector, become a photographer. Even a $25K Leica is not going to make your photos more interesting or appealing.


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## dr croubie (Sep 12, 2012)

My $0.02:

Do you need it now? Or can you wait?

If you can wait, think about it this way. When the 6D (or whatever, low-cost FF) is is introduced, there's going to be a lot more FF cameras going around. So as long as it's under $2500, some people would be 'upgrading' their old 5D2s to the 6D, depending on which features they do and don't want (ie, if the AF in the new body really is as good as the 7D, some people might ditch their 5D2 just for that, if the sensor is roughly comparable, even if it means less other features).
In short, I'm guessing that when the 6D drops, the 5D2 will get cheaper.
At that time you will need to decide between the 6D and 5D2, depending on whatever specs you want and the cash you have.

So the decision is
- buy a 5D2 now, and lose a bit on the re-sale value, but you get to use it now.
- or keep the crop for now, wait until the 6D drops, whenever that may be, could be photokina next week, could be this time next year, and decide between 5D2 and 6D then.
(personally, i'd be waiting, but i've got enough toys to play with for years without buying new ones. If you need it soon, then it's going to be 5D2)


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## jensv (Sep 12, 2012)

dr croubie said:


> My $0.02:
> 
> Do you need it now? Or can you wait?
> 
> ...



yes this makes sense, I should at least wait until next week before making any kind of move.


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