What's the difference between these 3 models of DSLRs, Canon EOS 550D, 7D and 5D Mark II?

Question

Hello~ I'm Alex. I'm getting myself a DSLR soon but I just had confused with these 3 models that i've selected. the Canon EOS 550D, 7D and 5D Mark II. Can anyone tell me the details and differences among the three of them please?

What I need of a DSLR is, takes good pictures of sceneries , macro shots, sports and portraits. and also record good HD 1080p videos. Does video mode can change the fps, autofocus and ISO?

- Whats the pro and cons
- What are the main features
- What can they do the best quality and performance?

of EOS 550D, 7D and 5D Mark II?


Thank you.

Answer 1

Eclipse is quite right to say that 7D is better technically than the 5DM2. I believe the 5DM2 is more suited for studio work, or landscape, but not primary for sports, because of its inferior focusing unit.



p.s. I learned photography with a film camera and I do like the full framer (I have 5D and 5DM2) because the optical viewfinder is indeed big and bright.



Something can be said that the good old days, cameras did not have auto-focus then--so how did the sport photographers do it? You have to know what you're doing--pre-focus / and anticipate the action of the players.



Please don't think I am being unkind--if you have not use a camera like this before, SLR or dSLR, getting the Mark II is a bit over the top. You'd have to double the cost of it go get a couple of good lenses (for example, the 24-70 mm f 2.8 is $1,500 now).



So 7D would be best--along with a photography course--because you will be very disappointed with any camera if you don't know how to use it. Learning it on your own is not easy at all. Sometimes the photos come out beautifully (and you don't know why) and the rest they are not good (and you still don't know why.) There are plenty of people out there who think a great camera will automatically give them great photos. What a waste of a camera.



If you don't see it this way--hand me a tray of surgical instruments--does it turn me into a surgeon?

Answer 2

They get progressively better as you go up, especially the 5D mark 2. It's a full frame sensor, that means the same size as a frame of 35mm film and delivers exceptional quality. Of course, if you've looked at them, you'll notice a significant price difference as well.

Answer 3

I own two of the three but, if you go to DPReview.com, you can do a side by side comparison of the three as well as check out in depth reviews of each model. Http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/sidebyside.asp



I own both the 7D and the 5D Mark II. The 5D is the most expensive of the bunch primarily because it has a "full-frame" sensor that measures roughly 24x36mm (same as a single frame of 35mm film) rather than 14.9x22.3mm (APS-C) in the other two models. The larger imaging sensor has larger pixels measuring 6.4µm each rather than 4.3µm in the 550D and 7D. This translates to higher signal to noise ratios for the 5D and (combined with other factors) higher image quality due to less noise and greater image detail at any given ISO setting. The larger sensor also means there is no 1.6x crop factor as with the APS-C sensors. Full-frame cameras also have larger viewfinders and this generally means it is easier to see more detail and results in less fatigue for a photographer in long shooting sessions. If you want to use ultra-wide lenses and get the full benefit of their field of view as they were meant to be, then you want a full-frame camera. Having said all this in favor of the 5D Mark II, I can also say the 7D is a better camera in every other measure.



The 7D reflects a number of advancements and lessons learned with regard to the 5D Mark II and Canon's XXD series of cameras, the best of which is currently the 50D. The 7D has the best autofocus and exposure metering system Canon has ever offered short of those found in the new 1D Mark IV. One area that has always disappointed 5D owners is the autofocus and most of us, would love to see the 7D's AF and metering systems in the next 5D. Though most of us were not thrilled to hear that Canon had packed even more megapixels onto the 7D's sensor after the failed sensor used in the 50D and 500D, we have also been pleasantly surprised to find image quality in the 7D and 550D has actually improved in spite of the higher resolution. In addition to these improvements, that 7D's AF is faster and more consistent than that of the 5D Mark II, 40D/50D or any of the XXXD type cameras such as the 550D. This is important because the 7D is also Canon's fastest and best built camera short of the 1D Mark IV, offering a top continuous shooting speed of up to 8 frames per second depending on lighting conditions and better weather seals than the 5D Mark II. If you shoot sports and wildlife, you may want to look at the 7D because its speed and 1.6x crop factor are advantages for that type of shooting telephoto and super telephoto lenses. The 7D is also the only camera of the three that has a dedicated live-view and movie mode switch as well as the start/stop button found on the other models for these features.



Last but not least, there is the little 550D. If I haven't mentioned it already, it should be noted that for all practical purposes, the still and video image quality of the 550D is the same as that of the 7D because they use a nearly identical imaging sensors. The 550D is smaller, lighter and lacks the 7D's second image processor. As a result, it can only shoot continuous still images at about four frames per second so it is not the best option for sports but, it is not a bad choice if your budger won't allow the purchase of a faster, more advanced camera body. Having said all this, the 550D benefits from the latest Canon developments and like the 7D, offers more video modes and speeds than the 5D Mark II does at this time. But because these cameras are on APS-C format sensors, they can't match the 5D Mark II's ability to exploit the shallow depth of field offered by fast lenses. This shallow depth of field is a key factor in what makes DSLR video so attractive to independent film makers or people who want their video to look like it was shot with a 35mm motion picture camera.



One final note on video. Too many people are falling into a marketing trap when they hear/read that a DSLR is capable of recording video. I'm not saying they can't do it or that they can't be used to generate awesome results. But just as is the case with still photography, the camera doesn't do everything. And for the average person who really just wants a camcorder, these cameras do even less. Autofocus is pretty much out the window and the camera isn't really designed as a stable video platform to begin with. So if you aren't interested in rigging it up in a Redrock Micro or Zacuto video rig like the one shown below, learing to pull-focus with a follow-focus came on your lens, and/or potentially recording audio on a seperate device and combining footage in post production after the fact, you might be better off with a camcorder. Like I said, I own both a 5D Mark II and a 7D...I use them to capture still images. I use a Canon XL2 camcorder to record video.



7D setup for shooting video...

http://techielobang.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/9-27-09dan7drig.jpg