Should I buy a used Canon 5D Mk 4 to complement my 7D II for short range bird & general photography?

OMattB

OMattB

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Matt Brookes
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OK I love my 7D Mk II for bird photography but am feeling the need to add a FF for general and bird photography - static(ish) birds not BIFs.

Does anyone have experience using the 5D Mk IV?

I've done the usual YouTube trawl but want to get a view from birders who use the 5D MkIV for bird photography.

I would use it with my 400mm f5.6 and Sigma 150-600mm. Obviously I realise as a FF it wont have as much reach but just interested to see what others experience has been especially if you use the 7D Mk II
 
I am curious. Does this mean that you will carry both bodies with long lenses? If you would only be taking one body, I would not use my 5D4 for bird photography unless it was quite static and very close.
 
Chipper said:
I am curious. Does this mean that you will carry both bodies with long lenses? If you would only be taking one body, I would not use my 5D4 for bird photography unless it was quite static and very close.
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Thanks for responding Chipper.

To clarify, I am looking at buying a used 5D Mk IV for general purpose (family, travel etc) photography. However, I know a good % of the time (say 20% ) I will find myself pointing it at reasonably close and static (ish) birds in garden, hedgerows etc . My 7D MkII will remain my primary birding body. So what I am trying to ascertain is, is the 5D Mk IV good for short range bird photography
 
Other half has 5D4 and 7D2 (the 7D2 until tomorrow) and has used both for a variety of subjects including birds (mostly on stick).

She prefers the 5D4 by a considerable margin and will be keeping that. Mind you her 100-400 Mark 2 was sold last week and will in future need to hire telephotos to do birding
 
I have a 5D4 and until early this year used it for everything including sport and bird photography. I thought that the key feature of the 7D was fast focus and it was certainly better than my old 5D2. However, I believe that the 5D4 has the same focusing system as the 7D. It can track and follow birds in flight. While I have not completely retired my 5D4, I bought a Sony ML earlier this year which I use for most photography now. It was purely an issue of weight. The Sony A6600 with a 70-350mm is less than one third the weight of my 5D4 with a 70-200mm. I actually used my 5D4 again last week but this was for an Urbex Photoshoot and I needed flash so the Canon was more suited and no great distances were involved.

Last spring I did use the 5D4 in my garden for birds setting up pointing at a popular tree branch and running the Canon connect S/W on my iPad so I could relax in a Chair, wait for the birds and trigger the camera from the iPad by WiFi. The touch screen is particularly good on the 5D4.

Dave
 
Dave Canon said:
I have a 5D4 and until early this year used it for everything including sport and bird photography. I thought that the key feature of the 7D was fast focus and it was certainly better than my old 5D2. However, I believe that the 5D4 has the same focusing system as the 7D. It can track and follow birds in flight. While I have not completely retired my 5D4, I bought a Sony ML earlier this year which I use for most photography now. It was purely an issue of weight. The Sony A6600 with a 70-350mm is less than one third the weight of my 5D4 with a 70-200mm. I actually used my 5D4 again last week but this was for an Urbex Photoshoot and I needed flash so the Canon was more suited and no great distances were involved.

Last spring I did use the 5D4 in my garden for birds setting up pointing at a popular tree branch and running the Canon connect S/W on my iPad so I could relax in a Chair, wait for the birds and trigger the camera from the iPad by WiFi. The touch screen is particularly good on the 5D4.

Dave
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thanks Dave - very useful. Think I will get one!
 
ChrisF15 said:
I use both a 7dmk2 and a 5dmk3 and to be honest I do find the full frame gives good results. I do a lot it fast jet photography. I personally thing you will be very pleased with 5dmk4.
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Thanks ChrisF15 the evidence is supporting my potential 5D MkIV purchase
 
Personally, I'd go 5Div and use the 7Dii as your back up. You will notice the difference in 'reach' but it's not enough to be game changer. If it's wildlife that concerns you then try to get that bit closer to compensate, which is where the challenge lies. The superior image quality and low light performance of the 5Div sensor will easily out compete the 7D. The 7Dii is an able camera but when it comes to image quality, the 5D is much better. The 5D isn't too shabby in other respects either and in my opinion, a much better camera all round than the 7Dii.
 
I shoot motorsport with both a full frame camera and a 7D II. The 7D II is useful for circuits where the crop advantage is useful, but 9 times out of 10 I would reach for the 1D first. I don't think you'd be disappointed with a 5D IV and may use it for birding more often than you think.
 
jerry12953 said:
My guess is that when you see the results from a 5d4 you'll retire the 7d2! The latter has more reach but the 5d4 is very croppable.
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think you could be right, just hired 5D M4 and in post editing the results. Very impressive. Love your images btw especially the Waxwings .... slightly green with envy
 
andrewc said:
I shoot motorsport with both a full frame camera and a 7D II. The 7D II is useful for circuits where the crop advantage is useful, but 9 times out of 10 I would reach for the 1D first. I don't think you'd be disappointed with a 5D IV and may use it for birding more often than you think.
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Thank you - reckon 5D Mk4 is on my Christmas List
 
OMattB said:
think you could be right, just hired 5D M4 and in post editing the results. Very impressive. Love your images btw especially the Waxwings .... slightly green with envy
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I got rid of my Canon kit about 2 years ago. I had terrible problems with a faulty 5d4 which wouldn't hold its charge even when switched off, and I got a new one under guarantee. But had I kept it I'm sure I'd have been very happy with it. My advice was based on the dilemma I had with 5d3 / 7d1, and I was so glad I got rid of the 7d!. It was a real let down.
 
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