What's the use of having two cameras?

Discussion in 'Beginner Questions' started by LMBK, Oct 31, 2019.

  1. LMBK

    LMBK New Member

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    I have a EOS 7D awell as a EOS 5D mark iii, right now im using the 5d while I learn and improve since I'm pretty new. But then it got me wondering, whats the use of having two cameras? I tried googling the differences but It's very confusing to me, is one better than the other? Should I even use both? Do I shelf the 7D and just use the 5D? If anyone could clear this up and help me out it would be greatly appreciated!
     

  2. johnsey

    johnsey Site Moderator Staff Member Site Supporter

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    If I recall you inherited somehow a large amount of expensive canon gear, and as you said you could dig into the tech specs on two cameras to come to such conclusions but you pointed out you are rather new to everything so it is not going to mean much at this point probably.

    There are plenty of reasons to own two cameras, or two of anything for that matter, the two biggest ones that come to mind are:
    1. One does something the other does not
    2. One can be used as a backup if the other breaks down (if you use the object be it camera/truck/etc for work you need to have a backup option)
    The 5d3 (2012) is definitely a better camera than a 7d (2009) original, they are a solid generation apart.

    All that aside here is the general takeaways about the camera lines in general:
    • The 7d line is a prosumer crop sensor camera, think of it as the highest end of the crop sensor cameras.
    • The 5d line is a also a prosumer is higher end camera, but it is a mid step in the full frame cameras on the way to the 1D series which is the highest end canon camera.
    • The 7d line generally sports higher frames per second than the 5d line more, so if you shoot a lot of sports but can't afford a 1D then a 7d probably would appeal to you.
    • The 6D, 5D and 1D lines have larger sensors and without getting too technical, full frame will show the full view through the lens rather than a cropped view (important if you want really wide shots), they also tend to have better dynamic range and better low light/high ISO performance. These generally appeal to landscape or wedding photographers.
    After all this its really about what you need and how much you can afford to whic
    Remember all this assumes no drastic variations in specs, basically I am saying a newer generation lower end model could out perform a older generation higher end model depending on what you are looking at.
     
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  3. JohnReid

    JohnReid New Member

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    When I was in the business, I did Weddings and some location Commercial jobs, in those instances if a Camera would fail it would have been catastrophic. Are you in the position where that kind of event would really cause harm? If not, then the idea that one might do something that the other could not. Like most anything else they do not appreciate in value as time goes by so the decision is if you want or need to have more than one or if the money you could get by selling one would do you more good. I might add that the second camera is not eating anything so if you keep it, it does not really cost you anything,
     
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  4. LMBK

    LMBK New Member

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    Hey! This definitely cleared up a lot of things, I was curious because I wanted to make sure there wasn't some big reason to own to cameras, and operate two cameras that I was missing out on. For now I will continue using the 5d3 while I figure more stuff out. It's really fascinating that constantly there's these things I learn about that boost my photography "skills?" to another level.

    Thanks for the great reply. - LMBK
     
  5. LMBK

    LMBK New Member

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    Hey! I see, I'm really not planning on selling anything, as the gear has more value to me than what money they might be worth. Definitely good to know about the potential of failure aswell, didn't really consider that. I'm not doing anything other than learning and having fun, so for personal use I guess at the moment, but either way I suppose it is good to have a backup.
    Thanks for the reply!
    -LMBK
     

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