Hi all, This is my first post so be gentle. I currently use a Canon 350d and 20d with various Canon and Sigma len's (50mm f1.8, 85mm f1.8, 18-50 f2.8). I have been shooting portraits and helping another photographer shoot weddings. I love photographers work such as Jasmine star, Jessica claire, Becker, Mike colon and david jay of course and i know some of those use the 5d so i have looked at that but it is still quite expensive in the UK.The other alternatives is the 40d or switch systems and go Nikon d200 or the new d300.(the other photographer i work with shoots nikon d2x and d200).
I know it means buying into a new system but what would your advice be ? Is the 40d a big enough jump from the 20d/350d ?

Thanks for any help or suggestions
scott.

I would make an investment in the 5D!

it would benefit you in the long run to stay with canon in my opinion. the 40D will be a nice step up from the 20D/350D, but i'd suggest something more along the lines of the 5D if you're going to be shooting more portraits and getting into wedding photography. hold onto your 20D, it will make a great backup, which you'll NEED if you are shooting weddings.

as the money starts to pile up from your glamorous job as a photographer (yes, sarcasm intended lol) start investing in better lenses. the essentials in my opinion are the canon 16-35 2.8L and 70-200 2.8L IS, and something like a 50mm 1.4.

also, make sure to buy your equipment from reputable sources. NOT places like 1stophoto.com (which is a scam website that screws a lot of people out of a lot of money every day.... look on resellerratings.com) but buy from stores like B&H Photo, Beach Camera and Calumet, which I believe has a location in the UK and/or germany.

best of luck, and welcome to OSP! you've joined an awesome community of really knowledgeable photographers and overall NICE people :-)

I think swtiching to Nikon would be a bigger investment than buying a 5D because you have to het new glass, flashes, etc. I say stick with Canon and upgrade to a 5D.

thank you very much for your opinions. I cant wait for the money to start to pile up !!! ha ha!

+1 to everything said above.

You already have 3 decent lenses, and a 40d would be a great addition. I shot a 40d and 30d right now. And while i want a 5d, i don't truly "need" a 5d. The 40d and 30d make great images. Actually till August last year, i was shooting a pair of 20d's. And they worked great. It's not always the gear, it's the person behind the gear.

I recently switched from Nikon to Canon (like just got my 5D yesterday). I'm thrilled with the switch and though my reasons were more logistical because my business model is moving towards more team coverage and my other two partners have Canon, I believe that the 5D is WAY better than my D200 was. I also rented the D300 and I think to really take advantage of Nikon's new sensor, you'd want to drop the cash on the D3.

But, since you're already on board with Nikon, I'd save up for the 5D, or even just invest in some fabulous lenses and continue shooting what you have until the new release of the 5D, but I'm not sure when that will be. I for one, I am glad I didn't hold off on starting with the 5D. And I bought a 40D as a backup body, but I know people love their 30D's as back up too.

And like Thomas said, it's not always the camera, it's the person behind it.

Oh, and a good friend of mine said that having something that will make you feel more confident because you notice a difference, will rub off into your shooting and you will naturally be more confident. So even though the camera doesn't make you better, having the psychological feeling that you "think" it's better, may actually help you to gain more confidence to be better. It's like having clothing that makes you feel confident. Even if it didn't cost much, the fact that you "think" you look better, makes you "act" different and more confident, even though not much really changed. That probably made more sense when my friend said it, but anyway, that's that.

Hi and thats again for the replys so far, I know its more about the photographer than the camera and i also feel like has been suggested that quality glass will make a huge difference aswell. How well does the 40d handle noise ? better than the 20d ? As i may trade the 350d and get a 40d but i would like to see an improvement if not i would be better buying new glass and keeping my current equipment (which has been suggested)

I would like to shoot all primes so i could get rid of my sigma 18-50 f2.8 and get a 28mm f1.8 ! and maybe a 50mm f1.4.
thanks again
scott.

Coming from someone who used a Nikon D200 for about 1.5 years... and now uses the Canon 5D... there's just no comparison. Go Canon. HOWEVER.. if we're talking about the D3.... WOWZERS!

Indeed.

Stay with Canon.

You really can't go wrong staying with the market leader. On the Nikon side the D300 is a good camera, but the relatively low price of the 5D, full frame chip, and low noise should make staying with Canon a much better choice for you and your business.

The ROI on a total switch doesn't work, in my [educated] opinion.

By the way, I say this from the perspective of an assistant to someone who shot with the D2X from the day it was released and now uses a D3.

Who says Canon is the market leader? (My rant comes in a followon post)

+1
Well put.
besides, lenses are the real investment you should make.

Meeksdigital, I hope i didnt start something ! I didnt want this to be a canon v's nikon thread. I just require advice as to what to upgrade to next be that bodies or len's.
Thanks for all taking the time to reply.

Did I miss your follow on rant?

Just curious...as a Nikonite. hehe

haha don't worry scott, they all end up moving in that direction eventually. my last post wasn't directed at you, it was in regard to the one just before it... ;-)

that being said, we all know that canon makes better glass anyway, so you might as well stick with canon and start buying those L lenses!

I know its been said before but the thing you take pictures with isn't the camera. Hmm....

But there's more too that. A few questions for you:
1) What is the primary way you will be lighting your subjects? Flash? Available? Strobe? Mix?
2) What will be the primary source of income (wedding, portrait, commercial,sport)?
3) What 'style" are you most likely to adopt? PJ. Formal? Mix?
4) Handheld or tripod/monopod/sandbag?
5) Jpeg or raw?
6) How much post processing are you willing to do?
6) How tight is your budget?

All of these factors and more play into the choice of camera body.

What am I getting at here? Well, I think it's easy to get sucked into the Canon vs Nikon debate and the folks that benefit are the ones selling the cameras, not the photographers. We can chase the megapixel myth, debate about noise, and go technoid or we can learn to use the camera we have *with excellance* and to the *max* with *all* available options and tools *before* we even think about upgrading. Learn how *light* affects your photography, whether available, flash, strobe, or other artificial sources. See the light, use the light, *know* the light.

Know your *glass*. Glass has a HUGE impact. Shooting prime? Try various vendors for your body and choose the *best* for your particular style/business case (the best MAY not be the most expensive or your body vendor). Rent glass and SHOOT. When in doubt, go fast (and prime). Personally I'll spend more on glass first, then upgrade the body. And don't go crazy on having a lens for every concievable instance. Go prime and use your feet as the telephoto. Get up close and personal with your subjects (when appropriate) -- primes help with this.

That all said I want my camera to be a tool. I *should* be able to shoot all manual (if needed). But more and more I want a camera that allows me to be creative with the minimum of knob twisiting, setting changes, etc. Much of my photography is low light, so I want fast glass and high iso @ low noise. When I can afford it I will move to the D3(x) (as I am invested in Nikon). Do I have any issue with the scene/face recognition, better AF, better DR, etc... no.. do I *NEED* it.... at the moment its a nice to have... your mileage may vary.

I refuse to get into a Nikon/Canon discussion without really getting very detailed and much of that depends on what you are shooting. I have seen REMARKABLE SHOTS from all manner of cameras, not all of then top of the line or from either brand. Canon was king of the hill on the high iso, low noise, full frame market -- until the Nikon D3. Now I'm sure Canon will answer the challenge -- and the competition *hopefully* will drive down cost and increase the availability of the toys we would like to get our hands on within a reasonable budget.

Just my (long) two cents.

Mike

And a very good two cents it was.

Seriously. Very awesome read.