What are the practical drawbacks of moving from a Canon 5D Mark II to a 5D Mark I for portraits?
Asked 11/5/2013
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I use a Canon 5D Mark II only for portrait photography and never for video. If I switched to a 5D Mark I, what real-world disadvantages should I expect in terms of image quality, usability, and final output? I usually do not need very fast shutter speeds, so I’m mainly interested in whether the downgrade would noticeably affect portrait results.
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
13y ago
2 Answers
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If you shoot under 400iso and don't print large, you won't notice much difference in the image quality. If you shoot higher ISOs, the Mk II has less noise.
Practically speaking, the screen on the MK I is the most annoying thing if you're used to the MK II. Colour accuracy and sharpness during playback are poor compared to the MKII and newer cameras- and far less useful for evaluating focus.
Originally by user22683. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user22683
13y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
For portrait work in good light, the 5D Mark I and Mark II can look fairly similar, especially if you stay around ISO 400 or below and don’t make very large prints. The biggest image-quality tradeoff is at higher ISO, where the 5D Mark II produces cleaner files with less noise.
The Mark II also gives you much more resolution: 21MP vs 13MP. That matters for heavy cropping, larger prints, and retaining fine detail.
In day-to-day use, the Mark II is also noticeably more refined. Compared with the 5D Mark I, it adds a much better LCD for reviewing focus and color, live view, AF micro adjustment, dust reduction, vignetting correction, a slightly better viewfinder, newer menus, silent modes, and better battery life.
So if your portraits are mostly low-ISO and modest output size, the Mark I may not hurt final results much. But the Mark II is clearly better for high ISO, cropping/print flexibility, and overall shooting convenience.
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