RHomme wrote:
I am in the process of determining a second body to complement my 5d mk III.

I am interested in the 7d mk II both for budget considerations and increased shooting speed if I needed to do some action shooting.

I've done a fair amount of research on the various bodies available at price levels, and I was seriously hoping the upgraded 5d mk IV would have been out to market or even officially announced by this point so I knew what that body was going to look like.

Does anyone have any thoughts on whether this would be a good second body for primarily wedding shooting, senior portraits, and portraiture with the occasional action shooting high school sports type stuff?

I have the 7D and 7DII, but I shoot more wildlife than portraits.  For wildlife, sports and action, either of the 7D models is excellent.  I have friends and relatives that own the 5DIII, 6D or both.  I also have the 6D which I use for portraits, studio work and landscape.  One of my most talented friends  (he has a degree in photography, shoots weddings nearly full time and is a successful photography instructor) own's both and prefers to shoot with the 6D.

The layout of controls of the 5DIII and 7DII are very similar.  The 6D controls are somewhat dissimilar but not difficult for me to adapt even when shooting in the dark or without reading glasses.  The 6D has fewer focus points than both the 5DIII and 7DII but I don't use them all anyway.

The ISO capability of the 6D is much better than the 7DII.

If you are looking for a back up for weddings, and portraiture, stick with full frame high ISO capability and get a 6D.  If you want something totally different to complement the 5DIII that can do things the 5DIII can't, get the 7DII.

RHomme wrote:
The 5d MK IV is not out yet, and it isn't even officially announced yet so not sure about that.

I must reiterate that this will be a second body that I could use for the faster shooting when the 5d mk III won't keep up. I had a cropped sensor before the full frame so I understand the issues with distance from my subjects.

I am just wondering if anyone has use for a second body and can make recommendations. I don't want to get the same body I had, and I do not have the money to pay $5000 for the canon flagship body regardless of how much I might want one.

I hear you on the cost,  I paid 4200 for mine about 2 years ago. USA version actually. If you check canon price watch .com. You may catch a deal. Also Canon may have refurbished cameras available. I do find the second camera as a backup a absolute necessity. And I can definitely agree with the price concerns,  I have 2 7Ds. Setup exactly he same. One with 24-70 , the other 70-200 lens.  I can switch with my eyes closed.   Even though I have the 1DX. Which I prefer, the 7D has a different layout. And it screws me up when I'm working an event. It can cost me.  I don't want fiddle around with it. I'll probably resign my 7Ds and rent them out in my studio. I'm sure the next 1DX will have a different setup. And I'll still have issues as before. Probably end up getting a 1DX right before they discontinue it for the new version.  Gawd I hope the new 1DX don't have features to die for!

Warren Leimbach wrote:
If you are shooting action I think you will be disappointed in the focus speed of the 5d II.

How about a 1D mark IV?

One of The best cameras Canon has made.

RHomme wrote:
The 5d MK IV is not out yet, and it isn't even officially announced yet so not sure about that.

I must reiterate that this will be a second body that I could use for the faster shooting when the 5d mk III won't keep up. I had a cropped sensor before the full frame so I understand the issues with distance from my subjects.

I am just wondering if anyone has use for a second body and can make recommendations. I don't want to get the same body I had, and I do not have the money to pay $5000 for the canon flagship body regardless of how much I might want one.

The 5D4 isn't going to be faster than the 5D3. That's not the premise behind the camera, it's designed with a single battery and the file size will be slightly larger which requires more time writing to the card.

If you want faster than the 5D3 you're only options are the 1D4 or 1DX.

If I didn't shoot at 12,800 most of the time, I'd use my 1D4 more than my 5D3. It's simply a better camera in every way with the exception of the highest ISOs.

RHomme wrote:
Thank you for the well put together responses. I don't really have great need to do action so much, but even at weddings there are times when the 5d doesn't keep up with what I am after. I think I will grab the 7d mk in as a back up/ action shooter and see how I like its peformance.

Thanks everyone for your valuable insight and experience.

What do you mean by "keep up"?


The thing with low light is there are simply no cameras where the AF truly works. The AF assist light that Nikon has can help for short distances. An IR assist or pre flash can help, but they still fall a little short.

For low light focusing, a lens that does manual focus only is really the best option. Sown a week experimenting with hyper focal distances and zone focusing and you'll get better results. There was a short period where at 8-10 feet I could beat the camer's AF while manual focusing at 1.2, though that required constant practice.

What I wanted to do, but never got around to was getting a piec of moleskin for the bottom of the focus ring. The idea being to figure out the distance I eyeballed best, then mark that as the starting point when the moleskin is centered under the bottom of the lens. Then it's just a small twist for father or nearer.

Making the top of the lens seems like a good idea, but somehow it's never quite visible enough and while it seems like it wouldn't be a big deal, it means looking down and away from the scene you're trying to shoot.

I've been using a Sony A7s which is even better in low light and I have a very fast prime. Even with the flash assist, my AF never matches my MF in low light.


If you're talking about a thing else in terms of speed, you need a 1D with its extra chips and giant battery.