5D Vs 7D Can you spot the difference?

I regularly shoot with both the 5D and the 7D. Here's a video made entirely with out-takes and b-roll using both cameras - can you tell which is which?

5D Vs 7D In The Field

[Chuck Spaulding]

Actually, without getting into a huge debate I think I could tell a difference on many of the shots. Of coarse I'm not sure I could tell you which was which and obviously the lenses could have a profound effect too.

Having said that, you have obviously worked on some amazing projects and this was simply spectacular.

I'm soooooo jealous. I can only dream of being that talented.

Nice work.

[Jerry Porter]

Nope can't tell and don't care they all looked GREAT!! Really nice work and I thought that I traveled a lot...

[Michael Ojjeh]

when you are watching great footage and good edit it's hard trying to figure out which camera goes with which footage, at this point who cares, it's not the tool that you use, it's how you use it !!!!!!

love all your short time lapse :)

[Kemalettin Sert]

wow my country :) second one is Turkey..

[Liam Hall]

Thanks guys. Yes, you can spot the difference but, "who cares?" is exactly the point I was making here.


Kemalettin, Turkey was actually the fourth country in the edit, UK, Kenya, Botswana then Turkey:)

[Tara Graves]

Thanks for posting this.

I wonder if you could comment on your use of picture styles. Many of your shots look extremely flat, so I am guessing you employed a flat picture style or created your own.

[Simon Denny]

All looks great and to be honest I can't tell. What ND filters are you using for the outdoor shots?

Cheers

[Liam Hall]

Originally Posted by Tara Graves

Thanks for posting this.

I wonder if you could comment on your use of picture styles. Many of your shots look extremely flat, so I am guessing you employed a flat picture style or created your own.

Yes Tara, I keep it flat most of the time, but it does depend on what I'm shooting and with which lens.

Usually I shoot with:
Sharpness 1
Contrast 0
Saturation -1

I up the sharpness on certain lenses - like my 800mm mirror lens - or if I'm using a 2X converter. Last week I was shooting in Sao Paulo and the weather was overcast, so I upped the contrast and saturation a click when I was outside, but it's very rare that I increase the contrast.

[Liam Hall]

Simon, If I'm using threaded ND filters I use Tiffen. I usually whack on a 1.2 or 0.9. My variable NDs generally stay in the bag.

[Robert Turchick]

Originally Posted by Liam Hall

Thanks guys. Yes, you can spot the difference but, "who cares?" is exactly the point I was making here.


Kemalettin, Turkey was actually the fourth country in the edit, UK, Kenya, Botswana then Turkey:)

Having shot a bunch with the T2i and 7D and then cut together stuff with my buddy's 5D I think I know which is which...but as everyone has said, who cares!

The 5D has a slightly different richness to the color. Just curious if you graded these or are they as shot? I've found skin tones to be the most revealing difference between the full frame and cropped frame sensors.

Beautiful stuff Liam and WHAT A LENS FLARE near the beginning!!!!

[Liam Hall]

Only minor primary grading Robert - nothing fancy.

[Carl Sanford]

I am by trade a still photographer who shoots with a canon 40d. I am looking to upgrade and looking to pull the trigger on a new 5d or 7d. The video functions really attract me to the newer DSLRs and am curious as to what you all think about which is best for video, as this is a media I would like to become more involved with.

Although I really want to go full frame, I have been functioning with a cropped sensor for years and have had great results and the 7d seems a little more feature rich. I am curious as to your input on the video side.

Many thanks.

[Ted Ramasola]

Very Nice Liam! As a user of both 7D and 5D would YOU recommend a 5D to me if I'm looking for a 2nd DSLR to compliment my 7D?

[Robert Turchick]

My buddy is a still photog by trade and I'm a video guy. This truly influenced our choices in DSLRs. While the video quality is virtually the same, there are major differences functionally that are the deciding factor. For me, the 7D is the better choice. Having the full HD out during record is invaluable since I typically run to a monitor for focus. Its significantly cheaper too. I do a lot of still work as well and really like the 8fps burst. Also the added focal length due to the crop sensor is great for what I shoot. I do not shoot low light typically but the 7D is pretty darn nice and WAY ahead of the video cameras.

My buddy, as mentioned, is a photog. The low light capabilities of he 5D are essential for him. The extra resolution is another factor while in still mode. When he shoots video, he generally is flying it on a Steadicam Pilot and he does miss the ability to focus accurately on the monitor as it's not really designed to do that. The monitor for him is strictly for framing.

I think we made the right decision given what we ask the cameras to do. The fact that we work together a lot gives clients the strengths of both cameras which is nice.
For what I do, I think he 7D is the "strongest" Dslr I will ever need. My buddy will probably invest in a 1D someday.
Hope this helps. If you can have both...go for it. I feel it was more important to have a killer video camera as well as the dslr and so far the XF300 is an absolute monster. It happens to match extremely well with the 7D and IMHO makes my rig perfect as all the bases are covered.