Rent or Buy? Which Model?

slpollett

I hope you don't mind if I ask your advice on a potential new camera purchase (or rental).

I will give a little background, but try to keep it short. My family is planning a 15-day road trip from Texas to Utah. We plan to do the Mighty Five (Zion, Bryce, Capital Reef, Arches, and Canyonlands) and then stop at Mesa Verde Colorado on the way back to Texas. I wanted to rent a nice camera and lenses to capture the awesome landscapes we will experience on this trip. I had decided upon the Canon 5Ds and the Canon 24-70 f2.8L and 70-200 f2.8L. Found out my insurance won't cover the rental, so I need to get the insurance through Borrow Lenses. That brought the cost up over $900.

This is a lot of money to spend on a camera that I don't get to keep. I currently shoot with an Olympus E-5. I like it, but it just doesn't compare to other, more recent models from other brands. I've also noticed that my daughter's Canon t6i gives a better quality image (to me) using a kit lens and the same settings as my E-5 with a higher quality lens. The Canon's color is better, the clarity is better, and it is sharper when zoomed in. So...I've been thinking for a while now that eventually I would need to bite the bullet and start over with a new brand. Ugh. Well...since the rental costs so much and I REALLY want a full-frame camera for this trip, I'm wondering if the time to switch is now.

I do not consider myself to be a professional because I still have a lot to learn and I'm not trying to make a living from photography. I do have a moderate amount of sales primarily from portrait work for seniors and grads, plus I am the photographer for one of the local high school bands. I don't really market myself because I have a day job and I am as busy as I want to be right now. When I shoot for myself (which is what I usually do and as I will on this Utah trip), I like to shoot macros and landscapes. If I do purchase a new camera, I want one that I will be happy with for a long, long time. I really don't want to buy a 'starter' and then move to a different one in a year or two. I prefer to go to Canon because my daughter shoots Canon and I have used her equipment before.

I don't want to say that money is no object, but I will say that I have saved my profits from my portrait work and I have enough money set-aside to buy the camera and a nice lens. It 's just a lot of money (to me) to spend at one time.

I have been looking at either the Canon 5D MKIII or the Canon 5Ds. The 5Ds seems like the perfect body for shooting landscapes, but I wonder how it would handle low light situations (shooting a marching band at night in a poorly lit stadium) compared to the MKIII.

So my questions to you are: Rent or buy? Is the $900+ that I would spend on a rental better spent towards a purchase? If so, which of these two cameras would you recommend for me or is there a different camera that you think I should look at? I have looked at this so much over the last two weeks that I think I have just confused myself. One minute I'm OK with renting. Then I can't justify spending almost $1000 just to use a camera set up for a couple of weeks. Ugh!

Can you help me decide?

Thanks,
Sherry P.

moose135

I don't know how much I can help you with the buy/rent options, but I can tell you I took a two week road trip last September out to Arizona, Utah, and nearby places - I took I-40 from Charlotte to Flagstaff then up to the Grand Canyon and Utah/Colorado. I spent time at the Canyon, Monument Valley, and Arches, as well as a ride through Mesa Verde on the way back. I was shooting with two 5D3 bodies, and the Canon 24-105mm as my everyday lens, and was more than satisfied with the results. I also picked up a Rokinon 14mm for night/star photography and used it a fair amount on the trip. I haven't used the 5Ds, but can say the 5D3 is an outstanding camera and will give you great results. I got my first 5D3 a little more than two years ago, and picked up the second before my road trip. I expect I'll be using them for many years to come.

OK, all that said, let me give you some advice... If you can swing it, I'd recommend buying a 5D3 - last I looked, I've seen them for a little over $2K, I'd rather spend that money on something I'm going to have for the long run, rather than half of that for a couple of weeks' rental.

Here's some samples of photos from my trip:
http://www.moose135photography.com/Arizona
http://www.moose135photography.com/Utah
http://www.moose135photography.com/Travel/Road-Trip-2015/

ziggy53

Like Moose above, my favorite Canon dSLR is the 5D Mark III. I still have the 5D Mark II as well, but it's relegated to backup now. Both give similar renderings from RAW and camera-JPG files, but the 5D Mark III has a superior autofocus and the responsiveness is wonderful.

The Canon 5Ds does have a higher image resolution, and that could be suited to landscapes and citiscapes, but it's also suited for portraiture where the larger pixel count can offer smoother tonalities due to the larger gross count of photosites, which just means color oversampling in most cases.

Understand that the extremely high resolution of the 5Ds has to be matched to equally capable lenses, else the some of the resolution of the camera can be wasted. To that end, I strongly suggest using the latest Canon lenses like the:

Canon EF 11-24mm f/4L USM
Canon EF 16-35mm f/4L IS USM
Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM
Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM
Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM
Canon TS-E 24mm f/3.5L II Tilt-Shift (Manual Focus)
Canon EF 400mm f/5.6L USM for compressive landscapes.

Additionally, the Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 14-24mm f/2.8G ED with an appropriate adapter (http://www.16-9.net/nikon_g/) is very special on the 5D series bodies. Again, this is manual focus.

The Sigma "Art" series are generally very nice. Do remember that the "DC" in the name means "Crop Format/APS-C", not generally wanted on a FF body like the Canon 5D series.

---

The files sizes of the 5Ds bodies are enormous and require a very modern computer to process efficiently. Then again, I often use image stitching and multiple exposure for detail techniques to increase both output file resolution and detail content. Our leader "Baldy" shot a cathedral in 2009 with stitched images, and wound up with 109 frames:

Image Stitched Cathedral

Baldy wrote: »

Another place I used this method of shooting was in Milano, where we had to go to replace my wife's lost passport. She had said it was a mostly industrial city, but when we were walking around we came across this cathedral, which just swept me away with its beautiful stone and lovely sculptures:



No traffic is allowed in the area, so unlike most European cathedrals, this one is free of soot from diesel.

The sculptures are so beautiful, but you can't see the ones up high, only the lowest ones. I had a place on our walls 144 wide x 130 high, so I shot this in 109 frames.

It isn't about the setting or the sky, I just wanted to revel in the artwork which you couldn't see any other way. Here are the original pixels:

A detail strip from the stitched set (click on the Full Size below the image):

ziggy53

I decided to summarize in a separate post.

I use rental when I need specific equipment for a limited time, and generally when the customer pays for the difference. If it's equipment that I will use for a considerable time, and if ownership allows more time for equipment familiarization that's a benefit of purchasing outright. (Nothing worse than limited time and fumbling with new equipment trying to figure out the controls.)

Both the Canon 5D Mark III and the 5Ds are very capable for landscapes and macro, but the 5D Mark III is also capable of action photography, including many wildlife and active children opportunities. (Not necessary for your stated needs of the trip, but you might need those things at other times.)

I strongly suspect that the Canon 5D Mark III is all that you really need. Purchase is probably indicated.

You can rent the specialty lenses for this trip so that you can benefit from
lenses you wouldn't need on a regular basis.

I highly recommend a high-quality tripod and head, which you can also rent. I don't have anything like those offered by BorrowLenses so ask them for advice. Without a tripod and head neither the 5D Mark III nor (especially) the 5Ds will produce the best quality the camera can produce. Also learn to use mirror-lockup and/or Live View as both help to reduce camera vibrations which do hurt capture resolution.

Renting a camera bag (or 2 bags) is a good idea for holding rental lenses. You don't need to carry everything with you out on location, but just from room to vehicle to room.

I do recommend a sling-bag with a waist belt. The sling type (single strap) bag makes it easier to make lens changes in the field, while the waist belt places most of the load on your hips and legs, saving your back and shoulders. I use both the Adorama Slinger Pro bags and the Lowepro SlingShot 300AW bags, and BorrowLenses has the Lowepro SlingShot 300AW to rent. They are both great bags for this purpose.

WoodButch4

Sherry, on the rent or buy question, I'd ask yourself how often will you use a new camera if you bought? If it will be used and enjoyed down the road like your current camera, then I'd invest in the future and buy it. Your profile says central Texas. If that means close to Austin then you have Precision Camera where you can put your hands on most models of cameras. I'm pretty sure you can take a memory card in with you and test shoot anything they have on display. Also, the rumors are really flying about a 5d IV coming out in August or so. So prices for the 5d III may start to slide soon. I'm on the north side of Austin, BTW. I have a 70-200mm f2.8 and love it. If you get one, you won't be disappointed with that lens.

archfotos

Hi Sherry, please don't take my post as a negative opinion more like an honest viewpoint that you may want to consider. You are asking about a huge investment both financially but also in the amount of weight you will be lugging around to and from each stop. Great landscape photography is not about the equipment it is about both luck and waiting at places until the last five minutes of sunlight. Not really an activity that is in harmony with an active family outing. I say this because why waste a fun vacation with your family with a bunch of overweight professional gear, enjoy it with the gear you have. Maybe buy a new lens for your Olympus or your daughters t6i - get a tripod with a rotating head for better panoramas. Or if you really want a full frame I seriously would look at a used Canon 6D. Buy a waterproof point n shoot for the poolside activities. Spend the extra money on a side trip of whitewater rafting.

While the 5Ds has a lot of pixels, for a lot of Western landscapes stitching images together normally creates a better image due to the ability to use a longer lens while also creating a wider view. Stitching those huge files can be a pain - to me the pixel race was over years ago - do you really need the added pixels? f2.8 zoom lenses are a lot of weight - plain and simple; jumping in and out of the car, going on hot desert hikes, making sure nothing gets stolen or left behind. For landscape photography I never lug a 2.8 zoom. If you want to carry gear take a tripod and extra water. Yes vacations are a once in a lifetime memory, but have fun and to me (a diehard photographer) that’s to carry the least amount of gear. Have gear you can quickly access for those spur of the moment photo opportunities with your family not expensive gear packed away in some protective cases.

I worked one of those Parks many years ago and watched a lot of visitors pass through so this is just my humble opinion you may want to consider.

cmason

I vote for buy, and the 5DMkIII as well. I just got it, and its been a joy, particularly the low light shooting. This would be the camera I take on a photoshoot like you are planning, no doubt. I don't think the 5DS would be noticeably better, other than having bigger file sizes. I think that body is really specifically for pros shooting commercially.

Specifically, I recommend you get the refurbished model, since you can save considerable cash: At the moment its about $2,000 at Canon.

http://shop.usa.canon.com/shop/en/catalog/eos-5d-mark-iii-body-refurbished

Considering you were going to spend $900, look at it like you can spend $1000 more and get to keep it. Of course, no lenses, but you can rent those. For around $500-700 you can get the 24-105 f4 which would be a great all around lens for landscape. No its not the f2.8, but its a fine lens. Save up for the 70-200 f2.8 for portraits (yes portraits). Anyway JMHO.

slpollett

Thank you all. You have each given me great advice and things to think about. I have been discussing this at great length with my husband and daughter. I think I have considered so many variables that my head is spinning, lol. I have also been a little worried about the weight I would be toting on some of these hikes. I figured I'd have to put up with it some if I want some great shots.

I think I have just about decided on the 5DMkIII to buy and will rent a lens or two for the trip. I have a 35th anniversary coming up in a couple of months and the hubs said a lens would make a great gift from him if I can wait that long to buy one. . We have decided to take the heavy stuff on one outing per day tbd and will use our smaller cameras--cell phone, Canon G16, and go pro (and the Oly E5 some), for other activities.

Thank you all so much. Archfotos--I didn't take your post as negative.

Cheers everyone,
Sherry