A choice soon to be made...

[CrackedButter]

I am in a bit of a pickle and I'm wondering what to do soon. You see I am a student holding onto a 5D with only one Canon lens but my financial future isn't rosy and I'm considering selling my 5D for another cheaper SLR and some cash. However if I think long term, I could keep the 5D till I'm well out of Uni and try to get through as it is now and that would save me money in a different way.

My reasoning behind this is that since I am a photography student, do I REALLY need the 5D because I think I don't? I can get by easily with a cheaper DSLR and I have one in mind. So I think I should sell it, but I know that I wouldn't be able to get a camera of that caliber again for a while long after I finish Uni.

What would you guys do if you needed money or wanted to keep the 5D?

 

[jbernie]

I am in a bit of a pickle and I'm wondering what to do soon. You see I am a student holding onto a 5D with only one Canon lens but my financial future isn't rosy and I'm considering selling my 5D for another cheaper SLR and some cash. However if I think long term, I could keep the 5D till I'm well out of Uni and try to get through as it is now and that would save me money in a different way.

My reasoning behind this is that since I am a photography student, do I REALLY need the 5D because I think I don't? I can get by easily with a cheaper DSLR and I have one in mind. So I think I should sell it, but I know that I wouldn't be able to get a camera of that caliber again for a while long after I finish Uni.

What would you guys do if you needed money or wanted to keep the 5D?

Taking the long term view, you will only lose money selling used, buying new(?) and then selling and buying again, even if you buy used now you won't sell for the same price especially as the cameras keep getting updated.

You only have one lens which at least means you aren't truely tied to a specific brand. I would try to save money else where and leave the camera as close to the last option.

 

[ChrisA]

One thing you should not do is keep a DSLR because you might need it years later. DSLRs loose value quickly after the next model comes out.

It might be possable to sell a $2500 camera today and buy it back in five years for $800. But who knows. It all depends on what Canon releases and how good it is

At this point do you know what kind of equipment you might want after you are done with school? Will you still be shooing small format or will you be doing medium format digital in a studio?

 

[SLC Flyfishing]

I fit were me, I'd sell it and sell it soon. For one reason only and that is that you can get a nice midrange DSLR (Canon 30D or something like that) that would more than do it for your studies and beyond, and then buy a lens or two and still have money left over.

The reason I'd sell it soon is that they are almost ready to release a 5DMkII which will negatively impact the value of your camera!

SLC

 

[CrackedButter]

I'm interested in selling it and getting the real cheap as chips Olympus E-420 and then I'll have a lot of money left over for other things. I already have 2 medium format film cameras as well so I should be okay. One of the cameras is small enough to be hand held like a normal SLR. Thanks for the advice, its good to ask here because you guys can be objective about it more than the students around me with their competing equipment.

 

[OreoCookie]

I don't think so. The 5D only makes sense if you have the lenses (plural) to go with. If there is no hope whatsoever that you will extend your lens collection in the near future, it's pointless.

If you want to stick with Canon, a used 30D makes a lot more sense. But since you're open for suggestions, have a look at Pentax (the K10D is very cheap these days) or Nikon's D80. I also like Olympus, they have lots of nice lenses and I like their UI concept.

 

[juanm]

Get a friend/partner to share gear.
You offer him/her the MF gear, and you use his/her D-SLR gear.

 

[CrackedButter]

That is a good idea but... my friends all use Canon EF and I've said I want to sell the 5D so I would be moving away from that standard and the gf uses Nikon! I don't like Nikon and I'm attracted to the Olympus because of its size and cost.

 

[Kebabselector]

To be honest once you've sold off the 5D and took a big loss you'll probably only have enough for another lens. So you'll have 20/30D and another lens.

Is it worth it? Don't think so. What lens do you have at present?

 

[Abstract]

You said you don't like Nikon, so I'm going to suggest a Pentax.

Olympus and Pentax are both good companies. Personally, I'd rather have the Pentax, but that's me.

Actually, why not get a used 30D or the new Canon XSi or whatever it's called (the 450D)?

 

[CrackedButter]

I only have the 50mm 1.4 lens for it and I got the 5D second hand off a friend, I should have mentioned that before, I paid roughly $1800 for it and I reckon I could sell and get a little more than what I paid before.