Canon 5D Mark Ii or Nikon D800

[Sn@pShot]

Hello guys and gals, thanks you all for welcoming me on this forum so well. I really want to learn from you all (as a newbie to FM) and get to know everyone better along the way Now I ask for you humble opinion. I have to option to buy either a used Canon 5D Mark Ii or a used Nikon D800 for around the same price. They are in an estate sale for a family friend and he is willing to sell them to me before hand for a good price but I can only afford one. Right now my only camera is a Nikon D90 so I would love to get my hands on a real piece of machine. Before I go ahead and grab the one that is more expensive in stores I want to get some advice from you all. Anyone who has either of these cameras please chime in and let me know what you think, would love to hear it from people that are not paid for reviews or commission.

Some great advice came from the people on here, and I am proud to say I am the happy owner of a slightly used Nikon D800. My friend ended up selling it online so that there is a record of the sale, so I bought it from the ad he listed on https://www.for-sale.ie/nikon-d800 and saw that there are tons of people selling lenses and other accessories for the D800 on there as well. Guess I know where I will be spending my time and money.

[Hayo Baan]

Both are great cameras, which one to choose depends on what you want to photograph with them and on what lenses (and other brand specific gear) you already own. Without more info it's hard to give a good recommendation.

[judophotos]

I think it is logical to stay with Nikon as you already have at least one Nikon lens.

[Sn@pShot]

I think it is logical to stay with Nikon as you already have at least one Nikon lens.

That was my thought process, I was kind of just wondering if the Canon 5D was just that amazing of a camera that I should get that. Thanks for the opinion mate.

[Hayo Baan]

I think it is logical to stay with Nikon as you already have at least one Nikon lens.

That was my thought process, I was kind of just wondering if the Canon 5D was just that amazing of a camera that I should get that. Thanks for the opinion mate.

I'd say not more amazing than the D800 anyway.

[ChuckC]

I recently switched from a Nikon D810 to Fujifilm X-Pro2. Fujifilm is far ahead of Nikon. Suggest looking into the Fuji GX medium format if you really need a high pixel count and professional stuff.

[5280Headshots]

I'm sure you've already made your purchase, but I definitely would've gone with the D800.  The 5DmkII was my main camera for several years, and the AF is absolutely atrocious.  Even shooting in the studio on a tripod, I'd get way more out of focus shots than seemed reasonable. 

[James Keates]

There is not a lot in them but The Mark II was a piece of my kit for over 2 years and seemed such a jump up and forward from the Mark 1.

I used to shoot a lot of weddings with this bad boy and it never let me down.  For it's time the Mark II's low light performance was a game changer.  This was the beginnings  of real low light shooting.

I did have the opportunity to shoot a wedding with a D800 and I found it did not quite match the Canon Mark II.

Hope that helps.
James

[jfarmato]

This is a camera match up I've considered as well. I'm a nikon shooter but have noticed when shooting canon that the files seem to need less fluffing in LR or PS after.
Not sure if mixing systems and glass is a good idea, but, I am looking for a new system to have in studio.

www.armatophotography.com

[Dmihela]

Skip over the mark 2 and get a mark3. Same image quality but better autofocus. I own both and have been shooting canon since the 5d mark 1.
Best color of any I have used!