Chefneil

This is my first FF, though I only got it a year ago, lol. I recently upgraded to an EOS 6D, but still have the 5D. Does anyone out there know of the 5D will ever become a collectable? After all it is Canon’s first entry into the mainstream FF body.

I’m in no hurry to get rid of it, and wonder if in a few years it may become worth more than the $300 I paid for it. I imagine I could sell it through CL for what I paid, maybe more.

Any thoughts?

speters Loc: Grangeville/Idaho

I think that would be very doubtful, the 5D will continue to loose value over time, til you can use it as a paperweight!

boberic Loc: Quiet Corner, Connecticut. Ex long Islander

As with any collectable it's value is determined by rarity. Canon made hundreds of thousands of 5D's. So collectable value is very unlikely

BebuLamar

In fact while the 5D would work better but it's worth less than the DCS series from Kodak.

rehess Loc: South Bend, Indiana, USA

I would keep it as a backup. You gain very little by selling it, but cost if your primary camera dies is unmeasurable.

Wickspics Loc: Detroits Northwest Side. Cody High School.

Good back up and for that reason might be worth keeping.

Chefneil

I’m seeing a lot of you guys suggesting that I keep the 5D as a backup. I have been thinking about doing just that. I do have 2 other bodies though, the 6D and 70D. One reason for me to sell the 5D is is about downloading. It takes forever. I have thought about getting a card reader and that could mitigate the issue. Another reason to stop using the 5D is Canon’s Raw Downloader does not work in the older model cameras, at least on my Apple. When I use Image Capture to DL the latest session I cannot see the pictures I have taken, thus making me DL ALL the images and then culling. I do not know if Windows will do the same.

So, I need to make a decision. Maybe I’ll set a stupid high price and wait for some one to pay it!

sirlensalot Loc: Arizona

I use mine often and back it up with a APS-C camera and a mirrorless body. The 5D is magic for weddings and portrait and all but useless for sports. Also not the best if shooting handheld in low ambient light without IS lenses. Suggest looking up UK photographer Richard Barley on youtube and watch his videos. He is an accomplished wedding photographer and uses the 5D as his main camera. He claims to have owned the Mk ll and Mk lll, sold them and returned to the 5D. He also collects, repairs, and re-sells them. That's the good news. The bad news is the 5D had a mirror assembly that would break with time. Canon fixed them for free for years. Last time I spoke with Canon tech support, they told me they no longer stock parts for the 5D. One of Barley's videos show how to look to see if the mirror assembly has been repaired (reinforced) or replaced. If not, I would sell it unless Canon is still providing service for them which I doubt. I have seen them advertised for as little as $189 and as high as $900. Average seems to be between $300-$400. Sorry, but I do not use Apple products. I can report I have had no speed, capture or download issues using windows, BUT I tend to use my 5D tethered to an older Windows laptop with XP as a monitor and use the original utilities disk that came with the camera, but also no issues loading card onto desktop with a card reader. I do not think it will ever be a collectible, at least not in our lifetime. If memory serves correctly, it was Canon's first FF DSLR for the masses. I will be using mine until it breaks then attempt to sell it for parts unless it is destroyed altogether. I would guess you can profit from selling it. It was/is a good camera. I think your 6D is by far superior in low light and therefore better suited for weddings, portraits and some sports, so the 5D as a back-up makes sense. I think the market will soften with time on most if not all cameras. If you choose to keep it for awhile, suggest phoning Canon Tech support. I have found them to be excellent.

DeanS Loc: Capital City area of North Carolina

Get a card reader and move on.

SharpShooter Loc: NorCal

My guess is that in a few years it will be worth 1/2 what you paid for it.
Get rid of it YESTERDAY !!! LoL
SS

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

Definitely get a card reader! It's much better/faster/safer to use one than to connect the camera and download from it via a USB cable.

In most cameras, the mini-USB socket is part of the main circuit board. So if that socket ever gets damaged or wears out from use, a repair will be expensive... Both because of the parts that will need to be replaced (if they are even avail... probably aren't for a 15 year old model like 5D) and because the camera will need to be nearly completely disassembled to replace the main board. The memory card socket, on the other hand, in most cameras is a modular sub-assembly that's a lot more easily accessed to replace, if ever needed. Also, the camera has to have battery power during the entire download (unless you have an AC power kit to use with it). If there's insufficient charge and the camera shuts down in the middle of a download, there's good possibility that images on the card will be corrupted.

You do need to use some reasonable care inserting Compact Flash cards, such as the original 5D (and many other cameras) use... Always be sure the card is properly aligned and never never force the card. It's not difficult, just something to be aware of and a bit careful about. I've made literally hundreds... possibly thousands of CF card swaps without ever damaging a card or a socket... but I've also seen them damaged in cameras.

If your computer has a USB 3 connection, that type of card reader would be the fastest. Card readers that can handle multiple types... the CF cards the 5D uses, as well as the SD cards used in your other cameras, and other types... are available that give very fast data transfer. Otherwise, Firewire connected are faster than USB 2, but the latter is reasonably fast, too. There are also card readers that can be internally installed in desktop computers. Those might use faster connectivity to help with transfer speed, too. Avoid using a "hub", as that can cause slower downloads and/or corrupt data. Laptops, if that's what you have, may use an ExpressCard or USB or some other type of connectivity.

There really is no need to use the Canon (or any other) download utility. It's easiest just to learn to use the computer's operating system. When a card is in the reader, the computer will treat it as if it's another hard drive. Simply open up a system browser panel, if you haven't already done so prepare a destination folder to receive the images, then open the folders on the memory card, highlight all the images in it ("ctrl a" in a Windows computer), then drag and drop to the destination folder. Be sure to "copy" instead of "move"... that way the originals are left on the memory card until you can check that everything has been safely downloaded (on a Windows computer, drag and drop using the left hand mouse button automatically uses "copy", but using the right hand mouse button gives you a menu with a choice of "move" or "copy" or some other actions).

Once everything is copied over to your computer you will need to "point" whatever image cataloging software you use to a new folder or update and existing one to show the new images. This is a good time to do whatever backup you use, too. (Hopefully you do some form of backup... I know folks who lost years worth of images when computers were stolen or hard drives failed.)

Next time you use the memory card, format it in the camera (so long as you are certain all the old images on it have been copied over safely to your computer). That will mark all the images on it to be overwritten (same as erasing them). Formatting in-camera also prepares the card to receive new images. (Formatting in-computer can "wipe" the card, but may not properly prepare it for use in the camera.... so if you do that, be sure to re-format it in the camera before saving any new images to it.)



I think SS is joking.... you probably got the 5D "Classic" cheap, so if it loses any more value, it actually won't be much in terms of "real" money.

Use and enjoy the 5D... It's going to be a long, long time before it has any collectable status or sees any significant increase in value.... if at all. There has been some slight increase in value of the pre-2000 era DCS (Canon/Kodak) models, which are much rarer due to their very high initial prices. But they are still quite cheap. 5DII saw a significant increase in resolution and introduced HD video in DSLRs, saw a lot of use in Hollywood and elsewhere and are still in wide use by film makers... 5DIII continued to offer that plus got a hugely improved AF system. But those were also made in the many tens or hundreds of thousands and similarly won't be gaining value any time soon.