'To Sell or Not to Sell...?' That is the Question...

Well only you can REALLY decide. Once I got my E-M5 I was sure I would sell my DSLR gear. While I've sold some gear, I haven' been able to bring myself to sell all or even most of it. I should, since it's rarely used, but I've had most of it a long time and I just can't quite bring myself to part with it,mainly because I've sgot some photos that I've.really liked with that gear. Heck I still have my first. SLR still, because I liked it and still do.

 

Tough call that only you can really make Kelly. MFT has the equivalent lenses to your Canon system and there are plenty of new offerings on the way so you are not really going to lose anything in that regard. I am guessing you probably don't shoot sport with your 5d so having a the ability to focus on fast moving subjects isn't a high priority for you. This is really the only area I think MFT is lagging behind DSLR systems.
If you find that you are getting "good enough" image quality with MFT then there is probably no reason to hang onto your Canon gear.

 

I am a Nikon guy but I haven't been able to get rid of all my Nikon stuff either. I did reduce it however. I suggest you start buy selling your least used gear first. For instance if you are not doing portraiture then the 85mm could go. If you don't do macro then the 100mm could.
Of coarse you could simply sell it all and then you would have some funds to get more m4/3 lenses! The biggest advantages I find with DSLRs over m4/3 is being able to go wider easier, better low light performance and better AF for fast action.

 

I've got the GH2, the GX1 and a 5D MkIII. If I got rid of any of them it would be a sad day. Each is a very different tool and each one of them gets me in the mood to shoot in very different fashions.

I have either the GH2 or GX1 with me everyday ... the GX1 is taking over as my "carry around" camera due to it's size, and I'm pretty enamored with the flip-up external viewfinder and how that changes the way I compose pictures.

The 5D comes out on special occasions - nights when I need a "tool" and I may be shooting a couple hundred shots, or I need my big flash setup or I just feel like cruising with the big rig for it's nice heavy-in-hand feel and machine-gun like actuation, beauteous viewfinder and pin-point precision.

I've considered dumping both systems from time to time - most recently I nearly sold the GH2 to an interested party, but in the end I like having the various tools so that on different days, when I'm in different moods or when there's a different goal in mind, I can just grab the right body and lens combo from the shelf and go. So instead of devoting myself to one system I happily live with both, and hopefully soon I'll add the GH3 to the stable (when, maybe, just maybe, e-bay will finally pry the GH2 away from me!)

 

There no real rush, unless you feel a pinch or two. I just gave away a 5D last week to my oldest daughter and a few lenses. By my eyes, the differences between my OM-D's and my 1Ds' is not all that significant for prints less than 16x20. While I haven't disposed of all my FF equipment, it is collecting a lot of dust. When I'm ready, it will be gone.

Gary

 

DSLR for sports and action. Micro for everything else. The focus and tracking for fast moving objects is not advanced enough in 4/3 yet. Then there is battery life. Keep the DSLR.

 

I'm going through a similar thing.

I have a 7D, 70-200 2.8, 17-50 2.8, 300 F/4 IS, and a 50 1.4, along with a bunch of strobe gear.

I honestly haven't used it much in the past year and I've though of getting rid of it. But once in awhile (once every few months), I get a gig that pays $200 for the night that I know I could not shoot with my G3.

 

I was always in the same predicament.

 

If you're no longer using the DSLR and lens, sell them. Simple as that.

If they still fit into your workflow, then you can still keep them.

 

I agree completely, but I doubt the OP is using that 5D for sports. If not for sport my DSLR would be gone.

 

I've struggled with this idea several times over the last couple years. I think it helps if you consider it by asking yourself the following questions:

1. What can't you do with your m43 gear that you can do with your FF Canon gear?
2. How often in your photography do you do those things?

If the answer to 2. is 'regularly' then don't dump the Canon gear - simple. If the answer is 'not very often' then ask yourself:

3. How important is it to be able to do those things when the need arises?/What would I miss out on by not being able to do those things?

Only you can decide. As for me, I've kept my 5DII around for low light use, as well as for shallow depth of field at wider focal lengths. Two places my PENs don't do well.

 

Very good points. You could ask a 4th question:

4. Is it possible to rent/borrow gear when the need arises?

 

The fact that you start a thread about to sell or not to sell makes me think that you want to believe that m43 will be good enough. If so, then go with that flow. I love to make drastic moves  

 

I have a huge collection of DSLR and m4/3 gear but I only shoot with my DSLRs now out of nostalgia or when I'm shooting for a client who has the attitude that DSLR=professional and small camera=amateur.

Most of the time it doesn't matter that I use m4/3 gear because the results are just as good or better than what I produce with my DSLR gear. However, I've been on assignments for a few clients in the last year (one ad agency and a couple of wedding clients) who gave me strange looks when I pulled out m4/3 gear.

As Giulio has alluded to on his site, although having a camera that people are used to as being "professional" plays a role, handling yourself and the gear you use in a professional manner is an even bigger part of professional photography.

 

I fully admit that I enjoy shooting with my m43 gear much more than my Canon gear. For me, a lot of that has to do with live exposure preview through the viewfinder (VF-2). I really only bring out the DSLR if I'm shooting indoors in low light without flash, if I'm using my Samyang 35mm f1.4 or if I'm doing a dedicated portrait session with/without an external lighting setup. I also use the DSLR to shoot local cyclocross races, but I'm traveling to Louisville this weekend to spectate the UCI Cyclocross World Championships and I'm only bringing my m43 gear because I don't know if I can hold the 5DII and a beer and frites at the same time.

 

See you there! I'm bringing the FF and the GX1! I've never shot at a race like this before so it'll be interesting ....