Sell my 1DS MK3?

Had a talk to my Nikon friend (yes some are friendly) and explained i had began to take pics of wildlife and macro stuff but found the 1DS a bit short of reach for getting close up of birds. He said 'why dont you sell the 1DS3 and buy a 5D2 and 7D. I know this is a nice position to be in but im giving it serious consideration. Yes i will get a 7D but to sell the 1DS3? Financially its a sensible move but......


The 1DS gives me excellent images. Its very very well built, i can shoot and have done in rain, snow, ice, wind and its never let me down. It handles great, and the image quality is excellent. Only time i have a problem is perhaps indoors in a badly lit museum say, that ont allow flash or tripod so i have to go high on the ISO. Only then at ISO 1000 plus do i get a noise problem which is easily corrected in post processing. When matched to L glass its just great. Has struggled in autofocus only on a couple of occassions in low light wheni had the 1x4 converter on. Oh, and it looks cool too.


So, do i got with my head, sell my beloved camera and buy the other two so covering all my needs or is it more dept i really dont want for the crop sensor? Help.


Oh, i dont need video for anything other than my grandchild.


mICK

Seems to me the 1Ds III is due for a few upgrades, dual DIGIC four engines, 920K LCD,.. new focus system?... and the price is dropping fast on the 1D III series! I think our Nikon cousin made a excellent suggestion and if you can break near even I'd say go for it - the display alone could make the difference. BTW - I almost picked up a low use 1Ds III here in San Diego for $3,500 but decided to get another 5DmII.


I'm sure you'll get a bunch of feedback here, so best of luck with your decision making process. [H]


-Shea

I'd say do it. The 5D2 image quality is at least as good as the 1DS3's. You will give up that build quality and the 7D might feel like a piece of plastic, but otherwise it's a great move. Just act soon b/c a 1DS4 is being released very soon.


-brendan

I won't speculate on timing the market.


I suggest keeping in mind:


1) Since you can crop, more reach just means better angular iq, and there are many things that can limit this: lens quality, image blur to to subject movement, image blur due to camera movement, missed focus, and pixel density. The 7D will give you an advantage in pixel density, but if you are limited by other stuff, it won't help much.


But then, if your 1DsIII images look great viewed at 100% (ie, 1-1), maybe it is a good idea to go for more pixel density in the 7D.


2) You wont be getting as much more reach for macro shots as you will for other shots. With macro, one often shoots very high effective f numbers, often well beyond the diffraction limit. In these cases, extra pixel density is of limited value. Furthermore, as magnification gets higher, your working distance approaches a number that is independent of sensor size, so the additional working distance you get from cropping lessens (though it is still substantial until well beyond 1x).


I would actually rather use the 5DII or 1DsIII than the 7D for macro. If I was using af in my macro work, the 1DsIII would be my camera of choice (at least, until the 1DsIV comes out).

Why on earth would you want to sell the "cream of the crop" for something that is not as well built. If you need more reach, get a 1.4 extender. For macro....assuming you have a the 100 2.8 or 100 2.8 with IS...you are good to go.





I just sold my 5D MII and 1d MIII and got the 1d MIV. The 5D MII does have great IQ but it doesn't handle as well as a 1d series. I am currently looking for a good used 1dS MIII.

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Originally Posted by Jon Ruyle

I would actually rather use the 5DII or 1DsIII than the 7D for macro. If I was using af in my macro work, the 1DsIII would be my camera of choice...

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The 7D has, "A new Intelligent Macro Tracking function helps reduce blur during macro shooting by recognizing when a macro lens is attached and automatically adjusting the AI Servo sampling frequency. This AI Servo adjustment accounts for camera movement forward and back, a typical occurrence when moving in close for a macro shot as photographers rock back and forth, or a flower blows in the wind." I assume that this mode will be implemented on the 1DsIV, but it's not available in the5DII or 1DsIII. I actually find that it works quite well in combination with the Hybrid IS on the new EF 100mm Macro.


Also, even though at close range you lose the crop factor effect on apparent focal length, I think (hope?) that the effect on DoF is maintained, providing an advantage for a crop sensor in this situation.


Plus, I can use the integrated Speedlite transmitter on the 7D to control my 430EX II off-camera for background fill in a macro shot.


So, for those reasons, I quite like my 7D for macro shooting!

if you like the 1Ds Mark III so much you should keep it and save money for the 7D, by June 2010 the 7D will be around $1400 body only.

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Originally Posted by Julius

Why on earth would you want to sell the "cream of the crop" for something that is not as well built.
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I agree. Buy glass. 300f4 and a 1.4


Mark

I have bought a 7D after having a go with one at the weekend. The focus tracking was excellent and was very light and easy to use for bird shots. I already own a 500 f4 IS l lens and a 70-200 f2.8 IS l and th 1 x 4 mk2 converter. So im ok at 200mm, put the 200 on the 7D for 320mm, add the converter to get 450mm f4 (manual focus) put the 500 on the 1DS for 500mm, add the 1x4 for 700mm put the 500 on the 7d for 800mm then add the converter for 1120 mm f5.6. So im well covered. Maybe a 300 f2.8 would be great but i dont have the cash yet. I own a 180mm f3.5 for macro and its the best, al be it slowest focusing, lens Canon make. Its even better than my 500!


The only thing about the 7D that maybe was against it was high ISO noise but i balanced that with prety good weather sealing and the crop factor. Only downside was it doesnt handle anything like a pro body and felt like a toy. Its not as well bult either but its as good as a 5D. Decided that as i own the 1DS outright and love it ill keep it. It will be used for landscapes, portraits etc and anything close up. 7D for sports and wildlife. Must admit i was very very ipressed at the 7D's ability to track birds in flight.


Thanks for the advice.





Mick

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Originally Posted by neuroanatomist

The 7D has, "A new Intelligent Macro Tracking function helps reduce blur during macro shooting by recognizing when a macro lens is attached and automatically adjusting the AI Servo sampling frequency. This AI Servo adjustment accounts for camera movement forward and back, a typical occurrence when moving in close for a macro shot as photographers rock back and forth, or a flower blows in the wind." I assume that this mode will be implemented on the 1DsIV, but it's not available in the5DII or 1DsIII. I actually find that it works quite well in combination with the Hybrid IS on the new EF 100mm Macro.

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I read about that, but didn't know it actually worked :) Nice to hear.

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Originally Posted by neuroanatomist

Plus, I can use the integrated Speedlite transmitter on the 7D to control my 430EX II off-camera for background fill in a macro shot.

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Yes that is nice. I use a twin flash, which can control an off camera flash (or I can just use one of the two flashes for fill, on or off camera), but the 7D solution sounds very convenient.

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Originally Posted by neuroanatomist

Also, even though at close range you lose the crop factor effect on apparent focal length, I think (hope?) that the effect on DoF is maintained, providing an advantage for a crop sensor in this situation.

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If you just stop down the full frame camera, you get the same DOF. The additional diffraction caused by stopping down is exactly balanced by the additional resolution you get from the size of the sensor (ie, diffraction size goes up linearly, but lines per sensor stays the same). And of course the extra noise from stopping down (by boosting iso to get the same shutter speed) is exactly balanced by the large sensor as well. It's a wash.


And you can crop the larger sensor. Even though you you have a lower pixel density, I find that diffraction makes that moot (though in theory, more pixels allows for better sharpening in post process).