Is This A Good Price For the 1Ds MKII?

[btaylor]

Good stuff!!! I think you've got a great deal there. That's excellent that you were able to inspect it in person before buying. A few scuff marks on the rubber shouldn't be unusual for a 5 year old body.


I've read profiles of pro photo photographers, and their images have really amazed me. When I read their bio I expect that they're using the latest and greatest of gear but have been surprised when they still use a 1Ds Mk II or even older. So it definately can produce the goods. Just goes to show that in the right hands the gear doesn't make the shot - not to say that the 1Ds Mk II isn't a superb camera.


Enjoy the new toy, I look forward to seeing some shots.


Ben.

[Keith B]

After much debate and lots of reviewing, I am in the market for a used 1Ds mkII as a back up/second camera. I want full frame and the 5DmkI would not really make much sense and the 1DsIII is still too expensive. 1DsII seems like it would be a great companion to a 5DII.


Good luck and enjoy your camera.

[darklord]

Oh, just found out that the 1Ds MKii doesn't have auto ISO. I blew a few shots going from indoor to outdoor without changing ISO as I'm used to having auto ISO. I guess this will force me into the habit of thinking about ISO setting before taking shots.

[JustinThyme]

Im newb here but not to several other forums.


Auto ISO isnt all its cracked up to be. Matter of fact Auto anything.


Allowing the camera to decide seldom yeilds the best exposure.

[Jon Ruyle]

Allowing the camera to decide seldom yeilds the best exposure.

But unless you shoot manual, you *are* letting the camera decide. In many situations, I'd rather choose the aperture and shutter speed and let the camera pick the iso than have the camera decide something important for me.


Of course, if you really want everything manual, then I agree, auto iso is moot

[JustinThyme]

I always shoot full manual. There is no difference from shooting M and using auto ISO or shooting P or Tv or Av. Choosing the correct ISO is the same as choosing one of the other two. The cameras metering system sees the entire area of the selected metering and uses that to calculate any of the above depending on what mode you have chosen with preference to preventing blown highlights. Problem is what if most of the frame is white? Its a guarantee you will walk away with an underexposed image, same goes for black but in reverse you will end up with an over exposed image.


I tried auto ISO on my MKIV once very briefly shooting a soccer game with clouds rolling in and out. The exposures were all over the place. Some over, some under maybe one or two out of a hundred exposed corrrectly. I tried it with every metering option and probably the best was evaluative and the worst (what I use most of the time) was spot. If everything is a constant, which it seldom is, and you get it dialed in then it will work fine but then it will never change. By the time you went to all that trouble you may as well have used full manual and not auto ISO.

[peety3]

There

[HDNitehawk]

I always shoot full manual. There is no difference from shooting M and using auto ISO or shooting P or Tv or Av. Choosing the correct ISO is the same as choosing one of the other two. The cameras metering system sees the entire area of the selected metering and uses that to calculate any of the above depending on what mode you have chosen with preference to preventing blown highlights. Problem is what if most of the frame is white? Its a guarantee you will walk away with an underexposed image, same goes for black but in reverse you will end up with an over exposed image.


I tried auto ISO on my MKIV once very briefly shooting a soccer game with clouds rolling in and out. The exposures were all over the place. Some over, some under maybe one or two out of a hundred exposed corrrectly. I tried it with every metering option and probably the best was evaluative and the worst (what I use most of the time) was spot. If everything is a constant, which it seldom is, and you get it dialed in then it will work fine but then it will never change. By the time you went to all that trouble you may as well have used full manual and not auto ISO.

There is a lot of difference between the 1D IV auto ISO and some of the older bodies. The ISO on the 1D IV is a true auto ISO. In manual mode if you select your shutter speed and aperture and auto ISO the camera is going to adjust the ISO through its full range and if you are not used to it you will find yourself shooting at ISO 3200 or higher when your really do not want to.


I have the 1D IV and I have never seen a problem with the exposure. It was me not understanding the camera. If you are going to use the full auto option on the 1D IV you set the range you feel would be acceptable to you. I set mine between 100 and 1600, if it is real sunny I might take it down to 100 to 800.


The 7d and 1D IV are true fully auto ISO, from what I understand any of the older bodies are not. I know the 5D Mark II isn't.

[JustinThyme]

Evidently other folks have had different experiences than I have had. I come from the old school where the camera did nothing for you. Most of my shooting is sports and very active with changing backgrounds, clouds moving in and out etc. The camera deosnt know what a highlight is is a true statement but I have found that the camera does give preference to limiting exposure based on the hottest part of the image which is the highlights.


My preference is to choose what I want and how I want the exposure to look and not let the camera decide. I call it painting with light. I am also fully aware of how the meter is faked out and apply that to my manual settings instead of using auto and exposure compensation as when shooting outdoors and the lighting changes so did the compensation amount, that would require to menu to exposure compensation reset that then back to shooting and adjusting your chosen method in Av or Tv. I can do the same in full manual with a roll of the controller for aperture or shutter speed in half a second.


Yes the metered area is certainly much smaller than the full sensor and is also changed dependant on what mode is used. Im a Canon junkie so my experience is limited to the Canon products begining with the original 1D and every body since then with the exception of no rebel series.


An example, had I shot this in auto anything the image would have been under exposed. I instead choose to meter a neutral place of the grass at such events and remeter as necessary if the clouds roll in or out.


Different folks have different styles, full manual always works flawlesly for me. About the worse case scenario for auto modes is mid day sun with shadows in the backround, at leastthat has been my experieince.


[View:http://www.rnmphotography.com/photos/612725817_pFpej-XL-1.jpg]

[HDNitehawk]

Justin


If it works it works, go with what works.


The point I was making is that when talking about auto ISO, if you are talking the old D series bodies as compared to the new 1D IV they aren't the same animal.


The new 1D IV will run the ISO up and down the full range before it lets you know that you need to adjust the shutter. It can turn out some very bad pics like that. The old bodies selected what it thought was an appropriate ISO and it set it. The bad thing about the Auto ISO on the 1D IV is that if you want to underexpose or overexpose as compared to what the camera suggests, if you have it in Auto ISO you end up with the camera running up to ISO 12800 or down to ISO 100 if you haven't changed the range in the camera.


Auto ISO has its place. If I am out and nothing is changing much and no action I stick with Manual ISO setting.


On the 1D IV it is real good if you narrow the range down in auto, mine is 100-800 or 100-1600 depending on my mood at the time, and I use it where there is a lot of fast action with light change. Birds in Flight, at dusk coming down from the over lit sky in to the shade is a good example.