Older bodies versus New bodies

[eldarhau]

I have a feeling that we, in general, have a tendency of disregarding one body generation as a prehistoric creation, every time a new body is out. The the 5DII vs. 5DIII, 1DIII vs. 1DIV, 1DsIII vs. 1DX etc. are all examples of that. In particular, the 1DsIII, which used to be the ultimate camera, is now selling for close to nothing (in Norway you can get it for less than a 6D). We see people give advice to rather buy a 7D than a 1DIII etc.

I am thinking of a backup camera to my 1DX and I was reading through the adds on finn.no (our ebay) looking for a 1DIV. The 1.3x factor would give my big whites extra reach, it was the camera I really wanted, but never bought, because I already had the 1DIII and 1DsIII (both now sold at hart breaking prices). This specimen is apparently in mint condition, used only for family gatherings and vacations and the asking price is about 1/3 of what Canon originally asked for it. So the big question is; Is this a good deal? Or has technology advanced so fast as to say that I should rather wait for the 7DII?

I think I know what I think, but it would be interesting if some of you could elaborate on this topic and even better if Bryan could write some revisit articles, where he compared the qualities of older bodies up against the new ones.

/Eldar

[Busted Knuckles]

There has been some discussion on this the last few days. This is a really good question, begs a couple of others.

On ebay the 1dIV and the 5dIII are effectively the same price.

Given the recent events w/ the Magic Lantern guys doing limited raw video w/ 5dIII (video guys know what this means - I barely think I might) given the higher data rates of the 1dIV they might be able to do some real magic. hmmmm

I don't mean to hijack the thread but there are a number of bodies that perform extremely well just inside the limits of the new body "flight envelopes."

If I were a sports guy and needed the frame rate and couldn't jump the 1dx, the 1dIV would be clearly a contender vs the 5dIII. This somewhat begs the innovation guys to come up with some real innovation for the next suite of bodies.

Back to your question, if it were the same as the 5dIII - I would go w/ the 5dIII. Unless you needed the frame rate. If it were the same price as the 6d, then by all means it would be the 1dIV. just my opinions.

[Joel Eade]

My opinion...1/3 the original price for a mint condition 1DIV is a very good deal and it blows away the current 7D in features and performance. You never know when the next 7D will be here, what it will have or what it will cost.....go for the 1DIV now.....sell it or trade it later if something else works better for you.

[eldarhau]

Back to your question, if it were the same as the 5dIII - I would go w/ the 5dIII. Unless you needed the frame rate. If it were the same price as the 6d, then by all means it would be the 1dIV. just my opinions.

I got a mint condition 1DIV for $2.000 yesterday (less than you pay for a 6D body here). Had only been used for family shooting. Better AF, higher fps, (almost) equally good high-ISO performance, vertical grip and much better weather sealing made it an easy decision for me. The 1.3x crop factor is also fun, when I hook on the 600mm with the 2x extender.

/Eldar

[Kayaker72]

In a discussion a few months ago, I threw out the comment that was something to the extent "old bodies aren't any less awesome...just new bodies are more awesomer"....or something like that.

Granted, I bought a new body. I did look at the 1DsIII before buying the 5DIII. For me, it got down to why I was moving to a new camera body, and one of my reasons was high ISO noise, which I thought gave the advantage to the latest generation of bodies. But that said, I've seen several quotes about the 1D series that their IQ is somehow better, more "film like" compared to the 5D bodies. I haven't taken the time to decide if I think that is true or not or just a 1D owner trying to justify their purchase.

But I wouldn't back away from a older body if it meets your needs and you have a good price. The only real concern I've heard about was about customer/technical support from Canon. So, at some point, they stop supporting older camera bodies and if the camera breaks, it breaks. But, how often to they break?

Specifically on your need, and this is one reason this website is such a resource, I'd line up several of the comparison tools and see evaluate the new and old bodies. Bryan's tests are the same. I know a lot of people loved the 1DIV for a sports/action/wildlife camera just 2 years ago. Hard to imagine it still wouldn't be great for those purposes. I have a feeling that the 1DX/5DIII would best it with their AF and high ISO noise. But if you were to rank all canon cameras in terms of AF, the 1DIV may come in 3rd. So still great. Also, the needs of a second body aren't the same as a primary body. For myself, I wanted something that "did everything" at least reasonably well. But with a second body, you could be more specialized and select for a specific feature while letting another feature slip. For example, high ISO performance you already have covered with the 1DX. So if you specifically want something with a bit more reach (APS-H) but 1D series IQ, the 1DIV may be a great camera.

EDIT: Ok...missed the last two posts while writing this. Congrats on the "new" 1DIV!

[Busted Knuckles]

I got a mint condition 1DIV for $2.000 yesterday (less than you pay for a 6D body here). Had only been used for family shooting. Better AF, higher fps, (almost) equally good high-ISO performance, vertical grip and much better weather sealing made it an easy decision for me. The 1.3x crop factor is also fun, when I hook on the 600mm with the 2x extender.

/Eldar

ok so that is a GREAT deal

[peety3]

But that said, I've seen several quotes about the 1D series that their IQ is somehow better, more "film like" compared to the 5D bodies. I haven't taken the time to decide if I think that is true or not or just a 1D owner trying to justify their purchase.

(Long story short, we have a 1D3, two 7D, one 40D, and a very-new 5D3. I've been shooting with the 1D3 since 9/07, and it remains my first-out camera.) I do feel like the high ISO noise on the 1D3 is more tolerable, perhaps film-like, than others. Here's but one example for you: I shot a cooking class at a restaurant we liked. It was held essentially under a 60W lightbulb. The early shot of the silver bowl with chopped green onions or similar, plus the two "final" shots of the finished crab cake, were shot under a two-speedlight rig; everything else was shot ambient light with what little there was. http://tandemwinebar.com/crabby_kitchen.php Everything without flash was shot at ISO 3200 or HI ('6400'), processed with Lightroom v2 which doesn't have any noise reduction tools in it. I think I shot the whole thing with my 70-200/2.8 IS (original), keeping the shutter speed just barely within handholdable tolerances after IS did its magic.