What to do
I have shot horse events almost every weekend in the summer for years. Six fps is good enough to capture the right moment when a horse is jumping for me. However my daughter went off to grad school this year and I don't think I'll be shooting horse shows anymore since she won't be competing.
I tried a friends 1DMIII for a day recently and fell in love with it. My 40D has served me well but I intended to up date this year. Now the 50D and 5DMII are available. I intended to pre-order a 5DMII on Monday. I have had a couple of calls lately to come shoot horse events and 1 from a guy that wanted me to come shoot his daughter at an event. I might be tempted back but don't think so. If I did 3.9 fps wouldn't be enough.
I used my 70-200 2.8 IS on the 1DMIII and it is hard for me to picture better IQ than this combination gave me. Contrary to what I've read the A/F was great. Still I'm drawn to the new technoligy and what, from samples, seems 2 great cameras.
We are going to Mexico early January and I would like to take the new camera with me.
I hate having to make decisions like this.
I tried a friends 1DMIII for a day recently and fell in love with it. My 40D has served me well but I intended to up date this year. Now the 50D and 5DMII are available. I intended to pre-order a 5DMII on Monday. I have had a couple of calls lately to come shoot horse events and 1 from a guy that wanted me to come shoot his daughter at an event. I might be tempted back but don't think so. If I did 3.9 fps wouldn't be enough.
I used my 70-200 2.8 IS on the 1DMIII and it is hard for me to picture better IQ than this combination gave me. Contrary to what I've read the A/F was great. Still I'm drawn to the new technoligy and what, from samples, seems 2 great cameras.
We are going to Mexico early January and I would like to take the new camera with me.
I hate having to make decisions like this.
RON
0
Comments
1. Costs - True the FF cameras are fantastic, but you pay a lot for them, and a lot for the lenses. If cost isn't an issue, then don't sweat it. For me, I can't afford to drop $3000 every couple years for the upgrade - I just don't make enough money.
2. Size - if size isn't an issue, FF is great. I for one don't like carrying really heavy gear, so the crop sensors are my choice. I personally use the Olympus system, I carry a 50-200mm 2.8-3.5 Zuiko lens and get the equivalent of 100-400. To get a lens that is 2.8-3.5 on a FF sensor that zooms from 100-400 would be gigantic compared to my crop factor lenses. I really love the smaller size of the lenses. Many say this doesn't matter to them, but when I have been shooting for 6-8 hours at a wedding and I still have a few to go, or when I wander photographing for hours carrying my gear, weight begins to be of utmost importance to me.
3. IQ - FF does offer amazing image quality, however, the image quality of the 40D & 50D is also fantastic. My brother has a 40D and had a 30D before that. He has 30" prints all over his house made with his 30D and they look fantastic. Sharp, clear, low noise, etc. Everyone has been acting lately like crop sensors are junk compared to FF, and I just really disagree. I really think technology is on the side of crop sensors. The noise improvements we are getting from these new sensors is fantastic. Miles over what it was even a few years ago. Imagine what will be available in a few years. Many combat this by saying, well then having that on a FF makes that even that much better. But, honestly, we are splitting hairs now. The IQ on most DSLRs is really fabulous. I have never felt my crop sensor has been a barrier to producing beautiful images. I have read a number of things suggesting that though FF is gaining speed, that as technology continues to progress, crop sensors will win over again because they will be able to produce sensors that are incredible at smaller sizes. Some suggest the era of huge DSLRs will be over and taken by high quality more compact DSLRs. (Don't flip out people - these are just opinions).
4. Zoom - if you need to zoom far, the crop sensors again win in this category. If you shoot primarily wide angle landscapes, FF makes sense.
5. Computer capacity - while 24 mp sounds great on paper, it also means you have to have TONS of storage space, TONS of ram, and a really really FAST processor. By the time you add a few extra layers in photoshop, the computer may putt along. I average 800-1200 images at a wedding. When RAW files are 25 megs each (as they are in the new 5D), that would mean I could shoot close to 30 gigs at a wedding. Maybe everyone has enough storage space to store that kind of volume, but that alone is enough reason to keep me away for now.
So, I guess I haven't hidden my bias - I say stay with the crop sensor. The 40D & 50D are really quite amazing. But, in the past 3 weeks the whole photo world has gone from applauding their 40D or their D80 to acting as though the image quality of these cameras is junk and they can't survive without a FF camera. I think we are all being taken for a ride CaNikon marketing has gotten us all - including our money. I don't know how we ever survived without FF cameras!
Go for the 50D even though Canon wants you to think you will never survive without the 5DmkII. Or, buy some great new lenses instead. Glass makes more of a difference for me than a new body.
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The 5D MKII is not designed as a sports camera by any means. I think you would be disappointed using it for horse events or any other sport.
The 1D MKII/MKIIN/MKIII are still the very best Canon sports cameras. The AF section is by far more sensitive, accurate and consistently reliable over anything else from Canon (except the 1Ds series, which suffer only at frame rate.)
The 1D MKIII is even the prefered sports camera for Rob Galbraith, if you know where to look:
(Compared to the Nikon D3) ... "On the other hand, EOS-1D Mark III files at any ISO - especially CR2s processed through Canon's Digital Photo Professional - are generally slightly crisper and more detailed."
http://www.robgalbraith.com/bins/multi_page.asp?cid=7-8745-9153
... and (Aug 2008)... "Quality and Cropability The EOS-1D Mark III produces the best overall file of any digital SLR we've ever used. A CR2 coming from this camera contains a level of detail, dynamic range, tonality and quality from each of its 10.01 million image pixels that is hard for any other camera to match on a per-pixel basis. The Nikon D3, for example, produces a better NEF at really high ISO settings (plus very good quality generally), but at lower ISOs it can't quite deliver the fineness of detail from each pixel that the EOS-1D Mark III does.
As a result, the EOS-1D Mark III delivers impressive printed enlargements for a sensor of this resolution, and great cropability too. Click on the thumbnail at right to see an example of how you can pull out a usable photo from this ISO 800 file. The enlarged view is only about 1/6 of the frame. Canon has made the most of every image pixel in this camera."
and ... "These cameras offer more than just great image quality: almost every component in the EOS-1D Mark III and EOS-1Ds Mark III - other than autofocus - is the best Canon has ever developed. But it's the quality of the photos that has kept me coming back."
http://www.robgalbraith.com/bins/multi_page.asp?cid=7-8740-9068-9537
While Rob continues to insist that the autofocus is still flawed in the 1D MKIII, he and his cohorts continue to use it over the Nikon D3. I conclude that it must not be all that bad.
Other independant reviewers have tested the 1D MKIII and found that it was perfectly suited to sports.
As for taking it on vacation, I would honestly choose the Canon 40D. Prices are pretty reasonable right now and that camera is capable of producing fantastic images, even in low-light. The weight difference and size difference make that body much more suitable than the 1D series for personal vacation images.
While I use the 1D MKII for sports related images, I use the 40D for travel and my travel kit is:
Canon 40D
Sigma 10-20mm, f/4-5.6 EX DC HSM
Canon EF-S 17-55mm, f/2.8 IS USM
Canon EF 70-200mm, f/4L IS USM
Canon EF 50mm, f/1.4 USM
Tamron 1.4x teleconverter (for the 50mm)
Canon 1.4x teleconverter (for the 70-200mm)
Close focus adapter, 3.3 diopter, to fit the 50mm, f/1.4, gives about 1/2 lifesize.
Sigma 500 DG Super flash
Sunpak 383 Super flash
Charger and spare battery.
This all fits in a "sling" type bag.
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Thanks for the reply.
To be honest I'm not to concerned about it.
I agree the images from the XXD series cameras is excellent. I have a 40D now. I got it when they first came out. It is an excellent camera. I am 65 and retired. I worked away from home for a lot of years. Out of state and out of country. I decided that now that its just my wife and I, I'm going to enjoy life while I can. I can afford it so why not get the best camera for my usage. Trouble is deciding which camera that is. 50D, 5DMII or 1DMIII.
The weight doesn't bother me since I have a battery grip on the 40D with 2 batteries now. When I used the 1DMIII I didn't find it all that much heavier. No one will know until they are out, but I can't help but wonder with the new sensor where will the 1DMIII stand with these new cameras.
We have horses at home and I'm drawn to horse events so I can't completely rule out the horse shows. There the 50D or 1DMIII would be the cameras.
I know no one can truely answer these question so I guess I'm just venting because I'm pulling my hair out trying to decide what to do before vacation. It does help to know what others would do in the same situation.
Honestly though? I would get stick with the 40D and invest in great glass!
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I support this-most of the sports photographers I have met pre -focus manually,with fast telephotos.A suitable focussing screen helps.
With horse jumps you will know where the shot is,prefocus and take one shot rather than 3.It's possible with a high frame rate to shoot around the decisive moment and the even best AF can't split the frame rate to shoot in between, to where the best photo is found.
I found manual focus lenses worked fine for birds and bats in flight too-its all about patience and developing skill.
Its far more satisfying than blazing away with a high fps.It also saves your battery and CF capacity.It also means less trawling through huge amounts of shots to find the photos you really wanted to take.Instead you come home with less,but more.
The down side of a full frame is that you would need a longer lens if you 'crop in camera',however the 5D has such a large file size that you could crop in post and still have a large enough file for a large print size.
That being said,the 1DMk111 looks a fine camera ,however if you aren't trying to make a living from your photos then a 50D and more lenses would possibly a better investment.
I want the 5D11! As shown in "the blog" you could also shoot video and sort it all out later...
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Canon 20d,EFS-60mm Macro,Canon 85mm/1.8. Pentax Spotmatic SP,Pentax Super Takumars 50/1.4 &135/3.5,Pentax Super-Multi-Coated Takumars 200/4 ,300/4,400/5.6,Sigma 600/8.
Sport photo is all on the tracking the object and anticipating the location and focal lenght.
To respond to Jonathan's concern:
Regarding the big file, today's PC or apple has more than 2 GB ram, 160GB HD is more than sufficient to hand it. Just found a 1 TB external HD cost me only $150.
The size and weight of 5D Mk II is the same as 5D or similar to the 40D or 50D. it makes not so much difference.
The crop factor is just to reduce the size of the sensor and collect lesser light and information to make the image looks bigger. Using the FF and crop it on the PC can do the similar effect but, I have the option of having bigger size of the picture and making the composition on the PC much easier. The most important of FF is the low noise level at higher ISO.
This photo was taken by the 5D (not Mark II yet) with 70 -200 F2.8 L IS and cropped and downsized.
flickr.com/photos/photoskipper/
You can pre-focus on cross country jumps just fine. with stadium jumping its not possible. In stadium they have sometimes 3 jumps just a few strides apart and the horses, especially with the better riders, are really moving. Its not possible to get all the jumps so I set up where I can get about three of the best jumps. Many people like the take off for the jump, some like mid-jump and once in a while someone wants all three including the landing. You don't know which one they will buy so I try to get it all. I delete the ones I don't like between riders. I looked last night at some RAWs from events and was surprised to find that my burst were usually 3 or 4 not 5 or 6 like I thought I was shooting. I guess all the horse show stuff doesn't matter any more now. My wife told me last night that with our daughter not competeing any more she didn't want to spend most of her weekends at horse shows anymore. That makes the 5DMII look like the camera.
I also use some manual focus lenses. Zeiss and yashica.
Here is one of Sammy.
40D
Zeiss flectogon 35mm 2.4
I shot manual for years with very good split-prism viewfinders and I know how to pre-focus on a point close to the action. I still use the same technique with autofocus to keep the focus times down to the bare minimum, but autofocus "can" be accomplished in AI-Servo mode with about a 75 precent rate of keepers in a series. The overall keeper rate is much higher than single-shot mode.
The 1D series also has the ability to de-tune the autofocus with regard to distractions. I keep my cf-20, AI-Servo Tracking Sensitivity turned down because it makes the focus tracking less "jittery" and seem to give me better results. The 5D and xxD cameras don't even give you the choice.
Honest folks, I have nothing to sell and I wouldn't say it if weren't true, the 1D series autofocus is just amazing at how well it works for sports. If you have the means, and "used" is certainly one way to do it, then I highly recommend the 1D II/IIN/III for sports (in the Canon line of cameras). Your rate of keepers will improve dramatically.
Of course good technique helps with any camera, and that includes the 1D series. It's still possible to get lots of "clinkers" if you don't develop good technique.
Moderator of the Cameras and Accessories forums
It looks like the 5D MKII might be good as a vacation camera but I haven't heard any really firm dates for delivery. There is a very well cared for 1Ds MKIII in EBay right now that would also be an awesome camera. It is from none other than our own "Andy".
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=150297269812
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