Which One?

ipatry

So I have a budget. Around $2,000. I would like to keep the cost as low as possible. Im trying to decide between a Canon 7d, or an older 1D. Im really not sure what to do. I shoot sports a lot and also do a little of everything, including video. But mostly sports. I shoot under artificial lighting as well, so high ISO performance is necessary. But I want the best bang for my buck. Which do I go with?

Thanks

JimKarczewski

7D, unless you can get one hell of a deal on a used 1D4. 1D3 had focus issues and I'm still not quite convinced they ever completely fixed them. 1D4 at least does video.. Other option is see if the 5D3 price comes down or find a used 5D3 (if available) which will give you great high ISO and 6fps shooting.

My big issue with video on the 7D or 1D4 is going to be the weird limit. It's either 4GB or 29:59, whichever comes first. 99.9% of the time, the 4GB comes first. With the 5D3 and the 1Dx it will record till either the card is full or you hit the 29:59 limit (if it records 30 minutes or longer it's considered a videocamera and subject to different regulations which is why it's limited like that)

Sorry about the ambiguous answer, there are a lot of things to consider based on how much video you need to shoot and just how fast you need to be able to shoot things. On top of that, can you deal with a 1.6 or 1.4 crop which you would get from a 7D or 1D4 or would you be better off with a FF from a 5D2 or used 5D3 (5D2 has those same video limits BTW)

ipatry

I think my best bet will be a 7D or 5D3. I have a t3i right now. I just record short stuff. But I'm not to worried about that. The crop isn't a big deal. I am fine with either FF or crop. But. Which will be better. 7D or 5D3. I shoot a lot of sports and like I said a little bit of everything else.

jimqjr

Should be able to get a 1DIII for that. Never had a focus issue to me a far superior camera compared to the 7d. No video if that is important. A friend traded his 1D111 for a 5D 11 he really likes the decision though its slow compared.

jhefti

I'd certainly take a 5D3 over a 1D3 any day (though a 5D3 is more than $2000). The image quality is much better on the former, and rarely do I find the FPS to be much of an issue. The usable ISO on a 1D3 is about 2500 at best, whereas a 5D3 will give you decent shots up to 6400 with very little de-noising.

Hell, I'd take a 5D2 over a 1D3 as well, despite the low FPS and AF limitations. I can't comment on a 7D because I have never used one.

photodad1

ipatry wrote: »

I think my best bet will be a 7D or 5D3. I have a t3i right now. I just record short stuff. But I'm not to worried about that. The crop isn't a big deal. I am fine with either FF or crop. But. Which will be better. 7D or 5D3. I shoot a lot of sports and like I said a little bit of everything else.

For sports, I would stick with the 7D versus the 5D3. The 7D is crop sensor and 8 FPS versus full frame and 6 FPS for the 5D3. Plus the 7D is half the price of the 5D3. Just my two cents.

jmphotocraft

The 7D is the better value for sports, I had one, and now I have a 5D3. You won't be able to find a 5D3 for $2000 for a long time. And if you do, it will be of dubious condition and/or pedigree. The 7D crop factor is nice for field sports. I value this more than the +2 difference in fps. I shot my son's U11 soccer last fall with my 5D3 and a 70-200/2.8. The results were the best I've ever seen, but I had to wait for the action to come close. For shooting my son's team this was ok as I had all season to get good shots. But if you are shooting for a job, i.e. one game for one or both teams, the FF lack of reach will give you a keeper rate that won't be acceptable. You'd have to add a 1.4x TC or a bigger lens. The 1D3 can't do video, so that is out.

photodad1

jmphotocraft wrote: »

The 7D is the better value for sports, I had one, and now I have a 5D3. You won't be able to find a 5D3 for $2000 for a long time. And if you do, it will be of dubious condition and/or pedigree. The 7D crop factor is nice for field sports. I value this more than the +2 difference in fps. I shot my son's U11 soccer last fall with my 5D3 and a 70-200/2.8. The results were the best I've ever seen, but I had to wait for the action to come close. For shooting my son's team this was ok as I had all season to get good shots. But if you are shooting for a job, i.e. one game for one or both teams, the FF lack of reach will give you a keeper rate that won't be acceptable. You'd have to add a 1.4x TC or a bigger lens. The 1D3 can't do video, so that is out.

In my experience with the 7D and 70-200mm f2.8L combination, I found the crop sensor to be higher priority than the FPS. If you shoot in low light situations adding an 1.4x TC will cause a loss in one F-stop. You can always crank up the ISO, but in the 7D the colors start washing out over ISO 3200.