Canon 5D MII or Canon 1Ds MIII?

Ragon

Like the title says…

Canon 5D MII or Canon 1Ds MIII - that is the question.

I'm having trouble deciding… I have only really shot with the 1 series line and I love/hate the weight but love the build and feel of it. The 5D is a great camera and I love/hate the weight and build. I'm at a tie and I'm a bit nervous to change so I need some input from the many that have had use of them both.

Thanks a lot for the help!

Sam

After a quick look at your website I think I would go with a 5D III. Since you don't seem to shoot action or shoot in challenging environments the build of a D series doesn't seem nessasary and the 5D III has all the latest technology with superior image quality.

Sam

Sam

I have been privately chastised for recommending a 5D III which wasn't one of the choices.

I guess I went WAY out of bounds doing unrequested research by visiting his website to view the type of photography the OP was primarily engaged, and recommending what I thought was a better choice, that looks like it fit into the available budget, in recommending a choice not listed.

So I will change my post to read:

Dear OP, both are fine choices and will take lovely photographs.

Sam

ziggy53

Sam wrote: »

After a quick look at your website I think I would go with a 5D III. Since you don't seem to shoot action or shoot in challenging environments the build of a D series doesn't seem nessasary and the 5D III has all the latest technology with superior image quality.

Sam

Sam wrote: »

I have been privately chastised for recommending a 5D III which wasn't one of the choices.

I guess I went WAY out of bounds doing unrequested research by visiting his website to view the type of photography the OP was primarily engaged, and recommending what I thought was a better choice, that looks like it fit into the available budget, in recommending a choice not listed.

So I will change my post to read:

Dear OP, both are fine choices and will take lovely photographs.

Sam

I agree with your assessment and your recommendation. I too would probably recommend a Canon 5D Mark III, given the information at hand. It has an advanced AF sensor, like a 1D/1Ds series body, a very competent imager too, but costs much more like the 5D series bodies (enthusiast level).

Then again, Sam, you are quite correct in that both the Canon 5D MKII and 1Ds MKIII make lovely images as well.

Kikoprice

If your going to recommend a 5D MKIII what about a 1D MKIV? Im sittin on the fence....

ziggy53

Kikoprice wrote: »

If your going to recommend a 5D MKIII what about a 1D MKIV? Im sittin on the fence....

The Canon 1D MKIV is what I consider to be a superlative sports/action body. It has a crop 1.3x/APS-H imager so it may not suite some single-image-capture vista landscape applications, but for most genres of photography it's pretty wonderful.

It does not have the very latest imager technology, so there is some noise intrusion at ISO 3200 (not horrible) and pushing under-exposed images can also bring out pattern noise. This is somewhat mitigated using the very latest version of DPP, but the latest versions of Adobe products have not kept up (in producing the best RAW file interpretations.) A simple subject matter and third-party noise reduction helps tremendously, and even ISO 6400 can look good under ideal conditions.

Sadly, the secret is out and slightly-used bodies are pretty hard to find, as they are snatched up by sports/action photographers.

jhefti

Kikoprice wrote: »

If your going to recommend a 5D MKIII what about a 1D MKIV? Im sittin on the fence....

I agree with Ziggy's comments. The 1D4 is a great sports camera, but the IQ is not as good as a 5D2. I use both bodies regularly, and always go with the 5D2 for non-sports images.

Ragon

I have decided to go with the 1Ds mark III and a 5D Mark II for a back-up and for when a lighter camera may be wanted.

Brett1000

Ragon wrote: »

I have decided to go with the 1Ds mark III and a 5D Mark II for a back-up and for when a lighter camera may be wanted.

good primary and secondary - I guess the 6D was just too lightweight for you

Matthew Saville

If weight, build quality, and performance are all equal concerns of yours, then you can't do better than a 5D mk3. You can shoot with it un-gripped when you need the lighter weight, or gripped when you want it to be more robust. You get access to the latest and greatest AF technology as well as a few other awesome functions that only the newest bodies have. (Most importantly for me is the re-vamp of Canon's playback / review / zooming system, which still isn't perfect but at least they have 1-click 100% playback zoom on the "SET" button, when customized properly...)

Yeah, a 1D mk4 would give you incredible robustness and speed, or a 1Ds mk3 would give you full-frame flagship quality on a "budget". But to be quite honest, the 5D mk2 / 1Ds mk3 sensor is a bit of a let-down for dynamic-range hungry landscape shooters, and neither has the speed for action shooting if that is what you're interested in.

So, full-circle to the 5D mk3.

Honestly if I were adding Canon to my bag right now, I'd buy a 5D mk3 and a 6D. (I shoot weddings for my work, and landscapes / adventures for my hobby, so the 5D mk3 would see a lot of use in tough wedding shooting action / lighting, and the 6D would be a backup plus the perfect camera for crazy lightweight adventures and casual shooting...)

=Matt=