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Comparisons between 5DMkII and 1DsMkIII

bensonga

Well-known member
Man, why wait and go for a 5D instead of 5D2? The 5D2 I bought works just fine. But one can always wait till it is too late :D:rolleyes:;):ROTFL:
I think I explained (briefly) why I opted for the 5D instead of the 5DII. I tend to buy items later in their product cycle when bugs have been worked out and prices have come down. The early adopter premium (both in cost and possible headaches) is usually not worth it for me.

I'm glad your 5DII is working well, others haven't been so lucky. If I decide I'd like to have a 5DII, I'll wait until the quality and reliability is more consistent. Like Marc Williams....I'm not willing to do the quality testing for Canon that that they should have done more thoroughly before releasing the product.

It will only be "too late" for a 5DII as you say, when the 5DIII arrives and no 5DIIs are in the sales pipeline any longer. I can wait.

Gary
Alaska
 

ptomsu

Workshop Member
I think I explained (briefly) why I opted for the 5D instead of the 5DII. I tend to buy items later in their product cycle when bugs have been worked out and prices have come down. The early adopter premium (both in cost and possible headaches) is usually not worth it for me.

I'm glad your 5DII is working well, others haven't been so lucky. If I decide I'd like to have a 5DII, I'll wait until the quality and reliability is more consistent. Like Marc Williams....I'm not willing to do the quality testing for Canon that that they should have done more thoroughly before releasing the product.

It will only be "too late" for a 5DII as you say, when the 5DIII arrives and no 5DIIs are in the sales pipeline any longer. I can wait.

Gary
Alaska
Well,

while I have to say, that I also tend to sit out the first and most frustating flaws of a camera, I found that this period is usually over after the first series has been sold.

The 5D2 was first available from end of October 2008, I bought mine in February 2009, just when a new production series arrived after the Xmas business. And this was just perfect, as I can assure you.

So your strategy of always waiting till the end of the lifecycle of a product before you buy is not the full truth :thumbup: although it definitely helps to save lots of money ;)
 

bensonga

Well-known member
Well,
So your strategy of always waiting till the end of the lifecycle of a product before you buy
Actually, if you read what I wrote a little more carefully, it was "TEND TO buy items LATER in their product cycle". There is a difference in language and in fact between "tend to" vs "always" and "later" vs "end".

is not the full truth :thumbup:
I don't think I suggested that my views represented the "full truth" about anything. What I did say was "Too many POSSIBLE problems and UNCERTAINLY" for ME to pay full price on a 5DII.

If Canon has sorted out the reported problems with the 5DII in just a few months....that's outstanding.....every prospective buyer will be be relieved. Some of us might wait a bit longer before coming to that conclusion.

although it definitely helps to save lots of money ;)
It most certainly does......in these times, it's a good thing. In fact, I got the 5D body, vertical grip and the 24-105 f4L lens for less than the price of a 5DII body alone. It was the right deal and decision for me.

Gary
Alaska
 

ptomsu

Workshop Member
Actually, if you read what I wrote a little more carefully, it was "TEND TO buy items LATER in their product cycle". There is a difference in language and in fact between "tend to" vs "always" and "later" vs "end".



I don't think I suggested that my views represented the "full truth" about anything. What I did say was "Too many POSSIBLE problems and UNCERTAINLY" for ME to pay full price on a 5DII.

If Canon has sorted out the reported problems with the 5DII in just a few months....that's outstanding.....every prospective buyer will be be relieved. Some of us might wait a bit longer before coming to that conclusion.



It most certainly does......in these times, it's a good thing. In fact, I got the 5D body, vertical grip and the 24-105 f4L lens for less than the price of a 5DII body alone. It was the right deal and decision for me.

Gary
Alaska
See my private email.

Thanks.
 

Jack

Sr. Administrator
Staff member
Hi John:

Here's my simple .02...

I went with the 1Ds3 because somebody tossed a relatively low mileage one at me for a hard-to-pass-up price. However, in addition you get:

1) Improved AF -- this body AF's in light I cannot see in.

2) Faster frame-rate of 6 FPS -- not a huge deal unless you shoot sports, which I will be doing with this camera.

3) Dual cards -- doesn't sound like a huge deal, but I set it up so the RAWs go to the CF and then send small jpegs to the SD -- so at any given shoot I have a complete set of ready-to-email images for family and friends. (Heck, I even use these sm jpegs for posting my FS items!)

4) Extended battery life. I have not run it fully yet, but a friend told me he regularly gets over 2000 frames on a single battery, as opposed to about 800 on the 5D2.

5) Finally, the weather-proofing and durability of the pro body. Again, maybe doesn't sound like much, but I have fallen with my cameras in the past, and the pro bodies have always come up unscathed. Also using them in inclement weather there's just less to worry about.

6) Re the weight, this 1 series has a much lighter battery than the previous models and does not feel that heavy -- I would guess that if you added the vertical grip thingy to the 5D2, they'd be virtually identical in size and weight.

So, I am not saying the pro body is worth the added cost for everybody, but at decent used prices, the delta made sense to me for the added bennies.

Again, my .02 only and YMMV,
 

johnastovall

Deceased, but remembered fondly here...
Hi John:

Here's my simple .02...

I went with the 1Ds3 because somebody tossed a relatively low mileage one at me for a hard-to-pass-up price. However, in addition you get:

1) Improved AF -- this body AF's in light I cannot see in.

2) Faster frame-rate of 6 FPS -- not a huge deal unless you shoot sports, which I will be doing with this camera.

3) Dual cards -- doesn't sound like a huge deal, but I set it up so the RAWs go to the CF and then send small jpegs to the SD -- so at any given shoot I have a complete set of ready-to-email images for family and friends. (Heck, I even use these sm jpegs for posting my FS items!)

4) Extended battery life. I have not run it fully yet, but a friend told me he regularly gets over 2000 frames on a single battery, as opposed to about 800 on the 5D2.

5) Finally, the weather-proofing and durability of the pro body. Again, maybe doesn't sound like much, but I have fallen with my cameras in the past, and the pro bodies have always come up unscathed. Also using them in inclement weather there's just less to worry about.

6) Re the weight, this 1 series has a much lighter battery than the previous models and does not feel that heavy -- I would guess that if you added the vertical grip thingy to the 5D2, they'd be virtually identical in size and weight.

So, I am not saying the pro body is worth the added cost for everybody, but at decent used prices, the delta made sense to me for the added bennies.

Again, my .02 only and YMMV,
This is very much my current thinking and finding I can re-furbs makes for a very attractive package.
 

mark1958

Member
I own both and I agree with Jack in terms of the 1DsmkIII vs 5DII. I have not compared the batteries in terms of shots per charge but both are quite good. The 5DII is much better in terms of the 5D. I did some bird shooting this weekend and the 1dsmkIII was not a machine gun in terms of fps and buffer (compared to the 1D non-S series cameras) but the AF was quick-- much better than the 5D. Other than fast moving objects, I would say in terms of IQ there is not that much of a difference until one gets to the very high isos. I prefer the size and weight of the 5D. I use without the grip. WHile the true weight and size may not seem that different, if you are packing a small bag, sometimes it can make a substantial difference.
 

Professional

Active member
I don't want to comment, but i have 5D and 1DsII, to my choice i was using my 1DsII more than my 5D, 5D was amazing and still, but i love my 1-series bodies, and the IQ always going for 5D series but in detailed deep comparison the color rendition and the details are winners with 1Ds series over 5D even if that 5D is cleaner in higher ISO, even i read somewhere that with RAW the high ISO between both are not so much significantly different, maybe with JPEG it is better on 5D2, but for something else 5D2 is great but not as much pro as 1-series, the AF on all my 1series cameras are flawless, never say never, even in low light, perfect, 5D/5D2 can be great in AF but not in 1series class, and many saying to get that perfect AF is better for me than 5D2 high ISO quality but OOF because of AF is not matching 1series.
Many Pro photographers who are using medium formats don't care much about high ISO, and even with my 1D MarkIII ISO6400 i am so happy, don't want to buy 5D2 because of its winner high ISO only and i didn't.
 

douglasf13

New member
... but in detailed deep comparison the color rendition and the details are winners with 1Ds series over 5D even if that 5D is cleaner in higher ISO...
This is exactly what I'm hearing about the difference between the 1Dsiii and 5Dii. It sounds like Canon used a weaker CFA on the 5Dii, which in turn allows better high ISO performance.
 

Mark K

New member
This is what made my delay. Tried 5DII and it is faster than my 5D but much slower than 50D. It makes my direction to A900. If there is anything for birding, the upcoming 1D IV will be my choice
 

Bob

Administrator
Staff member
I picked up a 5dII as a backup or a 1DsIV which I will wait for :)
-bob
 

ptomsu

Workshop Member
I actually bought my 5D2 out of the same reason - to have a high res DSLR till the 1DS4 hits the market :D

No kidding - I am using the 5D2 meanwhile for what I call "Low End MF". And it produces stunning results. And you can even print easily till 40x30. With very good quality! So the point is, I am using it till I can decide on which MF system to go with and hold my money as long as possible, as we all know prices in that area are decreasing all the time :cool:

And I also decided for the 5D2 against the D3X (although I come from Nikon including D3) because I like the IQ of the Canon much more. For me the results are truly stunning especially in landscape photography.

So the 5D2 and some good L glass is now my Low End MF system - GREAT :thumbs:
 
L

Let_Biogons_Be_Biogons

Guest
They are all good, but my favorite is Zeiss Planar 50/2 ZE (love the fact that it has a built in aperture control and no ring, so you can change aperture from the camera, and works as good as any EF lens, just with manual focus of course, you do not need to stop down either..) I'm a 50mm guy...
That's one of the worst aspects of the Canons. I like to control the aperture on the lens. It's a shame they had to get rid of the aperture ring on the ZE's.
 

atufte

New member
That's one of the worst aspects of the Canons. I like to control the aperture on the lens. It's a shame they had to get rid of the aperture ring on the ZE's.
I agree, but only if it would work without having to stop down the lens, like every lens used with an adapter, it's not easy to manual focus at f/8 with this kind of system, but with the ZE built in aperture control it shows the lens at f/1.4 even if it is set at f/16, that why i like it.... but i would also prefer an aperture ring on the lens, if.... like i said in the text over:)

I don't know how the ZF lenses works, but you probably have to stop down for focus with this lenses, or correct me if i'm wrong...? (at least with an F - EOS adapter, on a Canon system...)
 

ChrisDauer

Workshop Member
No kidding - I am using the 5D2 meanwhile for what I call "Low End MF". And it produces stunning results.
<SNIP>
So the 5D2 and some good L glass is now my Low End MF system - GREAT :thumbs:
Yeah, I think I'm leaning this direction myself. I've had no issues with the 5D2. So for the hordes of people complaining about it breaking or failing or whatever, I guess I consider myself very fortunate. Autofocus in the dark is relatively slow, but it's better than what I can do, so no complaints.

I'm very happy w/ the IQ and everything else; so horses for courses as they say.

John, I don't think you'll be unhappy w/ either choice. So in my mind it comes down to autofocus, weathersealing, duel slots, weight, cost.

All the best!
-C
 

rollsman44

Well-known member
Re: Comparisons between 5DMkII and 1DsMkIII & Sony A900

How good is the Sony A900 or The New one that replaces the A900? I was thinking of selling my 5D Mk1 and getting a Sony. I shoot mainly weddings and Portraits
 

Ben Rubinstein

Active member
I only know the 5D original but I had a 1Ds mkIII for 6 months. I have to admit that the vast majority of that time the camera was back and forward to canon till the focus was fixed! That camera was the nicest to use of any I've ever owned, the ergonomics were incredible, so much nicer than the original 1Ds I owned and hated. The camera is optimised for lower ISO, 1600 is noisier than on the original 5D for example and I never even tried higher. On the other hand it doesn't have the shadow banding at low iso that the 5D mkII seems to have and the colour and curve gave me the best facial tones I've ever had, no doubt also due to the incredible DR, again the best I've ever seen, the tonality of that camera was georgous. Battery life was super incredible but then I only have the 5D original to compare to. It's a heavy body though with ergonomics that make you not mind. My personal body did not have the long exposure blooming that seems to be a feature of this camera, I tested at 30 minutes.

The price of a good condition 1Ds mkIII has got silly of late, very silly, for a camera of that prowess the price is almost a crying shame. The screen is a joke, a bad joke at that, you really do need to check the AF in person, I wasn't the only one who had to send it back muliple times until it would focus correctly. 21 megapixels is a computer killer in general, don't say you weren't warned :)

I just wish I could get that inbuilt curve the camera generates with its raw files for my 5D files as default, georgous skin tones.

Just a point, I'm now married to the 5D primarily due to the 'C' mode, it's become super essential to me since I went to a new style of shooting. The 5D mkII has 3 of them and they can become essential once you change your way of shooting to use them.

Good luck in any case and as always mucho kudos to this forum, about the only one of the net where it is possible to discuss the merits and demerits of a camera in an adult fashion without the fanboys killing you!
 
J

Jack Spratt

Guest
I considered both cameras (the 1DsMarkIII was used) and went with the 5D Mark II for two main reasons. One, I do a lot of hiking and didn't like the bulk and weight of the 1DsMark III. And two, I was very nervous about buying a used digital camera, especially one that was likely used by a pro. So for me it was a no-brainer to get a new Mark II for a little more than half what I would have paid for a used 1Ds. I've had no problems at all with the Mark II, I'm not sure what the issues are supposed to be with it because I haven't had any.
 
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