1D Mark IV versus 5D3

[Mt Spokane Photography]

A refurb 1D MK IV from Canon is only $500 more, (If you can jump on it when it appears).

It has slightly better super high ISO performance above ISO 6400 compared to my 5D MK II, obviously all the 1 series build and AF advantages.

The reason I've held back is:

1.  In very low light, autofocus struggles.

2.  The larger form factor gets pretty intrusive in some cases, and the smaller dslr's are more acceptable in some locations.

Still, its a very good buy and something I'd love to have.

[briansquibb]

A refurb 1D MK IV from Canon is only $500 more, (If you can jump on it when it appears).

It has slightly better super high ISO performance above ISO 6400 compared to my 5D MK II, obviously all the 1 series build and AF advantages.

The reason I've held back is:

1.  In very low light, autofocus struggles.

2.  The larger form factor gets pretty intrusive in some cases, and the smaller dslr's are more acceptable in some locations.

Still, its a very good buy and something I'd love to have.

I have found that 16mp a little on the small size for portraits etc

[munsoned]

Here is where i am at, it is a little complicated.  Basically, here is my current setup:

A. 5D II - 16-35mm f2.8, 24-105mm f4
B. 1D II - 100-400mm f4.5-5.6, 85mm f1.8

Camera A uses the wide angle lenses, i prefer full frame but i don't mind a 1.3 crop. 
Camera B uses the 100-400mm, i have to shoot from a far distance and i use this 80% of the time.  Eventually i will buy the 70-200mm II possibly, but i just love my 100-400mm.

I am looking to sell my 5D II and either get the 5D III or 1D IV.   I have the 5D III on preorder and have to decide if i should cancel it or not within this week. 

I shoot outdoors in all kinds of weather and i have to be very quiet when i get close to the subject, so a silent shutter option on the first camera A would be a really really great feature.  I also shoot inside a church where the shutter echoes so the quieter the better (live view is not an option, already thought of that). 

My boss thinks megapixels doesn't matter, he doesn't mind my 8mp shots from the 1D II, he thinks weather sealing and newest features / best image quality is best, with emphasis on weather sealing.

So i probably should go with the 1D IV, but i would have to get it used which i would prefer not to do.  If i go with the 5D III, if the weather sealing is good enough i could end up buying 2 of them and not upgrading my 1D II and just keep that as a back up.

And in regard to the 1D II, i need to upgrade that too ASAP.  The camera is nice, but i REALLY need auto ISO.  I have missed a lot of great shots because i didn't have this feature because of my high f-stop requirements of my 100-400mm lens and the crazy exposures it comes up with when zooming in really tight.  Sometimes i'll be at 400 shutter speed and when i zoom into a bunch of people with dark outfits (this happens a lot) the shutter speed drops to 100 or slower, which will almost always be blurry if i don't catch it.  Having auto iso jumping up to 1600 or preferably 3200-6400 would be a killer upgrade.

Lastly, i really love the 5D II.  The images were amazing, but the poor weather sealing was NOT good. I shoot under an umbrella and there are shots that i have to get, and there is a lot of walking involved.  In one heavy down poor and high humidity, my 5D II's LCD broke while my 40D survived much better in such weather.  If the weather sealing has been greatly improved, i would happily buy the 5D III. 


I am desperate for some advice, my boss is a nikon shooter and is very little help

[Michael_pfh]

I did upgrade from 7D to 1D4 because I could no longer wait for the 5D3. Never regretted that move, the 1D4 is awesome and the 1.3 crop definitely a plus for wildlife photography.

[briansquibb]

I did upgrade from 7D to 1D4 because I could no longer wait for the 5D3. Never regretted that move, the 1D4 is awesome and the 1.3 crop definitely a plus for wildlife photography.

+1 Me too

[Harv]

They will have to pry my 1D Mark IV from my cold, dead hands.   

[Mt Spokane Photography]

I am desperate for some advice, my boss is a nikon shooter and is very little help

Flatter your boss.  There is no better flattery than imitation!   

[ronderick]

I am looking to sell my 5D II and either get the 5D III or 1D IV.   I have the 5D III on preorder and have to decide if i should cancel it or not within this week. 

I shoot outdoors in all kinds of weather and i have to be very quiet when i get close to the subject, so a silent shutter option on the first camera A would be a really really great feature.  I also shoot inside a church where the shutter echoes so the quieter the better (live view is not an option, already thought of that). 

I'm not quite sure I understand your problem, munsoned.

You indicated that you need the weather sealing, silent shutter, and auto ISO. That's all in the 1D4. But you mentioned that you have to get it used? I think there's still new 1D4 in the market (though you might have to look abroad).

Is the price for a new one too expensive or is it because you can't find a new one for sell?

[munsoned]

Thanks for the reply.  My situation is that my boss is happy with my photos, and i am looking to upgrade, he doesn't care if i do.  I talked to my boss today after a shoot, he just said look for weather sealing and a quiet shutter would be nice.  He loves my full frame shots from my 5D II, since he shoots on crop nikons.  The only reason i don't want to be shooting with the 5D is for the poor weather sealing, but that is only about 10% of the shoots that i have to worry about that, and since winter is over that is the worst of it. 

I have the money to buy new equipment, but i don't know if i want to spend $5000 on a new camera.  I would like to spend around $2000-3000, when i saw the price of the 5D III i raised it to $3500, and i noticed that a used 1D IV is around that price.  $5000 is just so high, i would rather put that money towards better glass like the 70-200mm II since i need a better weather sealed long zoom lens. 

I am starting to lean towards canceling the pre-order and possibly holding onto the 5d II and get a 1D III and wait till the end of the year or next year to buy another main body.

[ronderick]

Thanks for the reply.  My situation is that my boss is happy with my photos, and i am looking to upgrade, he doesn't care if i do.  I talked to my boss today after a shoot, he just said look for weather sealing and a quiet shutter would be nice.  He loves my full frame shots from my 5D II, since he shoots on crop nikons.  The only reason i don't want to be shooting with the 5D is for the poor weather sealing, but that is only about 10% of the shoots that i have to worry about that, and since winter is over that is the worst of it. 

I have the money to buy new equipment, but i don't know if i want to spend $5000 on a new camera.  I would like to spend around $2000-3000, when i saw the price of the 5D III i raised it to $3500, and i noticed that a used 1D IV is around that price.  $5000 is just so high, i would rather put that money towards better glass like the 70-200mm II since i need a better weather sealed long zoom lens. 

I am starting to lean towards canceling the pre-order and possibly holding onto the 5d II and get a 1D III and wait till the end of the year or next year to buy another main body.

OK, now I have a better understanding of your situation.

If I understand it correctly, ur perfectly fine with the 5D2 with the exception of the 10% rough winter days. If this is the case, I think there's nothing wrong with your current FF setup and you should keep using the 5D2 for a few more years (unless it breaks, of course).

To me, it looks like the 1D2 is your concern. If I find a 1D4 body at US$3500, I'd probably make the jump, since the 1D4 has the same level of weather sealing, but way better ISO, pixels, FPS, etc. Of course, there's always risk with buying a used camera body, but as long as you're cool with it, go for the used 1D4.

As for whether 1D3 or 1D4... well, I don't know where your cost/performance balance lies, so it's your choice. For me, I would not get the 1D3 simply because you can't shoot video.

Hope this helps.

[munsoned]

Thanks for the quick reply.  Yes the setup works really great except when it is storming, which in the DC area happens sometimes.  I am more worried about the humidity honestly, sometimes it can get really crazy. 

So my 5D shouldn't be used in the horrible weather situations, because it has failed once and thankfully only cost me about $200 to fix, but the camera was out of action for 2 months.  If i keep the 5D II and 1D II, i could just buy a 1D III or IV and in poor weather situations use my 1DII and the new one. 

The question now would be should i just get the 1D III now or wait for the X to come out and hope for the price to go down.  If i am not getting the 5D III i am in no rush to buy a new body and if i can wait a month or two and save $500 i wouldn't mind doing that.

The 1D III is around $2000 used.  the IV is around $3500-4000 and the video recording would be awesome.  I guess a 5D II and 1D IV would be a nice combo?  Is there any way the 1D IV will go bellow or around $3000 by the end of the year?  If not i i have to decide if i want to spend $1500 for the upgrade in image and ability to do video. 

[wickidwombat]

you should be able to get good used 1Dmk3 for around $1500 if you look around

[munsoned]

Yeah i'm leaning more towards holding onto my 5D II and 1D II and just purchasing a 1D III and i think i will be a happy camper for a year or two.  $1500 would be very do-able!

[wickidwombat]

Yeah i'm leaning more towards holding onto my 5D II and 1D II and just purchasing a 1D III and i think i will be a happy camper for a year or two.  $1500 would be very do-able!

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Canon-EOS-1D-Mark-III-10-0-MP-Digital-SLR-Camera-Black-Body-Only-/280844395194?pt=AU_Digital_Cameras&hash=item4163a162ba
this one looks in top condition
I still use my mk 3 it complements the 5D2 nicely
I catually use the 16-35 f2.8 on the APS-H more than the FF becasue it gives me 21-49mm effective which for events at f2.8 is very nice, also wide open any corner softness is cropped off, then with either 70-200 f2.8 on the 5D2 or 85mm f1.4 on the 5D2 it gives great coverage for events across the 2 bodies
I cant wait for 1Dmk4 prices to come down more but at the moment they are still over double the mk3 prices

[ronderick]

The question now would be should i just get the 1D III now or wait for the X to come out and hope for the price to go down.  If i am not getting the 5D III i am in no rush to buy a new body and if i can wait a month or two and save $500 i wouldn't mind doing that.

The 1D III is around $2000 used.  the IV is around $3500-4000 and the video recording would be awesome.  I guess a 5D II and 1D IV would be a nice combo?  Is there any way the 1D IV will go bellow or around $3000 by the end of the year?  If not i i have to decide if i want to spend $1500 for the upgrade in image and ability to do video.

If ur not considering the 5D3, I think waiting would be a good idea (of course, there's nothing wrong with getting the 1D3 if you think the price is good).

At this point, we do not know for sure what to expect of the new X. While many people are waiting for the fullframe pro body, there's not much info to evaluate how the move from 1.3x to fullframe would affect body prices. For those who believe that the 1.3x is important, 1d4 would still be the APS-H body with the latest tech - and it is going out of production for sure.

The best scenario is the transfer from APS-H to FF goes smoothly, and the 1D4 comes down in price with the introduction of X. However, if people still miss the 1.3x, the price might not drop as much.

Anyways, one thing to do is to keep track of how the 1DX is doing in the month following its release, and keep up-to-date with the 1D4 prices.