5d Mk III, 1ds Mk III, Or More Probably The Mk II

[benuriyahmay]

Should I go with old pro gear, the 1ds Mk II, and a Zeiss f/2.0 50mm or the 5d Mk III and maybe have to wait for the 2.0 I have a 1.4, but I know the Mk III will shine with pro glass.

Now.. How much will the 1ds Mk III drop when the Mk IV comes out? I'm willing to pay 2600 as it's what I'll be paying for the 5d Mk III, but the Raw HD video will be nice, and the mp and the weight.

I don't care at all about auto focus as my zeiss will be manual and I'm not very interested in autofocus. I want ISO's that are ugly so maybe the 5d Mk III is best. The 1ds will be pretty clean.

Is someone gonna fight me about my choice for zeiss. I'd love to hear it!

[Flake]

I'd suggest that although the 1Ds MkII is still a useable camera, given the choice I'd go for the 5D MkIII, in fact I'd go for the 5D MkII.

16.7 MP and 12 bit processing with Digic II cannot compete with a 21MP and Digic IV let alone a new sensor and Digic V (if it's released).

Advances made over the early years of digital camera technology have been huge, now the advantages are tailing off, but I'm aware of Pro photographers who upgraded from the 1D MkIII to the 7D because in their opinion the 7D is a better camera.  The 1Ds MkII is at least two generations old soon to be three (measured by image processor) You will be buying a second hand model, and most of these Pro cameras will have had a pro life, which means hard work how much life is in the shutter?  Someone I know with a MkII had a shutter fail at 47K activations - below average but it can happen.

I'm not too sure what you think you'll be getting with a 50mm Zeiss lens that you won't get with the Canon, but I'll tell you what you'll lose - auto focus, and manual focus with a modern digital camera is not the easiest of things.  If you want accurate focussing you will have to buy & fit a special glass screen (Eg-S for the 5D MkII) once it's fitted you won't want to be changing it for the standard one when you have an auto focus lens on.

If your photography has reached such a pinnacle of perfection that you really do need to squeeze the last scintilla of performance from a lens then it's reasonable to chase the best in equipment, but then why not just go buy a Hasleblad and a digi back? Or perhaps a Sinar & scan the film negatives.

If you are just an ordinary photographer like the rest of us it really isn't going to matter.  Image professionals cannot tell the difference between a Haselblad & a G9 on large prints let alone between two different makes of 50mm primes.

No doubt someone on here will pipe up and tell you they can count the number of angels dancing on the head of a pin, but I will say forget the gear, there's more to photography that that, any of the Magnum photographers with a G11 will take a better photo than almost anyone else regardless of the camera they choose.

[CR Backup Admin]

First of all, there is no 5D MK III, so its not a option, only a assumption, and no one has a clue as to if, when, or what.  Rumors are for fun, but the real leaks will begin only a week or two before the announcement.

Either the 1Ds MK II or MK III will be a fine camera.  The relatively low pixel density of either as compared with a 7D will look good with almost any lens, even a Zeiss

[te4o]

As this is a forum of predominantly Canon users you can't earn a credit for discussing Zeiss lenses. There is a tiny community of Zeiss users where they share experiences. It is a niche and gets cross-fired outside of it (see the ridiculous comments on the-digital-picture about the Distagon 21/2.8 - he says he needed three copies of the lens to have an idea - it's like sending your Porsche 911 GT2 RS three times for a new copy while keeping the RAV 4 in use. Or some people here finding it similar to the 50/1.8 !)  The truth is difficult to define, find and seed. The 50/2 is a better choice than 50/1.4. But it is not all about sharpness there - e.g. the 'common' 24-105 has a very sharp 50 mm as well. Barely distinguishable in sharpness, unless wide open. It is how light is processed. And you need a good sensor to capture it - I myself am waiting for a 5D MkIII and would not waste money on older sensors. When you own one Zeiss ZE (or more) you already aim at smth special. So, be patient as all of us. And save money as the new semi-pro DSLR will be 1 grand more than your price expectations of 2600, at least (IMO). And let us hope together for the high ISO quality... although I don't expect wonders there. The new 5D will have dozens of smart computer tricks (like knowing what you are shooting at the moment and adjusting the settings in a microsecond... but the IQ will be the usual gradual step-up - if it keeps the price of the MkII.

[logaandm]

5D Mark III does not yet exist. We are all hoping soon it will with 7D like AF!

I don't know the 1DsII but the 1DsIII has the same sensor as the 5DII. Today I would buy a 5DII unless you need a tougher camera. I like the 7D very much and with good fast lenses comes close to the IQ of the 5DII. Unfortunatly there isn't a good selection of primes suitable for APS.

Zeiss 50mm f2.0 I don't know but I do know the Zeiss f1.4. It is a sharp lens but wide open the bokeh is not very appealing to my eyes. I prefer Canon f1.2, Canon f1.4 or Sigma 1.4. Sharpness it is hard to beat with the Zeiss however. 50mm is starting to get long enough where focusing becomes critical and MF often isn't accurate or fast enough especially when wide open. On a tripod, MF is great, but when handheld I prefer AF. The 5DII is good here as you can calibrate each lens for accurate focus.

[benuriyahmay]

I think I'm gonna stick with the t1i or trade up to the t3i but I do wish I'd get the 5d mk II. That mk III really really needs raw video. Everyone will be so happy.

The bokeh is so good on that 2 that I'm just gonna get it. I read reviews on the canon wides like 28 35 they all say bokeh is never as nice, and everyone who reviews it 3 people i've read love the bokeh on the 50mm 2.0

I like manual focus, AF has never been important to me, when I was shooting with my fuji finepix s6000fd and the 3600 before it I never used AF.. It's nice for shots taken from passanger seats, but that's all.

You guys have been really great on responses. I didn't get many but they were good and some of you spent a good time on your reply. Thanks!