1DX Worth the Money?

[awinphoto]

Well, interesting conversations. My whole point to this when I asked "is it worth the money", not meaning should I go spend 7 grand on a camera, but meaning are the features the 1dx offers worth the $7,000 price tag. And from what people have posted, it seems like if your using a professional level camera, it's amazing. For my needs of what I'm wanting a camera to do, the 1dx might be a tad over kill when a mark4 would work just fine, but I use the 5d3 for landscape nature portraits, anything that the more pixels the better. And I use the 60D for mainly just macro and or will attach a 70-200 or the 500 being its not full frame. But shooting wildlife and sports, the 5d3 just isn't as fast as I wish it could be fps wise. The auto focus is snappy and will lock on, and 6fps isn't to shabby, but just isn't fast enough to capture small birds in flight or more of a moment happening in some sport. I do make a little money selling wildlife prints and things to do with sporting stuff, but I figured id be getting a used mark4 unless there's some place that has it new, but new is $5,000, and used range from 3-4,500. So I figure I'd be using the camera a lot I'd want something it be worth the price and last. Which the 1dx will do. Lol but this thread turned into something different so I guess I should've phrased my question better instead of being so vague.

As i mentioned in my posts, if your pushing the limits of your gear and you need to upgrade, by all means... Is the 1dx worth the $2k more than the 1d4... I dont know quite what to say... part of me says you get full frame which may or may not be beneficial to bird and sports photography with no crop, but you get killer ISO, a better AF, and a more enhances ergonomics and feature set... as one person said, the 5d3 and a 1d4 is a killer combo... but then again a cropped down 18MP full frame image to match the crop of 1.3, and then uprez'd from there to match the resolution of the 18MP of the 1d4... I guess to me whatever file is cleaner then would win my money if I was in the market to buy one.

 

[awinphoto]

Yes I am serious!

You wanna hear my story? I just moved 6 hours from where I have lived all my life. I have a 3yr old boy and a 9 month old daughter, we bought a house, we don't have jobs. Guess what, that doesn't have ANYTHING to do with this. My income? That doesn't matter. I am a dedicated saver by nature. I bought a t-shirt in 2006, my newest piece of clothing. I eat water. That's how I can afford what I want. Including the 1d X. None of this matter at all.

You might know about photography business, which I never claimed nor am a part of.

"if you cannot get a shot with a lesser camera and you need that top of the line camera to pull it off, it may say more about the photographer and not so much about the camera"

Then why are you using a 5d3 and not a Canonet QL17?

And please tell this to the sports photogs who shot in the Olympics and others that depend on great gear to perform what they want and/or need.

I am shooting with the 5d3 as per my principle of upgrading when i've outgrown my cameras... and this is where I am at. I've shot with the D60's, 10D's, 30D's, film rebels, medium format 645's and 2.25 squares, 4x5's... i've shot when each frame, each click of the shutter cost me money, and I had to make sure I made every shot count... Frankly as I said before, we are spoiled to have such great cameras and have no expense of film... If you feel the need to burst through 1000 pictures at a wedding or more... go ahead... It is what it is... You say the 1dx is the best camera for your money and it's worth it and I pointed out much more important tools to enhance your toolkit (from a professionals point of view) and you jumped all over me.

Your story is great and I hope you are raising your kids with no sacrifices with your camera addiction. I know just like you do how expensive they are, hence I dont get all the gear I would love... I make due with what I need to get by jobs... when I get a job which justifies new gear, that, to me, is the only time i'm allowed to splurge on camera gear... I nailed a large contract recently with Union Pacific... I got a new strobe kit... As i said, i could save every penny and live on top ramon and do whatever to skimp and get the 1dx's and the TS lenses and so on and so forth, but in the end, it's just not worth it... I've gone to some of these seminars taught by some of the top pro's in the photography industry... Some larger than others, all with larger paychecks than my own, and only a small percentage use 1d series cameras even though to them it would be chump change.. To me, that tells me that in the right hands, there's nothing a 1d camera can do that a 5d or lesser camera cant do.

There is a point where a 1d body is necessary, and I'm not claiming the contrary... Sports Photogs, photojournalists, photogs out in the elements where another camera would be toast... but by any means, it isn't the end all to be all. You shoot your camera, I shoot my camera... lets meet up one day to compare images.

 

[Viggo]

Well, interesting conversations. My whole point to this when I asked "is it worth the money", not meaning should I go spend 7 grand on a camera, but meaning are the features the 1dx offers worth the $7,000 price tag. And from what people have posted, it seems like if your using a professional level camera, it's amazing. For my needs of what I'm wanting a camera to do, the 1dx might be a tad over kill when a mark4 would work just fine, but I use the 5d3 for landscape nature portraits, anything that the more pixels the better. And I use the 60D for mainly just macro and or will attach a 70-200 or the 500 being its not full frame. But shooting wildlife and sports, the 5d3 just isn't as fast as I wish it could be fps wise. The auto focus is snappy and will lock on, and 6fps isn't to shabby, but just isn't fast enough to capture small birds in flight or more of a moment happening in some sport. I do make a little money selling wildlife prints and things to do with sporting stuff, but I figured id be getting a used mark4 unless there's some place that has it new, but new is $5,000, and used range from 3-4,500. So I figure I'd be using the camera a lot I'd want something it be worth the price and last. Which the 1dx will do. Lol but this thread turned into something different so I guess I should've phrased my question better instead of being so vague.

Yeah, things went off course a tad :

I think a used 1d4 will be a great value for money. I loved that camera, the only problem with it as far as I'm concerned, was the lower light tracking abillities. And that was because I had high expectations coming from a huge let down with an early 1d3 and the 1d4, new, was very expensive too.

But it had everything you expect from a 1d and is a real joy to use! And a better placement and feel of the ISO button than the 1d X

 

[DMITPHOTO]

Yes I am serious!

You wanna hear my story? I just moved 6 hours from where I have lived all my life. I have a 3yr old boy and a 9 month old daughter, we bought a house, we don't have jobs. Guess what, that doesn't have ANYTHING to do with this. My income? That doesn't matter. I am a dedicated saver by nature. I bought a t-shirt in 2006, my newest piece of clothing. I eat water. That's how I can afford what I want. Including the 1d X. None of this matter at all.

You might know about photography business, which I never claimed nor am a part of.

"if you cannot get a shot with a lesser camera and you need that top of the line camera to pull it off, it may say more about the photographer and not so much about the camera"

Then why are you using a 5d3 and not a Canonet QL17?

And please tell this to the sports photogs who shot in the Olympics and others that depend on great gear to perform what they want and/or need.

I am shooting with the 5d3 as per my principle of upgrading when i've outgrown my cameras... and this is where I am at. I've shot with the D60's, 10D's, 30D's, film rebels, medium format 645's and 2.25 squares, 4x5's... i've shot when each frame, each click of the shutter cost me money, and I had to make sure I made every shot count... Frankly as I said before, we are spoiled to have such great cameras and have no expense of film... If you feel the need to burst through 1000 pictures at a wedding or more... go ahead... It is what it is... You say the 1dx is the best camera for your money and it's worth it and I pointed out much more important tools to enhance your toolkit (from a professionals point of view) and you jumped all over me.

Your story is great and I hope you are raising your kids with no sacrifices with your camera addiction. I know just like you do how expensive they are, hence I dont get all the gear I would love... I make due with what I need to get by jobs... when I get a job which justifies new gear, that, to me, is the only time i'm allowed to splurge on camera gear... I nailed a large contract recently with Union Pacific... I got a new strobe kit... As i said, i could save every penny and live on top ramon and do whatever to skimp and get the 1dx's and the TS lenses and so on and so forth, but in the end, it's just not worth it... I've gone to some of these seminars taught by some of the top pro's in the photography industry... Some larger than others, all with larger paychecks than my own, and only a small percentage use 1d series cameras even though to them it would be chump change.. To me, that tells me that in the right hands, there's nothing a 1d camera can do that a 5d or lesser camera cant do.

There is a point where a 1d body is necessary, and I'm not claiming the contrary... Sports Photogs, photojournalists, photogs out in the elements where another camera would be toast... but by any means, it isn't the end all to be all. You shoot your camera, I shoot my camera... lets meet up one day to compare images.

I think your spot on as far as the photographer makes the picture not the camera. I hate photoshop and lightroom and always try to not edit photos except for exposure and crop, the simple stuff. I started with an old AE1 with just a 50mm, and sad to say I rarely use it anymore because it cost 25$ just to get the film developed to digital. And we are spoiled with high fps and if we dont like a shot just delete it. Had a rebel and upgraded to a 60D and then got the 5d mark iii. And when you compare a 60D to a 5D3 image, sadly there is no comparison. The 5d3's pixels, clarity, color just straight out of the camera raw is amazing. The 1dx all around is prolly a better camera than the 5d3, but really for me it just has the higher fps. sure, the autofocus, iso etc may be better than the fd3, but the price tag it really high lol. From what people have posted and ive read, for now itd prolly be better to stick with a 1d4, 1d3 or even just a 7d. Its just those darn Craigslist photographers lol ruining everything

 

[DMITPHOTO]

Well, interesting conversations. My whole point to this when I asked "is it worth the money", not meaning should I go spend 7 grand on a camera, but meaning are the features the 1dx offers worth the $7,000 price tag. And from what people have posted, it seems like if your using a professional level camera, it's amazing. For my needs of what I'm wanting a camera to do, the 1dx might be a tad over kill when a mark4 would work just fine, but I use the 5d3 for landscape nature portraits, anything that the more pixels the better. And I use the 60D for mainly just macro and or will attach a 70-200 or the 500 being its not full frame. But shooting wildlife and sports, the 5d3 just isn't as fast as I wish it could be fps wise. The auto focus is snappy and will lock on, and 6fps isn't to shabby, but just isn't fast enough to capture small birds in flight or more of a moment happening in some sport. I do make a little money selling wildlife prints and things to do with sporting stuff, but I figured id be getting a used mark4 unless there's some place that has it new, but new is $5,000, and used range from 3-4,500. So I figure I'd be using the camera a lot I'd want something it be worth the price and last. Which the 1dx will do. Lol but this thread turned into something different so I guess I should've phrased my question better instead of being so vague.

Yeah, things went off course a tad :

I think a used 1d4 will be a great value for money. I loved that camera, the only problem with it as far as I'm concerned, was the lower light tracking abillities. And that was because I had high expectations coming from a huge let down with an early 1d3 and the 1d4, new, was very expensive too.

But it had everything you expect from a 1d and is a real joy to use! And a better placement and feel of the ISO button than the 1d X

Think I shall wait on the greatest canon camera atm haha and stick with an older 1dmark3/4 or 7d

 

[Larry_Chen]

For me it was worth it

You guys want real world examples?

http://www.speedhunters.com/2012/07/the-art-darkness/

http://www.speedhunters.com/2012/08/pikes-peak-part-1/

-Larry

 

[DMITPHOTO]

For me it was worth it

You guys want real world examples?

http://www.speedhunters.com/2012/07/the-art-darkness/

http://www.speedhunters.com/2012/08/pikes-peak-part-1/

-Larry

Some great shots! The one during the night what were you shooting at?

 

[bdunbar79]

Well I made my final sale decision today. I did not go with a second 1DX, but rather kept my 1D Mark IV and sold my 1Ds Mark III and a 5D Mark III I had earlier. I really like the colors and extra reach with IQ on the 1D Mark IV for outdoor sports. So yes, one 1DX was probably worth the 6800 but I decided the 1D4 was so good I wanted to keep that, and then the 5D3 for weddings/baby photos and quiet sports like tennis and golf. Either way on the 1D4 you won't be disappointed, should you choose that route.

 

[nightbreath]

People tell me, oh, that's a nice picture, well you should see the 10 moments I didn't catch... that's how I think...

Great phrasing ;D

 

[DMITPHOTO]

Well I made my final sale decision today. I did not go with a second 1DX, but rather kept my 1D Mark IV and sold my 1Ds Mark III and a 5D Mark III I had earlier. I really like the colors and extra reach with IQ on the 1D Mark IV for outdoor sports. So yes, one 1DX was probably worth the 6800 but I decided the 1D4 was so good I wanted to keep that, and then the 5D3 for weddings/baby photos and quiet sports like tennis and golf. Either way on the 1D4 you won't be disappointed, should you choose that route.

I decided to go with a 500 f4 instead of the dx and I'm now looking for a 1d3 or 1d4 ! The 4 would be nicer with the 16 mp but most with pretty high shutter count seem to all be $4,500+ when new they were $5,000 I think lol but thanks for your post!

 

[kaihp]

I decided to go with a 500 f4 instead of the dx and I'm now looking for a 1d3 or 1d4 ! The 4 would be nicer with the 16 mp but most with pretty high shutter count seem to all be $4,500+ when new they were $5,000 I think lol but thanks for your post!

B&H have two 1D4's for $4000-$4200, and you should be able to get them for around $3500 I hear.

 

[bdunbar79]

Is it worth the money? I'd say yes it is. I shot the home opener this evening for Men's Soccer at Ashland U. and it was such a delight to shoot with! I used a 400mm f/2.8L IS version I lens and a 70-200L II IS, alternating, here and there. Normally I'd put the 70-200 on the 1D4, but I wanted a pure 1DX testing. I will have photos later but I didn't have one out of focus shot. It locks on and fires that fast. What was amazing is that I set my shutter speed at 1/640s and f/6.3, and auto ISO and shot all night that way, and the noise is very low and had no problem maintaining fast shutter and good DOF. I will have photos to share later, either in this thread or the 1DX Images thread.

 

[bdunbar79]

I'd also like to point out that the 1D Mark IV is still worth the$3500-$4000 it sells for. Remember, I kept it instead of selling it for another 1DX. I love the 1.3x crop factor and let me tell you, that would have really come in handy this evening on the zoom lens! Next Saturday the 25th is my next soccer game, with the football home opener on August 30th at 7pm. I'll share my photos.

Tell you what, I may get a flickr account dedicated to my sports photos because AU doesn't want all of them obviously. This way I can subsection photos with the 1DX and 1D4 for us (the board) and then I can just share the link. If anybody would be interested in me doing that, I would be more than willing to. I'll be doing tennis with the 5D3, so we'd essentially have a website with only 1DX, 1D4, and 5D3 sports photos.

 

[DMITPHOTO]

$3,500 would be nice!

I know the camera will maintain its value but the onesi find seem to be like buying it new lol. And I still like the dx because of the ISO Preformance and 14 amazing fps lol! But I'd love to see some images if u post them in the dx thread or wherever! Cause dx will be better than mark 4 but really only 2 less mp and 10'fps? How is the make 4's ISO Preformance!? Like at most indoor arenas I've shot in, well hockey I think I was at 800-1000 iso but football etc you don't have that white ice reflecting light, but has the mark 4 iso like 500-2000 ish?

 

[bdunbar79]

$3,500 would be nice!

I know the camera will maintain its value but the onesi find seem to be like buying it new lol. And I still like the dx because of the ISO Preformance and 14 amazing fps lol! But I'd love to see some images if u post them in the dx thread or wherever! Cause dx will be better than mark 4 but really only 2 less mp and 10'fps? How is the make 4's ISO Preformance!? Like at most indoor arenas I've shot in, well hockey I think I was at 800-1000 iso but football etc you don't have that white ice reflecting light, but has the mark 4 iso like 500-2000 ish?

I've shot with the 1D4 and plan on shooting again, at ISO 6400. If you apply NR out of the camera, in LR or ACR, it is acceptable. I have no reservation shooting basketball and volleyball with the 1DX/1D4 combo. Remember when this camera was new, it was THE sports camera.

 

[Zusje]

Well I made my final sale decision today. I did not go with a second 1DX, but rather kept my 1D Mark IV and sold my 1Ds Mark III and a 5D Mark III I had earlier. I really like the colors and extra reach with IQ on the 1D Mark IV for outdoor sports. So yes, one 1DX was probably worth the 6800 but I decided the 1D4 was so good I wanted to keep that, and then the 5D3 for weddings/baby photos and quiet sports like tennis and golf. Either way on the 1D4 you won't be disappointed, should you choose that route.

I decided to go with a 500 f4 instead of the dx and I'm now looking for a 1d3 or 1d4 ! The 4 would be nicer with the 16 mp but most with pretty high shutter count seem to all be $4,500+ when new they were $5,000 I think lol but thanks for your post!

I've done the same but in a different order, I have the 5Diii and just bought a second hand 1D IV(wanted the f/p/s, but also the 1.3 crop) for Au$3,300.00 (the prices you mention seem excessive) with low shutter count, only problem was the sensor was filthy, now I'm saving for a 500 f/4L.

 

[DMITPHOTO]

$3,500 would be nice!

I know the camera will maintain its value but the onesi find seem to be like buying it new lol. And I still like the dx because of the ISO Preformance and 14 amazing fps lol! But I'd love to see some images if u post them in the dx thread or wherever! Cause dx will be better than mark 4 but really only 2 less mp and 10'fps? How is the make 4's ISO Preformance!? Like at most indoor arenas I've shot in, well hockey I think I was at 800-1000 iso but football etc you don't have that white ice reflecting light, but has the mark 4 iso like 500-2000 ish?

I've shot with the 1D4 and plan on shooting again, at ISO 6400. If you apply NR out of the camera, in LR or ACR, it is acceptable. I have no reservation shooting basketball and volleyball with the 1DX/1D4 combo. Remember when this camera was new, it was THE sports camera.

Sounds fantastic!!! Thanks

 

[DMITPHOTO]

Well I made my final sale decision today. I did not go with a second 1DX, but rather kept my 1D Mark IV and sold my 1Ds Mark III and a 5D Mark III I had earlier. I really like the colors and extra reach with IQ on the 1D Mark IV for outdoor sports. So yes, one 1DX was probably worth the 6800 but I decided the 1D4 was so good I wanted to keep that, and then the 5D3 for weddings/baby photos and quiet sports like tennis and golf. Either way on the 1D4 you won't be disappointed, should you choose that route.

I decided to go with a 500 f4 instead of the dx and I'm now looking for a 1d3 or 1d4 ! The 4 would be nicer with the 16 mp but most with pretty high shutter count seem to all be $4,500+ when new they were $5,000 I think lol but thanks for your post!

I've done the same but in a different order, I have the 5Diii and just bought a second hand 1D IV(wanted the f/p/s, but also the 1.3 crop) for Au$3,300.00 (the prices you mention seem excessive) with low shutter count, only problem was the sensor was filthy, now I'm saving for a 500 f/4L.

What's the AU to US conversion lol? But I'm aussiming that's still a good price! How do you like it?

 

[nikkito]

every penny worth

 

[Zusje]

Well I made my final sale decision today. I did not go with a second 1DX, but rather kept my 1D Mark IV and sold my 1Ds Mark III and a 5D Mark III I had earlier. I really like the colors and extra reach with IQ on the 1D Mark IV for outdoor sports. So yes, one 1DX was probably worth the 6800 but I decided the 1D4 was so good I wanted to keep that, and then the 5D3 for weddings/baby photos and quiet sports like tennis and golf. Either way on the 1D4 you won't be disappointed, should you choose that route.

I decided to go with a 500 f4 instead of the dx and I'm now looking for a 1d3 or 1d4 ! The 4 would be nicer with the 16 mp but most with pretty high shutter count seem to all be $4,500+ when new they were $5,000 I think lol but thanks for your post!

I've done the same but in a different order, I have the 5Diii and just bought a second hand 1D IV(wanted the f/p/s, but also the 1.3 crop) for Au$3,300.00 (the prices you mention seem excessive) with low shutter count, only problem was the sensor was filthy, now I'm saving for a 500 f/4L.

What's the AU to US conversion lol? But I'm aussiming that's still a good price! How do you like it?

Au$3300 =US$3455.76. approx. all the used 1D IVs on Ebay at the moment seem to be going for about that- give or take a few hundred.
Loving my 1D IV so far, although I haven't had opportunity to use it a great deal yet. Shots I've missed have been due to user error, it loves the best lenses and performs well with those, doesn't much like my Kenko pro 2xTC :'(