5d Mark III or 6d or stick with 7d

[schill]

But, I had some difficulty getting the focus to track accurately on rapid but inconsistently moving objects, especially running toward me. The lighting was very bright/harsh and there was some difficulty due to the fact that I was shooting through a fence, but overall it wasn't much better than my 7D and in some cases was worse.

Did you try different AF cases? With proper settings, I haven't yet found a situation where my 7D would have outperformed my 1D X.

Yes, I tried different cases. I'm sure most of the issue is just tweaking and experience.

Based on the descriptions of the cases, ideally I would need to switch between cases very rapidly. I was shooting running cheetahs. In this case, they were running toward me, behind some plants, directly from left to right in front of me, then disappearing behind other plants and running around a mound, then running toward me again (from the opposite side), and then away. You really need to pick them up quickly at several points and track them from there. Except when they are running from left to right, their velocity is not consistent.

To be fair, the 7D is not able to handle this all the time either. I don't want to imply that it always tracks them perfectly and gets sharp images. It doesn't.

To complicate everything, I need to shoot through a wire mesh fence (think chain link, but narrower black wire). In harsh sunlight, there is actually quite a lot of glare off of this fence and it does interfere with focusing. It doesn't do the pictures any good, either.

I'm sure it would be much better with a 1DX. The only thing the 5DIII really lacked (assuming settings and experience would fix the above) was the drive. 6fps seems very slow when you are used to 8.

 

[Loswr]

...ideally I would need to switch between cases very rapidly.

I'm sure it would be much better with a 1DX. The only thing the 5DIII really lacked (assuming settings and experience would fix the above) was the drive. 6fps seems very slow when you are used to 8.

Yes, the 12 fps comes in handy sometimes. Also, the 1D X doesn't have a mode dial, and (as I've done) you can assign mode switching to the M.Fn button that's right next to the shutter. You can also restrict the available modes, meaning you can toggle between two C# settings (with different AF cases, etc.), or cycle through 3-4 settings, with just a single button press.

 

[alexturton]

Depends on what type of photography you do.

I moved from 7d to 5d3 back in Jan. I do mostly street and wildlife.

the loss of reach with FF gets some taking used to, but the noise control, IQ and colour rendition (particularly at high ISO) on 5d3 is sublime compared to 7d. 7d i would rarely shoot over iso1000. Now I shoot up to iso6400 comfortably and sometimes iso12800 with usable shots.

If you are after AI servo mode performance, 5d3 wins hands down vs 6d and 7d.

My keeper rate on 5d3 is way better than 7d (using something like 70-200 2.8 ii). I don't have a 6d but I've tried it and believe its AF system is more akin to the 60d (which I do own) and think its less sophisticated (and my keeper rate is lower) than 5d3.

If you do street 5d3 + 50 1.4 is a nice combo.

Wildlife, I think you will find the loss of reach with FF+300m a bit dissapointing and you'd probably want to get a 400mm to compensate.

5d3 + 24-105 L is a wonderful combo, but I gave it a miss because I own primes @ 24, 35, 50 and 85m

5d3+ 100 L is a fantastic combo. 100mm macro makes more sense to me as a focal length than on crop (although I can't put my finger on what; perhaps its just the field of view difference).

my 2 cents:

If you're after good AI servo performance; get 5d3. If you're after FF on a budget and don't care for servo, get 6d.

 

[MarcPool]

Having seen prices only going up again at my favorite two stores I was kinda giving up on the idea of picking up a 5d this month. When I saw a very good deal (220 euro less) at a store less than half a mile away.
Decided to go for it, walked to the store and walked out 10 minutes later with my new 5d mark III. And a coupon for a free version of lightroom and Photoshop Express 11.
No were near the prices you pay in the US, but a very good deal for Europeans.

Only had time to take some test shots, but man AF is fast. And RAW files look amazing.

 

[Dylan777]

Having seen prices only going up again at my favorite two stores I was kinda giving up on the idea of picking up a 5d this month. When I saw a very good deal (220 euro less) at a store less than half a mile away.
Decided to go for it, walked to the store and walked out 10 minutes later with my new 5d mark III. And a coupon for a free version of lightroom and Photoshop Express 11.
No were near the prices you pay in the US, but a very good deal for Europeans.

Only had time to take some test shots, but man AF is fast. And RAW files look amazing.

Congrats MarcPool on your new toy

 

[MarcPool]

Congrats MarcPool on your new toy

Thanks, feels like Christmas came early this year. Especially because the shop seems to have made a mistake in pricing because it's up 100 euro's since this morning

 

[CarlTN]

It's a shame prices are so much higher in the EU.

 

[Marsu42]

It's a shame prices are so much higher in the EU.

+1000, this really makes a difference when the "is it worth it" is discussed in international forums - and there are large differences even in the EU esp. in Canon rebates, so some people get lucky, other don't :-\

 

[Camerajah]

I find the 7D 5DIII a nice one two combination the interface with battery grip is close when going between cameras

 

[ablearcher]

I had the 7D pretty much from the release and was quite happy with it. But now comparing to 5DMKIII the difference in IQ is quite noticeable. But it also depends on what you do. While studio work is not much different with the 5, the indoor shots (weddings without a flash) are almost night and day. While I appreciate the extra fl from the 7, I am now seriously considering switching it for another 5. I'm noticing that unless i want to use my 10-22 lens or i have to work with two bodies, the 7D pretty much always stays in the bag now.

 

[captainkanji]

The 6D is great for stuff that doesn't move
ISO 1600, 40mm, f/9, 1/30

ISO 2000, 24mm, f/4, 1/50

ISO 100, 84mm, f/4, 1/125

 

[tiger82]

The OP is a prime candidate for a 70D! Staying with a crop body means there is no need to change shooting styles when going to FF from APS-C.