Canon 5D Mark iii vs Nikon D810 - Event Photography

[josephz1994]

Having trouble deciding whether to purchase a Canon Mark iii with 24-70mm 2.8 and get it reasonably cheap or totally change my brand and head to Nikon D810 with an equivalent lens.

I currently do birthday, christening and engagement photography gigs and might be doing weddings in the future. I have a Canon 650D rocking with a 17-55mm f/2.8 IS + 600EX flash, and wanted to upgrade to FF, but at the same time keeping the my 650D as a backup.

What would you guys do ?

 

[verysimplejason]

Having trouble deciding whether to purchase a Canon Mark iii with 24-70mm 2.8 and get it reasonably cheap or totally change my brand and head to Nikon D810 with an equivalent lens.

I currently do birthday, christening and engagement photography gigs and might be doing weddings in the future. I have a Canon 650D rocking with a 17-55mm f/2.8 IS + 600EX flash, and wanted to upgrade to FF, but at the same time keeping the my 650D as a backup.

What would you guys do ?

Just my opinion, if you're planning to stick with Canon, then a 5D3 seems more logical, though if you think you're capable of changing to Nikon (and is comfortable with its interface), then a D750 seems a better idea than D810. The reason is the same when opting for a 5D3 rather than a 5DS. More pixels means less tolerance to motion and that's what events like weddings are all about.

 

[bluemoon]

if you stay with Canon you can swap the lenses (since you are going to keep the 650 as a backup). Handling two systems at the same time might cause some issues. . .

pierre

 

[Random Orbits]

If you're planning on using the 650D as a backup, I'd stay with the canon system. Canon's 24-70 is better than Nikon's, plus Canon's RT system is easier to use than 3rd party triggers. You get better low ISO DR and more MP with the 810, but with the 5DS and 5DSR, Canon has more resolution than the 810 but still lags at low ISO DR. That you are considering the 5DIII over the 5DS and 5DSR suggests that resolution is not that important a factor to you, and based on what you are planning to do, low DR isn't that important either. Staying with the Canon system is also the lower cost option, which counts for a lot.

 

[Mt Spokane Photography]

I bought a D800 to use for low light event photography after falling for the hype. High ISO and DR sucks when you get to ISO 800 or higher. My 5D MK III and even my 1D MK IV were better at ISO 12,800.

DXO rates their sensors at ISO 100, so if you can stick to that for events, then its nice (except for the rather high CA's on the edges of the 24-70mm G).