Need Help, 1 DsIII vs 5d mark III

[Bosman]

bdunbar79 has some good experience and insight to the question. Both would be good for what you want other than the tungsten issue he mentions, so it comes down to cost and features.
What are the prices of a 1dsm3 Vs 5dm3?
Do you need bullet proof build?
As far as portraits and landscapes the edge may go to the 1dm3
Do you need new features of the 5dm3?
Is weight an issue?
Given what you want it for high iso isn't needed.
Both have good focus but the edge would go to 5dm3 and its spot focus as well as live view focus for portraits that allow you to see extremely zoomed in on the 5dm3.
You just need to do a checklist of wants and see where things end up.

 

[bdunbar79]

bdunbar79 has some good experience and insight to the question. Both would be good for what you want other than the tungsten issue he mentions, so it comes down to cost and features.
What are the prices of a 1dm3 Vs 5dm3?
Do you need bullet proof build?
As far as portraits and landscapes the edge may go to the 1dm3
Do you need new features of the 5dm3?
Is weight an issue?
Given what you want it for high iso isn't needed.
Both have good focus but the edge would go to 5dm3 and its spot focus as well as live view focus for portraits that allow you to see extremely zoomed in on the 5dm3.
You just need to do a checklist of wants and see where things end up.

Hey Bosman,

Yeah you're absolutely right. For me, it came down to selling the 1Ds3 or 5D3. (I had 2 x 5D3 and 1Ds3). I automatically selected the 1Ds3 as first to sell. I could have sold both 5D3's and kept 1DX/1Ds3 but I instead chose to go 1DX/5D3 combo. The 5D3 overall is just better. I'm sure you know this as you shoot quite a bit with the 5D3 too. The sale was just an automatic and obvious choice in my head right away for some reason. 1Ds3 images can get ugly above ISO 800 and 1600 and let's be honest, to most people the 5D3 and 1Ds3 images look about the same from ISO 50-400. Only us pixel-peepers can see the difference in color rendition. Landscape shots do look a bit better if examining very closely. But yes, overall the 5D3 wins.

 

[briansquibb]

bdunbar79 has some good experience and insight to the question. Both would be good for what you want other than the tungsten issue he mentions, so it comes down to cost and features.
What are the prices of a 1dm3 Vs 5dm3?
Do you need bullet proof build?
As far as portraits and landscapes the edge may go to the 1dm3
Do you need new features of the 5dm3?
Is weight an issue?
Given what you want it for high iso isn't needed.
Both have good focus but the edge would go to 5dm3 and its spot focus as well as live view focus for portraits that allow you to see extremely zoomed in on the 5dm3.
You just need to do a checklist of wants and see where things end up.

Hey Bosman,

Yeah you're absolutely right. For me, it came down to selling the 1Ds3 or 5D3. (I had 2 x 5D3 and 1Ds3). I automatically selected the 1Ds3 as first to sell. I could have sold both 5D3's and kept 1DX/1Ds3 but I instead chose to go 1DX/5D3 combo. The 5D3 overall is just better. I'm sure you know this as you shoot quite a bit with the 5D3 too. The sale was just an automatic and obvious choice in my head right away for some reason. 1Ds3 images can get ugly above ISO 800 and 1600 and let's be honest, to most people the 5D3 and 1Ds3 images look about the same from ISO 50-400. Only us pixel-peepers can see the difference in color rendition. Landscape shots do look a bit better if examining very closely. But yes, overall the 5D3 wins.

Even though I love the 1DsIII the 5DIII has to be the better all rounder camera - in my experience th 5D2 was better all round, but the IQ of the 1DsIII at 50-400 is something else. As I have other bodies I can afford to keep the 1DsIII for those moments - especially now it has a new shutter and is pretty much mint.

My 1DX comes next week so it will be interesting to see if it meets up with the Canon claims of 1D4/1DsIII merging.

 

[bdunbar79]

Brian,

I think you'll find the 1DX will come up short vs. the 1Ds3 at low ISO's, just like the 5D3 did.

 

[cpsico]

I found and purchased a perfect condition 1ds mark III for 2000 dollars from a really nice guy that was simply retiring. He gave me pelican 1620 case and many extras. I couldn't be happier with the camera. If decided to get a 5 d mark III iy will have to drop a lot in price at this point.
Thanks to every one who responded

 

[smithy]

I found and purchased a perfect condition 1ds mark III for 2000 dollars from a really nice guy that was simply retiring. He gave me pelican 1620 case and many extras. I couldn't be happier with the camera. If decided to get a 5 d mark III iy will have to drop a lot in price at this point.
Thanks to every one who responded

That's a great result! Enjoy your camera and its superior ergonomics.

I like my 5D3, but it's not as comfortable to use when gripped compared with the 1-series bodies.

 

[bdunbar79]

I'm still struggling with this myself. I own both and am going to sell one. I can see the advantages and disadvantages of both, in real life. The 5D3 can shoot relatively well at all ISO's in it's reasonable range. The 1Ds3 cannot. I'd argue it's useless above 800 or 1000. The 5D3 can shoot well into 6400-8000 and look just fine. However, the 1Ds3 is the ultimate landscape camera. You will not get the IQ on landscape shots with a 5D3 that you will with a 1Ds3. I don't know why this is, but it is. The distant background with the 5D3 gets fuzzy/meshy whereas the 1Ds3 is still so clear all the way to the back of the scene, even at f/22.

1dsmk3 is better camera at base iso ​​than 5dmk2 / 3 . 1dsmk3 is cleaner from electronic noise . 1dsmk3 has also a thicker and steeper color filter. Reproduction of midtones is higher. In 5dmk2 and 5dmk3 Canon has increased light permeability and made the color filter thinner to gain light and make the sensor more sensitive = improve high iso but Canon has has also reduced the color accuracy in daylight 4000-6600K compared to 1dsmk3

I can agree with that.

 

[7enderbender]

Some really great condition 1ds III's are coming out for sale about the same price of a new 5 dIII and I wanted some advice on weather its better to get the older pro camera or the newer mid range camera. Does anyone have some good advice?

A brand-new 1DsIII would still be my dream camera is all I can say. Can't afford it though. In your case especially if the 1D is really in great shape and has a low(ish) shutter count I can see how that is a more attractive offer than the 5D. Depends on intended use and few other things obviously. Certainly saves you buying the expensive grip on top of everything else.
The best argument against it I can think of is if you can utilize the new wireless flash system that won't be 100% compatible with the older cameras.

 

[bbasiaga]

I looked at this same decsion just a month ago. I passed on the 1DsIII because of the high iso limitations. The 5D MKIII has since proven to have great IQ at all ends. I'll probably never have a 1series body now, but that's OK as the MKIII rocks.

-Brian

 

[Cannon Man]

I would personally go with the 1Ds III. I am simply addicted to 1D bodies and for landscape and studio shoots i would choose it every time.

And the chances are you still get a longer shutter life with the 1Ds.

1D bodies are like tall supermodels with the complete package. 5D bodies are girls with pretty faces but the rest is questionable. (Nobody get offended by that) (i mean it)

 

[bdunbar79]

I sold my 1Ds3 because it SUCKS at ISO's higher than 1600/2000. And in this day and age, I really don't need the burden of having a seperate camera for each and every situation. 1DX/5D3 combo covers everything possible.

 

[cpsico]

I sold my 1Ds3 because it SUCKS at ISO's higher than 1600/2000. And in this day and age, I really don't need the burden of having a seperate camera for each and every situation. 1DX/5D3 combo covers everything possible.

I have a 5 d mark II already so high ISP is reasonably covered, of course I would much rather a 1 dx/ 5d3 but I do love the colors from my newly acquired 1ds mark III. I am not crazy about the buffer only holding 10 to 12 raw files, but this is a studio camera.

 

[cpsico]

After a day of testing on a familiar site that i have used a canon 5d mark II, and a 10 megapixel 1 d mark III I can say the 1ds Mark III is a great camera. It takes post processing the best of the 3 cameras, has by far the best color rendition and the multi spot metering is a great advantige over the 5 d mark II. It aslo has far less color noise than the 5d Mark II.

I love my 5d mark II, when properly exposed it is a wonderful camera, Its the camera I would take first for a day of family photos due to its size and weight. If I needed a camera that could meter quickly and accurately in program mode, take lots of post processing I would pick a camera from the 1d line every time.

 

[bdunbar79]

One thing you will notice about the 1Ds3, is that when you take portrait shots at very low ISO, it gets the midtones exactly correct and skin tones are often times exactly right.

 

[Mick]

Ive owned a 1DS3 for 5 years and its one amazing bit of kit. Its been in rain, snow, deserts, has been dropped onto rock and tarmak 5 times and still works perfectly. It does what it does and was designed for very well and keeps going where only pro bodies go.Colour renidtion is excellent, autofocus is good. Its used for landscapes and the odd portrait where its not going beyond iso 400. It can go higher but i dont need to. So buy one, its built like a tank, will last a lifetime in all conditions but its slow shooting and limited iso is its achillies heel. And if you loose your hammer you can knock nails in a wall with it.

As for why the 1d4 has kept its value is easy to explain. Its the crop factor. Not wanting to buy bigger lens's as they cost so much to negate the loss of crop is to much for many so the prices are holding up well. People want that crop factor.