1DMKIV vs 5DMKIII dilemma

Spiritflier

Spiritflier

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Hi all,

I'm in a bit of a quandary and could do with some advice from anyone who's owned both the 5DMKIII and the 1DMKIV.

I've been doing an awful lot of sports and wildlife photography lately and find that the only down side to owning the 5D is the lack of reach!

I've been offered a 1DMKIV as a straight swap for my 5DMKIII but I don't know if there's really going to be any advantage. I know the frame rate and weather sealing are better on the 1D but I can't remember how to do the maths to enable me to decide whether the resolution of the 16mp on the APS-H sensor is higher than the 22mp on the full frame sensor. If the difference is marginal, I may as well stick with the smaller camera and newer technology. :)

Thanks in advance,
Si
 
Hah, in same dilemma matey. Need more FPS! - adding a 1d4 in next few months :)

drew
 
I fancy a 5DMkIII but don't want to give up my MKIV. I know that if your using any of the latest MKII lenses the 5 is more consistent in its focus accuracy than the MKIV. I guess it's a nice problem to have but difficult to choose.
 
iced_jacob said:
You need to divide 22mps by 1.3 squared. so the cropped image from the 5d will be 13mps :)
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That helps... Thanks Iacovos :thumbs:

buckas said:
Hah, in same dilemma matey. Need more FPS! - adding a 1d4 in next few months :)

drew
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I'm really not sure whether or not it's worth the swap... As Iacovos pointed out, the ratio works out to 13mp which is a negligible difference. :shrug:
 
Gaz J said:
I fancy a 5DMkIII but don't want to give up my MKIV. I know that if your using any of the latest MKII lenses the 5 is more consistent in its focus accuracy than the MKIV. I guess it's a nice problem to have but difficult to choose.
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I have the 70-200mm f/2.8 MKII so I guess that swings in the 5D3's favour! You're right, it's a nice problem to have and in an ideal world I'd have both! :D
 
Heh yeh - work a bit more and get both :D it'll pay for itself soon enough anyroad :)

drew
 
If you need more reach could you not use a tele converter? On the Nikon 70-200VRII the TC's work very well.
 
Is two bodies something you have thought about Simon? A mkiv's and 5d3 would be spot on. Mkiv's on the longer prime lens and the 5d3 on the 70-200.
 
In an ideal world, I'd definitely have both bodies... As it stands, I can have one or the other! :shrug:

I guess that I can always go back to a 5DMKIII if I don't like the 1DMKIV but if I do, I could well end up saving for a 6D specifically for landscape and portrait shoots!

Decisions, decisions! :)
 
I was offered a straight trade about 3 months after I got the 5D3. I went and had a try out and the 1D4 was very, very good but I've still got my 5D3. If I could afford to add a 1D4 to my 5D3, instead of my 7D backup, then I would have one in a heartbeat. I've currently got a keeper rate of well over 80% with the 5D3 and with a 70-200 f2.8 MkII it's a brilliant combo, even on the occasions I've used a 2x MkIII converter with the 70-200 the IQ is outstanding.
 
Thanks Stuart,

I've had a play with the 1DMKIV before but I'm just not sure if it'll be an actual upgrade rather than a side-step!

I'm 95% sure that I'll keep my 5DMKIII and save up for a decent crop body! :)
 
Agree there, I wouldn't swap the 5d3 either for it but it'll be a great 2nd body now my 7D's gone
 
I've got both, they complement each other well. If I could have only one, the MKIV would win. The ratio of use is 90% MKIV, 10% 5D3 - then again my primary interest is bird photography.
 
iced_jacob said:
You need to divide 22mps by 1.3 squared. so the cropped image from the 5d will be 13mps :)
Click to expand...

14 vs 16mp is a very minor difference. It is probably made up by better AA filter on 5DIII
 
Thanks for all of the help with this... As was said before, it's a nice problem to have but that hasn't stopped me from getting earache of the missus over it! :D

I've got a week to decide what to do so I'm going to keep trawling for opinions and do a load more reading. :)
 
If reach is important Si, then go withe MKIV, if not stick with the 5D3. The frame rate for sports photographers is also an important feature, but if you don't do sport and reach isn't so important, the 5D3 takes a lot of beating.

I went from 2 MKIV's to a 5D3 and 1DX but I miss the reach the MKIV gave me. The AF on both is fantastic.
 
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Hi Tug,

I had a chat with a friend of mine earlier who's a local professional wildlife photographer and asked for her opinion... The upshot of the conversation was that she'd sold both of her 1DMKIV's and bought a 1DX to go along with her 5DMKIII.

Her advice was to keep the 5DMKIII and not worry about the difference in reach (marginal as it was). In her experience, the 5DMKIII's AF far out-performed the 1DMKIV although she said that the latter was faster to initially acquire a subject but that the 5D3 maintained a lock much better. Her impression was that the 5D3 was better at AF at the edges of the frame too!

I guess that since I have the MKIII 2x converter to go along with my 300mm f/2.8, I should just be grateful for what I've got and wait for the much anticipated 7D replacement... At least then I can make use of the extra reach on a brand new body! :D

Thanks again to everyone for the comments.
Best wishes,
Si
 
That's where I am too Si, the 1dx is a big heavy beast but the 5d3 will be great for all day use at weddings as its much lighter.
 
Despite being told not to bother, I went and got the 1DMKIV... I wish I hadn't bothered now!

The AF performance can't hold a candle to the 5DMKIII. It's faster to acquire a subject but the 5D holds onto it much better. It also seems to me that the ISO performance from the 1DMKIV isn't as good either. I was photographing the local air ambulance from my back garden (something I've done on many occasions because it lands in the field below my house) and in comparison to images I've taken of the same helicopter from the same distance with the same lenses in the same weather conditions, the image quality wasn't as good. :shrug:

I also found a lot of the controls to be counter-intuitive... Trying to change drive mode or metering mode on the fly with a long, heavy lens fitted isn't as easy although I accept that with time it would have become better.

I can understand why there are a few 1DMKIV owners who fancy the change to the 5DMKIII...

If money wasn't an issue, the 1DX would be the obvious answer although that doesn't address my desire for more reach! Fortunately, I can take the 1DMKIV back in the morning. :)

Let's hope that the 7DMKII puts in appearance soon and that its performance is as good as the rumour-mill is predicting and hoping for!
 
Interesting thoughts.

Did you fine tune the AF using the custom function menu and were you using recent mk2 lens' ?
 
Still think that Canon have made a mistake by deleting the MkIV from it's line up. It ran happily between the two FF cameras and with the AF from the 5D in it would be a pretty awesome sports/wildlife camera.
 
Surrey Sam said:
Interesting thoughts.

Did you fine tune the AF using the custom function menu and were you using recent mk2 lens' ?
Click to expand...

Hi Sam,

No, I didn't tune the AF. Just ran it straight out of the box so to speak. I was mainly using my 300mm f/2.8 L IS USM MK1 but also had my 70-200mm f/2.8 MKII on it today. There was -5 still dialled in to the micro-adjustment for the 70-200 from the previous owner and once I reset that, things improved a fair bit. I just got a bit narked that it was missing the mark on things that it shouldn't (fixed locations - one shot would be off and the next would be bang on).

Gaz J said:
Still think that Canon have made a mistake by deleting the MkIV from it's line up. It ran happily between the two FF cameras and with the AF from the 5D in it would be a pretty awesome sports/wildlife camera.
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Hi Gaz,

I agree to some extent. They should have either brought the 1D line up to date with the 1.3x crop or release a 1.6x crop body in a 1D shell with the new AF system! :D

Aledafis said:
Nikon D800?? ;-) It still manages about 24Mp on crop.
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Hi Aled,

I did look briefly at the D800E but decided that the cost of changing systems at this point would be prohibitive... All things considered, the performance from the D800(E) and 5DMKIII are pretty much equal so there's not really any point in moving to the Dark Side. ;)

I asked a friend who's a professional wildlife photographer who's owned a pair of 1DMKIV's and currently shoots with a 5DMKIII and a 1Dx if she thinks I'd have got my recent Red Kite shots with the MKIV. Her answer was a 'no'!
 
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