5D and 1D3 for weddings - advice please

M

milspec78

Suspended / Banned
Messages
164
Name
Tristan
Edit My Images
Yes
Am using a 5D and 50D for weddings/portraits at the moment.

Am considering swapping out my 50D for a 1D3 for wedding use. 50D with 70-200 always seems a little long for my liking plus want something with better focussing for when it really dark. 1D3 seems the perfect compromise. A little wider for telephoto use than the 50, but still 'wide enough' to cover in a pinch if the 5D went bad on the day. Along with a raft of other improvements ofc.

5D3 out of budget
5D2 I would rather upgrade to something with better focussing tbh
1ds II still has a lot of the niggles that annoy me about the 5d (rubbish screen, sensor dust issues)

Am thinking i can leave the wide angle on the 5D after a sensor clean then use the 1D for everything else.

10mp is plenty of pixels unless you do huge prints or you plan to crop heavily (which i normally dont) my 40d images look beautiful printed to 19" on long edge.

Any input / advice welcome please guys, what would you suggest?
 
How much is the 1DIII you're eyeing up? I'm not a Canon shooter, but I know that's an old enough camera, so should be at good prices at this stage. I see one here on a local used site for €1400

How is the old 1DIII with ISO?
 
I'd just get the 5d mkii if your happy using a 5dc as your main camera the mkii will be the same focus wise but with better ISO a decent screen and anti dust.
 
I think the 1D3 is a good choice if you are happy with the weight (I wouldn't like to cart it round as my prime camera all day at a wedding), if your lenses will still all work on it, and if you are sure the 5D2's focussing is really an issue.

I used a 5D2 at weddings and cannot remember missing anything due to AF problems. I thought the 5D2 was the ideal camera for weddings, but I also really liked my 1D3 so I cannot say you are making a bad choice if you go that way.
 
There is nothing wrong with 1DIII for weddings. They perform really well, and you are not very likely to print at A1, let alone A3... The only trouble is the first dance in the darkness (you'll need 1DX / 5DIII for that) or just zap them with a few remote full power flashes :nuts:

P.s. The dust issue of 1DsII / 5D is little relevant to weddings. Most work is done wide open, or perhaps up to f/8 max apart from an odd creative starburst shot. That is unlikely to reveal any but the very biggest dust (well hair, cereal, etc :cuckoo: )
 
Last edited:
We used a 5d2/1d3 combo at the wedding we did, worked out nicely. Some equally as good shots from both cameras.

Iso handling on the 1d3 is pretty good, I wouldn't hesitate to push it up over 2000.
 
Have shot a few weddings with a 1DIII as my main body and it worked a dream. Fast, accurate AF and fast shutter speed combine to get those special moments really nicelly.

To be a bit shallow, it looks the business as well !

Would recommend a 1DIII very highly for this purpose.
 
Don't see why first dance would be a problem with a 1D mkIII. I've shot 100+ with either one or a pair of them without a problem
 
Nothing wrong with using a 1DIII for a wedding.
 
I wouldn't bother with a 1ds2, the buffer and display lag is frustrating when in 'battle'.

I would try and go for a 1d3 and a 5d2, failing that a 5D is manageable too. Look into focus/recomposing and zone focussing. I know photographers that have worked wonders with just the central focus point on all the 5D's.
 
Canon's 1D series was built to shoot anything and while naturally, the latter the model the better, the 1D3 will cover weddings very well. At under £900 now it represents a tremendous bargain too so if you don't need more than 10MP, it's a good body to consider. AF is excellent, certainly better than the two earlier versions of the 5D. Low light of course lags behind but it's still good in churches. For the first dance I would be more comfortable with a 5D2 at least, perhaps consider using use a flash or as Hsuffyan suggested, look at focus/recomposing and zone focusing.
 
Last edited:
I have been in this boat myself recently, so completely understand where you are right now!

Your only viable options really are

1Dsmk2
1Dmk3
1DsMk3 (pricey vs 5DIII)
5Dmk2
5Dmk3

Given that the 1Ds2 has the small and crappy screen, I am ruling that out
Given that the 1Dsmk3 is still very highly priced and less performing than the cheaper 5Dmk3, I am ruling that out
Given that you want better focusing than the 5DC, I am ruling the 5D2 out.

Leaving us with the 1D3 and 5D3.

With this in mind, I went down to my local camera shop, who luckily had a 1D3 in stock. I only took 1 lens, my 35L - which focuses fine on my 5Dmk3 body and is sharp as hell at 1.4

Anyway - whether the 1D3 was faulty, or maybe the previous owner had dialled in a load of Micro Adjust I dont know, but I could not get a shot anything close to sharp with that lens. I was also shooting around ISO 2000, and it wasnt great noise-wise. Not terrible... but definitely nothing like the 5D3 is at 2000 - which is great.

So as a second body, I came to the solution that the only thing Id be happy with would be another 5Dmk3.

I think if I hadn't been spoilt by the 5Dmk3 I currently own I wouldn't have thought the 1Dmk3 was as "bad" as it was

HTH

** I hope the 1Dmk3 I tested was faulty, or had serious MA dialled in because I assume not all 1D3's are like that - the camera gets excellent reviews and feedback generally - but the only one I have ever seen and touched definitely put me off.

** I think the 1DsII might be the best bet if the 5D3 is out of budget** - I am considering this camera too as a 5Dmk1 replacement
 
Last edited:
Nice post but I think it's unfair to compare the 5D3 with the 1DIII, yes it's newer technology but it's twice the price and the OP has said it's out of budget.
 
1D mkIII is fine up to iso3200 for ceremony shots etc where you can't use flash as long as you process the file carefully. I use one week in week out alongside my 5D mkIII.
Technology has moved along & the 5D MkIII is better in every area (except the 5D mkIIIs hopelessly slow SD slot) than the 1D mkIII but thats not to say that the 1D is bad, just be prepared to take more shots to allow for its focussing quirks & don't expect it to be stellar at high isos
 
Last edited:
Would there be any difference between the weatherproofing of the 1DMkIII and the 5DMkIII?
 
gman said:
Would there be any difference between the weatherproofing of the 1DMkIII and the 5DMkIII?
Click to expand...

good point, yes. When its chucking it down I use the 1D & leave the 5D indoors
 
futureal33 said:
** I hope the 1Dmk3 I tested was faulty, or had serious MA dialled in because I assume not all 1D3's are like that - the camera gets excellent reviews and feedback generally - but the only one I have ever seen and touched definitely put me off.

** I think the 1DsII might be the best bet if the 5D3 is out of budget** - I am considering this camera too as a 5Dmk1 replacement
Click to expand...

You are aware that 1D3 and earlier EOSs used an old style LCD preview system, where 25% (or whatever) preview was enlarged like crazy and looked awful. It looks fine on computer. I never had any AF problem with mine whatsoever - everything pin sharp like it should be. It could have been a bad one (which is why somebody dumped it to the shop - way too common these days - a friend tried a faulty mkiv not too long ago)

1DsII is still great if you accept that LCD is primitive, and that it doesn't take photos or make coffee :lol: The histogram and composition show up just fine ;) Sensor dust is a bit more annoying in reality, as it does clearly show up at low apertures
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top