Am I silly to sell 1D?

EMA747

EMA747

Suspended / Banned
Messages
2,070
Name
Andy
Edit My Images
Yes
I have only had my 1DmkIV for a few months but I have had a chance of track. I bought it to start down the road to making a photography business. I have since found very little openings in the photography market and have decided to switch over to video production after a couple of leads and some very promising commercial possibilities. However I now need to finance a pro camcorder (Sony EX1R) but at £5000 I would need to sell the 1DmkIV to part fund the camcorder unless I can get the funds from somewhere for the camcorder. I would ideally like to keep the 1D as it is an amazing camera.
I will move back down to a 7D for stills work (had one before the 1D). I am just a little wary of selling probably the best camera I will ever own. Anyone else done similar and downgraded? Will I miss the 1D? To be honest I really don't push it's limits and hopefully I will be able to live with the 7D which is really a very good camera at the end of the day.
 
What kind of work are you doing?
Couldn't you swap the 1D for a 5D mkii and have an amazing stills camera AND a very good video camera?
 
I have to admit it seems worth at least seriously trying out the video on it first,full manual, selectable frame rates etc plus L glass should give it good to great capabilities.
 
Ah I should have said I need fully-time AF, better audio connections and longer than 12 minute clip lengths which the mkIV sadly doesn't have. Other than that it is a great video camera, just very limiting in what I want to do.

If I move back down to a 7D then I will still have DSLR type video. To be honest the 7D's video is pretty much identical to the mkIV from my limited testing. The differences between them are in the stills department not the video.
 
Having bought a stills camera and now deciding to go down possibly another route so making the stills camera an expensive unused luxury is ther not a possibility you could be making the same mistake (again) in purchasing video kit and then have to sell that later (both presumably at a loss).
I'd tempted to see if I could hire the video kit if its needed on these promised jobs just in case they dont materialise either.

Matt
 
MatBin said:
Having bought a stills camera and now deciding to go down possibly another route so making the stills camera an expensive unused luxury is ther not a possibility you could be making the same mistake (again) in purchasing video kit and then have to sell that later (both presumably at a loss).
I'd tempted to see if I could hire the video kit if its needed on these promised jobs just in case they dont materialise either.

Matt
Click to expand...
I see what you are saying but I am planning on starting a new business around video production so need the video kit as my own really. It's not all hanging on these two things though.
I was going to try starting a small photography business along similar lines but I have found many many more openings with video than stills. That is a whole new thread though. :naughty:
 
It certainly sounds like you have been buying kit in preparation for using it which is one of the things I was told years ago by someone much more experienced than myself (I don't remember who exactly) never ever to do.

At £5k for the Sony EX 1R I take it you are looking at buying new, if you absolutely have to buy in preparation for promised work, could you not get some used kit which would maybe allow you to keep the 1D and if/when you change your mind again you'd be able to sell on for a lot less loss than if you had bought brand new kit?
 
Surely this is only a question that you can answer. No one else is in your boat and understands what your full requirements are and why. My idea is simple - If you need a stills camera, keep the one you have. If you need an excellent video camera, then spend the cash.

Can the 1D4 do the things that you will require it to do?
Will you need to compromise your project by using it?
Will it affect your video capabilities by using it?
What is more of a requirment in your new business venture - Stunning video or stunning images?

That should be all the questions you need to ask yourself.
 
Can you lease purchase the sony so you're not coughing up the cash all in one go? Would be daft to sell the 1D and then find the promised work doesn't actually materialise!
 
Last edited:
@ - andephotographic - I am sort of guilty of buying the mkIV for a business idea that just hasn't paid off. I was looking at sport photography as one area and it's just such a closed market that I don't think I can break into. With the video idea I have based the plan more around what contacts, leads and ideas I have so this time at least I have a solid plan and some contacts that should set me off in the right direction. With the photography I had no plan or contacts.

@ chazza - Sorry I had a mkIII before the mkIV but will go back to the 7D. It suits my needs better.

@ swag72 - Those questions are ones I have been asking myself and I have come to the conclusion that I just don't need the mkIV. It is totally not up to the job I would require of it (in terms of what I said in reply #6 rather than it having any quality issues).

If the video things goes ok then I will keep the photography mainly just as a hobby so the mkIV would be way overkill.
One thing I have found as I have moved up the gear scale is that I seem to enjoy the actual photography less with having better gear. Back when I had my 400D I used to take much more pictures and enjoy it more. With expensive gear I feel I am always messing with settings, reading manuals etc and also feel that I have to live up to the camera's quality. If I get any noise or other quality issues I feel annoyed but in reality if I am not out to sell the images it's not big deal. I guess this could make an interesting thread topic by itself.
 
srichards said:
Can you lease purchase the sony so you're not coughing up the cash all in one go? Would be daft to sell the 1D and then find the promised work doesn't actually materialise!
Click to expand...
Well finance deals seem a bit hard to come by. Sony have just finished doing a 0% for two years one which would have been quite handy.

As andephotographic said the other option would be to buy used but they seem to be only about £1000 cheaper than a new one and I have had a couple of bad experiences buying used things and am a bit wary having no warranty when shelling out thousands.
 
EMA747 said:
@ swag72 - Those questions are ones I have been asking myself and I have come to the conclusion that I just don't need the mkIV. It is totally not up to the job I would require of it
Click to expand...

Question answered then - Just now need to find the ££'s for the video camera. Good luck with your venture :thumbs:
 
Have you looked at the Canon XF305? I believe is is the first 'compact' (sorry do not know the technical term) to be approved by the BBC for HD recording. They will also do stills. I think they come in under the £5k mark.
 
I can't get multi quote to work so bear with me...:thinking:

@ tramp92 - I have looked at the XF305. It's very new and some people say it's good in low light and some say bad. Some people say the smaller chip size is bad some say good. Basically there is a lot of contradictory reviews but the EX1R has been out long enough to get a good idea that it is overall very good. The Canon is tempting because I am a Gold CPS member with Canon so get good service.

@ aePhoto - I assume you mean am I interested in selling the mkIV? I hope I'm not breaking the selling rules by saying that I am interested in selling.
 
I would suggest offering your 1D on the for sale section with full details and a price!

You never know
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top