Canon 1D MKII advice needed please

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350wedge

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Right folks, time for a discussion on the merits of the good old Canon 1D MKII and newer 'N' version.

I have been using a 1D MKI for many years now and I'm still very very happy with it. So much so I'll still keep using it until it dies!!

What I want though is to buy a newer version of the 1 Series to mainly benefit from better ISO performance going up to the 800 mark or so. The 1D is fantastic at 200 ISO, bearable at 400 but by the time I get to 800 quality drops off very badly.

If I could afford one I'd probably buy a MKIII but unless they drop in price secondhand to about £1500 I wont be buying one!!

This leaves me with the choice of a MKII or MKIIn. I would prefer the 'n' because of the larger screen, and increased buffer. Good used 'n's seem to be a bit few and far between at the moment but there seem to be quite a few MKII's around.

What I'm after is feedback from people that have owned the MKII and also the 'n' version.

In the real world how much difference is there between the camera's. Does the bigger screen make much difference? Is the performance of the two significantly different?

I'm keen to know owners views to help me spend my money...:lol:

Cheers !!
 
I think if you look around you'll get a MKIII for £1500.
 
Really?? I've certainly not seen one yet. Having read the early reports from launch time I'd be going for one of the newer ones with all the 'supposed' issues fixed such as the AF. I dont think the newer stock had come down that much.

Dealer prices vary from just under £2k to about £2.5. My local LCE has one for £2250.00 but thats way more than I can afford currently. I cant say as I've seen too many private sales. I dont tend to use Ebay these days after they got too greedy with paypal..lol

admirable said:
I think if you look around you'll get a MKIII for £1500.
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Just dragging this one up again to say that after much consideration, and also throwing the new 7D into the equation I've decided on getting a 1D MKIII :D

Just sorting out one from the classifieds at the moment which I hope to be using in the near future!!
 
I have had both mk2 and N models, and to me the only thing better on the N was the screen size.
 
malla1962 said:
I have had both mk2 and N models, and to me the only thing better on the N was the screen size.
Click to expand...

That was partly the reason for wanting the 'n' version really. I wanted something with a larger screen. I've got a MK1 1D and thats one of the few things i'd change, that and the higer ISO performance.
 
I've shot a few frames with a 1DMkIIN and compared them to shots from a 5D in the same environment. In terms of high ISO performance the 5D was hands-down better.

I'm sure ISO performance on a 1DMkII(N) is much better than on a 1DMkI but just be aware that you still won't get great high-ISO performance with the 1DMkII(N).

The 1DMkIII reputedly has the same or better high ISO performance than the 5D, so that would confirm your choice.
 
For my subjects the highest I generally really need to use ISO wise is between 400-800. I never stray above 400 on the MKI because its rubbish quite honestly, well compared to modern camera's.

There have been a few times where I've purposely used ISO 1600+ where I wanted to convert to b&w and try and re-create grain (old steam engine shots for example)

Cant wait to get a hold of the MKIII though and put it through its paces!!
 
I've owned a 1DMK2n. The differences are the larger screen, slighter better buffer rates, the ability to change how you write to CF/SD cards on the fly- in the main pretty minor improvemnets. I don't think you'll see any major improvements from the none n version - certainly no difference in noise performance. The bigger screen is nice.
 
Hi,

I have the 1D mkII the screen is fine for checking histograms and framing but I learned along time back not to judge sharpness on it, shots that look a bit iffy on there usually turn out to be tack sharp, so the lesson is don't delete them if they look dodgy as they are probably fine, other than that the 1D mkII as a cracking camera that I love.

Alan
 
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