Canon 1ds Mk2 or 5d Mk1 ??

Benson · 22 Feb 2013

Hi,

I am a keen photographer on a budget and it has been for the last 6-7 years

Long post but it does explain my camera journey and my requirments

I never own a first hand camera, my first camera was a Canon 300d with kit lens, I bought it second hand and the shutter broke in the first month and I managed to fixed it by reading on line but in the process of opening the camera up I managed to broke the flash pop up. Since then the 300d never worked in any auto mode. It makes me shoot in total manual mode which I am thankful for that.

I then bought a Canon 17-85 IS USM new to go with the 300d, I enjoy every minute of it until I start to notice the limitation like shooting wide open, low light noise and slow start up etc etc. Then started on flash gun and bounced off ceilling etc

Next I got a 400d with the hacked firmware on card, wireless trigger off camera flash etc etc.

I am now at the stage where I want to get a full frame camera and a wide angle L lens. I use the camer mostly taking picture of my kids and wide angle outdoor.

which camera is better? 1ds Mk2 or 5d mk1 ? I don't mind the size as I am big and a galaxy note 2 looks small in my hands :lol:

seriousrikk · 22 Feb 2013

Given those two choices, I would buy the 1ds mk2.

Better IQ, more rugged, better autofocus. It is also a couple of years newer so some tech improvements.

markmullen · 22 Feb 2013

I really enjoy using my 1Ds2, it is a brilliant bit of kit and ideal for landscape use being rugged and weathersealed. For the money they are now a great buy.

Darkroom · 23 Feb 2013

RichardtheSane said:
....the 1ds mk2.

It is also a couple of years newer so some tech improvements.

If anything it's the other way round. The 1Ds mk2 was released in Sept 2004 and the 5D in Aug 2005.

The 5D has the slightly bigger screen and better noise at higher iso but both are still based on the same DIGIC II processor

seriousrikk · 23 Feb 2013

Darkroom said:
If anything it's the other way round. The 1Ds mk2 was released in Sept 2004 and the 5D in Aug 2005.

The 5D has the slightly bigger screen and better noise at higher iso but both are still based on the same DIGIC II processor

My mistake, that will teach me to pick up date information from wikipedia.

Benson · 23 Feb 2013

will they be much better than my 400d? I think the 400d is newer than both of the camera mentioned.

I could just get the L lens with my 400d and live with crop factor?

Benson · 23 Feb 2013

Benson said:
will they be much better than my 400d? I think the 400d is newer than both of the camera mentioned.

I could just get the L lens with my 400d and live with crop factor?

Many thanks for the input so far guys!

ZoneV · 24 Feb 2013

Benson said:
...I could just get the L lens with my 400d and live with crop factor?

If you are in any doubt whether you want/need to upgrade your camera body, or you're not sure what camera to upgrade to yet, then do the above. The 400d is a good camera and paired with a good lens should easily last you until you know exactly what to do.

Furtim · 24 Feb 2013

ZoneV said:
If you are in any doubt whether you want/need to upgrade your camera body, or you're not sure what camera to upgrade to yet, then do the above. The 400d is a good camera and paired with a good lens should easily last you until you know exactly what to do.

This is great advice. I wish I'd followed it when I started out! Unless your camera has a physical limitation stopping you from doing something, you don't need to upgrade, but the industry is out there trying to make you believe you want to.

The same is true of glass of course, but lenses have a far greater 'life-span' than the bodies, holding their value much better, so investment here is less of a risk. It's also the area that can probably make the most difference to the quality of images; faster, sharper glass has a bigger impact than going for a few more pixels or a faster processor.

Benson · 24 Feb 2013

Thanks for the advice, my last upgrade was to rid of the standard lens and move to a EFs 17-85mm IS which I bought it in mind that one day I will change the second hand 300d to another crop camera, 6 years down the line the FF camera is potentially within reach

My lens of choice at the moment is the 50mm 1.8 II, I was hoping a FF camera will give me more flex with low light ISO (less noise) and faster focus.

I am not in a hurry to buy and still using my set up daily. I am not sure if I am doing it correctly but I disable all auto focus point except the middle one. When I take a shot I point the middle of the camera to the eye of the object, half press to get a lock on then move the frame to the composition I want without changing the distance to the eye where it is locked?

At 1.8 the view of depth is really a hit and miss most times

Moos3h · 24 Feb 2013

In my opinion, the difference of images out of the two cameras (400d and 5d, mentioned earlier), assuming a decent lens is used, is night and day.

Even now, the 5D mk1 produces beautiful looking, very film-like images. I'd have no hesitation in recommending one.

Benson · 24 Feb 2013

I posted some photo taken with my 400d and 50mm lens here

would the FF make a difference as you say Moos3h? I wish there is a place I could try out the camera I want.....but I am am buying second hand and I don't like being a test pilot ha ha

time to speak to all my friends and family to borrow one and play with it for a bit

Furtim · 24 Feb 2013

Not a huge fan of the focus and re-compose approach myself, the math's doesn't always stack up for large apertures & close subjects, but for a typical portrait at f/1.8 you're probably okay.

Generally you are better off using the nearest focus point to the point you want to focus on, so you minimise the angle through which you need to move the camera and the distance between the original focus point and the recomposed shot (therefore minimising the shift in the focal plane / distance from the original focus point - larger angle of change and greater distance from the original point = significant change in focal distance).

Furtim · 24 Feb 2013

Benson said:
I posted some photo taken with my 400d and 50mm lens here

would the FF make a difference as you say Moos3h? I wish there is a place I could try out the camera I want.....but I am am buying second hand and I don't like being a test pilot ha ha

time to speak to all my friends and family to borrow one and play with it for a bit

Just seen the shots; if you were as close to the subject as you look in those photos, at the settings you suggest, your depth of field will only be 1cm so it's going to be very tricky to use the focus and recompose technique and keep things sharp.

FF won't really make a heap of difference by itself; having more focal points to use might if you used them, but the original 5D is not exactly overloaded with them

Where are you based? It may be possible to meet up and let you have a play with my old faithful 5D?

Benson · 24 Feb 2013

sorry for being a noob, does it mean I have to keep changing the focus point between shots? I have the camera next to me and the button for AF point is with my thumb and the dial is with my index so it can be done. Trying it now

Benson · 24 Feb 2013

Benson said:
sorry for being a noob, does it mean I have to keep changing the focus point between shots? I have the camera next to me and the button for AF point is with my thumb and the dial is with my index so it can be done. Trying it now

It takes a few second to change the point and I can do it while looking through the view finder. The few second would mean missing a lot of the moments with my hyper active kids. I pad is my weapon of choice to get her still :lol:

I tried to do the focus by hand but I guess I need practice and I find myself not as fast as the auto focus.

Furtim · 24 Feb 2013

Benson said:
It takes a few second to change the point and I can do it while looking through the view finder. The few second would mean missing a lot of the moments with my hyper active kids. I pad is my weapon of choice to get her still

I tried to do the focus by hand but I guess I need practice and I find myself not as fast as the auto focus.

Is it just a dial on the 400d to change focal points (i.e. you need to cycle through them to pick the right one?), or does it have a little joystick on the back you can use with your thumb too?

On the 5D it's just a question of moving your thumb in the direction you want to select the focal point - no other button to press. The 1DmkIII is the same - can't comment on the Mk II.

Best camera at this is the EOS 3 - that just focusses where you are looking, but sadly, it's film only.

Perhaps that may be a reason to consider an upgrade then!

Benson · 1 Apr 2013

I got a 5D on Sunday and its amazing! I just don't have the budget for a 1dsMK3 which is a shame.

Using my 50mm 1.8 II the picture is amazing, higher ISO is much better than my 400d.

Am I right to struggle to find a lens which is better than the 50mm with a budget? I need to shift my 400d and EFS lens to fund my next lens. I like the 50mm very much but I find auto focus is often slow at low light.