1Ds Mk II for motorsport use?

[ehasler]

Does anyone have any experience of using the Canon 1Ds for motorsports photography, or any thoughts on how suitable the 1Ds II would be?

I do a mixture of photography, and motorsport is just one of the subjects that I enjoy snapping, so while the 1D II would be the obvious choice for a pure motorsports photographer, I'd really like the full frame sensor and extra resolution of the 1Ds for the other stuff that I do.

Currently I'm shooting with an EOS 30, with some reasonable results, and the only thing I'd really want would be faster and more accurate auto focus. I don't really care about the frame rate as long as it can match my EOS 30 (which at 4fps I believe it can), as I've never been one to roll off a burst of shots, and have never found this to be a limitation on my current body.

So, my question is more "would a 1Ds II be acceptable for shooting motor sports" (for me acceptable is better than an EOS 30 in autofocus and frame rate performance) rather than "what's the best motorsports body".

Any comments will be appreciated!

[J. Cobble]

I have used the 1ds for almost a year now and have been published around 20 times in a national magazine for motorcycle roadracing. It is a perfect camera for motorsports

http://www.bytegallery.com/data/3112/53Rapp1-med.jpg

[IncompletePete]

I can imagine it'd be fine for motorsports but not football and rugby. With these sports you often need the high FPS to capture a sequence so that your shots dont have some obstructing a player's face etc.

With motorsport you don't really have that problem! lol

Nice shot by the way, J Cobble!

[cmM]

the 1Ds is slow (fps), the 1DsMkII is a little faster, still doesn't come close to the 1dMkII.

[CyberDyneSystems]

@ 4 FPS.. I would think the 1Ds MkII would be more than usefull in most any application.

Assuming the MkII version improves on the 1ds af... which it is claimed to do... then other than pure fps... it should be very much as capable as the 1D MkII.

I've allready set my 1D MkII to 5 FPS anywya.. so for my own personal use.. a 1DsII @ 4 fps would not be a big loss in speed :)

[CoolToolGuy]

One thing to consider with a 1Ds is that the full-frame takes away one advantage that a 20D would have - telephoto reach. With the 1.6 crop factor your lenses act as if they are longer due to the reduction in the angle of view. I found the 100-400 on a Drebel to be too short when standing outside the fences at sports car races, so on a 1Ds it would be even shorter. And beyond 400mm, the lens prices skyrocket.

Just one consideration.

Have Fun,

[Cadwell]

One thing to consider with a 1Ds is that the full-frame takes away one advantage that a 20D would have - telephoto reach. With the 1.6 crop factor your lenses act as if they are longer due to the reduction in the angle of view. I found the 100-400 on a Drebel to be too short when standing outside the fences at sports car races, so on a 1Ds it would be even shorter. And beyond 400mm, the lens prices skyrocket.

Just one consideration.

Have Fun,

Very true... but with the three gazillion megapixels on the 1Ds MkII there's plenty of room for cropping ;)

I can see no reason why the 1Ds MkII wouldn't do fine as a motorsports camera.

[ehasler]

Great - thanks for the comments everyone.

I was pretty sure that on paper it would do the job, but when you're thinking of spending that amount of money on something you will hopefully not be replacing for a very long time, it's always good to hear 1st hand experiences.

Also, I don't see the 1.3 crop factor of the 1D II as an advantage, as you can always do this in Photoshop afterwards and get exactly the same effect. With 16 MP, you can afford to throw a few pixels away! :D

[CyberDyneSystems]

http://www.pemberley.com/janeinfo/personal/redALERT.gif

X-FACTOR ALERT

We are at 100% X-Factor Alert...

Save yourselves! Women and Children first! All hands on Deck!

Ahhh ooogaa!
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[CoolToolGuy]

http://www.pemberley.com/janeinfo/personal/redALERT.gif

X-FACTOR ALERT

We are at 100% X-Factor Alert...

Save yourselves! Women and Children first! All hands on Deck!

Ahhh ooogaa!
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CDS,

I know this Moderator thing takes a lot of effort, but I really think you have too much time on your hands. :roll:

Have Fun,

[ehasler]

:? Have I missed something here?

[pcasciola]

http://www.pemberley.com/janeinfo/personal/redALERT.gif


OMG, I'm laughing so hard tears are streaming down my face.

Maybe it's time for an X-Factor forum. :wink:

Cadwell makes a great point though. With all those megapixels, even after cropping down the 1Ds I "THINK" the 1Ds would still have more resolution on the cropped area.

[pcasciola]

:? Have I missed something here?

Ummm, yeah. With only 3 posts, you've probably missed somewhere between 10,000 and 20,000 posts on the X-factor:

http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=45388

[KennyG]

Very true... but with the three gazillion megapixels on the 1Ds MkII there's plenty of room for cropping ;)

I answered this on another forum. but it bears repeating. The 1Ds MK-II will show every weakness a lens may have and it is already doing so if you look at some of the reviews. If you crop an image that is already not up to par as a result of the lens, then the end result may not be as good as a lower pixel count camera. You are into the 300 2.8IS without TC or 500 4.0S territory to get the best results. A lot of other L glass just does not cut it.

Most images you see in UK magazines taken with a Canon, are from the 4mp 1D, which is still the predominant camera trackside. The MK-II will take those honours before too long. The 1Ds was/is very rare for sports use and in all my time I have only ever seen one in use.

But, I think you have your heart set on that solution and I will watch with interest.

[CyberDyneSystems]

Sorry ehasler :oops:

It's just that on this forum... for as long as I can remember.. whenever someone mentions the words "cropfactor" "lens equivelent" or even the numbers "1.6" and "1.3" ...


.... well.. all hell breaks loose! :shock: :wink:

[CoolToolGuy]

Sorry ehasler :oops:

It's just that on this forum... for as long as I can remember.. whenever someone mentions the words "cropfactor" "lens equivelent" or even the numbers "1.6" and "1.3" ...


.... well.. all hell breaks loose! :shock: :wink:

Well, then please accept my apologies. I know the topic can spiral off into the stratosphere, but I certainly do not wish to be the seed for that. Should I go stand in the corner for a while? :oops:

Have Fun,

[CyberDyneSystems]

Nah...

...the damage is done...

Could you grab a bucket and help with the bailing though?

:lol: :lol: :lol:

[ehasler]

:D Sorry - I'm new here and didn't realise that the (censored) factor is such a hot topic!!

I was just pointing out that to me the 1.3 crop factor isn't an advantage, and I'd prefer the full frame sensor for the other photography that I do.

Don't worry - I'm not looking to start comparing pixel counts of a cropped 1Ds image vs a 1D II image!! hehe

Hi again Ken :)

I've actually got the 300mm f2.8 already, so have got at least one lens that will match the camera. I realise I'll probably need to invest in a few more lenses if I find out that my others don't quite cut it, but to be honest I'd probably end up doing that anyway whatever body I go for.

I don't think I'll be doing this until early next year if I do go for it - it's a big investment, and I need to save a few more pennies first!

Thanks again for all the comments! :)

[CoolToolGuy]

Well, at the risk of starting another out-of-control sub-thread, If you are considering waiting until next year, pay attention to the PMA show that usually happens in February. That is a popular time for Canon to announce their new hardware.

CDS - I did think before I typed, but I thought it was better to have all the mayhem contained in one thread :shock:

Have Fun,

[Longwatcher]

Very true... but with the three gazillion megapixels on the 1Ds MkII there's plenty of room for cropping ;)

I answered this on another forum. but it bears repeating. The 1Ds MK-II will show every weakness a lens may have and it is already doing so if you look at some of the reviews. If you crop an image that is already not up to par as a result of the lens, then the end result may not be as good as a lower pixel count camera.

I can only think of some esoteric conditions where the 1DsMkII will not do a better job then any other 35mm size DSLR. Even granting the lens now becoming the limiting factor. The prime occasion being if some lens artifacts become more pronounced as a result of Canon's internal processing software. Otherwise if I crop the picture to the same FOV I should get equal or better results then a camera where the pixels are not dense enough to exceed the lens. Since the 20D and 1DsM2 sites are equal in size/spacing (or close) I should get similiar results, I should beat the 1Ds, 1D, 1DM2 and my 10D in almost all occasions provided I am using the same lens at that same distance with the same focal length from the same spot. What I get with the 1DsMII is more FoV thus the outer portions of the lens may start showing their limits thus if I shoot for the same FoV, but not necessarily the rest same, then I can find many occasions where the lens limits will make a difference to the overall shot.

My thoughs are if I am just startng to exceed the existing Lens limits then I have a perfect digital camera.

[Still showing that My 1DsMkII is in Indiana with delivery tomorrow- I thought of just posting the tracking number, but don't want it hijacked :) ]

[ehasler]

Well, after a bit of thinking, I ordered the 1Ds II and it arrives tomorrow!! I can't wait!! :-D