Help me choose 1DIII vs 70D

Focus on the 70d is strong. Mine certainly seems better than the 7ds that I had. 1DIII is very nice but a little less versatile.

I guess, FWIW, if you put my 1D3 on a table next to a boxed new 70D and let me choose, I'd still walk away with my 1D3.

Certainly not an easy decision, and that's reflected in the fact that the 1D3 used price is about the same as the 70D. You'd certainly be able to crop tighter with the 70D, but for handling and AF customization, I think the 1D3 would take it for sports. It's very simple for me to quickly change from responsive AF that is happy to change subjects as fast as they pass through the focus point, to AF that understands that the butterfly swimmer will be back momentarily, and that focus should wait for her to surface before hunting. You can write out all of your settings to the memory card, one for each common setting you shoot with, and load them as you go from shoot to shoot.

70D will get you 80% of the handling, especially with a grip, so it will be a huge improvement over the T3i in that respect. I have held a 70D, but only shot with 50D and 60D, and they are all great feeling and strong performing bodies.

I don't think there's a wrong choice here, but for sports shooting, I don't think you'll be disappointed with a 1D3. I think it's the less risky choice, because you can try it for a couple months, and if you don't like it, sell it for very nearly what you paid. In the mean time, the 70D price will likely drop for the holidays and you can pick one up cheaper anyway, and still be shooting with a 1D until then.

Thanks WR. Here is another question since I already own a 1D IIN, and I love it, should I or would it be worth it to move up to the III? I do understand the III has a higher ISO in general.

Tough call there. I know a lot of folks loved the 1D IIN. There were several folks who got a bad-AF affected 1D3, and it burned them pretty badly. ISO noise level on my 1D3 is about the same as my T2i (and your T3i), but the noise is much more pleasant, so I'd still give it a 1/3 stop advantage on what I consider "usable," since it's more grainy looking than digital.

There are probably some 1D2n vs. 1D3 threads running around. You do get a much lighter battery, amazing battery life, better LCD (though not amazing), and 25% improvement in continuous shot rate...

Thanks again.

So, what did you decide? If you haven't made a decision, I'll just throw in my two cents. I currently own the 1DIII, 70D, 7D, and a 5DII. My 1DIII has not seen the light of day in a year or more. I shoot equestrian sports and the 1DIII just did not give me enough magnification or resolution. The 7D became my go-to camera with a 70-200 f/2.8L IS II and a 1.4x TC-II. The autofocus of the 1DIII is still amazing compared to pretty much anything out there. The body is just about indestructible and user ergonomics are spot on. But, in the end it's the image that I need and the 7D just got it done better than the 1DIII.

So now I have the 70D which I bought only for its video capability. Truly, I have not taken a single photo with it in the two months I've had it. If video is important to you, take a serious look at this camera! I own a new Canon XA20 pro video camera and I will choose the 70D almost every time. The autofocus for video is amazing! The new video compression is 90mbps and the image quality is really good considering it's a DSLR.

Now if you amble on over to the 70D users thread, you will notice that a lot of guys are trading in their 7D for the 70D. They feel the AF is more accurate, the metering is more accurate, and the high-ISO noise is slightly better. In my world, that means the 70D is the winner over the 1DIII.

Bob

I ended up getting a 6D. I decided to move to a full frame camera and I will keep my II N for sports. LOL.

OuttaCtrl wrote in post #16427397
I ended up getting a 6D. I decided to move to a full frame camera and I will keep my II N for sports. LOL.

looks like you now got all the bases covered - full frame and the crops

watt100 wrote in post #16428564
looks like you now got all the bases covered - full frame and the crops

Yeah until I sell my T3i.

Mike Deep wrote in post #16371030
Doesn't matter. If you're shooting sports and would like your pictures to be in focus, 1D.

Are you claiming the 7D & 70D (same AF system) can't shoot sports because of their horrible AF system?

YashicaFX2 wrote in post #16428959
Are you claiming the 7D & 70D (same AF system) can't shoot sports because of their horrible AF system?

They do not have the same AF system: 70D is missing the 7D's AF expansion, and spot AF.

1D3 has AF expansion, and it's a significant help in many situations. I agree that it's silly to suggest that only a 1D will AF in a sports setting, but your keeper rate will go up, vs. a 70D, on top of just getting more shots.

waterrockets wrote in post #16429050
They do not have the same AF system: 70D is missing the 7D's AF expansion, and spot AF.

1D3 has AF expansion, and it's a significant help in many situations. I agree that it's silly to suggest that only a 1D will AF in a sports setting, but your keeper rate will go up, vs. a 70D, on top of just getting more shots.

Semantics. They do have the same hardware. The 70D has newer software, with fewer options, powered by a faster computer. I would assume some of the algorithms of the 70D are improved, too.

My comments stemmed from the apparent claim that the 70D/7D wasn't good for shooting sports. I am sure the 1D3 will shoot action. That does not mean the 7D/70D is incapable.

YashicaFX2 wrote in post #16429132
Semantics. They do have the same hardware. The 70D has newer software, with fewer options, powered by a faster computer. I would assume some of the algorithms of the 70D are improved, too.

70D has no joystick for AF point selection, and only has one processor, so it's not the same hardware either. One AF hardware improvement is the dual-pixel CMOS AF for live-view AF, but that's not going to play into sports shooting.

Note that we're talking about some pretty high-end bodies, all three of them, so differences around sports shooting are are going to be minor. AF expansion can make a difference in a sport like soccer or football, where you don't know what the next move is going to be.

YashicaFX2 wrote in post #16429132
My comments stemmed from the apparent claim that the 70D/7D wasn't good for shooting sports. I am sure the 1D3 will shoot action. That does not mean the 7D/70D is incapable.

Agreed.

waterrockets wrote in post #16429187
70D has no joystick for AF point selection, and only has one processor, so it's not the same hardware either. One AF hardware improvement is the dual-pixel CMOS AF for live-view AF, but that's not going to play into sports shooting.

Note that we're talking about some pretty high-end bodies, all three of them, so differences around sports shooting are are going to be minor. AF expansion can make a difference in a sport like soccer or football, where you don't know what the next move is going to be.

I think the joystick is a matter of preference and experience. I, and lots of others, use the 60D/70D system and do quite well with it. That said, I don't see many posts where someone who gets used to the joystick system complains about it and wants to go back.

The matter of one chip on the 70D versus multiples on the 7D is largely irrelevant. It is quite possible to build more power, more functionality and processing speed into one new chip than was available in previous multiple chips. In that respect, the 70D represents an improvement over the 7D. I have no idea how it compares to the 1DIII system. I would suppose the 1DIII system is superior.

I agree that at this level, it takes a lot more than a decent camera to get good action shots. I do not have the sports knowledge, or the photographic abilities, to make full use of a 1D-series camera.

My original comment was in reference to Mike Deeps statement about 'the 1DIII/70D comparison':
"Doesn't matter. If you're shooting sports and would like your pictures to be in focus, 1D." Mike Deep.
That is over the top.

YashicaFX2 wrote in post #16429296
I think the joystick is a matter of preference and experience. I, and lots of others, use the 60D/70D system and do quite well with it. That said, I don't see many posts where someone who gets used to the joystick system complains about it and wants to go back.

Lack of the joystick is why my 70D will never replace my 7D or 1DIII for action shooting. I shoot in single point AF AI Servo and continually move that point around to achieve the best composition. I just can't find a quick technique for this with the 70D. I do however agree that all three cameras are very capable sports/action shooters.

Bob