5D MKIII or 5DMKII+7D

Hey everyone. I need some opinions. I'm currently shooting with a 5DMKII. I Love it but I'm missing a lot when it comes to sports.(AF and FPS). I'm trying to decide which would be the better choice, just buy a 5DMKIII or keep shooting with my 5DMKII and buy a used 7D for sports. What do you all think. Any advice is appreciated 😊

what kind of sports?

Personally I use 5d3's for motorsport

I know lots that use the 1d3 for motorsport. maybe worth considering instead of a 7d?

I've never had any of the cameras you mention, but I do value having one full frame and one apsc body. It makes my lens collection a bit more versatile. I have a 60D and a 6D.

I got rid of a 1D mark three because I felt it was too geared up for sports and wildlife. I got the 5D3 cause I was told it was a good all rounder and with the same AF system as a 1Dx you can't go wrong. Errmm no.

Get shot of your current gear and get a 1D mark IV. Same price as a 5D3 and quicker off the mark. It'll laugh in the face of rainy days and take a few knocks too. Look at the amount of posts from 5D3 owners who say the camera isn't weather proof and also that the AF system might be from the 1Dx but it's certainly not a quick camera. Outdone in response times with at least the 1D markII

yngblass wrote in post #17122240
Hey everyone. I need some opinions. I'm currently shooting with a 5DMKII. I Love it but I'm missing a lot when it comes to sports.(AF and FPS). I'm trying to decide which would be the better choice, just buy a 5DMKIII or keep shooting with my 5DMKII and buy a used 7D for sports. What do you all think. Any advice is appreciated 😊

5D3 is more than sufficient for sports. The only advantage the 7D brings is the cropped FOV it provides at a higher resolution. If you are not reach-limited, the 5D3 is the correct answer.

Paulstw wrote in post #17122316
I got rid of a 1D mark three because I felt it was too geared up for sports and wildlife. I got the 5D3 cause I was told it was a good all rounder and with the same AF system as a 1Dx you can't go wrong. Errmm no.

Get shot of your current gear and get a 1D mark IV. Same price as a 5D3 and quicker off the mark. It'll laugh in the face of rainy days and take a few knocks too. Look at the amount of posts from 5D3 owners who say the camera isn't weather proof and also that the AF system might be from the 1Dx but it's certainly not a quick camera. Outdone in response times with at least the 1D markII

Certainly not my experience. I spent 2 games tweaking the AF settings, but once I had the right combination, the AF was lightning fast. I could just be sitting there, and as a player sprints and makes his jump for a dunk, I can pick up the camera, focus and shoot him doing the dunk in 1 sec (that includes my moving the camera into position, then hitting the AF ON). No tracking, etc. Now there might be faster paced randomized action sports beyond NBA players out there that the 5D3 may not be quite up to task, but I don't know what they are. The 5D3 is certainly more than enough for children athletic events, which is what this situation is. The 7D is more than sufficient for that too, so either direction is fine, as called out in the OP, but the 5D3 low light ISO will be much better and out of camera JPGs are better due to the new JPG engine over the 5D2 and 7D.

My history is with 2 1D3s, 1 1D4, a few 7Ds, and now the 5D3. They are all quite close, the 7D at the end of the line though, but the 5D3 is very close to the 1D3/1D4, almost no difference that I can see.

The final championship game of this last season, all with the 5D3. Then again, this is just my opinion on the matter, what do I know beyond what I shoot?
NBA D-League Final Championship

One of my favorite shots due to his expression. He was fun to shoot. This was ISO 20000, which comes in handy in night high school football for example.

TeamSpeed wrote in post #17122612
Certainly not my experience. I spent 2 games tweaking the AF settings, but once I had the right combination, the AF was lightning fast. I could just be sitting there, and as a player sprints and makes his jump for a dunk, I can pick up the camera, focus and shoot him doing the dunk in 1 sec (that includes my moving the camera into position, then hitting the AF ON). No tracking, etc. Now there might be faster paced randomized action sports beyond NBA players out there that the 5D3 may not be quite up to task, but I don't know what they are. The 5D3 is certainly more than enough for children athletic events, which is what this situation is. The 7D is more than sufficient for that too, so either direction is fine, as called out in the OP, but the 5D3 low light ISO will be much better and out of camera JPGs are better due to the new JPG engine over the 5D2 and 7D.

My history is with 2 1D3s, 1 1D4, a few 7Ds, and now the 5D3. They are all quite close, the 7D at the end of the line though, but the 5D3 is very close to the 1D3/1D4, almost no difference that I can see.

The final championship game of this last season, all with the 5D3.
NBA D-League Final Championship

Interesting thoughts. Do you think its lens dependant?

yngblass wrote in post #17122240
Hey everyone. I need some opinions. I'm currently shooting with a 5DMKII. I Love it but I'm missing a lot when it comes to sports.(AF and FPS). I'm trying to decide which would be the better choice, just buy a 5DMKIII or keep shooting with my 5DMKII and buy a used 7D for sports. What do you all think. Any advice is appreciated 😊

Heya,

Depends on if you want a dedicated body for action, and a full frame body for the rest. If that's the case, the 7D would be a great option, because it's inexpensive. Why spend $3k when you can spend $800 for the same shot, essentially? I also consider what's the end result of the shot... web image? Print? Magazine? Personal viewing on a 1920x1080px monitor? Think about that. A lot stress certain qualities but those qualities are very much nill depending on what the actual view medium and size is at the end of the day.

I would take a 1D4 over the 5D3 if I were out in the elements shooting motorsports and action in general. Same cost. More robust.

But if you're happy with your 5D2 for everything except action, the 7D would be a good way to inexpensively take care of that niche genre for you. Plus you would have a backup camera...

Very best,

Paulstw wrote in post #17122626
Interesting thoughts. Do you think its lens dependant?

I know it is. When I had the 1D4, I had countless low light AF issues. I sent it in, Canon tweaked it, but still it was buggy. Only Canon USM lenses seemed to latch on focus and stay on it, others, including Canon's non USM non L would ratchet and lose focus. The 1D3 (both) didn't have this issue, so there was something inherent with the 1D4 and certain lenses.

I only shoot with the 70-200 f2.8L on the 5D3 during this games. Doesn't miss a beat now. It did in the first 2 games, I was very disappointed with some of the results, but worked through what each setting did under the 2-3 AF menus, and created my own custom setting from one of the canned ones out of the camera. This made a huge difference IMO, coupled with proper lenses.

That reminds me, I need to write those down before I lose them. The season is about to start again...

There is no need to spend $3000+ for a 5D3. Just pick on up via the loyalty program with Canon's refurbished inventory. You will spend $2400-2500. You get a 1 year warranty. Used 1D4s still sell higher than this. I will pick up another 1D4, but only once they hit the $2000-2300 range.

TeamSpeed wrote in post #17122633
I know it is. When I had the 1D4, I had countless low light AF issues. I sent it in, Canon tweaked it, but still it was buggy. Only Canon USM lenses seemed to latch on focus and stay on it, others, including Canon's non USM non L would ratchet and lose focus. The 1D3 (both) didn't have this issue, so there was something inherent with the 1D4 and certain lenses.

I only shoot with the 70-200 f2.8L on the 5D3 during this games. Doesn't miss a beat now. It did in the first 2 games, I was very disappointed with some of the results, but worked through what each setting did under the 2-3 AF menus, and created my own custom setting from one of the canned ones out of the camera. This made a huge difference IMO, coupled with proper lenses.

That reminds me, I need to write those down before I lose them. The season is about to start again...

Cheers for the write up. I guess with the 2.8 lenses you're getting ful advantage of the extra sensitivity of all the dual cross type AF points. drastically reduced with f/4 lenses. I'll be swapping my f/4 out for a 2.8 soon

What sports and what lens you currently have. I like 5dmk3 for sports, only thing I wish is fps being higher when I need it.

It's children athletics, that was all I gleaned.

Thank You everyone for your input. I really appreciate it. Like I said I love the 5DMKII,I even get good action shots from it but I need more than the camera can give me pertaining to action shooting. By the way it's youth sports(Football,Basket​ball,Track&Field etc.) I shoot with a 70-200 2.8 L lens. I figured since the 5DMKII is great in the studio and portrait. I should just save some money and grab a used 7D solely for action. I'm gonna look into a refurbished 5DMKIII though. I really want it but not in a hurry to spend $3500 lol

I had the exact combination 5DII+7D and I hated it. I am much happier with a single 5DIII which does almost everything better than the 5DII or the 7D. The 5DIII has a great AF system and excellent high ISO capabilities (which allows higher shutter speeds indoors), making it perfect for sports. It also has a full frame sensor which provides more depth of field for portraits. Go with the 5DIII. You won't regret it. I really hated the 7D. Frustrating AF and lots of noise, even in good light. Teamspeed will tell you the 7D can produce great images if you use his custom post processing noise action, but who has time for that? If you just want beautiful noise-free, in-focus images right out of the camera, get a 5DIII.