1D IV owners...Please read

Looks like I may be collecting on a settlement in June. I have allowed myself 7K to 8K for photo gear. I am considering the following:

First off I shoot just about everything. Lots of wildlife, street, portraits, birds and events. I love it all.

7D and a LOT of nice glass. (already have a 70-200 II)
or
1D Mark IV with a 24-70 and the 70-200 II with enough cash left to buy 1 longer lens and or a converter.

Both have their pros and cons. I have owned a 7D before and liked it but, found that if I did not nail exposure EXACTLY right I ended up with lots of noise; even at low ISO. I do love the reach with the 70-200 II and a 2X converter though!

Have not had the 1D Mark IV. Have read everything I could find about it and it looks like a great compromise between FF and 1.6. I did try a 5D Mark II but did not like loosing that much reach. I know I will loose some with the Mark IV but, with a 400mm should be about the same as a 1.6 with a 300 (which I have owned).

So would you go with the 7D and a crap load of nice glass or the 1D mark IV.

(corrected)

A 7D and 24-70/70-200 make a good combo

Actually they are in stock at several stores. B&H, Adorama If they sell I will wait. Wife has a 7D (sold mine) so will not be an issue.

Nice glass will out last the camera everytime. 7D is a nice camera but I would go full frame 5D or 5D mk2 with L series lenses if I were in your shoes! IMHO

If you already have a 7D in the family, a 5D MKII might treat you well ?


I have a 7D and both the above lenses, and I love them =)

5dmk2 is the way to go. You might like the IQ too much though...

1D4 all the way. I own both and while the 7D is a great body the 1D4 is in another league.

For the cost of the 1D4, you could get a 5D2 and a 7D. I have the two body combo and they complement each other incredibly well. If I were only to have one body, would be the 5D2 and a bunch of good glass.

The 1D4 is a great body, but I personally didn't think it was worth the double price premium over the 1D3

Two expensive zooms with no better than f/2.8 make no sense. You need to prime around some.

1d3 and a big bag of primes?

uOpt wrote in post #12385627
Two expensive zooms with no better than f/2.8 make no sense. You need to prime around some.

1d3 and a big bag of primes?

Could still add some primes. Could still spend about 1800 more if I bought the 1D IV and 24-70 (would be selling the wife's 7D if I buy the 1D IV)

I just got the 1DIV (2 days ago) so a little biased. But you don't really "NEED" fast glass for the 1DIV. My 24-105 with it's ISO capabilities has found a new lease of life.

K6AZ wrote in post #12385586
1D4 all the way. I own both and while the 7D is a great body the 1D4 is in another league.

1D4 without a doubt. I don't know of any Canon I'd rather own except maybe the 1DS3 because I don't shoot sports as much as I used to.

The 1D4 is a much better camera than the 7D. BUT, I would rather own better glass (a 300 f/2.8 IS or 400 2.8 on a 7D) than just a 1D4.

TwoShoes wrote in post #12385859
I just got the 1DIV (2 days ago) so a little biased. But you don't really "NEED" fast glass for the 1DIV. My 24-105 with it's ISO capabilities has found a new lease of life.

Honestly the ISO capabilities of the 7D, 5D2, and 1D4 make the 24-105 very usable in all but the dimmest light. I just don't see going to the expense to gain one stop. Some really fast primes make more sense, at least to me.

The 7D will focus better in EV0/EV1 situations... as would the 5D2.

I suggest an alternative to your poll choices.... a 1D3 and a few nice quality lenses. It solves the low light issue, the 1D3 does wonderfully, I just ran another test between the 1D3 and 1D4 this weekend, and the 1D3 just slaughtered the 1D4 in AI Servo, even after its trip to Canon.