1D mark III to 7D - upgrade? or downgrade?

I am trading my broken Digital Rebel for 7D through CLP.
will 7D replace my 1DIII?
Wanted to hear from someone who had both bodies.
Thanks in advance.

Don't have a 1D III, but I do have the 1Ds II and a 7D, and I tested the 1Ds II's AI servo, and was totally blown away with the performance. It'll be my go to body. The only thing I like about the 7D over the 1ds is the interface, and joystick, both of which I think they fixed in the 1d III. I don't think there would be a reason for a 7D, unless you want a back up body with a different lens on it or something. I can't image you'll pick to use it instead of the 1D III.

Owned both. went with the 'upgrade' to the 1D3 from the 7D because:
(much)better IQ,imho
weather sealing and 1D ruggedness..
AF system is nearly as good as the 7D, from my limited experience

BUT, the 7D has:
resolution/MP that I REALLY, REALLY miss
more customizable AF system..which is quite brilliant..
MUCH more compact..needed to buy a new bag just for the 1D body size..
and it is just as fast(fps) as the 1Dc/1D2/N at 8fps..
not to mention capable of using some pretty amazing EF-S lenses(17-55 2.8, 10-22,etc,etc)

I really dont think the difference between 1.3x and 1.6x crop factor really affected my decision this time..mainly as I usually buy EF mount lenses anyways so I can use them on any body I buy..no need to trade/sell lenses just to switch bodies(which I do atleast once or twice a year.LOL)
Though, I do use/prefer the 1.6x for greater reach in some cases..which is why I have an xxD backup..

with your list of lenses though, I dont think that will be an issue.

imho, it comes down to what you need more...
IQ vs mp
weather sealing vs compactness
(typically) more expensive lens options vs many lens choices(again,probably not an issue for you)


Imho, you cant go wrong with either one..
I just felt the 1D3 was the best of everything I was looking for; better IQ, and more durable..
but, I am also going to get a 60D(again. I owned it before upgrading to the 7D) to fill my need for mp and a 1.6x crop factor..

Good luck!
hope this helps!

The 7d is okay for the ergonomics and video but I still like my 1d2 better than it. Autofocus is slower, shutter speed is slower, etc. The 1d3 is a way better camera if you forget megapixels and video.

You already have the 5d II so I would buy another 1d instead of the 7d. If not a new body then a lens?

I had 1d2 (not a 3 of course but somewhat similar) and sold it to buy a 7D. So far I am very happy with the change. Size and weight are an obvious advantage. The extra pixels are also handy (less of an issue from a 1D3 of course). The ergonomics are better too and so is the noise above 800 ISO. I don't regret the change and I don't think I would swap it for a 1D3 either.

I had a 1D3 and switched to a 7D. (Pocketed the money.)

The 1D3 is definitely more rugged and just feels like business compared to the 7D. At first glance and at first feel, you'll surely find this to be a downgrade.

And in terms of image quality---disregarding the number of MPs---it surely is a downgrade. I found my 1D3 images to be very very satisfying, rarely in much need of PP, assuming I did my job and exposed properly when shooting. I do mostly wildlife, and a lot of birds in flight. The 1D3 autofocus never let me down.

But I opted for the 7D because I wanted to increase (albeit virtually) my reach. Not only is it a 1.6x (vs the 1D3's 1.3x), but the gain in resolution is 1.8x on top of that. My 400mm lens got a lot more powerful when I switched to the 7D. The autofocus is just as good as the 1D3---in my experience not significantly better, but probably a little better and definitely not worse. (This is all anecdotal---I'm sure others will say it's much better.)

That said, the 7D's images are slightly less satisfying to me than were those from the 1D3. Noise is much more noticeable at, say, ISO 400 on the 7D than it was on the 1D3. Nothing a little PP can't handle, but that means spending more time doing PP! And I find I need to downscale my 7D images more often than not (---not always, but frequently--) in order to get tack-sharp results. So the resolution gain from the 1D3 to the 7D (when you factor in the downscaling) is probably closer to 1.5x than 1.8x.

For me, the biggest benefit to the 7D is that it's not a brick like the 1D3. I tend to go on long outings with a 400mm lens---the lighter weight of the 7D makes a huge difference. The end-result images... it's kind of a wash. I get more reach with the 7D, but the images take a little more effort to "pop" than they did with the 1D3.

Thanks for all the suggestions and responses.
I now have a pretty good idea what to do.

The 7d heralds the new overall design approach of electronic overlay viewfinder and AF logic for Canon. You will see it on the 1d5 or whatever.
7D compliments the 5d2 very well because they share similar top button layout. Really works out nice when switching b/t bodies quickly.
HDSLR with 7D. Lots of sports shooters embraces the 7d as their back-up body. Lighter, nimbler and extra reach to frame Lebron dunking better.

I had a 7d and switched to the 1d mkIII. Nothing really wrong with the 7d, but I had a 1d mk II before and like the feel of the 1d series better, so I switched. I also think the ISO was a little better on the mk III vs the 7d. I didn't need the video as I already have a 5d mk II. I wouldn't call it an upgrade or downgrade, just depends on what an individual is looking for.