7d or 1d iii

So right now I have a 1d ii and a 7d. Generally, My 7d is mostly used for birding and the 1d is used for most other photography. Though I almost always carry both camera with me wherever I go and use both in what ever circumstance, that is just the guiding principle I run under.

I am considering upgrading the 1d ii to a mark iii. Mostly because one is available locally cheap, and while I havnt done much looking into the mark iii, it seems like a good upgrade in terms of focus system, high ISO proformance, and the LCD screen would be nice. Feel free to comment on this general upgrade.

My major question is, would the 1d iii be a better birding lens than the 7d? Would I really even want the 7d for birding if I had a mark iii?

For reference I use an old non-is 300L for birding with a 2x converter. I doubt I will be ale to afford upgrading it anytime soon. As for the rest of my lens line up, it is ever changing but I will likely never part with my 135L. Also, I just decided to try an all around zoom lens, and picked up a 15-85. So if I got rid of my 7d I'd have to ditch the 15-85 and I think my siggy 8-16 as well.

I'm guessing that if I were to replace the 7d it would be with a 5dc or a 1Ds, maybe a mark ii of one of them, but budget wise that might be tough.

Okay I know that's a lot there, but please give me some advice. Open to any and all comments.

Edit: Also, I've updated my gear list to accurately reflect my current lens line-up. I also have a 17-40L on hand, but either it or the 15-85 need to go.

I've had and sold a 7D. I'd go with the 1DIII myself.

Well, I don't know if this will help, but here it is anyway. I have a 7D and a 1D4. I had the 7D first and was quite happy with it. Used it for birding and it seemed fine. Then I got the 1D4. Now I use it almost all the time and the 7D sits a lot more. The exception is when it's plenty bright and I won't need to use a higher ISO and inject noise into the pictures, and also when I sense that the tighter (in my mind) single point focus will be useful, like when I'm hunting little birds in densely branched underbrush. I do feel the single focus point of the 7D has a finer point than the single point on the 1D4.

The 1D4 is less reachy, with its 1.3 crop, but it provides such cleaner pics at higher ISOs even when I crop tight, I tend to use it a lot more. But here's the thing. Am I going to get rid of the 7D? Not on your life! It's a great second body and works great with a new fisheye I just got

There, more confused than ever? Good luck!

Hi Ian

I found the 7D to really require being on top of the exposure, which I didn't have a problem with, but it can be a really learning curve. I've not shot a 1DIII, but it's quit an outstanding body from what I've read. Personally I'll be getting a 5DIII. The low light AF appears to be really nice.

windpig wrote in post #14152315
I've had and sold a 7D. I'd go with the 1DIII myself.

So if the 1diii was to be my birding lens, what would you recommend as a second camera? Either keep the 7D or replace it with what?

Wallace River wrote in post #14152340
The exception is when it's plenty bright and I won't need to use a higher ISO and inject noise into the pictures, and also when I sense that the tighter (in my mind) single point focus will be useful, like when I'm hunting little birds in densely branched underbrush. I do feel the single focus point of the 7D has a finer point than the single point on the 1D4.

The 1D4 is less reachy, with its 1.3 crop, but it provides such cleaner pics at higher ISOs even when I crop tight, I tend to use it a lot more. But here's the thing. Am I going to get rid of the 7D? Not on your life! It's a great second body and works great with a new fisheye I just got

There, more confused than ever? Good luck!

So maybe the Mark iii (i think the mark iv is out of budget for now) becomes my main birding lens, and the 7d my second body, useful for those special birding situations you described. And as a good second camera?

mjHession wrote in post #14152402
So maybe the Mark iii (i think the mark iv is out of budget for now) becomes my main birding lens, and the 7d my second body, useful for those special birding situations you described. And as a good second camera?

That sounds like a good way to go to me!

mjHession wrote in post #14152402
So if the 1diii was to be my birding lens, what would you recommend as a second camera? Either keep the 7D or replace it with what?

Personally, if I was going to do serious birding I'd be looking at lenses, once I got a good body. How much do you want to spend

The 7D just wasn't my cup of tea IQ wise.

Wallace River wrote in post #14152491
That sounds like a good way to go to me!

Thanks!

windpig wrote in post #14152964
Personally, if I was going to do serious birding I'd be looking at lenses, once I got a good body. How much do you want to spend

The 7D just wasn't my cup of tea IQ wise.

Not sure if you missed my question or just avoided it. I'm trying to figure out if the 7d is the second body to have if the mark iii will be my birding lens, or if I should consider selling it for a 5dc or something. As for lenes, I'm pretty happy with my 300L, sure I'd like a 400L, or even a 500 maybe, I don't have $5000 + to drop on a lens.

Ah, I read it to mean you were thinking of keeping a second birding body. Prices of the 5DII are dropping, I'd wait til they came into you price range and?or you saved the funds. BTW, it really looks like 1dIII's are going to be had very reasonably.

I too have owned and sold a 7D, moved up to 1DMkIII. It has only been a week. So far, one birding trip plus a wildflower trip have been quite pleasant, from both user experience and image outcome. At first i was worried that i might have been spoilt by the setting customizability of the 7D, but i quickly found all the settings that i need to customize to my liking, are customizable in the 1D as well. Phhheeewww.....
The the AF comparison. Right off the bat, i don't have any misfocus in 200+ images i took yesterday. I mean, when viewing them on the monitor, i don't remember saying "Oh geeezzz, this could have been a great shot had the focus been nailed." But on average, the misfocus happened in the ballpark of 5% with my 7D.
Next, I had a chance to shoot at ISO1600 yesterday due to the weather, and the images are CLEAN! Comparing the RAW images from both cameras, this preliminary test shows the 1DMkIII handles 1 to 1.5 stop better in the high ISO noise department. I can't wait to do more noise test like this.

So far I am pretty happy with the change. Will continue to test drive it.

windpig wrote in post #14153166
Ah, I read it to mean you were thinking of keeping a second birding body. Prices of the 5DII are dropping, I'd wait til they came into you price range and?or you saved the funds. BTW, it really looks like 1dIII's are going to be had very reasonably.

First, what I am doing is replacing my 1d2 with a 1d3. Since I am doing this, I am thinking I will start using the 1d3 for birding, making me think maybe I should swap the 7d for something else. And yes, the prices of the 5d's and the 1d's are dropping making this very reasonable to do.

cfcRebel wrote in post #14153200
I too have owned and sold a 7D, moved up to 1DMkIII. It has only been a week. So far, one birding trip plus a wildflower trip have been quite pleasant, from both user experience and image outcome. At first i was worried that i might have been spoilt by the setting customizability of the 7D, but i quickly found all the settings that i need to customize to my liking, are customizable in the 1D as well. Phhheeewww.....
The the AF comparison. Right off the bat, i don't have any misfocus in 200+ images i took yesterday. I mean, when viewing them on the monitor, i don't remember saying "Oh geeezzz, this could have been a great shot had the focus been nailed." But on average, the misfocus happened in the ballpark of 5% with my 7D.
Next, I had a chance to shoot at ISO1600 yesterday due to the weather, and the images are CLEAN! Comparing the RAW images from both cameras, this preliminary test shows the 1DMkIII handles 1 to 1.5 stop better in the high ISO noise department. I can't wait to do more noise test like this.

So far I am pretty happy with the change. Will continue to test drive it.

Sounds like I'll definitely be happy with the 1d3 for birding, now the question is, do I keep the 7d or sell it for something else. And if I do sell it, what do I replace my ef-s lenses with?

Make sure that if you get rid of the 7d that you have enough lens for birding.
i think you mentioned a 300L + 2x TC.
Is that a 300 2.8? ( I assume it is) if so, you have plenty of lens for a 1d3.

go for it. The 7d will get you just over $1k, if you sell the 1d2 and the 7d you should have enough for a 1d3 and most of the way to a 5dc.

mjHession wrote in post #14153564
Sounds like I'll definitely be happy with the 1d3 for birding, now the question is, do I keep the 7d or sell it for something else. And if I do sell it, what do I replace my ef-s lenses with?

If you decide to sell the 7D, you probably should replace the 15-85mm with a 17-40 f4L, a used lens is about $600, or 24-105L IS. The later wins a bit more in my heart because of its versatility especially the telephoto end. I have used a copy and i really enjoyed it. A used lens is about $800. The Sigma, probably replace it with a Sigma 12-24mm.

I have an extremely sharp and contrasty EF-S 10-22mm that I REALLY love, but i don't know what to use with it now. Maybe I'll keep an APS-C camera as backup, and for landscape purpose.

These were taken at ISO1600. Exposure adjustment during PP is 0. Just adjusted contrast and saturation (which normally would accentuate noise), also did some selective sharpening on the subject. No NR done on these. Coming from 7D, i'm extremely delighted with these.

https://photography-on-the.net …/showthread.php​?t=1166533

I have had a chance now to shoot both my 1DMKIII and new-to-me 7d side by side for a week of solid birding, and I would certainly choose the MKIII of the two if I had to keep just one. The custom features of the 7D are great, and on paper it has a lot of specs that are better than the MKIII, but the MKIII definitely seemed to focus and track quicker and more accurately than the 7D. Not to say the 7D is terrible by any means, but the 1-series still has a noticable edge. The MKIII would certainly be a welcome upgrade from your MKII. The MKII is a lovely and capable camera, but among other things the control system in particular is outdated compared to the mk3. I picked up a 1DMKIIN for a backup a couple months ago, and even though I had owned and was proficient in the "two hand" system of the older 1-series bodies in the past, I just found it too frustrating to try and go back to compared to what we have today. As such I traded it for the 7D and am quite happy with my decision. The 7D is a nice camera, and I do like that it is lighter, and more compact, and pairs very nicely with my 70-300L on the days I don't want to trek my 500 and tripod around on my MKIII. It is certainly a trustworthy backup for birding, something I never really felt about my 5Dc. In your case however, I would consider selling the 7D and getting, say a 400 5.6, or another lighter weight birding lens option to complement your 300. You can always pick up another body down the road again.