Is the 5D3 AF truly similar to the 1x / 7D?

Hi guys -

Right now I am rocking a 5DII and 7D. I use the 5DII for full frame stuffs where low light performance is my concern and I generally like FF. But I use a 7D for motorsports and wildlife as well. So, when I travel, I bring two bodies. With the introduction of the 5DIII, the AF has me intrigued. I know it has a ton of AF points and such, and it can be setup to zones like the 7D which I love, but is the AFs performance on par with a 7D or better? I rely heavily on the AI Servo on my 7D and its tracking ability. I know the 1D4 and surely the 1DX perform equal or better in that regard. How does the 5DIII truly perform in AI Servo? Could it be considered a wildlife photographers camera? Or, is it a 5DII w/ the AF system on steroids but not quite a birding body?

If it's all that I've read, I may consider trading out my 5DII and 7D for a 5DIII. Would others agree?

Thanks guys

Jon

The AF performance of the 5D3 is similar, but slightly better, than the 7D. The only thing you'll miss if you sell the 7D, IMO, is the added "reach" you get for wildlife.

I kept my 7D to use as a second wildlife body when we travel to combination landscape / wildlife destinations. The plan is to use the 100-400L on the 7D and 24-105L on the 5D3, thereby greatly reducing the amount of lens changes needed. For now, I'll also use the 7D for ultra-wide angle shots, as I have yet to replace the 10-22mm with a 17-40L -- it's not a high priority, as I do not shoot very much UWA.

I cannot think of an instance where I would grab the 7D over the 5D3 when taking one body. I'm looking forward to shooting ice hockey this fall/winter with the 5D3 -- it's better high ISO performance should be a big benefit, and I doubt the slightly lower FPS will be much of a factor.

1DX will have faster & superior tracking than the MKIII

MKIII has faster & superior tracking than the 7D.

That's from what I understand. The AF systems themselves are very similar.

Open to correction.

Do you think the AI servo in the 5DIII is like night and day better than the 7D? Or just comparable? Like you said, I'd lose that "reach" and the FPS will be slightly lower (not that big of a deal to me). If I sold my 5DII and 7D I could probably get into a 5DIII for around $500 - $800 I would think. But, would it be worth it? My shutter count on a single body would go way way up.

I do not see the AI Servo performance being "night and day" better than the 7D, as that camera already has excellent AF performance. There are more AF points, which come in handy. Also, there are more configuration options to fine tune AF to meet your specific shooting situations.

Image quality and high ISO performance are both significantly better on the 5D3 over the 7D, but you already get the benefit of that with your 5D2. The biggest benefit would be combining the best of both into a single body.