1Ds

I have the chance to pick up a 1Ds for under $700. Is this price in the ball park? My current line up is a 5Dc & 50D both are gripped so size is not the issue. I shoot landscape to youth sports to live bands in dark bars. I've got good glass. I have not yet put my hands on the 1Ds but from the pictures there seems to only be minor normal wear. By moving up to the 1Ds will I gain anything over what I'm using now? Only 59,000 activations.

I'm not sure what gain you would find over what you are currently using. You could probably pickup a 1D2 in that price range or a little more, which would be a better beast IMHO. Battery life on the older 1D/ 1Ds models is a typical complaint.

I would go with a 1d mii over the 1ds since you already have a 5d.

That ten year old 1Ds would basically give you slightly lower image resolution and lower ISO performance than your 5D Classic (11MP/12 bit vs 13MP/12 bit, ISO 50-1250 vs ISO 50-3200), but a far better 45-point focusing system than either of your current cameras, usable at f8 (center AF point only). It uses a much more expensive but longer lived battery.

1Ds has 100% viewfinder, compared to 5Dc's 96%. Also, 1/250 flash sync, vs 1/200. Exposure compensation: +/- three stops vs two stops. Both offer about 3 fps shooting speed. The 5Dc has a 2.5" LCD monitor, while the 1Ds' is 2".

The original 1Ds' shutter was rated to 150,000 cycles, so the shutter count on that one shows it's seen about half it's useful life... but that's purely an estimate... it could die tomorrow or live for twice or three times it's life expectancy.

Thank you for the responses. You all confirmed what I was thinking, since I don’t have to replace anything yet and there is no real gain in changing equipment I think I’ll just let this one pass by and wait.