Camera for portraits - FF or Crop

I currently own 1D Mark lll and I absolutely love it. My style of shooting has always been sports and wildlife. My question is, my first Grandchild is coming and I know I will be taking a ton of pictures...lol. Wondering if a FF camera would be better for this style shooting.
I have a many different lens, but none I think are good for portraits on a crop camera. 85mm is way to long.
I am looking at the 6D and the 5D Mark lll. If I go FF. My 85 will see a lot more use and was thinking of also picking up the 50mm 1.8 STM lens.
Any suggestions for good lens to use if I just use the 1D and don't go FF would be great.
All suggestions welcomed, thank you.

britt777 wrote in post #18030740
I currently own 1D Mark lll and I absolutely love it. My style of shooting has always been sports and wildlife. My question is, my first Grandchild is coming and I know I will be taking a ton of pictures...lol. Wondering if a FF camera would be better for this style shooting.
I have a many different lens, but none I think are good for portraits on a crop camera. 85mm is way to long.
I am looking at the 6D and the 5D Mark lll. If I go FF. My 85 will see a lot more use and was thinking of also picking up the 50mm 1.8 STM lens.
Any suggestions for good lens to use if I just use the 1D and don't go FF would be great.
All suggestions welcomed, thank you.

First off, you need a new camera. Not for any particular reason, but just because you do. Buy one. That process has always worked for me. Full disclosure: I am currently using a 1DIII and a 6D.

Ok, now to some actual ponderings on your situation. Of course a new full-frame camera will offer some improvements in IQ, particularly in the realm of ISO and noise. That said, the 1DIII is quite respectable in those regards. If you don't plan to shoot very much at 3200 and above, the gain will be negligible. Comparing 6D to 5DIII, now. The only real advantage 5D3 offers over the 6D is auto-focus. You already have a camera with killer AF. If you go FF, go with the 6D. Of course, the controls on both are vastly different from than the 1DIII. One advantage the 6D offers is it's size and weight. It feels like a P&S after handling the 1DIII.

As far as focal length goes, buying a new body AND new lenses doesn't make sense to me. Instead of getting FF and 50 STM, why not just get a 35 IS (35L, Σ35A) for your 1DIII? Same logic applies to any other lens you may consider. The difference in apparent focal length from FF to 1.3X is not really huge. I use my lenses interchangeably without thought (my wife says I'm good at 'without thought'). At the wider end of things (28mm and wider), I go with the 6D. If you end up doing a lot of wide (16-35?), you may want that FF after all.

If you love what you have, and it satisfies all your needs currently, then for family candids, etc, just get a new lens as previously suggested.

I would add a 50 1.8 STM to the party, it is a very inexpensive purchase and will provide a good tool in family candids on your existing crop body.

What is your current equipment list other than the 1D3 and 85?

My most used lens for shooting pics of my Grandkids is the 24-105.

Tapeman wrote in post #18030848
My most used lens for shooting pics of my Grandkids is the 24-105.

Using what camera?

If it matters, I use my 24-105 on both full frame and aps-h. The difference is negligible. A bit of extra reach on the 1DIII. A bit of extra wide on the 6D. For the most part, irrelevant.

Your 24-105 and a 50mm on FF will be sweet. Probably not worth it for IQ alone, but if you factor in the DOF and the lens selection, it will be a noticeable upgrade. Used 5D3's are going for a good price.

rebelsimon wrote in post #18030861
Your 24-105 and a 50mm on FF will be sweet. Probably not worth it for IQ alone, but if you factor in the DOF and the lens selection, it will be a noticeable upgrade. Used 5D3's are going for a good price.

My first post decried the need for a 5D3. After thinking about it for a bit, it seems the AF on the 6D would be a bit disappointing to someone used to a 1DIII. In AI-Servo, my 6D may as well be a center-point only camera. Just a thought. BTW, I had my 6D long enough to fall in love with it BEFORE getting the 1DIII.

DOF differences between the APS-H and FF isn't that noticeable. I gained very little in adding the 5D2 to my 1D4, in all honesty. The APS-H format was an outstanding compromise between FF and APS-C, it's too bad that format is gone.

If the 24-105 is in the bag, then I suggest just setting it at 50mm and trying it out.

Lenses in bag 28mm 1.8- 40mm 2.8- 85mm 1.8- 24-105mm 4 - 100mm 2.8 - 70-200mm 2.8 (non IS)

Im just wondering if FF camera is better to use for still-portrait photography. Im not looking to get rid of my 1D Mark III.
I see a lot of people using FF for weddings and portrait photography. Since I don't normally shoot that way and am not familiar with FF cameras, just wondering if it would be worth investing in or if I should just use 1D and invest in glass.

I think you are already set with the 40 and 85 on aps-h. The 70-200 just puts the icing on the cake. You don't really 'need' anything. That said, a 6D and 50L would be nice, wouldn't it?

The 1dmkiii is very capable as a portrait camera. As others have mentioned the crop is close enough to full frame to be insignificant. And it's not a complete slouch being able to pull off iso 1600, and in a pinch iso 3200. I used to shoot portraits mainly with a 1.6 crop without issue, I also used an FF body for a spell. I think the Idmkiii is the best of both worlds and has great capabilities in af as you are well aware. I think your lens selection is fine, if you want a bit wider get the 17-40 or 16-35.

britt777 wrote in post #18030857
Using what camera?

I had been using my 1DIV but now a 5DSR. My 5DII autofocus was a bit more challenging so not often used.

britt777 wrote in post #18030740
I currently own 1D Mark lll and I absolutely love it. My style of shooting has always been sports and wildlife. My question is, my first Grandchild is coming and I know I will be taking a ton of pictures...lol. Wondering if a FF camera would be better for this style shooting.

Some of the cameras mentioned here, such as the 6D, are great for "portraits" when you mean posed adolescents or adults. But I consider photographing a toddler to be essentially wildlife photography I mean that in terms of which equipment works best, sports and wildlife gear is often the best fit. Little kids move around quickly, they aren't patient posers, and that perfect expression of joy or surprise you hope to capture is often as fleeting a moment as getting a bird in flight's wings positioned just right. So, things like FPS and AF tracking performance matter.

So basically, 1DmkIII is already a good fit IMHO.

For those considering a new camera for documenting the first 5+ years in the life of a child, I would hugely prefer a 7D2, 70D or 80D over the 6D or 5D2, because of frame rate and AF system. The 80D probably has the best video capability of the lot, making it a superb all-around grandchild photography/videograph​y solution. Realistically, the 5D3 is going to be capable as well, because it has a decent frame rate and top-notch AF system. But it's also a lot more expensive than a 7D2 or 80D. As a 6D owner who has tried to use that camera both for bird photography and 7-year-old daughter photography, I just can't recommend it. I use my 6D only for studio portraiture and landscape.

For kids playing and portraits, I actually like the 24-70 range better on the 1d3 compared to the FF. It also focuses better than the 24-105 because of f/2.8 cross sensitive AF points.

50mm stm fits in nicely with your other primes and is relatively cheap. Why not pick one up and see if that takes care of your itch?

Something to think about... stills are nice, but this generation of kids are all about touch screen and video. My oldest is 7, I got a DSLR because of him. Sure we like looking and talking about the photos, but we all love, and they prefer watching the videos. I look back and think I should have taken a lot more video in between the stills. So, if you are considering getting another body, maybe consider the differences in video options.