Beloved 1D Mark III to Sony A7RII

Sounds like you need to test a Fuji X-t2. The fuji lens lineup is extremely impressive!!

You can buy a battery grip that would increase shots to 11 fps and longer 4k video footage.The sharpness in the video is excellent with little jello rolling shutter. Shoots 6k so that you get true 4k uncropped similar to the panasonic gh5. Shoot with Fuji's film simulation during the video and it's almost like a graded video straight out of camera. Haven't heard much people complaining about the X-t2 overheating in 4k vid mode.

I've recently seen some example video of the gh5 being impressed. I thought they were low light but actually they were shot at unchallenging iso 1600 (must look for those videos). $2700CDN bucks for an M43 sensor is alot of money considering how it'll have the typical difficulty in high iso shooting in low light.

I still love shooting with the 80D. The stills image quality still is one of the best Canon crop sensors I've ever used. IQ surpasses the 1dmk3 by a huge margin!!! Video with adobe premiere treatment is quite nice.

Drisley if you look at the X-T2 it's often compared side by side the Nikon D500. The D500 destroys Canon's 7dmk2 virtually in every categories of a sports camera in the crop sensor world.

My Fuji X-T2 high iso is a pleasure to shoot. The noise is not like the artifacting noise you get from Canon. Noise is actually pleasant looking. Colour does not look nasty like Canon when pushing it at very high ISO's. I want the 5d4 but so far for stills my 5d3 will do just fine for my events photography.

Go out and rent an X-T2. After analyzing my fuji files both 16mp and 24mp the image quality doesn't leave you with the feeling that FF is superior like back in the day when crop sensors were mediocre. I'm finding the image quality to be so close to full frame that I can probably go full on Fuji gear "IF" they had a better flash system. At least now they have a good EF-X500 ttl/hss flash on the market...finally!!!

So far I have zero regrets for purchasing my X-t2 and I still love my 80D. With the X-t2 I can comfortably leave my house knowing I can produce high quality stills with a prime lens with no hesitation. I can never say the same when I owned M43 smaller sensor gear since RAW files fall apart as you hit iso 3200. Stills I can comfortably shoot with the 5d2/5d3 with remote flash for receptions/events.

The new Fuji X-T20 is hitting stores this week. It's a mini X-t2 with virtually "almost" identical specs. I'll be picking up one of those too as it will also shoot amazing 4k/1080 vid with fuji presets.

Oddly I still cant let go of my Canon dslr gear. Fuji has smaller native lenses that are pro quality. I think I can still transition to Sony using a metabone adapter putting full size dslr lenses as well as using massive Sony native G master lenses on a tiny body. However I'll admit I like the fuji look more than the punchy contrast/vibrant Sony "look".

You gotta find what suits your needs and what feels good in your hands.

Editing 4K is no joke. Is your computer up to it?

What kind of mount is that which you have your mic on? I haven't seen this type of setup before. Is it built-in to the tripod or can it be added to any tripod?

ProwlingTiger wrote in post #18280330
What kind of mount is that which you have your mic on? I haven't seen this type of setup before. Is it built-in to the tripod or can it be added to any tripod?

That was a last minute quick "throw together". It's actually a manfrotto mount that I use to hold my studio strobe on an autopole. I used a umbrella mount with a plastic strip that I use to put multiple speedlites on.

All I wanted to do is to move the mic forward in front of the lens so it does not pick up lens noise. It works awesome and the quality from those Rode mic's are decent instead of buying an external mic that I'd have to sync in post.

Thanks, I might steal this idea if I ever have need of it in the future

Thank you, and yes, that is a camera I've definitely considered (Xt-2). I only wish it had a full frame sensor as I've never owned one, more for that magical 3d shallow DOF look than anything else.

Well, I have the most powerful iMac there is (27" 5K- Late 2015 - i7 4GHZ - 4GB M395x, currently 8GB memory but upgrading to 64GB)

drisley wrote in post #18280134
I keep wondering if a Sony A7R III is just around the corner with a lot of the new A6500 abilities in a full frame camera.

This is likely the case. The guts of a hypothetical a7rIII already exist in the a99II. The a99II is basically a hybrid of a mirrorless body and a DSLR. Remove the SLT mirror and you have a really solid mirrorless body with the sensor of the a7rII and the AF system and processing capabilities of the a6500.

There are a couple things about the A99II that don't seem fantastic. I dont think the E Mount (if I have this correct) lens lineup is that great, and I hear it's crippled in video mode when it comes to AF?

Also, I wonder why these companies refuse to put full swivel LCD screens on their top end cameras. I had that on my 2nd camera ever owned, a Canon G series camera from well over 12 years ago (I think it was the G3?). The new Olympus (can't remember the name it's such an odd naming scheme, but I know it's a MkII) is such a fantastic groundbreaking camera as far as thinking outside the box, it has a swivel LCD and is very robust. IQ is lacking though in my humble opinion.

Seems you either get great IQ, or robust build and features, but not really both.

drisley wrote in post #18282317
There are a couple things about the A99II that don't seem fantastic. I dont think the E Mount (if I have this correct) lens lineup is that great, and I hear it's crippled in video mode when it comes to AF?

Also, I wonder why these companies refuse to put full swivel LCD screens on their top end cameras. I had that on my 2nd camera ever owned, a Canon G series camera from well over 12 years ago (I think it was the G3?). The new Olympus (can't remember the name it's such an odd naming scheme, but I know it's a MkII) is such a fantastic groundbreaking camera as far as thinking outside the box, it has a swivel LCD and is very robust. IQ is lacking though in my humble opinion.

Seems you either get great IQ, or robust build and features, but not really both.

The olympus E-M1 mk2 is the one your speaking of. Image quality is great in good light but as the light gets challenging virtually all M43 sensors struggle still. That is the way it is but there's a reason why they heavily rely on image stabilization in body and lens. There are benefits but when you require faster shutter to stop action the Micro 4/3 sensor is not the best for IQ in low light. However this is where a photog's personal acceptance of IQ varies. Often enough I hear "It's good enough for my needs/application". Same goes for any gear really........ Even though the GH5 looks appealing to me for video I don't think I can buy another m43 camera due the RAW files falling apart compared to a Canon full frame or even my Canon 80D or Fuji X-t2.

There's no perfect camera but I do like my reasonably priced 80D. IQ and high iso is a drastic improvement over the 1dmk3. If you put a battery grip on a fuji X-t2 you can have longer battery life from a mirrorless and achieve great image quality and extremely good video straight out of camera without grading. Video is not my expertise but I'm finding great video quality so far.

What I find is FF has great "pop" to the image even with f/2.8 zooms. If you shoot a crop sensor with primes you get a lot of "pop/3d" to the image and still decent subject/background separation with zooms.

I think the Sony line is still good since you can probably meet your needs (lens selection)while taking advantages of the sensor performance. I never thought I'd like Fujifilm this much.....Now that I've owned Fuji gear I'm really appreciating the lens selection and thoroughly enjoying shooting with the X-t2.

$3700 bucks CDN is nothing to sneeze at if you buy a Sony A7Rmk2. If I went that route I'd be all over the G master lens lineup........

Choosing your next camera is always a tough decision. Since one of your criteria is video the choices get harder and harder. My universal camera for stills and video is my fuji X-t2 but my 80d is quite good but there is always better or worst. Certainly the 5dmk4 is better but 4k video is a pig on memory space.

Thank you AlanU for your extremely insightful and thoughtful posts.

drisley wrote in post #18282317
There are a couple things about the A99II that don't seem fantastic. I dont think the E Mount (if I have this correct) lens lineup is that great, and I hear it's crippled in video mode when it comes to AF?

Also, I wonder why these companies refuse to put full swivel LCD screens on their top end cameras. I had that on my 2nd camera ever owned, a Canon G series camera from well over 12 years ago (I think it was the G3?). The new Olympus (can't remember the name it's such an odd naming scheme, but I know it's a MkII) is such a fantastic groundbreaking camera as far as thinking outside the box, it has a swivel LCD and is very robust. IQ is lacking though in my humble opinion.

Seems you either get great IQ, or robust build and features, but not really both.

The A99ii is a-mount, which has all the glass you need unless:

--you want T/S lenses, as far as I know.

--you need specialty supertelephoto lenses like; 400 2.8 or 600 f4.

--you don't want to bargain hunt/buy used Zeiss or Minolta glass (both of which are excellent, but obviously it is very difficult to get Minolta lenses serviced)

Sony and Sigma haven't rolled out an new a-mount glass in a few years, but that doesn't mean they won't or don't plan to.

As far as daily use of the A99II, the reviewers are mostly positive on it as a stills camera. DPReview didn't give it a gold rating (they scored it 85) because they couldn't get it to AF out of the box like a D5 or D500, which is curious because neither of those cameras directly compete with the A99II categorically. There are a couple of users in the Sony section of this site who swear by the AF, and one of them owns a 1DXii and a 7Dii. The AF system is complex and must be adjusted to what you are shooting.

This camera also has an articulating LCD that will twist and turn any way you want.

As far as video goes, there has been some talk about the camera being "crippled" because it wont shoot AF video any wider that F3.5. There are some who feel this is one of the best DSLR-like cameras on the market to shoot video with, but these are people who MF their video.

There is also a supposed "battery issue", but I shot 1700 frames at the Orange Bowl two months ago using an a77ii with one battery being smart about my power consumption.

Photo from mickeyb105's gallery.

I should have listened to all the people who said 10 years ago "once you get a 1D you will never go back to anything else" LOL.
Sadly the 1DX II is about $8000 CDN!!! ACK! I also saw a 1D III selling for $350. Egads. Mine is still like brand new! Heck, even the original Canon battery gets me 8000 shots on a single charge.

I saw a video on youtube that compared the A99 II and it's glass to the A7R II and it's equivalent glass, and I think the 70-200 on the A99 (is this A vs E mount?) was pretty aweful and expensive. I will try to find it.

Has anybody here gone from a 1D III to a 5D IV and wonder if it would be a step up in terms of autofocus, dunamic range, and ISO performance :P Ha, just kidding.

I think I'm convinced about the 5D4, though the price here in Canada is STEEEEP! $4500 but I thought I saw it for $4200 at one point. Has anybody seen any good sales on it?

drisley wrote in post #18193134
...the new 5D Mark IV looks nice, but the crippled, almost unusable 4K video is a no-go for me despite wanting to shoot mainly stills (but still want the 4K option)...

This made me chuckle. It's the kind of statement one makes when they've already made their decision, but want to justify it in their head a little further.