1D MKII, MKIII, or 1DS MK III?

Hi guys .. got a question hope you can provide some suggestions. Right now, I'm shooting weddings with a 5D. The full frame, good ISO noise, and generally the whole camera is very flexible. But ... there are still some issues.

1. First, I don't have a backup camera. Although my 5D is flawless at this time, as we all know ... electroncs have a way to fail just at the wrong time.

2. 5D is not built or weather-proof like the 1 series ... I had to skip a few shots due to heavy rains at weddings .. not professional, but ... hey, they weren't paying me enough to cover a rain-damaged 5D.

3. Try changing lenses with 400+ people in a room built enough for 200. You'll wish that you had 2 bodies (1 super tele, and 1 wide angle lens attached.).

Now, decisions:

1D MKIII - Great camera. Worried about reliability and servo focus. The bride is not going to sprint but I have seen some that run pretty damn fast. The only thing that's stopping me from picking this up is ... again ... servo focus and reliability. Can anyone shine some experiences w/ this body?

1D MKII - Proven, great camera, cheap. The thing about this is the ISO usable-range. When comparing the ISO noise to the MK III ... it leaves a lot to be desired. But then again, w/ this camera ... cheaper, proven, no auto focus issues ... and hell, noisy photos can always be photochopped to be "artistically grainy".

1DS MKIII - This one is at the bottom of my list. Why? because of the large RAW file and what it means to my CF storage. Second, I just don't need 200000 gigpix pictures. Third, I consider weddings more of a "sport", where things pass you by ONCE and you get 1 chance to capture it. The only benefit I see here is the full frame sensor .. which means less ISO noise .. but seriously, how much less is it compared to the 1D MKIII? Again, I'm not making a 1000ft poster. I'm making a wedding album.

Not sure if this will help, but I recently switched from a 5D to the 1D MKIII, and I can say that the MKIII has about a 3/4 to 1 stop ISO noise advantage over the 5D.

Also, many have reported that the AF issues have been addressed, and is, if not perfect, tons better than before the fix was in.


The 1D MKIII and 5D sounds like a pretty deadly 1-2 punch to me!

I used a 1DMKIIN and a 5D at the last wedding I shot and I found the combo near perfect for what I was doing. As you said, long lens on one, wide on the other. If I were in your position, given the fix to the AF system, I'd go with the 1DMKIII and the 5D. I think the 1DsMKIII is overkill for your needs (just my opinion), and you already have a full frame in the 5D.

I had a 20d, 30d, xt, xti, 1dmkIIn & 5d and wound up with the 1dmkIII... it's a great camera... Pro body, fast, nice interface and great iso performance. Canon sent me a label to send in my camera for the AF issue.. Sticking with that 5d, the 1dmkIII should be an awesome advantage. FF & 1.3 crop at your disposal with any of your current lenses.

Lol...you're talking about a price range of 1800-7500$ right now.

That's quite ridiculous.

I would say go with the 1dmkII just for the price value. It's a great camera that has really come down in price.

OR...since you like your 5d so much already, how about another 5d? Or even a 40D to help you out with those tele situations and bouquet tosses.

-Jimmy

Kevin034 wrote in post #4823812
3. Try changing lenses with 400+ people in a room built enough for 200. You'll wish that you had 2 bodies (1 super tele, and 1 wide angle lens attached.).

Been there, done that. Haven't been affected by people jostling me and have no trouble changing lenses, but it is better to have two bodies.

Kevin034 wrote in post #4823812
Now, decisions:

1D MKIII - Great camera. Worried about reliability and servo focus. The bride is not going to sprint but I have seen some that run pretty damn fast. The only thing that's stopping me from picking this up is ... again ... servo focus and reliability. Can anyone shine some experiences w/ this body?

While there was a great deal of truth to the initial production run having problems, those have been fixed and subsequent ones that I've seen have been fine. Mine was within the "recalled" cameras. I definitely had problems with servo focus, but once the new firmware was released, my camera was perfect. I then sent it in anyway for the submirror repair for future resale value, though I didn't think it needed to be sent back.

Kevin034 wrote in post #4823812
1DS MKIII - This one is at the bottom of my list. Why? because of the large RAW file and what it means to my CF storage. Second, I just don't need 200000 gigpix pictures. Third, I consider weddings more of a "sport", where things pass you by ONCE and you get 1 chance to capture it. The only benefit I see here is the full frame sensor .. which means less ISO noise .. but seriously, how much less is it compared to the 1D MKIII? Again, I'm not making a 1000ft poster. I'm making a wedding album.

Not sure why, even if a wedding is a sport, that would rank what is the best 35mm digital SLR currently made at the bottom of your list. CF cards are dirt cheap now so that's a nonissue. I use 8gb cards which are plenty large. And while you may be technically correct that a FF sensor has less noise, in the case of the Mark III v the 1DsMKIII, the Mark III wins on less noise as it has so many less yet larger pixels.

It's also been stated by well respected reviewers on the net, whose names escape me currently, that the 1DsMKIII has the best focus of any camera Canon makes. My experience is similar to that.
me

Thank you all for your comments. Reading how the 1DMKIII servo issues is now fixed really helps me w/ my decision. I guessI should stop reading the comments on amazon.com .. man those servo issue stories really makes you worry.

1DMKIII and 5D is a good combo .

Only if I had money...

Put the tele on a MK III and the wide of the 5d and your ready to rip. I can't say enough good thing about the MK III.

Kevin034 wrote in post #4824032
I guessI should stop reading the comments on amazon.com .. man those servo issue stories really makes you worry.

You should have read some of the postings on this forum... (or maybe not)

Kevin034 wrote in post #4823812
I'm shooting weddings
1. First, I don't have a backup camera.

No offense, but what the hell are you doing shooting weddings w/o at least a drebel there just in case?

as others have said, the AF issues are fixed. But do you really need a blazing fast sports camera? Your only complaint about the 5D is it's not weather sealed, not it's speed... So why go for the top of the line sports camera?

less MP and heavier. I wouldn't do this because you don't need the FPS of the 1 series (non s)

now you're on the right track... If it's too many MP, what about a 1DsmII? Then it's have more MP than you 5D by a little bit, still be FF, and have KILLER AF... The 1Ds series AFs just as fast as the 1D series, it's just matched to their slower FPS. You don't need 8, 8.5 or 10fps for a wedding. You need larger files and FF more so.

IMHO get either another 5D since you're happy with it, or get a used 1DsMII... It will get you into a 1 series with it's faster AF and the weather sealing.

I've already got a MkII and am moving up to the MkIII. Now that all the problems are sorted out and the prices have dropped there's no reason for me not to go ahead and get one.

The suggestion for a 1DsMkII doesn't make sense. Even used they cost more than a new 1DmkIII and although full-frame have lower ISO performance. As a wedding photographer you need fast AF (which both have) and great ISO performance. A burst also helps in events like the bouquet toss and the couple departing. Another nice 'bonus' is the 1.3x crop which may or may not be of use to you.

I would not get a 1dsmkII... it's ergonomically different than the 5d.. Then you have to worry about where the controls are. The 1dmkIII is perfect... The 5d is a great camera, but it's no sprint runner and it has it's faults. Sometime the AF just isn't that great and sometimes the flash doesn't fire because of the AF,, etc... 1dmkIII is absolutely the best addition to your bag. Hands Down.

jacobsen1 wrote in post #4824713
No offense, but what the hell are you doing shooting weddings w/o at least a drebel there just in case?

I know! I am sorry! Forgive me!!

The issue w/ the 1DS MK II is that ... I have seen pictures shot at pretty high ISO and the noise is about at the same level as the 5D. Being FF is nice and all, but I already have that in my 5D. The 1.3 crop in the 1D MKIII gives my 70-200 extra power as well ...

1D MKIII Gives me:
1. Weather sealed, so I can shoot in more locations and not have to worry about camera breaking down.
2. Better ISO performance ... when the only things lighting a reception are barelit candles ("for effect" ... sigh), even an extra step is extremely helpful.
3. 1.3 crop makes my 70-200 a 91-260! yay!!

Right now, the wife has signed off on the 1D MKIII ... I just have to make another $500 from any engagement