1D Mark III or 5D Mark II?

Ok, long story...won't bore you but I need to buy a new body quickly. I am torn between the 1D Mark III and the new 5D Mark II. I know this is probably comparing apples and oranges but I am torn on what to buy.

I have historically been shooting sports and love shooting sports. However, I found myself doing more and more weddings and senior portraits (with my 30D). I want to move to doing more weddings and portraits but also want to get some great action shots (i.e. sports).

Do you think a 5D Mark II will be sufficient enough for sports (baseball, soccer, lacrosse, basketball) or would the 1D Mark III be a good all-around wedding, portrait and sports body. Most all of my lenses are L.

HELP! Thanks in advance to all that reply.

Have you considered a used 1Ds2? It gives you the best of both at a very reasonable price. It's a great wedding / portrait camera with big files, very fast & accurate AF, and unless you need more than 4 FPS will do action very well. Right now they are selling for less than either of those, and are most likely the best buy of any current Canon body.

Though the 1DMK3 will do fine at a wedding - Did one myself before getting my 5D, the 5DMK1or2 is better suited for that task. And, the 5D series can do fine at sports, but the 1DMK3 is better suited for that task.

What do you shoot more? Sounds like sports to me. Don't know your budget, but maybe a used 1DMK2 or N and a 5D might work for you.

I think the 1D Mark III is a far more versatile camera - the build, the AF and the speed will outshine the 5D Mark II any day. It also has a built in grip which makes it much easier for switching orientation.

The 5D Mark II has better low light performance (seems to be about 1 stop better) and it also has full frame.

I guess you need to decide which features are more important.

I don't think you will go wrong with either but if I were in your shoes I'd go for the 1D Mark III as overall I feel it is a more versatile camera. I have one myself and love it - I'm also considering getting a 5D Mark II as a second body.

go with a 5Dii, but I second the 1Ds mark II thought (but it's high ISOs aren't fantastic for weddings) or also considering a 1Dii/1Dii 'N' along with a 5D variant.

5d and 1dmk2.

Is the IDs Mark II as good or better than the 5D Mark I at higher ISO for Weddings and low light or will the ID Mark III still outdo both of them.

Michael Massar

I still need to make some decisions but thank you to all who have replied. Any other advice would be greatly appreciated.

I have 1Ds2 and 1Ds3 and 5D and 1D2N and 1D3, for sports i always go with 1D series and never use 1Ds2/1Ds3 or 5D for that, when i go for portraits then i ignore 1D series completely and use 1Ds series or 5D, but if i do sports about 50-70% and something else [landscapes, portraits,...] about 30-50% and i have to choose only 1 camera then i will go with 1D series, still that 70% is main purpose than 30% and still 1D are great for something else than sports, i had great landscapes with my 1D2N before, and 1DIII is a great for portraits and landscapes no doubt, and for sports it is flawless for AF over any another FF, unless Canon try to make a FF camera with about 8-10fps then this is the only camera i will use forever or long long time.

I think with your varied subjects a 1Dmk3 is where I'd start. It is very versatile, has great high ISO performance and is fast, fast, fast, files are smooth and it's weatherproof
1.3 crop is a nice compromise.
Michael, I think the 5D is a little better than the 1Dsmk2 at high ISO's but with the bigger files it's kind of a wash.

Tareq,
Awesome photos on your site! The HDR stuff is fantastic!

Thanks for your thoughts on my dilemma.

Hi, 1D mkIII all the way. I have 5D classic and 1DmkIII, the only thing gets me with the 5D is low light AF, now i have heard 5D mkII high iso is good but is it any better than classic for low light AF

CarolinaMoon wrote in post #6973417
Tareq,
Awesome photos on your site! The HDR stuff is fantastic!

Thanks for your thoughts on my dilemma.

You are welcome
And thanks for the comments!

Thanks to everyone who replied to my post.

I just purchased the 1DMK3.

congratulations on an excellent choice...the 1dmkIII is incredibly versatile!