Sell my 1D3 to buy a 7D... Am I Crazy??!? ;)

As the Thread subject says, I'm considering the idea of replacing my 1D MkIII with a 7D.

Before you all jump on my case and tell me I'm crazy, let me explain my thought process. I realise this isn't an upgrade.

Firstly, I also have a 5D2 body which seems to suit my photography more and gets used a lot more than my 1D3 these days. The 1D3 comes out when I need the speed or for AF-critical stuff, but now that I'm shooting less sport I find myself reaching for the 5D2 more and more.
It makes me sad to see the 1D3 sitting on the shelf, but at the same time I need a good second body to compliment my 5D2, and I'm after something that is competent shooting fast action. Perhaps the 7D is a better complimentary camera than the 1D3?

This thread isn't about which is the better camera overall. It's about which camera is more suitable for my situation.

Points in favour of the 7D:
* Compact size (better for travel, less conspicuous)
* Video (I use the 5D2 video often, I wish the 1D3 had video)
* Internal flash with Speedlite control (finally!)
* 18mp and 1.6 crop factor (considerably longer reach and croppability for sports)
* Better Viewfinder and LCD (The 1D3 is good, but 7D is better)
* $$$ in my pocket

Points in favour of the 1D3:
* Usability (it's a 1-series, nuff said).
* Reliability (it's a 1-series, it should be bullet-proof).
* Speed (it's a 1-series, settings are changed faster than my brain can think of them).
* 10fps instead of 8fps (great for impressing friends, occasionally useful in real life).
* AF speed (I haven't used a 7D, but I suspect in real-life situations the AF wouldn't feel as snappy as a 1D3).

I know there are many features and things that I haven't listed above, and that's mainly because they are either points where I consider the cameras to be fairly equal, or else I don't care that one is better than the other.
I should also point out that I'm not interested in the 1D4. I don't want to spend money on what will be a backup body for my 5D2 (beyond the money I would get from selling my 1D3).

I'd be interested to hear other people's thoughts on this. I haven't delved too deeply into people's experiences with 7D's yet, so I'd be very interested to hear about real-world IQ comparisons between the 2 cameras - particularly regarding dynamic range and high-ISO performance.

Personally, I'm wondering how IQ differs between the two.

I too am thinking of "releasing" my 1D3! I am awaiting my 7D to arrive ( today/tomorrow), and take it for a spin. I have a Mark2n that I use with my 1D3, so if the 7D is as they say, I may drop the 1D3 in favor of the 5D2N...to add some full frame coverage. For sports, my mark 2N is second to none, so the 7D would suppliment this well. It is hard to give up a 1D3 though!!

It sounds to be that the 7D may be a right fit for you. You'll save some money in the process as well.

Just watch out for one thing. Your lens lineup. I was pretty happy with 24mm on the wide end on the 1DMKIII but on a 1.6x crop, I'm not too crazy about it. I usually like to have my 200L mounted on my 5DMKII. It's a perfect combo. So I'm left with either the 17-40L or 24-70L on the 7D, and neither of them are really all that great at least for me.

If you are going to clearly delegate "long" shots for the 7D, then I think that's great. For me, it was an error on my part. I need 2 bodies that are able to handle my lenses with close to equal ability, range wise.

However, I had a feeling I might eventually go with the MKIV, so rather than seeing the MKIII depreciate more, I decided to sell it while the iron was still hot and wait for the inevitable...the MKIV.

The 7D is holding me over until that point...more than admirably in fact. It really is a nice camera!

I voted keep 1D3 before I read what you said, whoops. Now that I have, I think the 7D does sound right for you.

The only problem is that now that Mk4 is announced I don't know if it depressed the pricing on used 1D3s. If you had decided to sell just a bit earlier you could have maybe gotten a bit more for it.

I think you left out the ISO performance. Do you find yourself shooting in low light, using higher ISO's? If not, sell it. If so, keep it. Simple as that (in your situation).
Also, if you get a grip for your 7D, you might not have as much money left in your pocket as you'd think.

I would consider 7D if my main uses involves long telephoto lenses, but can't afford fast super telephoto lenses.... that is if I didn't have 1DIII already...

Points in favour of the 7D:
* Compact size (better for travel, less conspicuous)
* Video (I use the 5D2 video often, I wish the 1D3 had video)
* Internal flash with Speedlite control (finally!)
* 18mp and 1.6 crop factor (considerably longer reach and croppability for sports)
* Better Viewfinder and LCD (The 1D3 is good, but 7D is better)
* $$$ in my pocket

Points in favour of the 1D3:
* Usability (it's a 1-series, nuff said).
* Reliability (it's a 1-series, it should be bullet-proof).
* Speed (it's a 1-series, settings are changed faster than my brain can think of them).
* 10fps instead of 8fps (great for impressing friends, occasionally useful in real life).
* AF speed (I haven't used a 7D, but I suspect in real-life situations the AF wouldn't feel as snappy as a 1D3).

The only item in the Pro 7D list that matters to me is the money issue, plus maybe the viewfinder. Having said that, I would also not be bothered about the last two items in the Pro 1D3 list.

So yes, you would be crazy "if you were me". But of course you have a completely different set of needs so ...............?

Looks like the 7d could be for you.

Thanks for the feedback so far. It's kind of reassuring the see that opinions aren't too uneven.

JCPoulin, I'd be interested in hearing how you go with your 7D coming from a 1D3.

Nicksan, my lens lineup is one of the reasons I want a good 1.6 cropper to compliment my FF. The 5D would be the "wide to normal" body while the 7D would be for "normal to long" shots. I particularly love both the 135L and 35L on a crop camera (I also love them on a FF body, but they feel like a different lens). I still have a couple of EF-S lenses (10-20 and 17-85) I can use on the 7D, but obviously I'd prefer using a 17-40L on a 5D2 instead of a 10-20 Sigma on a 7D for UWA shots.

Mr Clean, I left out ISO performance because I'm waiting to see how they compare in real-world situations. After the whole 1D3 versus 5D2 noise debate, I don't read much into per-pixel noise levels unless comparing two cameras of very similar resolution and pixel density. I do value high-ISO performance, but the extra resolution and pixel density of the 7D means I'd be cropping less and keeping resolutions higher than the 1D3, which makes noise less visible in real world situations.
Also, I wouldn't get a grip for the 7D. I prefer carrying the smaller body around.

Thanks everyone for the food for thought.

Interesting thread. I just spoke to a Canon upper level techy guy who is also a sports photographer and I asked the question what I should consider for my next body a 1D3, 1D4 or 7D. After about a 1/2 hour discussion the conclusion was for sports, action photography and wildlife.
1) 7D for AF plus extra reach and very accurate AF.
2) 1D4 if more FPS and even higher ISO is a must ( over 6400 ) and you can swing the $
3) 1D3 last because he really felt the new 7D AF would give me absolutely what I needed and extra reach plus beautiful ISO performance in 97% of the cases and newer technology.

well, the really nice used 1D mark III's are now going for around $2400. Which is basically about the same as a 7D and Grip plus a nice new fancy CF Card. Giving up a lot of professional equipment for a 7D. DOn't get me wrong, I like the 7D, but I like my 1series better.

both the 5Dii and 7D also share the much smaller lighter battery as well...

Just spoke with a professional photographer shooting the same football game as me Friday evening. He had two 1D2 with him. He said that his colleagues who work for a larger market newspaper are smitten with the 7Ds and take them on shoots over the 1D2s also made available by the newspaper.

If we take what this man said as a true statement, professionals are choosing the 7D over the 1D2.

dave

jacobsen1 wrote in post #8984015
both the 5Dii and 7D also share the much smaller lighter battery as well...

yeah but the 1dmkIII is not that big AND it has the juice of 3-4 5DmkII batteries

i did a full week of birding in Florida on one charge which is simply incredible.