how difficult is it to handle two camers of different categories (eg 5d & 1d)

Ive reached a stage in my events & photojournalistic work that I need two bodies (and an upgrade) , The 1dIV is my priority ,and only the 5dii does fit into my budget of a 2nd body & need for a full frame & more megapixel camera for some studio & magazine work) , I am curious since both of the cameras have controls which are different, how well do people cope up with it ? I did think of getting a used 1dsiii which has similar controls but goes a little up on my budget.

Hi - It's not really a problem, once you get past the initial learning curve. The top LH buttons on the 1Dc were initially difficult after nearly four years with a 5D, but I used it exclusively for a week until they became second nature. Now, I'm body-schizoid - pick up the 5D and I think 5D; ditto the 1D. To repeat - really not a problem

ETA _ Most of us also have a point and shoot, almost invariably with a different control set. I'm guessing few of us have any problem when making a quick transition.

You have two lobes in your brain for a reason. Why are you sweating this? In a week you'll be comfortable with both bodies.

Don't worry you will be fine, used 5D 1D combos for weddings and ergonomics are the last thing on your mind, believe me - there are plenty of other things to worry about on a shoot!

Adrenaline works a treat.

No problem at all. You'll get the hang of using different body configurations in no time as long as you know what buttons/wheels do what. Once you master different Canon bodies configurations, try and add another system.

thanks for the inputs guys , but now i think id rather be pleased with the same perspective from both viewfinders (and I also have taken a soft spot for a ts-e .. so the funding!!) , settling on a used 1ds3 & a brand new gripped 5dII , I can live without the 10fps , I need good af so the 1ds will be handy, Ive not had much trouble with 50D af , the 5dii cant be worse than that (ive tried it for a shoot & worked pretty much okay)

Personally back when I had an original 5D and a 40D, I hated using them at the same time because the controls were laid out differently. Now I use 2 5D MKII's, and love having everything identical on both bodies. For me, it makes things much easier - I know exactly what to expect and don't have to think about it. YMMV of course.

Not the same but I recently got a 7D to add to my 5DII. I've barely touched the 7D, so far, but considering the things I change when shooting, shutter speed/aperture/ISO/foc​us point, there are no differences to speak of.

If you are using two cameras simultaneously I think you would benefit from identical or at least very similar settings. Sports shooting springs to mind as a case where momentary confusion means a missed shot. But if they are two different cameras for two different types of shooting, then there isn't a real problem. 1D and 5D are so different to handle you won't be confused.

bohdank wrote in post #11415462
Not the same but I recently got a 7D to add to my 5DII. I've barely touched the 7D, so far, but considering the things I change when shooting, shutter speed/aperture/ISO/foc​us point, there are no differences to speak of.

This is true - on cameras like the 5D MKII + 50D, or the 5D MKII + 7D, the layout of the top buttons is essentially the same, and the shutter/aperture/focus point buttons are all the same, so it's less of an issue. When I was using my original 5D and 40D I had issues because Canon had changed all of the top buttons so things like ISO, drive mode, etc, were assigned to different buttons and I needed to look at the buttons to change it.

For me, using a 5D MKII and 1D MKIV might prove to be difficult because the control layout is so different. I really like just picking my camera up and knowing how to change things without looking at it. I also like using 2 cameras that have the same sensor sizes and produce the same files, but that's a topic for a different thread.

It really depends upon which cameras you are mixing...

7D and 5DII controls are laid out nearly identically, altho the 7D has a few more buttons and uses a different off/on switch. The two models work together pretty well, overall.

30D and 5D Classic are practically identical in layout and overall functionality.

Some other cameras are very different from each other.

And it can be a bit of a pain when cameras use dissimilar accessories... different batteries and chargers, different types of memory.

It's not the controls you use all the time that tend to be confusing, you can learn to switch between those on your cameras pretty easily for the large part. Nor is it a problem when you're shooting rather sedately.

The times I've had issues were when I needed to use something rarely used, such as top LCD illumination button. On 50D it's on one end of the array, on 5DII it's on the other end. Sometimes I'd have a pause in shooting, to stop and think about this sort of thing. It always concerned me, too, altho I never made a mistake with it, that the image review button and the image delete buttons are in the same location on 50D and 5DII.

I've also occasionally had problems when shooting very fast. I tend to change the settings on the second (and sometimes third) cameras to match, whenever I change the settings on the first camera, to have them ready for a quick swap. I also change some common settings while keeping my eye to the viewfinder. The controls have to be pretty much second nature to do that, and swapping dissimilar cameras makes that trickier.

Have I missed shots because of it? Probably. But not a lot and I can't really point to examples (since I missed them!)

It's not always just the control layout, either. Even when using two or three identical cameras, it's easy to overlook a memory card filling up or a battery running low in one or the other, until you go to shoot with it.

Oh, and when I occasionally go out and shoot with a film camera, I find myself staring dumbly at the back of it looking for a histogram more often than I'd care to admit.

im adjusting to using the 5Dc and 1D mark II simultaneously. used this combo at my last wedding with the dual black rapid strap. i have to say i didnt get confused at all between the two. i thought it would throw me off, but it didnt. now someone like my wife would be all screwed up with that combo. because of that she rarely brings the mark II along with her on her shoots. my experience closely mirrors that of xhack above...sorta body-schizoid in a sense! just put it in the back of your brain which camera you are handling at the moment. plus the two bodies feel so different its easy to remember which is which.

now if i were shooting a 1D mark II along side a mark III or IV i might be more easily thrown off, as they feel similar, yet are very different in control. i get the instant reminder between the solid mark II and the almost toy-feeling 5Dc with grip. hope this helps.

I started with a 50D and after a while really needed (wanted) a second body. Thought about it for a while and finally got a 7D. The 50D was used with the tripod mounted 500 or 100-400 for nesting birds and the 7D with the 70-200 for BIF.

Almost every day, while working with both cameras, while making some quick change, I would mess up to some extent. I heard about the CLP, thought for a month about it and bought a second 7D.

I'm very happy with two cameras that are the same and have yet to screw up again

Using older 1dmk2 with 5d v1 and I wish I had 1dsmk2 as then all controls will be similar. This can be issue when shooting sports when you need to move quicky your 1d and a supertele and start shooting with 5d and smaller focal length glass. Weddings situations are more controlled that way but then I don't shoot weddings.

bobbyz wrote in post #11418032
Using older 1dmk2 with 5d v1 and I wish I had 1dsmk2 as then all controls will be similar. This can be issue when shooting sports when you need to move quicky your 1d and a supertele and start shooting with 5d and smaller focal length glass. Weddings situations are more controlled that way but then I don't shoot weddings.

That's funny, I would have said sports is more controlled/predictable​.