Upgrading to a 1Ds Mark II or 5D Mark II from a 40D??

I'm contemplating selling my 40D, my 10-22mm, my Tokina 35mm macro....and using some bonus money from last year to bump up to used 1Ds Mark II as its replacement. I love the way the 1D's feel in my hand, and a lot of my photography takes place out doors at (or near) the beach. The added weight would not be an issue, IMHO.

But I'm wondering if a used or refurbished 5D Mark ii might be a better use of my funds, since they seem to price pretty closely together. I like everything about the 1Ds II....except the lack of HD video. And so with a 10month old son now, that's probably the one place that gives me pause. But it's not a deal breaker, as I have a nice Flip HD recorder that keeps the wife happy with some nice home movies of our little guy.

I don't have any compelling urgency to go full frame right now. But I'm finding that for family outings now with my son, my 35-350mm is on my camera quite a lot....and that lens is just a much better fit on a full frame camera (especially on the wide end). I have a good enough lens arsenal now that a switch to FF wouldn't demand any immediate need for new lenses (check gear my list below). What attracts me to the 1Ds is the weatherproofing -- I live about 2 miles from the beach and my son seems to REALLY like going there!

Anyhow, I have a couple friends local with 5D's and 1Ds Mark III's....and, of course, they are gung ho about going FF. But none of them owned the 1Ds Mark II. So I'm hoping someone here who's owned both the 5Dii and 1Ds Mark II could offer some personal comparisons.

Thanks,
Matt

I had a 1DsII for a while and it's a hell of a body but is showing it's age. If you do any shooting requiring higher ISO then the 5DII will outperform it. What the 1DsII does fabulously though is focus. Like a dog on a bone. OOF shots are likely going to be user error not the body's fault. I was shooting alot of sports and wildlife , many times in failing light so the 7D was a beter fit for me. I wasn't wild about the lack of MFA and the LCD but that didn't affect the quality of pictures. Have you thought about keeping the 40D and just adding a 5Dc?

Unless you shoot at ISO 1600 or higher all the time, and need video, 1DsII every day.

Bradfordguy wrote in post #11642849
I had a 1DsII for a while and it's a hell of a body but is showing it's age....Have you thought about keeping the 40D and just adding a 5Dc?

The "showing its age" question was one of my concerns.

I actually thought of bumping up to a 7D as well (primarily for the video...but also for increased ISO performance). The 'problem' there is it wouldn't really afford me the luxury of selling any of my lenses (as I use most of what I have on a regular basis). Whereas, if I go 40D to a used 1Dsii or 5Dii, then I'm sort of forced to sell my 10-22mm and 35mm macro.

As much as I'd love to have 2 cameras, that doesn't really work in my situation as an amateur photographer.

If the AF is as good as you guys say it is on the 1DSii, that might be good enough reason to make me do it. I can live with the smaller LCD and generally use my 580ii flash indoors (thus making ISO concerns mostly moot).

http://www.dcresource.​com/forums/showthread.​php?t=47613

Hope it helps.

I went from a 5d1 - > 1ds2 - > 5d2.

I'm currently considering getting a 1ds2 as my backup cam, but would keep the 5d2 primary.

Though tbh, 1ds2 are cheaper then 5d2 so budget matters a bit. A good 1ds2 can be had for 1,7, the same 5d2 would be around 2k ish.

5D Mark II has a bigger advantage from the newer technology like high ISO performance and MP. The only thing to go for 1Ds II is the build quality, and for non-professional job I don't think we need it. But it is all up to you. If I were in your situation I'll pick the 5D II, because if you sell it someday the price is not going to drop like 1Ds II.

There was just a thread about this like 3 days ago -- you could probably search it up.

I've shot with both and currently have the 1Ds mark II. IMO it's no contest if you can get them for the same price -- get the 5D mark II.

http://snapsort.com …I-vs-Canon_EOS_5D_Mark_II

Csae wrote in post #11644897
http://www.dcresource.​com/forums/showthread.​php?t=47613...Hope it helps.

Definitely does. In fact, your comments about the "AF/Build/VF" of the 1Dsii is almost enough to convince me to go in that direction instead of the 5D2!

Given that a lot of my photography is shifting towards "active children," the camera with the sharper AF is one of my chief considerations.

The cost difference between a 1DsII and 5D2 is certainly a factor...but not a deal breaker either way. If the 5D2 really is the better upgrade for my situation, I don't mind spending $300 extra (give or take).

KY707 wrote in post #11645167
5D Mark II has a bigger advantage from the newer technology like high ISO performance and MP. The only thing to go for 1Ds II is the build quality, and for non-professional job I don't think we need it. But it is all up to you...

The MP gains of the 5D2 are not a huge concern. My 40D's 'modest' 10MP has actually been sufficient for most of what I do locally.

I generally don't shoot too much at ISO 1600 or 3200 on my 40D. On occasion when I have, I find that usually LR3 can clean up the shots that are really worth keeping.

From what I can gather, the 1Ds2 will do better in a sandy (beach) environment than a 5D2 (in terms of weatherproofing). And about 30-40% of my photographer is there.

Sp1207 wrote in post #11645587
There was just a thread about this like 3 days ago -- you could probably search it up.

I've shot with both and currently have the 1Ds mark II. IMO it's no contest if you can get them for the same price -- get the 5D mark II.

http://snapsort.com …I-vs-Canon_EOS_5D_Mark_II

I actually tried the search feature first, but couldn't find precisely what I was looking for.

Thanks for that link though. I forgot about the Live View issue. Definitely something else to consider.

Thanks everyone for their input!

The 1ds2 AF is miles ahead of the 5d2.

The buffer however isn't.

I thought this might relate to child photography, the 1ds2 has a pretty thin buffer compared to the 5d2.

Also, if you're shooting tethered, the FW cable from the 1ds2 gave me ALOT of problems..... Tethered 5d2 is definitely better.

Theres also dual cards on the 1ds2...

So i think theres alot of pros and cons, and both cameras still sell pretty well on the used market, its a win/win and i suggest just trying them out.

Well, from your statement it seems you need the rudge build quality of 1Ds.

Csae wrote in post #11649183
The 1ds2 AF is miles ahead of the 5d2.

Honestly, that's probably the *main* reason I'm considering the 1Ds2.

I should back up and say......The child photography is basically just a 'side gig' that plopped out of nowhere. People saw my 0-10mo. pictures of my boy, and the next thing I knew, I have friends (and friends of friends) calling me asking to do their 'family photos' as well.

Given that I live about a mile from one of the nicest beaches in all of California, a lot of those requests involve the beach. On top of that, my own son seems to really like being around the beach. Further, I have a buddy that runs a local surfing web site, and he's asked me to do some still work for him....which, of course, invariably puts me around the beach!

Hence, the good AF and weatherproofing are pretty important considerations for me.

Not really applicable to me. No studio tethered work in the foreseeable future. In fact, as an outdoors guy, that's where my photographic interests are at present. I start to get cabin fever if I take too many pictures inside!!!

I've never minded a solo card. So this is not really an issue either way. I have a pretty good stock of 8gb cards, which I think is the max size that the 1Dsii can take(???).

I've shot with a 5D2 and a 1DsIII from friends. I just haven't been able to find anyone in my local circle of friends that have (or formerly had!) a 1DsII. One friend went 1Ds to 5D to 1DsIII; another 5D to 5D2....you get the idea. If the 1DsII handles like the III, then I think I'll get along with the ergonomics of it just fine.

Anyhow....thanks for the input. I feel a little better now, if I decide to go the 1DsII route.

Depends what you shoot and what your AF requirements are.

Shooting landscapes, studio work, portraits or need a lighter body? 5D2 - it's a smaller body, and gives you better IQ, but at the expense of poorer AF.

Intending to shoot dance performances in dim lighting, stage plays or musicals, etc? 1Ds2 - you'll appreciate the AF performance, even though the IQ isn't quite the same.