skibum5 Offline Upload & Sell: Off
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p.1 #12 · p.1 #12 · Long and boring post: Which body would you upgrade to? | |
jopeme wrote:
This is one of those posts which the poster basically answers himself. However, I would appreciate it if you just chimed in your thoughts. There are lots of wise people out there who surely are going to share something to ponder over.
A bit of background:
In 2007, when I was in for a new camera. I ended buying a 1D3 because the classic 5D was overdue by then. I didn't feel like buying "old technology" I told myself: " pay more, but have a body for a long, long time"...., naive me. Now I know the 5D classic would have sufficed.
I basically shoot anything, but I would define myself firstly as a traveller who loves covering his trips, secondly as a landscaper, and thirdly as the typical guy who covers his family events. Yes, no sports, nor fast action, nor birding. Although I am not an action man ( I do not need 10 fps) I fell in love with the feel and AF of the 1D3. It felt as a tool, so well-balanced with my heavy lenses. I can really appreciate those features.
In 2010, I wanted to go wide to expand my landscape photography. I had a tough time finding a high quality lens for the 1D3. Basically, the only choice was and still is that sigma 12-24, whose performance I simply did not like. My reasoning was.... if I had to add one more piece of hardware...., why not a FF body to go wide? That's what I did. I bought a 5DMKII
From the very beginning, I saw the gain in quality. Files from the 5DMKII are better, so when the 5DMKII arrived, the 1D3 began gathering dust. Standard people usually make sensible decisions, but I'm hopeless at it. It really hurt to see such a nice camera unused, so I sold it. Call me whatever you want, but it makes me happy to know someone else is making a better use of it. I am just a passionate amateur, I don't obtain my living by taking pictures. I do not need a second body to cover that part of my body where the sun does not shine. No bride nor groom is going to sue me if my camera fails. Notwithstanding this, I must admit my worst nightmare is breaking my camera on the first day of a trip a few thousands miles away from home. So now, I only have my 5DMKII.
What's the problem now?
My problem with the 5DMKII is the percentage of out-of-focus files, which is too high...., surely due to my lack of mastery. I miss the 1D3 AF here so much. On stills, it seldom failed, and tracking people on the streets on AI focus was so convenient. The 5DMKII can't touch the 1D3 here. I have just come back from Vietnam and even though I have lots of keepers, I also have a good deal of blurry files in situations where there is no explanation for this. I've checked the exif data of those blurry files, and everything is just fine. I must admit it's really nagging. Still, I'm happy I sold the 1D3 because the files from the 5DMKII are nicer, and have double resolution, the screen resolution does help when manually focusing my Zeiss lenses (1D3 much worse here), and I can go wider.
I am not planning to upgrade my 5DMKII right now. Let's say my camera is still within year and mileage, so common sense says wait, but I am already thinking over the best upgrade for my 5DMKII.
ONE: Logical choice: 5DMKIII
Common sense says the new 5DMKIII is the camera for me, but the taste of the 1D series is just there, nagging me. The feel of the 1D series is hard to forget. I could grip a 5DMKIII, but gripped cameras do not feel the same.
TWO: Tempting choice: 1D4
Now 1D4s have a nice price tag, and are selling at about the 5DMKIII price. These are the pros I see:
1. I would have a trusty AF, which is the only thing I miss in my 5DMKII
2. I would feel the touch of the 1D series again.
3. Files from the 1D4 must be very close, if not better, to the 5DMKII files in terms of image quality
4. I would keep video possibilities.
5. I would have the same same screen resolution, which is so convenient for manual focus
BUT... -big "buts" indeed:
1. I'd lose the wide range (FF) and I'd step back to the situation in which I could not go wide enough
2. The 5DMKIII is simply better on the paper. ( better AF, more resolution, better high ISOs)
However, those "buts" could be minimized if I kept the 5DMKII. The 1D4 would be my main nice trusty body, and the 5D2 would act as my wide lens, and my spare body for my trips.
THREE: The platonic choice: 1DX
Can I afford it? My wallet could, my common sense could not, my wife would simply kill me.
FOUR: Jump ship: Nikon D3s
Jumping ships? No way. I'd rather go crazy and buy a 1DX
The D3s is basically a 1D4 with a FF sensor at a very similar price, at least here in Spain...., and both Canon and Nikon systems are so nice, that's beyond any doubt..... BUT my lens kit is already completed. No way for me to get rid of all that nice glass.
If by now, after such a boring post, you guys don't feel like cutting your veins... please, spare some of your common sense...
Thanks
Joaquín
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5D3 would appear to make the most sense. You get your wide and you get your 1 series AF. And the lens rentals test showed the 5D3 (and 1DX) to feature ultra precision AF for stills mode with the newest lenses. You could get a 5D3 and new standard zoom for a little less than the price of a 1DX.
1DX means death by wife so that doesn't sound too good (and it's bulky, although you actually seem to prefer that, well the 5D3+grip is even bulkier than the 1DX so.... joy )
(if you swapped D800 would be better than D3s I'd think from what you talk about)
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