uz2work Offline Upload & Sell: Off
|
When I read threads that compare the 7D to the 1D Mark III or many other threads that compare the merits of two high quality camera bodies from similar generations and when I see people post responses that indicate that one "blows away" the other or that one is the "hands down" winner, the credibility of those who post such comments takes a deep dive in my mind. Over the years, I've become firmly convinced that internet forums make differences in the capabilities of camera bodies (and lenses) appear to be much greater than they really are.
I used a 1D Mark III extensively for 2 1/2 years, and I have used a 7D extensively for 3 1/2 and still use it. They are both excellent camera bodies, and they are both capable of excellent image quality. Further, there was a period of time when I owned and used both bodies at the same time side-by-side.
With regard to noise, the 1D Mark III may well do better when examining files at the pixel level, but, at the image level, the performance is very similar. If you have to upscale a 1D Mark III file to match the number of pixels in a 7D file or if you downscale a 7D file to match the number of pixels in a 1D Mark III file, the two cameras are going to perform at very similar levels.
With regard to AF capabilities, it may well be the case that the AF system of one is marginally better than that of the other, but in real world shooting of wildlife action in the servo mode, my rate of in-focus shots with both cameras was so close that I'm not sure I would have noticed the difference.
If I had to pick one camera over the other, my decision would depend on what kind of shooting I primarily did. If I was primarily shooting in focal length-limited situations, my choice would be the 7D because there is no question that its 18 MP files are going to result in greater detail than the 10 MP files of the 1D Mark III cropped to the same field of view of the 7D. And, again, even if the 1D Mark III starts out with a noise advantage at the pixel level, if the 1D Mark III images need to be cropped and the cropped images are upscaled to match the uncropped 7D images, noise in both are going to be close. On the other hand, if my primary shooting was not going to be in focal length-limited situations, I'd probably choose the 1D Mark III for its somewhat better build quality, integrated grip, and slightly higher frame rate, etc.
However, regardless of which of the two cameras I chose, that choice would end up being a relatively small factor in determining whether I got my shots and how good they were compared to a good number of other factors, including my ability to use the camera. And any thought that one of these bodies is so vastly more capable than the other as to make it the "hands down" winner is likely to be the result of a bias based on some other factor such as which one the person stating that opinion owns.
Les
|