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Archive 2016 · Is the 1Ds Mk3 still a good purchase?

  
 
rabbitmountain
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p.2 #1 · p.2 #1 · Is the 1Ds Mk3 still a good purchase?



OntheRez wrote:
Rabbit,

I've been wanting to do such a comparison but haven't gotten to it. Will do so and get back though it will be a bit. Please note that I was comparing the 1DsIII to the 5DIII. The 1Dx is a whole 'nother tool designed to solve a completely different problem, i.e. shooting fast moving things in the dark. In that context it is incomparable. It also works as a landscape tool, but truthfully I've not found the need for higher ISO in landscape, work, macro, and shooting the various junk that catches my interest.

One problem I'm not sure how to
...Show more


That would be excellent Robert, just take your time. I'm really not that interested in the 5D3 as I just sold it in favour of the 5DsR (that would be a nice comparison too) but I would really like to see the 1Ds3 vs 1Dx. And of course they are comparable: close enough for MP and the 1Dx is also great at everything.

The best would of.course be to shoot some carrots

Rabbit



Aug 22, 2016 at 11:19 AM
rabbitmountain
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p.2 #2 · p.2 #2 · Is the 1Ds Mk3 still a good purchase?


rabbitmountain wrote:
The best would of.course be to shoot some carrots

Rabbit


RAW of course

Edited on Aug 22, 2016 at 11:43 AM · View previous versions



Aug 22, 2016 at 11:41 AM
notherenow
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p.2 #3 · p.2 #3 · Is the 1Ds Mk3 still a good purchase?


Even if you don't get the Canon, the 40 2.8 is a very nice lens for the price and adapts well to FF E mount cameras (if slow to AF with most adapters).

What lenses are you having trouble getting focus with for the A7?

I have not had the Canon camera and sold my A7 but I found focus was very good with the A7 and Sony Zeiss 55 1.8 for instance. Tracking AF is not the greatest but even that was better than many older DSLRs Maybe not for the fastest moving things but pretty good and ok for people shots at least.

Not trying to get you to not look at that Canon (might be fun to get one if cheap enough) but the A7 has pretty decent image quality and my experience was the AF was a LOT better than most think (and has some advantages too).

http://www.dxomark.com/Cameras/Compare/Side-by-side/Sony-A7-versus-Canon-EOS-1Ds-Mark-III___916_436



Aug 22, 2016 at 02:45 PM
danski0224
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p.2 #4 · p.2 #4 · Is the 1Ds Mk3 still a good purchase?


dmcphoto wrote:
Except for the 5DSR, the 1DS3 is the best camera I've owned at lower ISO settings, and that includes the 1DX. It's a great camera and a real bargain now.


I would agree 110% between the 1DX and 1DsIII.

There is something different about the color. Not that the 1DX is bad.



Aug 22, 2016 at 03:26 PM
dimitris77
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p.2 #5 · p.2 #5 · Is the 1Ds Mk3 still a good purchase?


I own a 1dsmkiii and its a great camera. I am not shooting professionally but the camera feels great in the hand and takes nice photos. It just makes me want to go out and shoot. If you are planning on shooting manual focus lenses the 1ds viewfinder spanks the 5ds no questions asked.


Aug 22, 2016 at 10:34 PM
chuck77
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p.2 #6 · p.2 #6 · Is the 1Ds Mk3 still a good purchase?


notherenow wrote:
Even if you don't get the Canon, the 40 2.8 is a very nice lens for the price and adapts well to FF E mount cameras (if slow to AF with most adapters).

What lenses are you having trouble getting focus with for the A7?

I have not had the Canon camera and sold my A7 but I found focus was very good with the A7 and Sony Zeiss 55 1.8 for instance. Tracking AF is not the greatest but even that was better than many older DSLRs Maybe not for the fastest moving things but pretty good and ok
...Show more


I am not denying that the A7 is a great camera for image quality. Under the right conditions, it works extremely well and produces tack sharp files as good as anything else out there. But, I do find quite a few limitations with it. Mainly, in extreme high contrast situations- for example, studio lighting with very concentrated light, the files start to display banding/posterization and becomes hard to use. That, and the awful colours and rendering are my main problems with it. The AF is decent if a bit slow, but the AF squares themselves are way too big to accurately focus on my subjects, and often the square overlaps over the entirety of my subjects' faces, forcing me to manual focus to confirm a sharp image every single frame almost. And even though the Fuji is probably my most used camera now, it is the same in the focusing department, so I have to rely on manual focus assist for almost every frame as well. A minor setback, I suppose.

I am actually debating on an Fuji X-T2 to replace my X-T1, but other than the increased megapixels, I don't need the host of other features it comes with just yet. Also, the Sony is not sufficient as a workhorse full-frame camera, which I believe the 1Ds III could be, minus its high ISO usability.

Maybe someone can talk me out of this before I spend the money on a 10 year old camera! Or, is it a real gem like my friend suggests? The "look" of the files are important to me, as well as a proper AF system that is quicj and accurate (on a DSLR).




Aug 22, 2016 at 11:39 PM
melcat
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p.2 #7 · p.2 #7 · Is the 1Ds Mk3 still a good purchase?


chuck77 wrote:
...the A7... in extreme high contrast situations- for example, studio lighting with very concentrated light, the files start to display banding/posterization and becomes hard to use.


I use both the Sony RX1 and the Canon 1Ds Mk III, so maybe I can make a useful comparison for you. (The RX1 has a similar sensor to the A7 and uses the same lossily compressed raws.)

You aren't imagining this. I found the same thing - the RX doesn't take steep adjustments in curves as well as the Canon. You end up with posterization. No amount of dynamic range makes up for this.

The RX1 does have less noise at ISO 1600 than the 1Ds Mk III. If I am expecting to shoot at high ISO and not push the curves too much, and the 35mm focal length is suitable, the RX1 is the camera I will choose. I consider ISO 1600 on the 1Ds Mk III to require special processing for noise; I often use DxO instead of Adobe for it.

At ISO 100 the 1Ds Mk III is the clearly superior camera.

Maybe someone can talk me out of this before I spend the money on a 10 year old camera!

They're not all 10 years old. I bought mine new in 2011.

The 1Ds Mk III is responsive with shutter, menus, autofocus etc., but it is slowish to write to the memory card and slowish to produce a preview on the LCD (I normally have this turned off). Its autofocus is fast enough to handle fast-moving subjects like birds in flight. I don't think you'd have problems in this department.

On the other hand the battery pack has already been superseded by Canon and by now many of the examples available used might be quite heavily beaten up. If anything happened to mine I would want another in preference to anything Canon makes new, but I would probably have trouble finding a good one used In a small market like Australia.


Edited on Aug 23, 2016 at 05:04 AM · View previous versions



Aug 23, 2016 at 03:24 AM
rabbitmountain
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p.2 #8 · p.2 #8 · Is the 1Ds Mk3 still a good purchase?


danski0224 wrote:
I would agree 110% between the 1DX and 1DsIII.

There is something different about the color. Not that the 1DX is bad.


So how does the 1Dx2 compare?



Aug 23, 2016 at 03:42 AM
danski0224
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p.2 #9 · p.2 #9 · Is the 1Ds Mk3 still a good purchase?


chuck77 wrote:
Maybe someone can talk me out of this before I spend the money on a 10 year old camera! Or, is it a real gem like my friend suggests? The "look" of the files are important to me, as well as a proper AF system that is quicj and accurate (on a DSLR).


If you have read the responses here, no one is talking you out of getting a 1DsIII. Some may even prefer the 1DsII, but that is yet another generation removed with a different menu system, interface and battery.

As long as you are aware of the "limitations" in comparison to current production cameras such as the working ISO range, the rear LCD screen and no video, there is nothing wrong with a 1DsIII.

I would say that the big drawback is that eventually it will no longer be supported by Canon, so you might as well get one while it is.





Aug 23, 2016 at 03:44 AM
danski0224
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p.2 #10 · p.2 #10 · Is the 1Ds Mk3 still a good purchase?


rabbitmountain wrote:
So how does the 1Dx2 compare?


I don't know, because I don't have one.

From what I have read, there is a "significant" improvement at low ISO, and it has been said that the X2 equals the 1DsIII.

There is little/no improvement compared to the 1DX in the upper ISO range, apparently.

I would like to get one, but there is no compelling reason for my uses- besides the $$$ factor. I would rather get a 200 f/2 sooner and wait for something like a 1DsIV (or even a 1DsIV(R) ).

If the Sigma sd Quattro H came out today, I'd rather get that .




Aug 23, 2016 at 03:51 AM
garyvot
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p.2 #11 · p.2 #11 · Is the 1Ds Mk3 still a good purchase?


danski0224 wrote:
I would like to get one, but there is no compelling reason for my uses- besides the $$$ factor. I would rather get a 200 f/2 sooner and wait for something like a 1DsIV (or even a 1DsIV(R) ).


I suspect you know this, but there won't be a 1Ds Mark IV (or V), for better or worse. Both Canon and Nikon have consolidated their flagship camera lines into single models tuned for sports/action, meaning that these models will remain saddled (or blessed) with modest (by contemporary standards) resolution indefinitely.

I believe the 1DX II (or the 1Ds Mark III, for that matter) has sufficient resolution for nearly any editorial or commercial work requiring reproduction online or in magazines or books, but apparently a lot of people want 40-50Mp cameras.



Aug 23, 2016 at 07:33 AM
danski0224
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p.2 #12 · p.2 #12 · Is the 1Ds Mk3 still a good purchase?


I'll keep hoping.

Edit to add:

Given the 5DS/R models, it has been shown that there is a market for that type of camera. I would not be surprised if the 5DS/R models are also serving for a test bed for a future 1D version.

Do *I* want 50mp? Nope- but I have never had the experience of it either.

If Canon simply moved the heart of the 1DsIII into the future- even at the same resolution- and gave it some sprinklings of 1DX or 1DXII tech, I'd be happy. Better LCD = better live view. Give me full support for interchangeable focus screens (all of them ).

I know that leaving the video stuff out is probably impossible, but I wouldn't mind if there was no video at all. If DPAF can be used to give me automatic AFMA, then I'm all for it.

I gather that the touch screen on the 80D is nice, so put that in there.

Low FPS and no video- keep the CF slots.

If Canon made this, I know that it would sell. I'd buy one, probably preorder it unless it was much more than the 1DXII. I prefer the 1D series ergonomics over the 5D series ergonomics.

Edited on Aug 23, 2016 at 06:59 PM · View previous versions



Aug 23, 2016 at 08:05 AM
Tom Krichel
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p.2 #13 · p.2 #13 · Is the 1Ds Mk3 still a good purchase?


I'm using the camera for more than 8 years now. I think its still a top notch DSLR up to 800 ISO.
IQ wise it leaves my 7D MII in the dust. The AF system is very reliable but there are only 5 frames per second to handle.
Next week i'll get a Dx MII as a loaner. Hopefully all my expectations will come true to get the ultimate DSLR
performance



Aug 23, 2016 at 10:02 AM
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