Help choosing 1Ds II or 1D III

FM Forum Rules
Canon SLRs, primes, and zooms lenses reviews

FM Forums \| Canon-mount SLRs \| Join Upload & Sell	Search Used
1 2 end

Archive 2010 · Help choosing 1Ds II or 1D III

schristie11
Offline
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #1 · Help choosing 1Ds II or 1D III

I need help choosing which camera body will for my needs best.

I have now a 1D II and love its speed and image quality.

I used to use a 5D and it was toooooo slow for me, shutter lag and AF lag was my main complaint, IQ was worse than my 1D II too, even though 5D had larger sensor and better high iso.

However, I want some slightly larger resolution photos for enlargements and for viewing on large LCD screens.

I'm offering customers a CD with slideshows they can view HD like photos on their large screen TV's.

I know the 1Ds II has a much larger sensor and therefore larger images than my 1D II.
I think I might be very happy with a 1Ds II but have never used one.

However, I do shoot some action photography and wonder if I will miss the 8.5FPS.
In fact I’d love to have even more 10fps like the 1D III has.

I don’t shoot a LOT of sports with the shutter held down though; I’m usually using single shots.

The response time of the 1D II is so fast I can usually tap the shutter and get the image on the first try.
It is hard for me to decide to let go of high FPS speed.

The 1D III had a 10mpixl vs. my 8.5mpixl; but the image sizes are almost the same 3700x2400.
The files it saves are larger though, 8mb vs 12mb.
How does this translate, if at all, to a larger image?

Feb 08, 2010 at 08:25 PM

Beowulfenator
Offline
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #2 · Help choosing 1Ds II or 1D III

I bought a 1Ds mk II and could not be happier. I absolutely love the shallow DoF of a full-frame sensor and the AF is just great! My old 40D now spend most of its time in the closet

Feb 08, 2010 at 09:21 PM

4x4rock
Offline
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #3 · Help choosing 1Ds II or 1D III

If you already have the 1D MKII then the 1dsMKII seems right. They share the same menu, same batteries, same charger, etc...

While the 1DMKIII maybe better in ISO department and frame rate, the 1Ds MKII files at 16.7MP is really nice for push/pull as well as cropping.

Feb 08, 2010 at 09:44 PM

joezasada
Offline
Dedicated FM
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #4 · Help choosing 1Ds II or 1D III

The 1D3 has 14-bit colour info in the RAW files, that is gonna make for the larger file sizes.

I use a 1Ds2 as my main body, and carry a 1D2 as a second body. The AF and response time of the 1Ds2 is pretty much identical to the 1D2. The framerate is slower, but I still have the 1D2 if I need it (usually I don't).

I shoot sports and live events (e.g. weddings) with both cameras and can move between the two without much thought...

I am very happy with my 1Ds2

Feb 08, 2010 at 09:44 PM

rick300d
Offline
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #5 · Help choosing 1Ds II or 1D III

If you are planning to keep your 1D mkII, I'd suggest going with the 1Ds MkII. It is a pain traveling with 2 different types of batteries/chargers.

If you are upgrading then it would depend on what you are looking for - ultimate image quality or higher iso performance/live view capability/FPS/AF improvement - evolutionary, not revolutionary.

The 1Ds II is a great camera but the 1D III is better at higher ISO which eventually was the deciding factor for me. The larger screen and live view also became very useful when I started using manual focus lenses.

However, I did miss the 1Ds MkII full frame quality. So have just recently upgraded to the 1Dds MKIII.

Were it not for the different battery types, I would still have the 1Ds II along with the mkIII.

Feb 08, 2010 at 10:03 PM

mttran
Offline
Dedicated FM
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #6 · Help choosing 1Ds II or 1D III

schristie11 wrote:
I need help choosing which camera body will for my needs best.

I have now a 1D II and love its speed and image quality.

I used to use a 5D and it was toooooo slow for me, shutter lag and AF lag was my main complaint, IQ was worse than my 1D II too, even though 5D had larger sensor and better high iso.

However, I want some slightly larger resolution photos for enlargements and for viewing on large LCD screens.

I'm offering customers a CD with slideshows they can view HD like photos on their large screen TV's.

I know the 1Ds II has a much larger sensor and therefore larger images than my 1D II.
I think I might be very happy with a 1Ds II but have never used one.

However, I do shoot some action photography and wonder if I will miss the 8.5FPS.
In fact I’d love to have even more 10fps like the 1D III has.

I don’t shoot a LOT of sports with the shutter held down though; I’m usually using single shots.

The response time of the 1D II is so fast I can usually tap the shutter and get the image on the first try.
It is hard for me to decide to let go of high FPS speed.

The 1D III had a 10mpixl vs. my 8.5mpixl; but the image sizes are almost the same 3700x2400.
The files it saves are larger though, 8mb vs 12mb.
How does this translate, if at all, to a larger image?

You will love 1ds2 even more than 1d2. 1ds2 IQ is much better then 1d2/3. 1ds2 iso is underrated - low iso noise is better - high iso noise is about the same as newer bodies w/ a tiny touch of NR. AF is the best portrait AF i have used - back lids objects won't fool its AF at all so great for most fast primes.

Feb 08, 2010 at 10:26 PM

schristie11
Offline
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #7 · Help choosing 1Ds II or 1D III

mttran wrote:
You will love 1ds2 even more than 1d2. 1ds2 IQ is much better then 1d2/3. 1ds2 iso is underrated - low iso noise is better - high iso noise is about the same as newer bodies w/ a tiny touch of NR. AF is the best portrait AF i have used - back lids objects won't fool its AF at all so great for most fast primes.

I had a feeling this would be the case, it's good to hear from another source.
Thanks!

Feb 08, 2010 at 10:31 PM

mttran
Offline
Dedicated FM
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #8 · Help choosing 1Ds II or 1D III

I've posted this before: Custom WB from a small table lamp on the right. All default from 1ds2 & 5d2 w/ NR disabled - DPP then resize in CS2 then post. Tested with 85L & 85LII:

5d2 -100

This image is copyrighted by the owner

1ds2 -100

5d2 -800

1ds2-800

5d2-1600

1ds2 - 1600

This image is copyrighted by the owner

5d2 -3200

1ds2 -3200

This image is copyrighted by the owner

Feb 08, 2010 at 10:54 PM

schristie11
Offline
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #9 · Help choosing 1Ds II or 1D III

I'm not sure what the 5D II comparison was about, but thanks for your effort. It showed me the 1Ds II and 5D II have a nice ability to take a photo. I kind of knew that though. The extra noise at iso 1600-3200 on the 1Ds II and 5D II clean up easily in PP. Personally, I don’t shoot at those high ISO levels ever, I would disable anything over ISO-800 when the body has the feature to limit iso expansion. That's one feature I love on the Canon 1D IV and the Nikon D700; the min and max variable ISO can be customized fully.

I think I've pretty much decided to geta 1Ds II unless I can wait longer for the 1Ds III prices to drop.

Edited on Feb 08, 2010 at 11:36 PM · View previous versions

Feb 08, 2010 at 11:30 PM

joezasada
Offline
Dedicated FM
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #10 · Help choosing 1Ds II or 1D III

schristie11 wrote:
I'm not sure what the 5D II comparison was about, but thanks for your effort. It showed me the 1Ds II and 5D II have a nice ability to take a photo. I kind of knew that though. The extra noise at iso 1600-3200 on the 1Ds II and 5D II clean up easily in PP. Personally, I don’t shoot at those high ISO levels ever, I would disable anything over ISO-800 when the body has the feature to limit iso expansion. That's one feature I love on the 1D IV and the D700.

I routinely shoot at high ISO - stick to RAW and with a little bit of processing almost all of my clients are pretty much amazed at how good the images look...

Feb 08, 2010 at 11:35 PM

schristie11
Offline
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #11 · Help choosing 1Ds II or 1D III

joezasada wrote:
I routinely shoot at high ISO - stick to RAW and with a little bit of processing almost all of my clients are pretty much amazed at how good the images look...

I agree and do the same when necessary but, I have the luxury of having plenty of light and am shooting from ISO 100 - 400 most times.

Feb 08, 2010 at 11:37 PM

mttran
Offline
Dedicated FM
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #12 · Help choosing 1Ds II or 1D III

schristie11 wrote:
I'm not sure what the 5D II comparison was about, but thanks for your effort. It showed me the 1Ds II and 5D II have a nice ability to take a photo. I kind of knew that though. The extra noise at iso 1600-3200 on the 1Ds II and 5D II clean up easily in PP. Personally, I don’t shoot at those high ISO levels ever, I would disable anything over ISO-800 when the body has the feature to limit iso expansion. That's one feature I love on the Canon 1D IV and the Nikon D700; the min and max variable ISO can be customized fully.

I think I've pretty much decided to geta 1Ds II unless I can wait longer for the 1Ds III prices to drop.

I don't have 1ds2 vs 1d3 data anymore - so thinking this 1ds2 & 5d2 set can be used a snapshots to show how 1ds2 iso compared with 1d3. They are pretty close. It is nice to get 1ds3 than 1ds2 for sure.

Feb 09, 2010 at 12:23 AM

EvilZardoz
Offline
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #13 · Help choosing 1Ds II or 1D III

Owning both a 1D Mark III and a 1Ds Mark II and considering your situation, I'd go the 1Ds Mark II. It works identically to your 1D II and offers a far superior resolution, better IQ and so on. It's the same camera you love but with the specifications you require. You can't lose. The AF is solid, it's predictable, especially if you already have the 1D II. The antialiasing filter on the 1Ds II is also strong which can result in some soft images when viewed 1:1 - this can be fixed up with unsharp mask filters in post - but your 1D II is already like that anyway.

The 1D III works a bit differently. I do prefer the colours out of the 1D III and the extra features (bigger screen but same res.. sigh, brighter but not bigger viewfinder etc). I will say one thing about the 1D III (and the 5D II and other newer Canon cameras) - I seem to get about an extra stop of highlight retention on overexposed areas vs. my 1Ds Mark II and 5D. I also prefer the jpegs straight out of the camera on the mark III - but I rarely work with just the jpegs anyway. External speedlite control is something I'm warming to, especially when using multiple flash units off-camera.

Buy the 1Ds Mark II and see how you go as it seems to be the best for your needs.

Otherwise, you might be able to pick up a deal on a cheap 1Ds III.....

Feb 09, 2010 at 03:23 AM

SLD
Offline
Dedicated FM
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #14 · Help choosing 1Ds II or 1D III

Any cameras you mentioned are good enough for produced images for the purpose of showing on so called large LCD screen only.....

And if you need the 10 FPS frame rate and high ISO performance, 1D Mark III is your choice.

Otherwise 1Ds Mark II is the best camera Canon ever manufactured so far, reliable, great IQ, better handling and responding etc., and it's cheap for an used one...

Feb 09, 2010 at 03:38 AM

Imagemaster
Offline
Dedicated FM
Upload & Sell: On

p.1 #15 · Help choosing 1Ds II or 1D III

schristie11 wrote:
I used to use a 5D and it was toooooo slow for me, shutter lag and AF lag was my main complaint, IQ was worse than my 1D II too, even though 5D had larger sensor and better high iso.

Odd, my 5D produced much better IQ than my 1DMk2.

I'm offering customers a CD with slideshows they can view HD like photos on their large screen TV's.

Unless they have a computer feed to their TV, or a Blue-Ray DVD player, the slideshow will not appear as HD on their TV's.

Tony

Feb 09, 2010 at 04:40 AM

Dick Snyder
Offline
Upload & Sell: On

p.1 #16 · Help choosing 1Ds II or 1D III

Go for the 1Ds II. Wonderful camera.

Dick

Feb 09, 2010 at 08:00 AM

schristie11
Offline
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #17 · Help choosing 1Ds II or 1D III

Wow I see 1Ds II for $1800 E+ on KEH.com and 1D III for about $1800 also
I'm still on the fence.

Feb 09, 2010 at 09:48 AM

mspringfield
Offline
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #18 · Help choosing 1Ds II or 1D III

I have a 1DII, a 1DsII and a 1DIII. When it comes to out and out picture quality I reach for the 1DsII every time. For colors, DOF, IQ, I reach for the 1DsII every time. The only thing that the 1DIII has is higher ISO performance, battery life and lighter weight. If I could only keep one it would be the 1DsII.

Michael

Feb 09, 2010 at 10:27 AM

PaulB
Offline
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #19 · Help choosing 1Ds II or 1D III

As you are used to the ergonomics of the 1DMkII then either body would be easy to transfer to.
But the 1DMkIII only gives you a small resolution increase over the MkII whilst the 1DsMkII doubles the resolution you already have.
The 1DMkIII is still a 1.3 sensor and the 1DsMkII is FF.
If you buy the 1DMkIII then your MkII is surplus to your needs and has to go.
If you buy the 1DsMkII you keep the 1DMkII for sport and action and the 1DsMkII for "more considered" shooting.

Conclusion? Buy a 1DsMkII and keep the 1DMkII as well.

Which is exactly what I did.

Feb 09, 2010 at 10:32 AM

hardlyboring
Offline
Dedicated FM
Upload & Sell: On

p.1 #20 · Help choosing 1Ds II or 1D III

1ds2 is the bees knees
it is so sweet and really not that much different than the 1d3
Doug

Feb 09, 2010 at 11:01 AM

1 2 end
FM Forums \| Canon-mount SLRs \| Join Upload & Sell 1 2 end