I have never tried Birds or BIF, having mainly had fun with landscapes. However,I just got a 400/f4 DO. The lens is very sharp on my 5D, and I have enough reach for now. My question is how much better is the 10 fps of the 1DIII and its better auto focus versus the 5D for birds? Do you use 10 fps, or wait for the shot?

Scott

I'd be pretty surprised if anyone recommends the 5d specifically for birding. While not a bad camera, it just doesn't compare to the 1d2 for BIF shots. Haven't tried the 1d3, but still...

Do you own a 1D3 Scott? I have a 5D and have used it successfully for birding, but I just picked up a used 40D, and wow! It's been great so far. The autofocus is just a bit faster than the 5D, a bit more accurate, and 6.5 fps and a 17 shot buffer are huge improvement over the the 5D. I have no experience with the 1D3, but frankly even thinking about spending that kind of money on a body scares me.

I do not have a 1D3, but there are some just fixed used ones for $3,500. It would mean selling my 5D which would lose my full frame ability. That is why I wanted to know if it was that much better. I have heard that the 40D had 1D level autofocus, maybe that is a 2nd body to go for.

eleff wrote:
I do not have a 1D3, but there are some just fixed used ones for $3,500. It would mean selling my 5D which would lose my full frame ability. That is why I wanted to know if it was that much better. I have heard that the 40D had 1D level autofocus, maybe that is a 2nd body to go for.

Where did you see the refurb 1D3 for $3500?

Get the III, it's the BOMB for birds.

Don't underestimate the 40D for BIF photography. I had a Mark III that worked from an autofocus standpoint, but twice I got Error 99's in which the camera needed to be replaced. It was about that time that the 40D came on the market, so I returned the Mark III for the 40D. Although it doesn't have all the control capabilities of the Mark III, the autofocus works great.

Alan