In all fairness, my friend's 1D cannot compare in build quality and ruggedness to my Nikkormat FTn !!
My FM3A/MD12 feels like solid plates of steel knit together. So non-ergonomic it hurts my hand to hold for more than a minute or two. Having broken a few old metal cameras (FM, Miranda F) from short falls, I suspect they aren't as strong as they feel. My old plastic Elan survived many worse drops without a whimper!
Yea - I mean the move to engineering plastics in the 80s wasn't probably just for cost. Cameras from the 60s and early to mid 70s just feel so much 'better' though. The moving parts just have that solid mechanical feel to them and the focus ring is so nice and smooth.
Gochugogi wrote:
As for security guards, park rangers, cops, etc., hassling you for looking like a pro--no such luck. I've been nailed with my XTi, 40D and 5D multiple times. The 5DII isn't any less pro looking. To a rent-a-cop the 5D series looks as pro as a Rebel or 1DsIII.
I only have an XT/350D at the moment (hence the need for an upgrade) and despite wandering around with a 70-200 2.8L on it much of the time, no-one has ever given me any trouble. I see a lot of tourists here with Rebel series and nikon equivalents and no-one gives them a second look. The Rebel is almost as common as P&S's round these parts. The 1Ds, though, seems much more conspicuous and "Pro looking" to me, so i can't help feeling it might be just too large to claim as an amateur camera in some situations. Maybe its my imagination...
I'm tempted to just respond to the original question with, "asked and answered." This has been an ongoing fantasy among Canon shooters, that Canon would make the 5D series competitive with the 1 series bodies. But Canon currently would seem to have no reason to do that if they want to continue selling the 1 series or equivalent cameras, right? The fact that the 5D II and the 5D are very similar in this regard should be another strong indicator.
So the "gut feel" answer is pretty clearly "no."
Two things about your Canon/Nikon decision.
1. Don't sweat the brand comparisons all that much. In the end you can use the equipment from either to produce excellent photography - it is done every day - and the differences between the brands pale to insignificance compared to the differences between photographers.
2. Don't let yourself become overly obsessive about any one aspect of camera design. In our search for distinctions between different options that will make a choice clearer we frequently will turn ANY difference, no matter how insignificant or trivial into The Definitive Difference. I don't know what or how you photograph, but I use my 5D and my 5D II in fairly rough conditions (often jammed in a backpack, frequently for a week or more, in all seasons, and in environment ranging from alpine mountains to desert to seashore) and they hold up just fine.
Dan
slrl0ver wrote:
Hi all,
First, this is NOT meant to be an inflammatory post.
Does anyone have a "gut feel" if Canon will introduce a successor to the 5D.MK2 that will have improved AF and weather-sealing?
I'm considering jumping into dSLR (from 35mm film) and I really appreciated the high-end AF on the EOS 1V. Right now I don't own any lenses or camera bodies, so I'm starting out fresh. Since EOS mount accepts so many different types of lenses (with adapters), the 5D/5D.MK2 route seems very attractive to me.
However, I can't ignore the superior build of the D700 and its advanced AF. I just want to know if Canon will catch-up, or if they would see adding such features to their 5D-series as sacrificing their high-end 1D-series.
