Canon 1D MkIII To buy or not to buy, that is the question?

[marxz]

OK I find myself in an interesting situation, where work allows me to purchase computer peripherals and tools of trade (and by extension digital cameras) for around an effective discount of 40% (essentially purchased at corporate volume prices + without our federal sales tax of 10% and I pay for the now discounted price with deductions taken fortnightly out of my salary pre income tax over a year or two - which is nice, real nice, and all totally legal by our tax laws)

Now it's not enough of a discount for me to lash out and buy a 1Ds II or III, but certainly makes the D1 Mk III very attractively priced.
I'm also tossing up if to, instead, go for a 5D or get the 40D (which I could easily budget for and still have enough for a few accessories like battery grip, a lens like the EFs 17-55 2.8 IS etc)


I'm not likely to find my self shooting much sports or action work, rather I'm more interested in travel, street, abstract and landscape photography.

The reason the D1 series attracts me is that I like the idea of having a weather sealed camera.

Living in Australia heading anywhere "outback" we encounter fine powdery red "dirt" (iron oxide dust) in copious amounts that gets in to everything and can (and all too frequently does) play absolute havoc on electronic goods.

Also when travelling in Asia I got caught in a monsoon that killed my old D60 for a week or so forcing me to source, at the expense of almost a weeks holiday budget, a used 20D to get me through.... a situation I'd like never to find my self in again if I can possibly avoid it.

I'm just a touch hesitant on the 1D MkIII given that the problems I'm reading about it holding focus seem to relate not just to moving subjects (action shooting) but also to holding focus on stationary subjects for an extended length of time (apparently, if I'm reading things right, it starts to "drift" after an unreasonably short period of time).

Is the general consensus that this camera's AF is fundamentally flawed and to hold of for a 1D MKIIIn or that it will, eventually, be fixed with a firmware update?

all opinions/advice welcome (except for "get a Nikon" nothing against Nikons but I have a whole suite of good lenses and flash gear that I can't quickly budget to replace).

[jdepould]

I'd say lenses are more important than body. The 5D is attractive because of the full frame sensor and price, although it may be due for replacement in the near future. I don't have the info right in front of me, but life cycles are pretty short, so you may want to wait for the 6D (or whatever they decide to call it). If you want to buy now, then don't worry too much about it. If it were me, I'd probably go for the 5D, but the final decision is really yours.

Just remember, good glass lasts a lifetime (or two), a body's lifespan is measured in years (usually single digits).

[bug322]

If u need a rigid camera get the new Nikon D3 tested 300.000 cycles and fullframe.

weather seals etc its a panzer tank

[ride_the_spiral]

I would tend to go for something with weather sealing. The 40d (from memory) has the same level of weather sealing as the 1D Mark III, and you could invest the extra money in some new glass.

Having said that, I shoot in the West Aussie outback (well mostly down in the rain south so far) and I went for the 5d (foolish or not time will tell) for it's extra full-frame wideness with a 17-40mm (and of course it's excellent dynamic range and pricing). I guess I'll have to give it extra attention when the weather gets moody though.

The dpreview tests will tell, but if the 40d has a similar DR to the 5d.. then you could just wack a Canon EF-S 10-22 on it and save a lot of money in the process.

Argh, too many choices. Good luck

[ride_the_spiral]

Regarding the 40d's weather sealing - dpreview states:

Weatherproof compartment doors:
"We're looking for an exact clarification on this point, it appears that while Canon has now weatherproofed the battery and storage compartment doors (water and dust can't enter these compartments when the doors are closed) other areas such as buttons and dials aren't fully weatherproofed as they are on the EOS-1D series. Hence while the EOS 40D's weatherproofing is an improvement over the EOS 30D it doesn't appear to be up to EOS-1D standards"

[jdepould]

If u need a rigid camera get the new Nikon D3 tested 300.000 cycles and fullframe.

weather seals etc its a panzer tank

Did you read the part about "don't recommend a Nikon"

[bug322]

i guess not

[marxz]

either that or he's a smartarse

ok yeh I know if I go D5 or 1D path I'll need to upgrade my wide and telephoto lens's

90% of my shooting is between 10-70, my telephoto's gets used quite rarely.

the Sigma 10-20 is good but not great and being ASP will vignette particularly on a D5 and the Bigma... well it's full frame, it's good value for money, but it's a bit like putting retreads on a Porsche.

the 70-300 IS is a good light travel lens that's optically quite good (no L but still very good for what it is) so would stay no mater how incongruous it might look stuck on a high end body

My primes and my 28-70 2.8 L will be up to the task so it wouldn't be mad rush for new glass.

At least the 28-70 would regain some of it's wide end on either the 1D or the D5 and so would be a suitable general lens (on the 1D would be a 36-91 FoV equiv.)

[madlights]

I've read a little about the focus issue. Think I'd wait for either a firmware update on the MkIII or maybe the 5d's replacement (bet it will have a bit more weather sealing to compete. I also have a feeling Canon may come out with a "pro" series 1.6 crop or something similar to compete with Nikons D300 (not that the 40d isn't competitive IQ wise but doesn't have the autofocus capabilities or the better weather sealing....although it's not quite clear how well or unwell it(40d) is weather sealed to me) Knowing the 1DMx series have a reputation as rugged cameras...I don't know exactly what I'd do myself if presented with that kind of opportunity. There are so many "ifs" in the future...at any rate good luck.

[marxz]

honestly I'd have liked to seen canon rationalise their product range... technology allowing... the 2 1D's (and possibly the 5D merged) in to 1 pro model + 1 prosumer xxd model (40d) +1 consumer/entry xxxd (400d).

I guess having 5 models allows them to do feature roll out (like live view, dust removal etc) in to the critical "feature hungry" high model turn over consumer market before migrating them up to the more conservative professional/longer model life units.


actually having a chance to lay my hands on, but not do any real shooting with, a 40D today I must say... it is a far more serious upgrade and a more professional unit than I expected, I like how my 20D handled 800 ISO (particularly as it was such a move up from the D60 which really has a max usable ISO 400) but the 40D on 1600 ISO /almost/ matches that in IQ

[dirtyol]

Save your money & buy the cheaper Canon's (5D or 40D) & invest in some wet weather gear for them. It's not that hard to keep one or two in your camera bag or pocket. You'd have more money for decent glass as well.

[dougj]

I agree with Marxz. A few years ago there was the 1D and the 1DS, both +/- optimized for PJ and studio work. And there was the D30/D60/10D for those that did not need or want the features/performance of the 1D series bodies, there were pretty clear performance and price points.

This has morphed into a number of 'subsegments', and appears to be approaching the strategy of the non-DSLR market - lots to choose from, more overlapping features.

Choice is certainly good, and any of these bodies are capable of producing great photos, it just takes more consideration and understanding of the photogs needs and future.

The fundamentals basically stay the same, understand your needs and don't buy on specs.

[marxz]

Save your money & buy the cheaper Canon's (5D or 40D) & invest in some wet weather gear for them. It's not that hard to keep one or two in your camera bag or pocket. You'd have more money for decent glass as well.

um... well I was using one when the D60 died... it just didn't cut it in monsoon rain.

unfortunately the "salary packaging" deal I can get the camera discounted on isn't strictly applicable to lenses in my case (it's a complex law and open to some flexibility but not that much)

Once the camera is packaged (which ever one it is) then, as it is payed off over 12 to 24 months, it leaves me with more than sufficient funds to upgrade glass over time.

As I said my 28-70 2.8 L is well up to the task and is my main lens but would probably be eventually replaced with a weather sealed 24-70 2.8L before traveling again to Asia or the north of Australia in the monsoon/wet season.

My first choice would probably be to upgrade wide angle glass - a new 17-40 f4 L (lose 1 stop to a 2.8 but gain at least 1 usable stop with the newer bodies over the 20D) then probably eBay a used 70-200 2.8 or the IS version of the same.