Canon 1Ds mark 3 for bird photography

aerobandit

aerobandit

Messages
2,453
Name
Piotr
Edit My Images
Yes
I was wondering if anyone here is/was using this camera for bird photography and if so, how did it do. There is not much on the web as most of the people it for studio/landscape shots. I remember using 5D mark 2 for birds with good results. I know about advantages of crop sensor cameras as I've been using 7D mark 2 until recently but due to circumstances had to let it go. I'll be buying something soon and someone suggested 1Ds mark 3 as it can be bought now for really good price.
 
If you were OK with 5D2 then you'll have no problems with any recent semi-pro level body. 1Ds3 has fantastic AF (unlike 5D2) and somewhat higher but not sporty frame rate. I'd imagine 7D2 is probably better for the job, but with a right lens you'd have to be the weak link not to get the shot using 1Ds3.
 
The only problem with the D series is the shutter is loud and if your in a hide it can send the birds flying off .

Rob
 
GyRob said:
The only problem with the D series is the shutter is loud and if your in a hide it can send the birds flying off .

Rob
Click to expand...

Silent shutter mode fixes that and in such case you can afford to lose some fps
 
Silent on 1D will not give a burst and for birds fishing, landing in front of the hide or mating a burst is a must imo.

Rob.
 
I swear by my bog standard 1d3 ,it's fast ,accurate ,and the files are smooth and fairly noise free ,I much prefer it over the 70d I also own despite having half the pixels ,plus the price is rock bottom at the moment
 
sthwild said:
I'm going to try it in Fixation, as they have few in stock. I know it won't work well with new tamron 150-600 but hoping it will do well with sigma150-600
Click to expand...
Out of interest, why won't it work well with the Tamron 150-600?
 
I've have the 1Ds3 and it's a very sharp camera. It does have a very strong AA filter , which can make unprocessed images look unsharp. A small amount of additional sharpening in Lightroom or Photoshop corrects the situation. The 1Ds3 is over 6 years old now and can be bought for a good price. The only thing I would look for is the shutter count. If memory serves me it was designed for 250,000 actuations . ( you can't get that info from the exif data , Canon hide it away. Apps such as Shutter count will access it ).

One point to bear in mind is that the camera is heavier than the 5D equivalent. Best carried across the shoulder than around the neck.

Still got mine and I've no intention of parting with it despite having a couple of more modern cameras :)
 
Last edited:
Chappers said:
....It does have a very strong AA filter , which can make unprocessed images look unsharp. A small amount of additional sharpening in Lightroom or Photoshop corrects the situation.....
Click to expand...
You can't recover detail that never arrived at the sensor whether it was caused by an aggressive AA filter or a minor focus error....it was simply never captured. The 1Ds3 has many superb attributes but ultra-fine detail isn't one of them.

Bob
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top