Canon 1ds or canon 5d

John wells

John wells

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Evening all

I'm looking to get a ff body but this will be on a budget as I have to get it in under the wife's nose...

I currently have a 40d which I really like and can muster around £500 but not sure which is best of the two mentioned in the title.

To help if it does I generally take landscapes and am looking to move into architectural work, only occasionally shooting portraits.

Thanks in advance for any help especially from owners of the above

John
 
One reason I'd go for the 5D (indeed I have one) is that it's relatively compact compared to a 1 series and the lighter and more compact the better IMVHO.
 
I happen to have both.

5D wins:
- Speed. The 1Ds will take several seconds to preview your shot on the screen. It's REALLY slow.
- Screen.. 5D screen is pretty bad but 1Ds is just silly. Good histogram though which is all you need.. if you have time to wait for it.
- Battery on the 5D is much smaller, lighter, lasts a lot longer and is THE SAME as your 40D battery. You can share chargers and batteries. The 1Ds has a huge NiMH battery :shake:
- ISO noise.. 5D wins hands down when you go above ISO 400
- Menu system. 5D uses something similar to your 40D, the 1Ds has the "hold & scroll" system which will take time to get used to.

1Ds wins:
- Autofocus naturally, especially if shooting moving subjects
- Portrait orientation ergonomics - the 1-series body is so much better than any battery grip
- Weather sealing & build in general
- No accidental mode changes (no mode dial)
- Impressive looks! But very hard to get in under the wife's nose.

I would pick the 5D any time for outside the studio environment, unless you really need the weather sealing and AF. I would sell the 1Ds but it has a misbehaving rear wheel so not sure how to price it...
 
thanks for the summary Vaizki, really helpful. Mark thanks for the balance, also if you fancied a coffee im in scarborough regularly with work now?

John
 
To add to the discussion the 5d is about £500 and the 1ds is about £300, a wide lens difference perhaps...
 
If you could push to 1DsII it would be an easy choice. Extra resolution is always welcome for simulating tilt-shift in post.
It depends what glass you've got. 24mm TSE I might not resolve much more than 5D is capable of, I believe.
The old 1Ds has very limited high ISO, and doesn't even support E-TTL2 (only v1), but at £300 it is a giveaway.

Oh, and £200 won't buy you any good wide lens. It's hard enough for £400...
 
Thanks, version 2 is about the same cost as these two together.. So I'd have to say no

It's mainly going to be used for long exposure work and general landscape work, how does its shortfalls affect this?
 
I've heard people say that up to ISO400 the 1DS may have the edge - and if you are doing landscapes then that shouldn't be an obstacle.

I just bought the 1DS in classified and this will be the second time I will have a 1DS - everybody writes it off as if its a dinosaur but trust me it takes nice photos..... :D

Frankly the write-times are ridiculous and the screen is rubbish but the IQ is quite something. And you will enjoy using it.

I've used quite a few cameras now and the 1Ds is the one I enjoyed using the most despite its annoying interface and menu systems.
 
John wells said:
Thanks, version 2 is about the same cost as these two together.. So I'd have to say no

It's mainly going to be used for long exposure work and general landscape work, how does its shortfalls affect this?
Click to expand...

Exactly what I used mine for, it was great, as long as you knew about the limitations I mentioned, the shots it turns out have a lovely feel to them and great IQ.

I actually shot up to the maximum ISO1250 handheld in Dubrovnik and noise wasn't as bad as people make out.

This shot for example, click view all sizes and bring it up big, that was ISO1250

Dubrovnik's Old Harbour at Night by mark_mullen, on Flickr
 
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