did I do the right thing in buying a 1dsmk2?

[mrjames]

Hi, I have a 1dmk3- which is great, I love it, but I rarely use the high FPS. I shoot 2 main things 1)fashion and portrait so i'm usually shooting around 1 frame per minute not 10 frames per second, and I have full control over positioning of the model and 2)interiors, and studio work

I am definitely not pigeon holed yet, nor have I found my niche so I also cover events, sometimes gigs and well anything I get asked to do- i'm slowly working myself into a position as a full time pro, this is how I make my money- I have no other source of salaried income other than retouching for other photographers.

As a pro of course i'd love a pair of 1dx's with all the lenses i'd ever need, but as a start up fresh out of university I really don't have the capital (and i'm not prepared to take out a loan)

Currently I have the 1d3, 2 flash guns, an st-e2, umbrellas and strobist kit, a samyang 14mm, a 28mm I don't really use, a 50mm 1.4, 85mm 1.8, zeiss 135mm f3.5 and a 150mm 2.8 macro, oh and a few other manual focus lenses that never get used, and some film gear and macro equipment.
The 85mm is possibly up for sale and so is the zeiss 135.

My shooting preference is to get in close and shoot wide, the 14mm and 50mm cover me for 99% of my shooting at events, although the ability to shoot at 20mm would be nice. I prefer portraiture/fashion with the 50 rather than the 85, at least on 1.3x. With gigs I tend to use the 150 and 50 but I have used the 85mm.

Shooting one body and swapping lenses sounds like a recipe for disaster, but it worked out ok for me if I slowed downm, I would like some zooms but I have been spoilt by the size and performance (and price) of the primes

I could potentially raise about 800 to spend on something useful, and i'd narrowed it down to:

lenses:

70-200 f2.8L (not really my style, but useful for sports/gigs where I can't get closer, also for portraits- ideally would spend a bit extra for the IS to use at gigs- but gigs rarely pay so i'm not bothered if I never shoot another gig again...)

135mm f2- would allow me to shoot telephoto in low light (gigs?) at 3200 rather than 6400, but really a one trick pony as my current 150 is also my macro lens, and 135 is too long for portraits on crop

sigma 12-24- extreme wide angle for 1.3 crop, perfect for my interior work but maybe not sharp enough, and very slow

16-35 mk1- afaik the mk2 is sharper in the corners but similar in the centre, so on a 1.3x crop it wouldn't really matter, and the 2.8 is more useful to me than a sharper f4 lens, and I also do time lapses overnight so 2.8 would really come in handy then. 17-40 is an option though


a second body so I can shoot 2 lenses at once:

5d2- great iso, would give me one stop cleaner output over my 1d3 so 6400 wouldn't be a problem. But single card slot is a problem, as is the AF system, I shot with a 550d once for a gig and it was terrible. Movie mode could be interesting to me, although i'm not sure as it sucks unless you invest in a rig to stabilize it. 21mp would be nice though

5d classic and a lens- nice as a travel camera as the 1d is too big sometimes to take to the pub, although I would worry about the 5d being out in the rain, and the battery life (could get spare batteries but then it's more stuff to carry)

1d2- there's a very cheap 1d2 for sale now and I was incredibly tempted, but I figured it was a bit of a backwards step in terms of ISO performance and less megapixels

i'm not considering any of the crop cameras, i've shot them and there's just something I don't like about the files, really limited dynamic range and too many megapixels and not enough true sharpness


I lusted over the 1ds3 but it was out of my price range

and then I went and surprised myself- I bought a 1ds mk2. for a great price.
and now i'm really not sure if I made the right decision.

 

[mrjames]

my main concern is carrying 2 1d bodies going to kill me? and how will it be shooting with 2 bodies, especially with different interfaces? I guess i'll never know until it gets here- my plan is to keep using the 1d3 as I use it already and just keep the 1ds2 as a specialist camera to have round my back, rather than try to switch between them quickly

I've been shooting prime lenses for years, 2 years seriously/professionally- I'm not sure I really need to switch to zooms, and with a 150 on the 1ds and a 85 1.8 on a full frame that's a 70-200 right there. Switch to a 14 on x1.3 and a 50 on fullframe and that's a 16-35. I will probably switch to a 5d3 and some zoom lenses when I make some money, but for now hopefully this will be enough to get my through that start up phase

it was such a good price i'm sure that if I don't like it I can get back what I paid for it, but from what i've read the af won't be up to par with the 1d3, so that will likely remain my sports body and possibly low light body for the 6400 iso capability, although I will have to test how the 1ds2 works out with intentional underexposure and then pushing in post. Also concerning is the lack of an 'af on' button which i set to cancel AF so I can manually focus, also no joystick to quickly change AF point- i'm getting the impression the 1d3 will be my quick body and the 1ds will be my slower and more methodical body. No live view is a problem but maybe i'll tether to a laptop for studio work, and I will definitely replace the screen with a faster-than-2.8 screen (if those exist) for more precise manual focus without live view

so guys, what do you think- have I made the right decision?

 

[Stumpy]

IMHO......NO.

I'd miss the anti dust filter and the bigger rear screen. Different button layout and menus might cause you problems. Did you really need more mega pixels? What problems were the lack of causing you? If you did need more, did you really need a second "Tank" hanging off your other shoulder? Different batteries and chargers means more to take when working away from base. Back-wards step in low light noise levels (IMHO).

(Still, its a ONE SERIES....)

Thing is YOU tell US in six months, as you've gone and done it now.