Is the Canon 1Ds II any good for wildlife shooting ?

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gary43

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Hi all

I'm currently having a bit of a shake-up in my gear bag, some stuff has to go and I am in a dilemma as to what to replace stuff with.

For background, I currently shoot just about everything that moves, including: weddings, gigs, wildlife, familly and so on...

I currently have three bodies Canon 60D, 5D and 1D3 and a fairly good range of glass, mostly primes.

Now my current dilemma:

I fully intend to keep the 60D since it is a great litte walkabout camera and this will give me good reach for wildlife photography. I REALLY like the 1D style body plus it has other advantages such as twin card slots etc..

So, I'm toying with the idea of letting both the 5D and 1D3 go and getting either a 5D2 or 1Ds II. Question is, is the AF ability of the 1Ds II significantly better than the 5D2 making it also useable as a wildlife camera ? Or, is the 5D2 just "better" than the 1Ds II given its improved iso performance etc... and can this camera practically be used for wildlife on anything other than the central AF point ?

I NEED full frame since my lens line up is geared towards this format for weddings and gigs.

Any advice from users of these cameras would be really appreciated. Also FWIW, the 1Ds III is currently out of reach.

Thanks in advance.

Gary
 
Does no-one use the 1D mark II for wildlife then ?

Maybe I should ask this on the Talk Nature forum ?
 
The 1DS MK2 will do wildlife of course, but you'll find it very limited in reach compared to your 60D and 1D3. There again you will see the benefit of the 1DS MK2 for wedding work, but they're different cameras for different purposes - none of them is an ideal all -rounder. If you're hanging onto the 60D for wildlife and getting the 1DS2 for weddings, then that seems a reasonable plan to me.
 
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CT said:
The 1DS MK2 will do wildlife of course, but you'll find it very limited in reach compared to your 60D and 1D3. There again you will see the benefit of the 1DS MK2 for wedding work, but they're different cameras for different purposes - none of them is an ideal all -rounder. If you're hanging onto the 60D for wildlife and getting the 1DS2 for weddings, then that seems a reasonable plan to me.
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Hi CT

Thanks for getting back.

I've got a 600f4IS so I can go quite long with the 60D and even with the 1Ds II with TCs I can get up to 1200 mm @f8. This will require quite high iso though and everyone tells me the 1Ds II is not the best above 800.

The critical thing is whether the AF system on the 1Ds II is significantly faster and more accurate than on the 5D II ?

I just have no knowledge of such things.

Thanks again.
 
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dentedshed said:
Or maybe just wait until people get in from work and settle down for a beer.
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Hi, dentedshed, yes, I SHOULD chill. But I just have an enquiring mind and want to know such things asap.

Many thanks for getting back.
 
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1Ds2 is definitely very good above ISO800 to 1600 - 1D3 good if you like, when processed in Lightroom 3. The only trouble is 1D3 has the same pixel density as 1Ds2, so if you crop 1.3x you are back to 1D image, but lose slightly better af, micro-adjust and 10fps.

I bought mine from grumpybadger and he used if for wildlife, so technically it is doable with a very long lens. For me with 200mm f/4 +1.4x it is totally impossible.

As you said, 1DsIII or 1Div the ones to have, but they cost a lot.
 
The 5D2 has a pretty capable centre AF point, and supported by six invisible assist points can handle a bit of action if necessary. For any given focal length it will place more pixels on your subject than the 5D, 1D3 and 1Ds2. If weddings and people are your main focus then I think the 5D2 makes good sense. Here are some "action wildlife" shots with my 5D2....

20100317_121429_2022_LR.jpg


20100317_121648_2032_LR.jpg


20100215_102723_1504_LR_crop.jpg


20101106_120634_6173_LR.jpg


It can even have a crack at motorsport....
20100323_103547_2282_LR.jpg
 
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Dear Daugirdas/Tim

Thanks to both for the advice. It seems to me that both FF bodies are capable of capturing wildlife well so COULD be used for this purpose under the right conditions.

I think the 1D3 is possibly a better allround camera than the 1DsII or 5D2 but my beloved 35/85L lenses are just a bit awkward FLs for me on crop bodies so I will settle for one of the above.

Decisions...Decisions....

Thanks again to all.
 
As said above, I used a 1DsII for a few years for wildlife and think its a great camera. It produces superb quality images and got me several shots that I think showed promise. It also depends what you mean by wildlife as small birds are very different to larger stuff. I only got rid of mine as I got a 1DIV and needed to free up some cash. With hindsight, I'm not convinced the 1DIV was a good value upgrade and the 1Ds gave me most of what I wanted.

As pointed out above, the 1DsII and 1DIII have very similar pixel pitch so offer similar ability to crop but you also get the option of a wider FOV if you want on full frame. AF system is stunning on the 1DsII (easier to use out of the box that the 1DIV) and I used it a lot for bird in flight shots.

Pics taken with the 1DsII include:

XE7K3726-Edit.jpg


and

XE7K4481.jpg

and

XE7K7556.jpg
 
Hi Paul

Thanks for the shots above; some SUPERB captures there.

I'm looking at a FF and x1.6 crop set-up and the pixel density cf. my 1D3 is not such a deal-breaker as I am not really FL limited. What I need is the best balance of decent AF and useable iso (up to 800 would just about suffice). Looks like the 1Ds2 shades it over the 5D2 on AF ability and where the AF points sit.

Thanks to all for your input. Certainly swaying towards the 1Ds II.

Probably need someone to do a swap with my mint (ish) 1D III now !

Regards.

Gary
 
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