mrjames
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Ok so i'm thinking of re-shuffling how I use my professional gear
I have a 1dmk3, and a 5dmk1 with battery grip. I love the 1 series body, I love the feel, the responsiveness and I don't have to worry about it when shooting in the rain- I don't like the small viewfinder. I also really like the full frame 5d for events, the 50mm on full frame is perfect for me and the depth of field is noticeably shallower and that gives the pictures a great look and feel, but I hate it's plasticy build quality, AF points being clustered round the centre (and I still don't think I can trust anything other than the centre) and it just doesn't look professional in the eyes of high end clients (clients don't like it when they realise they own better gear than you...)
I shoot everything- but i've started specializing mainly on portraits, products and interiors, need 2 bodies for event work but doing less and less events these days. 1.3x crop isn't great for interior work, nor is 10mp great for portraits or product work. 5d takes lovely pics but AF isn't reliable and the screen is terrible for showing clients/art director the shots (but i've just got an ipad and eye fi cards so it's not a huge issue anymore)
Option 1 is upgrade 5d and keep 1d3 for sports/events:
get 5d2- maybe start shooting video (would need to buy video gear but i'm thinking of moving away from flash into high powered LED constant light anyway). Main concern is that the AF is't any better and can I rely on a 5d2 in the wind and rain? I might be shooting football next season as I have a contact for a sports blog who is interested in me shooting scottish league. (could get a rain cover?)- cost would be around £900
5d3- too expensive for me, but would save if it was really worth it, heard build quality is much better than mk2 and of course AF is better. cost £2000
1ds2- had this camera and hated the screen, but picture quality was amazing- now I have an ipad with eye fi I could use it 'tethered'- for £600 it's hard to go wrong with pro af and build
option 2 is upgrade the 1d3 and keep 5d for backup/events
get 1ds3- full frame, reliable build and AF, loses high frame rate but have 2 full frame cameras (still no video but maybe not a problem), cost about £1600
option 3 is upgrade the 1d3 and 5d
upgrade 5d to 5d2, and switch 1d3 for a 7d. Not sure that the advantages of this option are.
upgrade 1d3 to 1ds3 and 5d for 7d- giving me a full frame camera and a camera with fast focus, weather sealing and frame rates 91.6 crop might suit sports better)
option 4 is the crazy option
go medium format digital
i'll have to spec out the cost but an older v series back and 20mp sensor 50mm and 80mm lens can probably be done with £2000. Use that for portraits and product, keep the 5d classic for really wide angle shots with the 14mm. Having medium format is a plus for high end clients and it could work out in my favor, this option would radically effect my career and limit me but maybe in a good way!
I think the one thing you should be able to read from this thread is that I want gear that spreads numerous features and doesn't limit what jobs I can do photographically (i.e. trying to shoot sports with a tool not up to the task), but also the gear I have will shape the kind of photographer I become (i.e. I will focus on what my gear performs best at)
in short- I have no idea what I want, because I don't know what I need
I have a 1dmk3, and a 5dmk1 with battery grip. I love the 1 series body, I love the feel, the responsiveness and I don't have to worry about it when shooting in the rain- I don't like the small viewfinder. I also really like the full frame 5d for events, the 50mm on full frame is perfect for me and the depth of field is noticeably shallower and that gives the pictures a great look and feel, but I hate it's plasticy build quality, AF points being clustered round the centre (and I still don't think I can trust anything other than the centre) and it just doesn't look professional in the eyes of high end clients (clients don't like it when they realise they own better gear than you...)
I shoot everything- but i've started specializing mainly on portraits, products and interiors, need 2 bodies for event work but doing less and less events these days. 1.3x crop isn't great for interior work, nor is 10mp great for portraits or product work. 5d takes lovely pics but AF isn't reliable and the screen is terrible for showing clients/art director the shots (but i've just got an ipad and eye fi cards so it's not a huge issue anymore)
Option 1 is upgrade 5d and keep 1d3 for sports/events:
get 5d2- maybe start shooting video (would need to buy video gear but i'm thinking of moving away from flash into high powered LED constant light anyway). Main concern is that the AF is't any better and can I rely on a 5d2 in the wind and rain? I might be shooting football next season as I have a contact for a sports blog who is interested in me shooting scottish league. (could get a rain cover?)- cost would be around £900
5d3- too expensive for me, but would save if it was really worth it, heard build quality is much better than mk2 and of course AF is better. cost £2000
1ds2- had this camera and hated the screen, but picture quality was amazing- now I have an ipad with eye fi I could use it 'tethered'- for £600 it's hard to go wrong with pro af and build
option 2 is upgrade the 1d3 and keep 5d for backup/events
get 1ds3- full frame, reliable build and AF, loses high frame rate but have 2 full frame cameras (still no video but maybe not a problem), cost about £1600
option 3 is upgrade the 1d3 and 5d
upgrade 5d to 5d2, and switch 1d3 for a 7d. Not sure that the advantages of this option are.
upgrade 1d3 to 1ds3 and 5d for 7d- giving me a full frame camera and a camera with fast focus, weather sealing and frame rates 91.6 crop might suit sports better)
option 4 is the crazy option
go medium format digital
i'll have to spec out the cost but an older v series back and 20mp sensor 50mm and 80mm lens can probably be done with £2000. Use that for portraits and product, keep the 5d classic for really wide angle shots with the 14mm. Having medium format is a plus for high end clients and it could work out in my favor, this option would radically effect my career and limit me but maybe in a good way!
I think the one thing you should be able to read from this thread is that I want gear that spreads numerous features and doesn't limit what jobs I can do photographically (i.e. trying to shoot sports with a tool not up to the task), but also the gear I have will shape the kind of photographer I become (i.e. I will focus on what my gear performs best at)
in short- I have no idea what I want, because I don't know what I need
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