So I own a 7D, should I upgrade to a 1D Mark IV?Or wait for a 7D2? Wildlife use

Zephyr

Zephyr

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Graeme
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Hi

Currently I own a 7D, and I have taken some awesome shots on it, and it is a fabulous camera, and most applications but could be a better performer in regards to high ISO.

I am thinking of getting a 2nd camera, as an 'upgrade' to my 7D and to keep my 7D for when I need more reach, or just to eventually sell it.

Wondering if the 1D Mark IV was worth upgrading to, for FPS, sealing and high ISO.

I notice used they're around the cost of a 5D Mark III

With regards to 'reach', I guess a 5D Mark III is not a good choice for a budding wildlife photographer and therefore my only upgrade option is a 1D Mark IV - but is that really an upgrade?

So, my dilemma is, do I wait for a 7D Mark II - rumoured to be coming out 'soon' for about the last two years, or, do I upgrade to a 1D Mark IV? Or do I just stick with a 7D until a 7D2 comes along?

I don't know whether the differences are enough to justify the cost of a Mark IV

Please can someone shed some light on this (at all)?

Any views would be greatly appreciated.

Below is a shot I took on my 7D with 500mm - as you can see, it is a fantastic camera, but detail drops off around 1600 sadly, so wondered if the 1dIV would be a bit, or much better in this area.

Cheers

Graeme

8738681935_0f5d28b54c.jpg
 
I'd get 5D3 then if you are not planning too much rain for it. When you crop 5D3 to 16MP you'll get the same magnification more or less, but less noise and sharper pixels. AF is just as good if not better.
 
I had a 1DIII and 7D side by side and felt the IQ of the 1DIII was far superior despite the lower pixel count (perhaps because of the lower pixel count!).

The high ISO performance of the 1DIII is good and I prefer the ruggedness of the 1DIII. Having said that, I liked the better LCD of the 7D and although pixel-peeping the 7D is depressing, at normal viewing sizes the images were fine.

The 1DIV is going to be a jump up from the 7D and would be my choice for wildlife.

Phil
 
daugirdas said:
I'd get 5D3 then if you are not planning too much rain for it. When you crop 5D3 to 16MP you'll get the same magnification more or less, but less noise and sharper pixels. AF is just as good if not better.
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5D3 would cope with rain just fine ... my 5D2 had a drenching many a time and worked perfectly.
As for the 5D3 and the IQ comparison, I do not agree from what i have seen in some places, they are more or less identical when shots taken in RAW, (maybe a 1/3 of a stop to the mark 3), but obviously the JPEG engine in the 5d3 is much improved and that is where there is a 2 stop difference.
I think if I am focal length limited which is pretty much always the case with wildlife photography then the 1d mark IV is the better way to go and the speed makes a big difference too i believe.

philthejuggler said:
I had a 1DIII and 7D side by side and felt the IQ of the 1DIII was far superior despite the lower pixel count (perhaps because of the lower pixel count!).

The high ISO performance of the 1DIII is good and I prefer the ruggedness of the 1DIII. Having said that, I liked the better LCD of the 7D and although pixel-peeping the 7D is depressing, at normal viewing sizes the images were fine.

The 1DIV is going to be a jump up from the 7D and would be my choice for wildlife.

Phil
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Interesting, mirroring my thoughts ... Does it really make that huge a difference? I will seriously consider one if so, as the price is looking quite nice second hand now.
 
Zephyr said:
5D3 would cope with rain just fine ... my 5D2 had a drenching many a time and worked perfectly.
As for the 5D3 and the IQ comparison, I do not agree from what i have seen in some places, they are more or less identical when shots taken in RAW, (maybe a 1/3 of a stop to the mark 3), but obviously the JPEG engine in the 5d3 is much improved and that is where there is a 2 stop difference.
I think if I am focal length limited which is pretty much always the case with wildlife photography then the 1d mark IV is the better way to go and the speed makes a big difference too i believe.



Interesting, mirroring my thoughts ... Does it really make that huge a difference? I will seriously consider one if so, as the price is looking quite nice second hand now.
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I think you'll find it a very worthwhile upgrade.
 
Question is where are you going to get a decent 1D IV?
 
admirable said:
Question is where are you going to get a decent 1D IV?
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Yes something I'm having to think about, truth is I don't know, watch out for a decent one via ebay or mpb ??

Also what should i look out for or ask when inquiring about a used model?
Any ideas?

G
 
I currently have a 1D4 and 5D3 but have also owned a number of 7D's in the past.The files out of the 1D4 are much much better than those out of the 7D.If you do go for the 1D4 you probably won't use your 7D again.
Don't rule out the 5D3 though.As daugirdas says when you crop the 5D3 image down to the same 1.3x as the 1D4 you are still putting 14mp on the target-14 very good mp too.

There's still quite a big price difference between the 2.A decent 1d4 will still cost approx £2400 wheras a 2nd hand 5D3 will set you back approx £1900.
I've used most Canon DSLR's apart from the 1DX and and my favourite has always been the 1D4.I'll probably be selling mine in September if you can wait that long.

The 7D2 is now rumoured to not be coming out until next year.It's just total guesswork on when it will actually arrive.

Gary
 
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vulcan2912 said:
I currently have a 1D4 and 5D3 but have also owned a number of 7D's in the past.The files out of the 1D4 are much much better than those out of the 7D.If you do go for the 1D4 you probably won't use your 7D again.
Don't rule out the 5D3 though.As daugirdas says when you crop the 5D3 image down to the same 1.3x as the 1D4 you are still putting 14mp on the target-14 very good mp too.

There's still quite a big price difference between the 2.A decent 1d4 will still cost approx £2400 wheras a 2nd hand 5D3 will set you back approx £1900.
I've used most Canon DSLR's apart from the 1DX and and my favourite has always been the 1D4.I'll probably be selling mine in September if you can wait that long.

The 7D2 is now rumoured to not be coming out until next year.It's just total guesswork on when it will actually arrive.

Gary
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Is it worth saving myself some cash (500ish) and risking buying on ebay then if the pictures look ok and the seller answered my questions - are there any potential problems in doing this or am i better off paying the 2,500 and buying from a reputable used retailer?

Thanks so much for your answer from your own experiences.
 
Hi Graeme

All the decent 1D4's go for around the same kind of price.The sub £2000 ones on EBAY all tend to have had a good working life.I tend to never buy expensive items off EBAY and use the forums instead.IMO people are a bit more honest on the "details" on the forums.
Don't forget about things like a spare battery either.That will set you back another £100 on top.I've tried as few 3rd party batts on the 1D4 and always been disappointed so would only go Canon original on those.

Only you can decide how much you are prepared to pay.Buying from a 2nd hand dealer doesn't guarentte you a good camera but the 3 months warranty does give you some piece of mind.

Gary
 
vulcan2912 said:
I currently have a 1D4 and 5D3 but have also owned a number of 7D's in the past.The files out of the 1D4 are much much better than those out of the 7D.If you do go for the 1D4 you probably won't use your 7D again.
Don't rule out the 5D3 though.As daugirdas says when you crop the 5D3 image down to the same 1.3x as the 1D4 you are still putting 14mp on the target-14 very good mp too.

There's still quite a big price difference between the 2.A decent 1d4 will still cost approx £2400 wheras a 2nd hand 5D3 will set you back approx £1900.
I've used most Canon DSLR's apart from the 1DX and and my favourite has always been the 1D4.I'll probably be selling mine in September if you can wait that long.

The 7D2 is now rumoured to not be coming out until next year.It's just total guesswork on when it will actually arrive.

Gary
Click to expand...

:agree:
I had a 7D and with good light on a contrasty subject it performed well the problem was when the light levels dropped you may as well of gone home, iso 1600 files just looked poor. One thing i did miss for a while was the reach on the crop body and that is why i wouldn't even consider going full frame for wildlife.
One thing to remember about the 1Dmk4 is that before the 1DX came out it was the tool too have and produced a large majority of the finest wildlife images.
Yes the cost is high to upgrade but for me it was well worth it and good luck with your search for a good second hand one :thumbs:
 
vulcan2912 said:
Hi Graeme

All the decent 1D4's go for around the same kind of price.The sub £2000 ones on EBAY all tend to have had a good working life.I tend to never buy expensive items off EBAY and use the forums instead.IMO people are a bit more honest on the "details" on the forums.
Don't forget about things like a spare battery either.That will set you back another £100 on top.I've tried as few 3rd party batts on the 1D4 and always been disappointed so would only go Canon original on those.

Only you can decide how much you are prepared to pay.Buying from a 2nd hand dealer doesn't guarentte you a good camera but the 3 months warranty does give you some piece of mind.

Gary
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jm2 said:
ID MKIV going for £1900 here - http://www.avforums.com/forums/digi...nal-dsr-camera-body-boxed-all-accesories.html




Wish I could afford it myself :'(
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Ah spare battery - where would i get an official canon one for this?
I really like the one on the forum i was linked to - do you think (or anyone for that matter) that the mark on the screen will cause me much trouble? or is that a really good steal at the price for what it is?

Neil B said:
:agree:
I had a 7D and with good light on a contrasty subject it performed well the problem was when the light levels dropped you may as well of gone home, iso 1600 files just looked poor. One thing i did miss for a while was the reach on the crop body and that is why i wouldn't even consider going full frame for wildlife.
One thing to remember about the 1Dmk4 is that before the 1DX came out it was the tool too have and produced a large majority of the finest wildlife images.
Yes the cost is high to upgrade but for me it was well worth it and good luck with your search for a good second hand one :thumbs:
Click to expand...

Oh wow okay - maybe due to the fact I have never used a 1D Mark IV then you are right, i will probably be amazed. My fiancee wants to buy my 7d when i have finished with it so if i do stop using it that would make sense.
yes I have always been skeptical of FF camera for wildlife - I owned a 5D2 and thought that the reach I lost from crop bodies even when cropped was not worth it unless you are of course, not distance limited - but how often is that the case? LOL
 
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Anyone else got any thoughts on this one / can share their 1d mark iv experiences? :) best wiahes to all
 
As Phil has said above, the 1DIII is far superior to the 7D. The 1D IV is streets ahead, you won't be disappointed :)
 
I've had my 1D mkiv for getting on to a year now & I'm still struggling with birds in flight. I've tried it side by side with my 7D & my results are.
The 1D mkiv slays it in every department exept focus.
The AF on my 7D locks on & retains focus quite a bit better than my 1D mkiv which I'm annoyed about.
Hopefully I'll crack the focus on the 1D mkiv one day.
 
I think the fact that you can buy four 7D's for the price of a 1DMkIV pretty much says it all.

Bob
 
drexyl said:
I've had my 1D mkiv for getting on to a year now & I'm still struggling with birds in flight. I've tried it side by side with my 7D & my results are.
The 1D mkiv slays it in every department exept focus.
The AF on my 7D locks on & retains focus quite a bit better than my 1D mkiv which I'm annoyed about.
Hopefully I'll crack the focus on the 1D mkiv one day.
Click to expand...


I found changing the tracking speed from the default on my 1DIII helped a lot. Some recommend putting on maximum, some on minimum, but almost no-one recommends the default. Maybe the same is true of the 1DIV?
 
ID mk IV is certainly an upgrade from a 7D

Having had both I also consider the 1D mk III a step up.
 
dinners said:
ID mk IV is certainly an upgrade from a 7D

Having had both I also consider the 1D mk III a step up.
Click to expand...

Interesting - But didn't the 1D Mk III have focussing issues ?

I would have thought for wildlife the 7D would have the advantage for sure over the 1d Mk III, whereas, the 1d Mk IV would triumph over the 7D.

Anyone got any recommendations for 1d Mk IV AF setup for BIF ?

Thanks

Graeme
 
Zephyr said:
Interesting - But didn't the 1D Mk III have focussing issues ?

I would have thought for wildlife the 7D would have the advantage for sure over the 1d Mk III, whereas, the 1d Mk IV would triumph over the 7D.

Anyone got any recommendations for 1d Mk IV AF setup for BIF ?

Thanks

Graeme
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The 1DIII is better for focussing IMO than the 7D. The issue can usually be solved by slowing the AF response in settings. Another issue only occurred when doing large runs at 10fps and this was fixed by free update.
 
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