Swap 7D for 1Dsmk2??

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jdfotos

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James
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Seen a few come up for sale and considering swapping my 7 out for the 1Ds mk2.
But not sure so looking for opinions from anyone who's had or used both. Specifically info on how the 1 deals with high (max) iso.
I know I would miss the screen on the 7, but not bothered by video etc.
any thoughts from anyone??
 
ISO 3200 is a little noisy but retains all details. Good exposure that doesn't need pushing shadows too far will clean up well to give a very nice result, although it won't compete with 1Dx shooting the Milky Way. ISO1600 is very good, LR4 NR slider to +10-20 creates a smooth but detailed output. That's far better than any crop I've seen. However by ISO 3200 AF will suddenly become quite slow and not so accurate any more. I am not sure if 7D is any more advanced, but I certainly expect more noise from one.
 
Depends what type of photography you want to use it for. Studio / Landscape ideal, wildlife / action capable as long as you don't want a machine gun 4fps, but would you miss the 1.6x crop?
 
I'd be using it mostly for weddings so high iso would be used pretty regularly.
Not sure I would miss the 1.6 crop factor, but have an extender anyway should I need it.
I'm just worried that the mk2 might be a bit long in the tooth technology wise vs the 7, and I might just be better saving hard for the 5Dmk3.........?
 
I'm contemplating offering a swap of my excellent Canon-gripped 5DII (Purchased from Wilkinsons in Aug 2011 and only has about 5k shutter count) for a very good 7D. Reason is I have two super-telephotos and only one 7D! Of course, I prefer the 5DII to the 7D, but the lack of crop factor is limiting, as is the 5DII's AF for wildlife/BIF. Would probably need some £ back my way though, more if the 7 had no Canon grip.
 
Fourringcircus, I would be very tempted by this, but my other body is a 5d mk1, and with everything I've heard about the 2's af, I'd rather have one body with decent af for when I need it!!
But I would love a mk2........mmmmm
How much would you be looking for your way? I have Canon gripped 7D both in vgc. Hypothetically of course, we can't deal here!
 
How about doing an exchange at mpb photographic or other (park cameras, mifsuds etc) for a used 1Ds MKIII, they are going for around the £1700-1900 mark and a step up in technology from the MKII, your 7D around £700-800 used price, perhaps they'll do you a good exchange deal.
 
jdfotos said:
How much would you be looking for your way? I have Canon gripped 7D both in vgc. Hypothetically of course, we can't deal here!
Click to expand...
Not sure of the etiquete / rules here so don't want to transgress.:shrug:

Assuming similar age & shutter count of the 7D, I'd guess there's about a £400 differential.:shrug:

Just checked my file numbers and it's actually at 7329 and firmware is 2.1.2.

As for the AF on the 5DII, don't believe all you read. There's nothing wrong with it at all for 'normal' daylight photography. It looses a bit in low light and it's certainly no good for birds in flight which is the only reason for me to consider a swap.;)
 
Thanks for the info on the mk2 John, part of me wants to pull the trigger on that, but just wiped out the savings on the 5DC. Maybe after Xmas

Still interested to hear people's views on the 7vs 1dsmk2.
 
I've just spent an hour or so taking photos of my 5DII and digging out the manuals etc with a view to adding to this thread. However, I've discovered an issue with my BG-E6 grip. It would appear that something inside the grip connecting the thumbscrew to the mounting stud has failed and as a result, I can't remove the grip from the camera - The thumscrew just twists.:shrug: It's never been off the camera since the day it was new/attached and now I presume it won't come off without knowlwgeable intervention (which I don't have). Whilst this doesn't affect the camera or the grip in any way, I can't suggest that it is 'excellent' and therefore can't proceed with anything under a misaprehension of all things being as they should. I've no ideas how this could have happened but that's not the point.

Perhaps I'll just put it up in a for-sale thread as a 5Dii with a 'free' genuine grip attached.:bang:
 
John, I'm sure I saw a thread on here somewhere about this exact problem, and how it's a cog inside that can be replaced.
If I can find the link I will post it up.
It could have been on POTN though......
 
Hello there.

I have the 1Ds Mk II and I love it because I am overly sentimental and the 1Ds II was my first 1D.

To try and answer your question I would say newer is better...I have no experience of the 7D and I do not plan ever to buy one but I can tell you I really do not want to use my 1Ds II at a wedding anymore since using the 5D III.

For landscapes and studio work I am hoping to get a few more years out of the old girl but her low light performance simply doesn't do it when compared to newer lesser cameras.

HTH
 
Thanks Anton, this is interesting to hear.

But before the 5D3, I guess you were happy with the 1ds2??
Other people are telling me the IQ from 1dsmk2 is up there with the 5D2/3. Would you agree? Ignoring the high ISo side of things of course.
 
Hello James

If you will excuse me for doing so I will respond in a bit of a roundabout way so you can understand how I see things...

The IQ of the 1Ds II is superb as one would expect of a camera in it's class BUT that was the class of 2004...which is a looooooooong time ago in camera lifetimes.

I suppose it is very nearly on par with the 5D II or 3 except that it falls behind a bit if you need to make huge prints, A0 kind of thing...the 22 Mp will have a slight edge here

The AF is superior to the 5D II but not to the 5D III.

Remember that the 1DX and 5D III are the first FF Canon cameras with a gapless microlens filter array. This together with much newer technology and other aspects makes the newer cameras superior by good margins in low light / high ISO environments.

That aside, I would still say the 1Ds II offers great IG and very usable A0 prints (forget that 300dpi BS) but there are also other minor niggles with the 1DsII...small putrid rear screen and it is very prone to sensor dust. This is a real PITA when you make huge prints and landscapes are typically shot at f/16 to f/22...

Since using the 5D III I do not know what sensor dust is! And I change lenses a lot!

So yes, before the 5D III I was VERY happy with my 1Ds II, I still am but newer technology does bring many and varied vast improvements...

Will I ever get rid of my 1Ds II? NEVER!!!

She still delivers the goods in studio and on landscapes and I will shoot her till the day she dies! She is on her 3rd shutter BTW!

HTH!
 
I have the 1Ds MkII and have no problems using it at any ISO setting - especially with some NR applied.

Here is a 100% crop of a shot taken at 3200 ISO (not RAW - I almost always shoot in JPEG large nowadays):

4420.jpg

​
It was taken on my 1ds MkII with 0 sharpness applied and all NR turned off to preserve as much detail as possible.
The noise is fairly fine grained even in the shadows and even a large print would be acceptable at normal viewing distances.

Here is the same shot after going through Neat Image (set to retain finer detail)

WY3R4420x.jpg

​
There is still a small amount of noise but very fine.

and here is the final print after going a second time through Neat Image and PP and reducing in size:

4420xx.jpg

​

I bought the 1Ds MkII over the 5dII because on the 5dII it seemed to me the lower noise at higher ISOs was achieved at the cost of some detail even with all NR turned off of the 5DII.

Also an important point about higher ISO on higher pixel cameras is that as the pictures are reduced in size so will the apparent noise.

So the old instructions we used to get in the days of film about filling the frame as much as possible with the subject is equally applicable here because the less cropping you do the less apparent noise in your final print.

.
 
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Thanks for all the replies and info, much appreciated. I've decided to keep my 7D for the time being, and to save money up to buy something in the future. What that will be will depend how long it takes me to save the required money!! But for now I think the target is prob around the £2400 mark........
 
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