Canon EOS 5D or EOS-1D Mark II N

[Jerry Raia]

If you had the 5D as I do, would you get the 1D Mark II N if you could and sell the 5D?

[Jerry Raia]

If you had the 5D as I do, would you get the 1D Mark II N if you could and sell the 5D?

[Bob12]

I think it depends on several issues. I have the 1D Mk II and if I was considering a replacement (I'm not,) it would be the Mk IIn. I like the feel of the larger body and would want to have the battery grip on the 5D - that brings the two very close in price. I'm also not bothered by the 1D's 1.3 focal length factor so the 5D's full size imager wouldn't mean that much to me. I like the all out throughput speed of the 1D (8.5 fps for 40/48 frames in jpg.) The added 4 megapixels is also of little relevance to me. I have a picture I took with the 1D printed 20x30 inches and it takes an 8x loupe to see any pixelization and at that, it's extremely tiny and visible only along high contrast areas.

[Jerry Raia]

Yeah that is kind of the way I was thinking. I do have the battery grip for the 5D. I also doubt I'd miss the extra MP's and the increased performance is substantial. Of course I'm not a pro or anything close. I do like having the best I can get though. As I am getting back into photography I have taken a rather "learn as I go approach" so I got the 30D 3 months ago, sold it on eBay last week. Got the 5D and now I'm already thinking about the 1D. The resale on these cameras is so good on eBay its almost a no loss proposition to use one a few months then get the next one up.

[Jason Dunn]

My own personal theory of camera buying: you keep the camera you have until you outgrow it. Meaning, the limitations of the camera are holding you back as a photographer. I find it hard to believe that the 5D is holding you back Jerry. ;-)

[Jerry Raia]

Oh a Kodak Instamatic wouldn't hold me back. Ansel Adams I will never be. I just love the technology and the gadetry and the beauty of it all. :mrgreen:

[cameron]

Jerry - congrats on the 5D.

If I may suggest - stop buying cameras. Looking at your lens choices in another thread, you are not going to be getting optimal results from either the 30D, 5D (especially the 5D), or the Mark II N with those lenses. They are all adequate for the job, but you'll find that Canon's higher end L lenses will give much better results. Plus, if you keep buying, you'll eventually get to a 1Ds - then what will you do?! :P

When I bought my first L lens (the 70-200 f4) - I compared some shots taken at 200mm against that same 75-300 I think you have. Comparing the shots side by side really opened my eyes - the resolution and color rendition just blew me away (I wish I still had the comparisons - I'll have to see if I can find them).

On the 5D this is especially true because it's full frame. All lenses have flaws on the outside of the imaging circle, be it vignetting, distortion, etc. With a smaller sensor, the outside of the image circle falls way outside the sensor so these flaws are hidden. With the full frame sensor - those flaws are going to come out. The higher the lens quality, the less apparent these issues are going to be. You always have them, no matter how good a lens you have though - it's just a matter of how noticeable they are.

All that being said - the 1 series cameras are a blast to shoot with. I rented a 1Ds MarkII a couple of months ago to shoot the Champ Car race here in Denver. The view through the viewfinder, the focusing speed, the level of control all made me wish I was actually turning a profit on this little photography hobby so I could justify buying one.

[Jerry Raia]

Careful now, you almost made a case for the 1D as it is not full frame and I could hide some of my lens flaws. :lol:

OK I'm twisting it a bit but I get your point. I did get a better zoom telephoto so here is my current line up:

http://www.usa.canon.com/consumer/co...&modelid=11922

http://www.usa.canon.com/consumer/co...2&modelid=7307

http://www.usa.canon.com/consumer/co...9&modelid=7337

None are L models of course. I do have my eye on a couple of them. At anyrate I enjoy the 5D so much I will have to keep it for a while. I still have a lot to learn and it is a fun camera to do that on.

[cameron]

The 50 1.4 is a fantastic lens - it's personally one of my favorites (and would be on my camera more if I had full frame).

My recommendations to someone with money to burn - ditch the 75-300 and get a 70-200L. You can get the F4 at good prices these days (I have one right now I'm going to be putting up for sale shortly) - probably between 400-500. You of course lose the IS - which is a factor for some - but you gain a constant aperture throughout the range (which is very important to me) and a non-rotating front element (if you shoot with a polarizer this also becomes very important). Of course if you have money to burn - the 70-200 2.8L IS is supposed to be a fantastic lens. As far as the extra reach is concerned - I use a Canon 1.4x Teleconverter when I need to get a bit farther. Reduces the aperture by one stop - but the image quality is almost 100% as with no teleconverter (just a bit softer).

I'd also replace the 28-135 with either the 24-70 L2.8 or the 24-105 L4 IS. Personally I'd take the 24-70 (it's my next lens purchase) because I want the extra stop - but the 24-105 does have IS. The 28-135 is a notoriously soft lens.

Just my thoughts - I happen to believe that lenses are the most important piece of kit for photography (was 100% true in the days of film, now maybe it's 75% true as sensors do dictate quality). So much so that I shoot with a very inferior camera body (a Mamiya 7 - build quality sucks, feels like a plastic toy) that has a selection of some of the sharpest lenses made.

[Jerry Raia]

Good information there, these are the things I need to learn about. I was almost going to get this lens:

http://www.usa.canon.com/consumer/co...9&modelid=9802

The problem was i sling the camera around my neck and would have needed a link chain with that lens. it is HUGE.

Thanks for the info!

[cameron]

That thing is a beast :wink:

The issue with that lens, besides the size, is that it's wide-angle performance isn't that good. You really do compromise with the larger zoom range. Plus, for the price - you could almost buy a 17-40, 24-70, and 100-400 -- all of which will give you better performance.