Canon 1D MK3 or 5D MK2

[simon colenutt]

I am toying with upgrading from my 5D and 1D to either the 1D MK3 or the 5D MK2. I shoot birds and general wildlife including macro as well as some landscape. I like the idea of being able to shoot video but does the build and general quality of the 1D outweigh the ability to shoot video? Generally of the two cameras I own I prefer the 1D in terms of its control but often use the 5D because of its smaller size/weight. I notice little in the quality of images obtained with the two. I would welcome peoples thoughts on the two.
Thanks

[postcardcv]

I've heard of a couple of issues with 5DmkII that would/have put me of going for one. For wildlife the mkIII has some clear advantages - frame rate, high ISO performance, solid build. Given a choice of those two I'd have the mkIII every time... But I do think a used 1DsmkII might be a better option, it's a real alrounder.

[graham catley]

has anyone come across a review of the 5DII by a birder who does action photography? all those I have seen are from static photographers

[simon colenutt]

Thanks for your response. Would the video ability of the 5D2 and the ability to grab stills from the vid as posted by Romy at:

http://www.pbase.com/liquidstone/ima...58141/original

have any influence?

What are the issues with the 5D2 that you have heard of?

Cheers

Simon

[postcardcv]

The problem I was referring to was the issue of getting black dots just to the side of clipped highlights - http://www.bobatkins.com/photography/digital/eos_5D2_black_dots.html the it seems taht this may now have been fixed in firmware (time will tell).

I have seen the video grabs that have been posted and they look good on the web but I doubt they'd print up to well. Personally I aim to take photos that work well on the web and in print. The video side of it doesn't appeal to me, I'd prefer the faster AF (with many more focus points) and faster frame rate that the mkIII offers.

[Michael Daniel Ho]

Hi Simon :

Strictly speaking, the 1D MK3 and the 5D MK2 are very different cameras. The former is generally for sports and wildlife (10fps, superior AF functionality) while the 5D MK2 is a full frame camera with much lower frame rate and less robust AF capabilities and is more of a generalist camera that can perform many functions. They are both great cameras for different users.

If you are into bird and wildlife photography, I'd definitely go with the 1D MK3 otherwise the 5D MK2 is a good choice for general purpose photography. Take a look at my web site for 1D MK3 wildlife and bird photos. Almost all of them were taken with the 1D MK3.

[Robert L Jarvis]

If you are after video for heaven's sake get an HD camcorder, don't waste either of the cameras you mention on this. None of them can truly compete with a camcorder for video and grabs.

[Malcolm Stewart]

Thanks for your response. Would the video ability of the 5D2 and the ability to grab stills from the vid as posted by Romy at:

http://www.pbase.com/liquidstone/ima...58141/original

have any influence?

...

I looked at some of these a few nights ago, and they seemed quite pleasing until the bird flew off the perch, when all I saw was a mush. This happened on a few of them, and I wonder if it's the HD system or the video editor getting confused with which frame is the anchor frame.