Upgrade from 30D

[Marcus Conway - ebirder]

Where to next? And why?
Lets assume a budget of c£2000. And a timescale of 6 months.
Thanks :t:
Marcus

EDIt I want to stay with Canon.

[postcardcv]

probably depends what you want to do, either a 1D mkIII or a 1Ds mkII... but who knows what will come up in the next six months... or save your money and buy my 40D ;)

[Marcus Conway - ebirder]

Thanks Pete. I'm think I am looking towards the 1D(s) its another world of acronyms and numbers. I am sure the 40D would be a bit better than the 30D

There is the 5D too, but the reviews seem varied

[vkalia]

Depends on what you want. There is no point buying a new camera unless there is a specific upgrade you want/need.

Personally, I'd get a 5DMk2 (am going to do so after PMA unless there is a new 16MP 1D4 out). The IQ is the best in the market right now, and for my shooting needs, the AF/frame rate will suffice even for action. If you wont be doing humongous prints, the 50D will probably be a better bet.

Vandit

[666taz]

Canons next upgrade should be to the 1D to mk4 with a 15mg sensor like the 50d but larger sensor should be better res dont know what else they may do but i just rekon this would bring it into line with the rest of Canons range.

[eastwood]

The 1D IV sounds a worth wait.

[Highcountry]

The 1D IV sounds a worth wait.

Hopefully this spring. Not that I will buy one but I want the price on the 1Ds II to drop from current prices about 500 USD.;)

[Robert L Jarvis]

Marcus don't wait too long or you may well find new prices have jumped by 25%.

[Epsomsalt]

The way the pound has plummeted against all the major currencies recently I would hang fire a bit if you can - It must recover soon mustn't it?

Chris

[Robert L Jarvis]

Do you have a crystal ball?? It may recover but not enough to counter the losses against the dollar or yen where virtually all our camera gear comes from and whose to say when?

[Marcus Conway - ebirder]

I will need some equipment soon, but I can hold on for 6 months. The main requirments are varied due to expansion in a couple of areas;

I now do the occaisonal wedding so being able to shoot the full sensor would be helfpul plus I am required to produce some bigger prints.

A couple of poeple have also asked for A3 size prints of a couple of my current shots, and hopefully requests for bigger prints will continue.

I would like better performance at higher ISO. I currently don't go much over 400 with the 30D

I would like more assistance for BIF shooting. The 30D is okay but I think I could get more support with more AF points.

I would like a more FPS as I have missed action and small birds without this.
Better AF in low light

I photograph in all weathers so anything that offers protection against the elements.

A quieter shutter sound as the 30D is quite loud compared to others I hear.

Nice to have - bigger screen.

Never used liveview, and rarely chimp, so not sure of benefits to me there.

Integrated cleaning system

Any improvments in IQ welcome!

[postcardcv]

I now do the occaisonal wedding so being able to shoot the full sensor would be helfpul plus I am required to produce some bigger prints.

A couple of poeple have also asked for A3 size prints of a couple of my current shots, and hopefully requests for bigger prints will continue.


big prints shouldn't be an issue, I have printed to A3 plenty of times from my old 350D shots and they look great. I have had shots prints upto A1 and they still look good. A 30D should print up as big as you want it, unless you're cropping heavily to begin with.

[QuantumTiger]

I now do the occaisonal wedding so being able to shoot the full sensor would be helfpul plus I am required to produce some bigger prints.

I would like more assistance for BIF shooting. The 30D is okay but I think I could get more support with more AF points.

I would like a more FPS as I have missed action and small birds without this.
Better AF in low light

A quieter shutter sound as the 30D is quite loud compared to others I hear.
Well there are certainly advantages to be gained in moving to the pro body cameras. I recently looked at all the options in my price range (50D, 5D, second hand 1DMkII, 1DMkIII and second hand 1DsMkII). My main conclusion out of all of this is that there is still no ideal camera for all applications. The full frame cameras have lower FPS and smaller buffers. So I think the decision comes down to working out what the most important feature for you is. For me the 45 AF points of the 1D MkII, reliable AF, autofocus at f/8 and 8.5fps for 20 raw tip the balance for BIF. And second hand 1D MkII prices are very attractive at present too. For full frame the 1Ds MkII is looking good - and probably better than the 5D for BIF shots.

In case it helps here is a list of UK Second hand Canon Dealers (http://cameras.quantumtiger.org/canon-links.php) I put together to help me search.

[Gary Jenkins]

Hi Marcus,
I upgraded from a 20D to a 1D Mark IIn. Its superb and I got it when the markets were better across the pond. I paid £1600 for it and £300 import tax, and it was brand new.
You wouldnt regret it I wouldn't of thought, providing that you can find one.
Good luck

[Marcus Conway - ebirder]

Thanks everyone. The 1dm2 seems to be getting a thumbs up from you guys?

[Malcolm Stewart]

I assume you want to upgrade for birding. I went to the 1D MkIII from a 30D, after giving careful consideration to the 1DMkII and MkIIn. In the end, what one me over was the AF Microadjust feature. If I'd got my 30D's AF calibrated earlier, I might not have made the upgrade as I have my 1D MkIII set to 6fps (30D is 5fps), but I spent around two years getting acceptable but not stunning results - despite using the same lenses as many others.

Where reach hasn't been that important, I still feel that my 5D gives me the best result.

[stevo]

Just for good measure I was thinking about the 1D mk2 route & enquired at my local London camera exchange & was quoted a price of £800 so not bad.

Steve.

[gmax]

Thanks everyone. The 1dm2 seems to be getting a thumbs up from you guys?

Absolutely!

[Tim Taylor]

Hi Marcus. The high ISO performance of the 1D mkII is about the same as that of the 30D I think (having used both). If you're doing weddings, might a better high ISO performance not be important? It would be a real bonus for bird photography too. The 1D mkIII has been going second hand for as little as £1550 (within your budget?) last weekend on eBay and I believe it has excellent high ISO performance. Other performance benefits of the 1D series in terms of weather sealing and fabulous AF etc are well documented. A friend who uses the 1D mkIII reckons it's pretty loud at high shutter speeds so probably no advantage there.

Good luck.

[Marcus Conway - ebirder]

Hi Marcus. The high ISO performance of the 1D mkII is about the same as that of the 30D I think (having used both). If you're doing weddings, might a better high ISO performance not be important? It would be a real bonus for bird photography too. The 1D mkIII has been going second hand for as little as £1550 (within your budget?) last weekend on eBay and I believe it has excellent high ISO performance. Other performance benefits of the 1D series in terms of weather sealing and fabulous AF etc are well documented. A friend who uses the 1D mkIII reckons it's pretty loud at high shutter speeds so probably no advantage there.

Good luck.

The improved ISO perfromance is important, If there is no advantage on with Mkii then I would be best to look at other options.

[Tim Taylor]

It would be worth checking on the ISO issue with gmax and Akihaka both of whom have (I think) moved to the Id mkII from 20/30D cameras. Performance of mkII is otherwise brilliant.