Canon 1D MKIV VS 5D MKIII Cameras

[Michael Yulo]

For sports,wild life,moving subjects,and birds in flight,which between the the Canon 1D MKIV or 5D MKIII would be the better camera to use?And why?
Thanks.

[Forgiss - Sean Nel]

Michael, really depends on the wildlife and sports you are talking about... Fast moving sport with changing vectors, the 1DmkIV is better, but for better low light, the 5DmkIII will be better

[Russell Hunter]

I would recommend the Canon 1D Mark IV for very high speed action where you might need a 10 frames per second cycle (ie, motorcycle racing, car racing, etc). It's also an easier camera to grip and use when you start attaching super telephoto lenses above 300mm.

The Canon 5D Mark III has an improved low light performance and slower cycle at 5 frames per second. Most wildlife photography is well within the 5D's performance capability. It's also far cheaper and less bulky than the 1D Mark IV.

[jayson]

Looking at some of the images produced at low light it looks like the 5DMK3 is on par low light wise with the 1DMKIV. Does anyone know of any sites that show that the 5Dmk3 has the edge over the 1D4 in this respect.

[SimonDP]

5D3 handles ISO from 3200 better than 1D4, less noise and requires less NR. Close up yp ISO2500. That said, I can stil uget very usable photo's at ISO 4000 with careful NR from the 1D4

[Grant Atkinson]

Hi Jayson, key difference in the image quality at low light between the two will be subject size/pixels on the subject. If you can move closer with the 5D3 until your image is framed identically to that of the 1.3x field of view crop of the 1Dmk4, then you will benefit from improved image quality and better low light performance of the 5D3, perhaps 2/3 of a stop or more. If you have to crop the 5D3 image more heavily to get it to the same frame (subject size) as the Mk4 then the advantage of better image quality will be less than the abovementioned 2/3 of as stop. For a shooter who can just move a little closer to the subject the 5D3 offers better image quality in every respect, noise, resolution. The image quality advantage becomes less once focal length becomes limited.
cheers
Grant

[Peter Dawson]

Very interesting question this . . .

Arthur Morris at http://www.birdsasart-blog.com seems to be favoring the 5DIII as long as he does not need the 10FPS of the 1DIV. I've not yet had the opportunity to use a 1-series camera but there seem to be many advantages i.t.o customizable buttons, quickly switching from one focus mode to another, lens drive speed(just read about this, not sure if its real) etc.

There have been loads of complaints about the 5DIII on other forums, I even read one post about how the focus system is worse than the 5DII's (not sure what that guy was smoking but it must have been some good ****), but for the money I think it looks like a damn fine upgrade to the 5DII and the 7D. I own the 5DII and the 7D and have often wished for a camera with 5DII IQ and 7D AF and handling. Is that not exactly what the 5DIII is and then some.

I imagine if you are used to using a 1-series, you will miss them moving to a 5DIII, but if you used to the 5DII the 5DIII should knock your socks off

[Forgiss - Sean Nel]

Hi Peter,

What were the 5DmkIII complaints? would love to know...

[SimonDP]

I would miss my 1DIV if traded in for a 5DIII, due to initial AF pick-up and frame rate. Also like the hefty feel of the 1D series bodies, I'm not really a small and wimpy fellow. As to customising - the 5DIII is up there too, should satisfy most people.

[Mike Mac]

I can't comment on the 1D 's as I have not been fortunate enough to use one. But I can comment on the 7D, 5D11 and 5D111 and can say that the 5D111 AF is just amazing compared to the other two. It just nailed the tracking on a shoot I did recently where I never experience the same with the other two.

[Peter Dawson]

Hi Peter,

What were the 5DmkIII complaints? would love to know...

Most of the complaints have been on the CR forum, and come to think of it, most of those on the 1D X threads. Its quite astounding really. Some people will just never be happy.

For the life of me, i cant find the worst of the moaning but here is some:
http://www.canonrumors.com/forum/index.php?topic=7644.0

I eventually found the guy bemoaning the new AF system. Ken Rockwell: http://www.kenrockwell.com/canon/5d-mk-iii.htm you'll have to scroll down to the AF section of the review.

[Grant Atkinson]

Hi Peter
I have noticed that on the Canon rumours forum and the DP Review forum there are many folk who complain about everything, and KR that you mention above is somebody who purposefully makes contrary and inflammatory posts all the time to draw readers to his website...I have seen him referred to a 'troll' by many on the internet. I stopped visiting his site a couple of years ago when I read his opinion that the standout feature on the D80 Nikon was the White Balance button so he could change it between shots. He also stated at one time that he only shot medium sized jpgs. Therefore his assessment of an AF system and my needs are two different things. Check out images by guys like Francois Retief on this forum to see what the 5D3 can do with wildlife action!
cheers
Grant

[Forgiss - Sean Nel]

Hahahaha woah, ken is really not liking the 5DmkIII, is he? (and also not very accurate there either)

[Peter Dawson]

Hi Peter
I have noticed that on the Canon rumours forum and the DP Review forum there are many folk who complain about everything, and KR that you mention above is somebody who purposefully makes contrary and inflammatory posts all the time to draw readers to his website...I have seen him referred to a 'troll' by many on the internet. I stopped visiting his site a couple of years ago when I read his opinion that the standout feature on the D80 Nikon was the White Balance button so he could change it between shots. He also stated at one time that he only shot medium sized jpgs. Therefore his assessment of an AF system and my needs are two different things. Check out images by guys like Francois Retief on this forum to see what the 5D3 can do with wildlife action!
cheers
Grant

I have to agree with you Grant, there is a lot of trolling going on in the CR forums as well. Please dont misunderstand my post, i am all for the 5DIII. I have not been lucky enough to play with one but from my 7D & 5DII experience, I can only imagine how good it must be. I just had to share my intrigue at the negative vibe that some seem to have toward the camera.
Thanks again for all your valuable posts and the time you spend contributing to this community.

[Grant Atkinson]

Hi Peter,
No misunderstanding, just shared my opinion on KR. And now you made me go and read something on his waste of time site again :-). Strange needs that the man has but I doubt anything will make him happy.
I think that the 5D3, as with the 7D and the last few generations of 1D bodies, have AF setups that allow users to fine tune them to suit ones own particular styles or shooting situations. These Af systems have become understandably a bit more complex to set up. However, on the 5D3 especially, the user interface has been simplified quite a lot. However, there may be users who do not have the need to fiddle with the AF on any of these bodies too much, and that is fine too, all settings have a Default position that works just fine in a range of situations. So the extra AF choices don't hurt the camera, they are something extra for those who wish to get the most out of their AF. It is the users choice whether to invest the time needed to figure out how to set them up. Over and above that, as an AF user for action wildlife shots, I have always and still believe that I get my best results using a single point, selected by myself, in most situations. AF response is very rapid, positive and accurate in such instances using the Mk4, and the 7D. I have not used the 5D3 in the field yet for wildlife, but should be able to report back soon on my experience soon as mine arrives.
Thanks for the kind comments Peter, much appreciated.
cheers
Grant

[Russell Hunter]

Grant has a good point. There are many people on forums who seem to 'troll' for attention. I've used the following site for most of my equipment choices. It's slanted towards Canon but I've found the author is quite accurate and methodical in his reviews.

http://www.the-digital-picture.com/

There is a big review of the Canon EOS 5D Mark III.

Cheers,
Russell

[Peter Dawson]

Grant has a good point. There are many people on forums who seem to 'troll' for attention. I've used the following site for most of my equipment choices. It's slanted towards Canon but I've found the author is quite accurate and methodical in his reviews.

http://www.the-digital-picture.com/

There is a big review of the Canon EOS 5D Mark III.

Cheers,
Russell

And I agree with you Russel, the-digital-picture is a fantastic site and one i often refer first time buyers to.
And he is getting his 1D X today
We should start to see some methodical and accurate comparisons between the 1D X and other Canon cameras soon.