I plan to purchase a 1D tomorrow!

[SSweeney]

Dr. Foote
Iam a newbie and don't know what an RZ is
can you explain please [img]images/icons/confused.gif[/img]

[Fred_Bopp]

If the cost of a 1D won't take away from your familys necessities, then go for it.
The 1D is so awesome and feature rich that it suits any type of photography. You won't look back I assure you. I have shot over 2000 frames with mine in 4 months and my faithful D30 sits in reserve.
I take a lot of pictures from a moving boat on open ocean and am getting many shots I missed with the D30. Plus the fact that the 1D is sealed against a salt air environment really helps ease my mind. I always worried about the D30 and kept it in a waterproof bag.
Regards, Fred

[Bill_Foote]

SSweeney--Sorry about using verbal shortcuts. The RZ is the Mamiya RZ. The image size is 56 x 70 mm. When that is scanned on my Nikon 800 scanner the file size is 270 MB @ 8 bits, or 540 MB @ 16 bits.

The quality of the final product is unbelievable! As I said earlier, I can't believe that the Mamiya RZ 270 MB image is essentially the same as the Canon 1D 11.7 MB image. I have been given explanations by people who should know, but it still amazes me. I have increased resolution on my Mac to print 24 X 36 images @ 300 ppi on my Epson 7500 printer and they are impressive to all who see them. That is one reason why I have avoided using the RZ recently. SOB [img]images/icons/wink.gif[/img]

[TonyDonaldson]

Mike (zoophoto), I feel your pain. Starbucks is sometimes out of my favorite muffin by the time I get there, my powerful SUV isn't fast enough, so I'm off to buy me a Testarossa. You should to that as well, it'd get you and your 1d to Griffith Park to the Zoo in a New York minute!

-TD

[MikeDitz]

Well, it is now tomorrow so you must have it by now, so my opinion is probably useless.

If you can justify it, don't listen to anybody here. If you got the dough, spend it! The more they sell the better the next 1D will be.
The guy who shoots boat pictures at sea is the guy who needs a 1D, that's the reason it is waterproof, dead on AF and a huge buffer. I don't know if zoo pictures will be any better with a 1D compared to a D60. I've never done it, but it seems like there ain't a lot of preassure shooting zoo animals. I might be wrong though. If you want it buy it, however
I'd put my money into lenses, or wait until September when Photokina happens and see what Canon has up their sleeve.
Hey Tony , I think I've seen you at my local Starbucks, is it a red Testarossa? [img]images/icons/tongue.gif[/img]

[Zoophoto]

Try shooting moving monkeys through glass in a dark monkey house. My assignment was get an image of a "baby" monkey.

I tried it with my D30 - It would not focus. I switched to manual focus and of 60 frames that I fired, about 8 were in focus. I also missed many shots when the camera was writing to the card.

By the way, one of the shots that was in focus currently appears on a billboard at the 59th Street Bridge in New York. I wonder how many other billboard quality images I would have captured if the autofocus had been effective and the buffer had not been busy.

I have had similar focus limitations with the D60 - and some - although fewer - buffer bottlenecks.

Realistically, the 1D is quite an investment. But from a significant amount of the input that I have received from members of this board and other sources, I believe that it will lift some of the limitations that I have been dealing with.

When I shot film with my EOS 3, I often avoided bursts of frames, as I thought about film and lab costs. I'll never know how many good action shots I missed. With the 1D, the costs are already prepaid. I can just shoot, expand my horizons, and learn. (Because the prepayment was so steep, I now have incentive to get my money's worth.)

By the way - I very much appreciate the differences of opinion from the members posting to this thread. Differing opinions make life exciting.

[MikeDitz]

Ha!
You learn something new everyday! I guess monkeys would be kind of a challenge to shoot.
Do you have any handlers working with you or are you on your own?

MD