Do I really need a 1D Mark II?

[John Clare]

Hi all,

This is my first post on this forum and am looking forward to both participating and learning!

I am currently persuing a press photography career and have just sold one of my 1D mark IIs - I hated the weight and they're no good as a discreet carry-everywhere camera (something I really miss coming from Leica Ms!)

My main areas of interest are news/features, live music, documentary, with the occasional wedding thrown in. I won't be photographing sports and certainly won't be photographing war-torn countries (I really admire people that do).

I currently have 16-35, 24-70 and 70-200 2.8 L lenses.

My question is this: do I really need my other mark II? I am thinking of trading it in for a 5D and getting a 30D for backup/faster camera. I love the smaller bodies and the fact you don't have to attach the grip if you don't want the extra builk/weight.

What concerns me is dust/weather sealing - just how good is it on the 5D/30D? I don't care about specs on paper - I'd like to hear from people who actually use these cameras.

I work part-time in Jacobs in London and we get a lot of press guys in - Sean Smith from The Guardian came in recently sporting two 5Ds, so they can't be that bad!

So - help me decide. Shall I get shot of the 1D mark II?

Many thanks,

John Clare

[JeffONeil]

Originally Posted by John Clare

Hi all,

This is my first post on this forum and am looking forward to both participating and learning!

I am currently persuing a press photography career and have just sold one of my 1D mark IIs - I hated the weight and they're no good as a discreet carry-everywhere camera (something I really miss coming from Leica Ms!)

My main areas of interest are news/features, live music, documentary, with the occasional wedding thrown in. I won't be photographing sports and certainly won't be photographing war-torn countries (I really admire people that do).

I currently have 16-35, 24-70 and 70-200 2.8 L lenses.

My question is this: do I really need my other mark II? I am thinking of trading it in for a 5D and getting a 30D for backup/faster camera. I love the smaller bodies and the fact you don't have to attach the grip if you don't want the extra builk/weight.

What concerns me is dust/weather sealing - just how good is it on the 5D/30D? I don't care about specs on paper - I'd like to hear from people who actually use these cameras.

I work part-time in Jacobs in London and we get a lot of press guys in - Sean Smith from The Guardian came in recently sporting two 5Ds, so they can't be that bad!

So - help me decide. Shall I get shot of the 1D mark II?

Many thanks,

John Clare

Best of luck on your career! I'm not a pro but I own both camera's and do some shooting for a local paper.

First the 5D is a perfect camera in terms of weight and picture quality. However as recently discussed here..it is a bit of a dust magnet. Might be the reason why Sean Smith had two! See if you can get one or talk to a friend locally who's had one for a while. I won't knock the camera, she's a beauty.

However I do not like the dust it seems to attract. My MkII is no where near as bad..but again an apples to oranges comparison.

I'm sure other working pro's will chime in with some more educated replies. Like you I look forward to what they have to say.

Jeff

[David_Buzzard]

I can't speak for the 1D v. 5D issue, as I'm a Nikon guy, but if you're not doing high volume work out in the elements, you're probably fine with a 30D or 5D. I find that large cameras can be intimidating, so in small intimate situations, you're probably better off with something a little less professional. Certainly the image quality of the 30D and 5D is fine for almost any professional use.

David Buzzard

[Ken_Tanaka]

"Need" is a tough quality to address. I own a 1DII, 1DsII, and 5D so I'll take a swing.

As Jeff noted, the 5D is a wonderful camera that, in skilled hands, can certainly produce images that would be more than acceptable to most publications. If, as you noted, you do not shoot sports or many action-oriented situations the 5D will be up to nearly all other imaging challenges I can imagine.

There is, however, a caveat. The 5D is simply not built to the same rugged standards as the 1DII. It's basically built to the same specs as the 10D/20D/30D. It's certainly sturdy but its construction specs are designed principally to withstand normal amateur usage (baby pictures, vacations, weekend shutterbugging, etc.). The body is not weather sealed, the 7v batteries have relatively short lives in cool/cold weather, the battery compartment empties downward, there's only a single memory card slot, the CF card compartment is relatively weakly enclosed, etc.

The primary consideration I would have, then, is whether or not you anticipate needing the ruggedness of a Canon '1' body. If so, perhaps your need won't come along for several years and you can put the resale value of your current 1 body to better use in the meantime.

[John Clare]

Thanks for all your replies.

I took the plunge and went for the 5D. My shoulder and arms are thanking me already!

Just one question - which will provide the longest battery life - 2x BP511s in the grip, or 2500 MaH AAs?

So nice to use full-frame again, feel like I've got all my lenses back!

John

[Ken_Tanaka]

Good for you, John. I think you'll really enjoy the 5D with no regrets.

I don't use a battery grip with mine, so I'm only using one battery at a time. (I like the Power 2000 brand of high-capacity 511-compatible batteries.) I did, however, use a 2-battery grip with my 10D (same batteries) and found that two batteries certainly do last longer than one.

[warren wimmer]

In the Chicago weather the sealed Mark II's give great peace of mind, rain and dust during baseball and snow and sleet during football, NO worries