1ds mach II or 5d

[Paul_jayson]

Thank you I will consider all those wise comments. I am in need of a new computer, so I imagine getting the most gigs available in a computer would be enough for the 1ds mach II?

[David_Buzzard]

You definately want to get the most powerful one you can afford. First of all, if you do weddings, you won't just be dealing with one 1ds MII file, but hundreds. Secondly, the more powerful the computer, the longer it will be until you need to get a new one. You'll be able to get three years of service out of it, rather than two before it's obsolete.

David Buzzard

[MarkBothwell]

For what it's worth .... and this may or may not help - I use a Mac G5 in the office and only have Apple's Aperture software on it. The sole task of buying it was to handle RAWs and it works perfectly. It has been expanded to 2GB RAM for Aperture, but you may find Adobe's new Lightroom package will be ideal too for the RAW workflow. Whatever body you obtain, you need to to shoot RAW - it's vital.

I think David's point is spot on about the working life of the top sec Canon. It's the first digital body that you can buy knowing you won't need an upgrade in 12 months - it's with you for several years because the file is so good - and the tech advances now will be much less and slower than with other products over the last 4 years. Jesus - 4 years ago I paid GBP3000 for a D60 and thought 18MB would change the world!!

Hope it works out whatever you purchase,

Mark

[Jamie_Roberts]

Scott--

The weather sealing on the 1d*2 series is worth the price alone. When we shoot in the rain, I just don't worry about the 1Ds2.

I also think the noise levels are comparable to any 5D shot I've ever seen--we regularly shoot at ISO 3200. However I'd even say the 1d*2 series is a bit better in the shadows, in my limited 5d experience.

Having said that, the 5d is a great camera, and for portraits, 12mp is perhaps a little overkill when someone is ordering a 5 * 7 at the end of the day.

But the 5D is too slow to flush the RAW buffer--I regularly switch between 1d2 and 1ds2 for that very reason.

And dor *group* shots (like 10 people in a park or 100 people on a stairway), you need all the resolution--and the glass--you can afford. The 1ds2 wins there.

[Paul_jayson]

Thank you all.