1D mk3 to what?

Soldato
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Hi all,

Used to be a regular what feels like an age ago but life got in the way and 2 kids later I'm back with a request for advice.

I currently use a 1D mk3 which I've had a great experience with but I appreciate time has moved on and I could probably improve things with more resolution and better high iso performance.

I was looking at the 6D and I know that 5D mk3's come up at reasonable prices sometimes too. A 6D MK2 would probably be a grail upgrade but that's pushing my budget.

Am I on the right track or should I consider something else?

Thanks in advance!
 
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Soldato
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I hadn't until you mentioned it. :cry:

I'd seen them whilst searching but just assumed I wouldn't be able to use my lenses... however you piqued my interest so I just looked and saw I may have an ability to get an adapter to use my old lenses.

Is this going to be expensive?
 
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Caporegime
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I hadn't until you mentioned it. :cry:

I'd seen them whilst searching but just assumed I wouldn't be able to use my lenses... however you piqued my interest so I just looked and saw I may have an ability to get an adapter to use my old lenses.

Is this going to be expensive?

You have 2 options.

You can adapt to Canon body and work like native.

You can adapt to Sony body and work from bad to good depending on the lenses.

Pros of going Canon body - compatibility
Cons of Canon body, future down the lines Canon RF lenses are silly expensive vs Sony, like everything from 50% to double.

Pros of going Sony - Sony has more lenses. Cheaper too.
Cons - you eventually will have to replace your EF lenses to Sony e-Mount for native performance.

If you don’t care about replacing your lenses, stick with Canon. If you do…and you can afford it, stick with Canon.

If budget is a concern then I’d go Sony. Right now you are at a crossroad, you can split into either.
 
Soldato
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Ooooo nice! Thanks Raymond!

I guess the next few days will be research and that's a really good break down and starting point.

I have the lenses in my sig plus a couple of others that the wife uses so not a huge collection and not hugely valuable (though the 100-400 is to me). I'd be prepared to sidestep if I could do it relatively affordably as my budget is somewhat limited.

Cheers again.
 
Caporegime
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Ooooo nice! Thanks Raymond!

I guess the next few days will be research and that's a really good break down and starting point.

I have the lenses in my sig plus a couple of others that the wife uses so not a huge collection and not hugely valuable (though the 100-400 is to me). I'd be prepared to sidestep if I could do it relatively affordably as my budget is somewhat limited.

Cheers again.
Sigma Mc-11 is the adaptor you want if you are going to get a Sony body.

Part of me wished I kept Canon as I find their bodies more ergonomically better after 15 years of using them. But Canon system is so much more expensive, I would look at what lenses you like, find out the current ones on each system for prices.

One more thing, Canon is a closed mount, currently there are no 3rd party lenses on it. Like EF mount before it, they need to be reversed engineered if others want to make it on Canon. But Sony’s mount is “open”, so Sigmal, Tamron etc makes lenses that works just as well as Sony lenses. And often making the lens range in Sony massive, full of options, so many brands, focal range and brands to choose from.
 
Soldato
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I wholly agree with what Raymond says, definitely go mirrorless, they are better in every way than DSLR's now and more compact, even the top of the range Sony A1 / A9iii are half the size of your 1d3!

I'm not completely up on Canon's range these days as I made the switch to Sony after the Canon 70D and a few other brands here and there. I currently use the a7iv, which would be the oldest model I would consider, if you can afford to, aim for the a7v, or even the a7cii, as these have AI autofocus modes now which the a7iv doesn't (though it's stiklll no slouch when it comes to AF, it's still better than most), (I'm not sure whether the a7r1v has the AI features either). Also, one thing to consider with Sony's line up is the model numbers, for example, the a7ii /a7iii / a7iv are all hybrid models, they have been designed with both photography and video in mind, whereas the models with an R in them (a7Riii / A7Riv) are designed with photography in mind so they have bigger sensors, faster shutter speeds and tools design to improve their photography abilities, whereas the S models (a7Siii / A7Siv) are desgined with video in mind, so they have better video recording capabilities (such as 4k120 less rolling shutter etc).

I settled on the a7iv as its the best I could afford at the time, (I got it for a real bargain price brand new), and video is something I wanted to get into as well as photography, but I still haven't gotten into the video side of things yet lol, I am completely satisfied with the camera though for photography though so I don't feel like i'm missing out.

Lenses...

Iff you're quite invested in Canon glass, just get the EF-FE adapter for now, that'll do you to start with, but Sony really do make some good glass. Again, what Raymond said is true about Canon, their RF glass is so much more expensive than their EF glass was. Sony is probably on a par, or just a bit more expensive than the EF glass was. I'm currently using 3 lenses (about to buy 2 more non Sony lenses too). I have the Zeiss 16-35 F4, Sony 24-105 F4 G and the Sony 100-400 F/4-5.6 GM. With Sony, G is their mid range glass and GM is their top of the range, howeverm the 100-400, for GM glass is unbeatable value compared to most of their GM glass.

Another thing to consider too, Canon, at this moment anyway, don't support 3rd party glass, so you can't use Sigma / Tamron etc glass with them, I think there are plans in future to allow them though, however, Sony have MASSIVE support from 3rd party lenses, Sigma / Tamron / Viltrox/ Laowa / TTArtisans, etc....etc, and there are some wierd and wonderful lenses you can get from these 3rd parties. Laowa for example, make some crazy lenses, there's the probe lens they do, they have some of the best macro lenses you can buy, (90mm 2x macro, 25mm 2.5-5x macro, and even the kit that gives you between 10 and 50x magnification, (Laowa Auragon set). There are tilt shift lenses, fisheye, so many, and they're so much value for money too. One thing of note though, With Sony 1.4 and 2x teleconvertors, you can only you Sony lenses, and then only certain ones at that too, but that's only something to consider later on I guess.

Anyway, that'll do for now. Hope what I've said is helpful and good luck choosing and enjoy shopping!
 
Soldato
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Thanks both - lots to think about and already had a good old hunt around!

The Sony system does sound very sweet I can't lie and if I was starting from fresh it's almost certainly the direction I would go in.

So sticking with Canon is the plan - if not just to try mirrorless in the first place. Full frame kind of tickled my fancy too (not set in stone but I've always had crops so am interested to try) and as a result the RP has been front and center in most of my research. It seems to sit in the £500-600 sweet spot of my budget. A bargain R might be achievable but it would really push my finances... unless it really was a bargain!

I looked at the various R(number) crop and FF bodies and although I'd be giving up what appears to be burst speed not much else seems to suffer all that much - unless I've missed something (could happen - I have a 5 and a 3 year old at home so there's never any quiet time!) then just let me know!

Thanks again.
 
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I went from Canon 6D to Canon R8 and the change in auto focus performance is remarkable. Many more keepers when using it as primary tool to snap growing kids.
 
Soldato
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Excellent to hear! This is what I'm hoping, thanks for the post! :)

My 1D whilst old still manages fairly well - especially if the light is good however darker environments is a different matter plus its ISO performance whilst good for the time is obviously hugely limiting compared to todays hardware.

Bet the R8 is lovely! It would probably be the one I'd go for if I had the extra cash but for my needs the RP should be fine - and hopefully a marked improvement on what I presently have. (Fingers crossed!)
 
Soldato
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Nice! Enjoy! My first proper camera full stop - 350D and then 30D before.

I can remember carrying around 2x batteries and sometimes not even making it through the day (Farne Islands comes to mind). The colder the day the less time I had... good times playing Russian roulette with the power button! Most of the time it was a fail as I powered up and stabilised all for a miss... but that was just my complete absence of camera craft at fault! On my honeymoon in Nevada, Utah and Colorado it lasted off one battery for 2 or 3 days! Good times!!!
 
Soldato
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That was also one of the benefits I noticed by going mirrorless, my old 5DmkII I used have 3 batteries for and on a normal shoot or day out I would always end up half way through the second and sometimes onto a longer day onto the third. With the Sony A7III I've still yet to get through the single battery in a day.

Although I probably shouldn't have got involved in this thread as I've realised I've had my A7III since 2018 and the A7RV does look amazing! :p
 
Caporegime
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That was also one of the benefits I noticed by going mirrorless, my old 5DmkII I used have 3 batteries for and on a normal shoot or day out I would always end up half way through the second and sometimes onto a longer day onto the third. With the Sony A7III I've still yet to get through the single battery in a day.

Although I probably shouldn't have got involved in this thread as I've realised I've had my A7III since 2018 and the A7RV does look amazing! :p

As did I....although I don't see it as a big enough step up and I realise I dislike flip out screen this year after getting the XS10 so just as well I didn't.

I did get an A7R3 for mode pixels though.

The truth is that the sensor in the A73 is still one of the best today, in ISO performance and DR, but AF has gotten better in new bodies. That really is the major difference.
 
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Associate
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I had a canon 6D … loved it, but slow narrow focus area was a pain sometimes. Moved to an 80D for the faster focus tracking and locking, but felt it missed the actual focus a lot … dont know what it was, but it never ever achieved the same clarity as the 6D when both had been using the same lenses. Then got an RP, which I still have … focus is snappy and its back to the clarity I was missing from the 6D days. ( They supposedly use the same sensor, and I think it shows ). I really dont feel I need any more resolution that what it offers.

Whilst the RP body is nice and small, using your old EF lenses on the RP needs the EF adapter ring. All this really does is push the lenses out a couple of cm’s … so in effect, even though the body is much smaller than the 1D/6D’s , the total length of camera + lens will essentially remain the same as what you already have with the 1D if that makes sense.

The RF lenses seem to typically be a similar size to the EF ones, but when fitted the overall setup may be shorter as they dont need the adapter ring.
 
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As did I....although I don't see it as a big enough step up and I realise I dislike flip out screen this year after getting the XS10 so just as well I didn't.

I did get an A7R3 for mode pixels though.

The truth is that the sensor in the A73 is still one of the best today, in ISO performance and DR, but AF has gotten better in new bodies. That really is the major difference.

I swear by my a7R3 - between the resolution and performance at higher ISOs, it's the perfect body for me for street and macro.
 
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