1dsMK3 or 5DMK2?

iamtheoneneo · 10 Jan 2013 at 12:45

This might be a tough question but I have £1600 to spend on a FF body, choices are:

1DS Mark 3 - £1600
5D Mark 2 + grip - £1400

I have pretty much ruled out the 6D mainly because its just weird + I cant afford the 5dMk3. (well I could but I don't want to)

any suggestions? I primarily shoot portrait but would like to get into some more action. If i get the 5D I will need to get a grip so have to add around £200 to the cost of the body.

I got really caught up with getting a 1DS MK3 , but dont know if I want it just for E-pee reasons?

An Exception · 10 Jan 2013 at 12:58

Personally for me it would be an easy choice. 1ds3

2StepSteve · 10 Jan 2013 at 13:02

Your upper budget of £1600 isn't a million miles away from the 5DMkiii. It can be had around £1800 if you are happy with going down the road of a grey import.

The 1DS Mark 3 lacks video recording, has worse high ISO performance. How much do those things mean to you?

The AF will be heaps better on the 1DS3, that alone would sway me towards it rather than the 5DMkii.

Raymond Lin · 10 Jan 2013 at 13:03

1dsmk3

The main difference is IQ or AF.

The 5D has slightly better IQ but the 1D has much better AF.

And then there is all the other pluses that comes with the 1D. Like weather sealing, higher FPS, longer shutter life, higher sync speed, better verticle grip, and much more.

D.P. · 10 Jan 2013 at 15:20

An Exception said:
Personally for me it would be an easy choice. 1ds3

Not really a question here.

Ksanti · 10 Jan 2013 at 21:46

There are other pluses with the 5D in that it's likely to be in better condition as the 1DS gets battered a lot, plus being able to get rid of the grip can be useful (I prefer going without the grip when using a tripod etc.)

It comes down to how much action you think you'll be doing and what portraiture you shoot. If it's standard portraiture then the 5D2's IQ would win out for me, but as soon as you add an f/1.2 or f/1.4 L lens then you might want to look back at the 1dS3.

Finally, what action do you mean and what lenses? I'd imagine for portraiture you don't have 400 5.6, 100-400Ls etc. lying around the place, so you might need to drop a few thousand pounds on lenses anyway - why not go with the 5D3 in that scenario?

I just don't see the swap from portraiture to action going without a big lens purchase - unless you already have a mid-tier or above 70-200 lens, so the extra money on a 5D3 would be well spent.