50D - 5DII - 1DIII

[Jay Gould]

BODY	PIXELS	SENSOR	AF PTS	FPS	ISO	WEIGHT	COST
50D	15.1	CF - 1.6; DIGIC 4	9	6.3	3200	25.7OZ	$1,300
5DII	21.1	FF; DIGIC 4	9	3.9	6400	28.6OZ	$2,700
1DIII	10.1	CF - 1.3; DUAL DIGIC III	45	10	3200	40.7OZ	$3,845

This is what is available TODAY - yes, we are looking/hoping for what is available tomorrow.

A well thought out comment by Arash analyzing his 5DII: "it is very good camera for stationary birds but it is not good enough for BIF. I had really hoped Canon put pro AF in this amazing body, but I'll have to wait for 1DMKIV to retire my 40D"

We do not know what is going to be released towards the end of the year. Some of us may choose/need to retire our current body (me a 40D) before the new bodies are released.

Help!

If you were going to have only one body for everything from BIF to landscape to macro, which one? If you were going to have two bodies, which ones?

Since I am neither an analytical scientist like Roger (gosh I am working hard to learn all that his website provides :eek:) , nor am I a professional Canon user like Artie, Al, and so many others, I/we need advice. :)

While my initial leanings were towards the 50D and the 5DII, that thinking comes up against things like the 1DIII has 10fps, 45 AF points, and dual sensors. That would make me consider the 5DII (low light/higher ISO, full frame, and the 1DIII.

On the other hand, Artie says to the World: "the 50D tracks birds in flight more accurately than any Canon camera that I have ever used".

Others have asked (Leonard in the 40D/1D thread); I will ask again - why? If the 50D has the same 9 sensors as the 40D, and the 1DIII has 45 sensors, why is the 50D better for BIF - and I would assume other action events, e.g., sports) - than the 1DIII? That takes me back to my initial thinking (50D/5DII).

;) Things to ponder!

[Alfred Forns]

Jay with the proper technique you will get birds in flight with the 5DMk2. btw one of Fabs award winning skimmers in flight was made with a 5D.

Right now I would recommend the Mk3 as the best around with a 50D as a back up. Both will focus very well with the 50D having noise if you underexpose.

I understand the apprehension and wanting/waiting for the new one to come out. Best to go with need and get what you need right now.

[Jay Gould]

Al, of the three bodies, which in your opinion will be the easiest for the beginning to intermediate user to obtain tack sharp BIF? Anyone else?

If you do a lot of low light shooting, would you rate the 5DII higher in determining which bodies to buy?

[Roger Clark]

"If you were going to have only one body for everything from BIF to landscape to macro, which one?"

It depends on the proportion. I do both/all. I chose the 5DII. But then I have a 1DII.

"If you were going to have two bodies, which ones?"

1DIII + 5DII if you have the money. 50D and 5DII if money is a factor.

On your other question, the 5DII has wonderful low light/high iso performance.

[stephen farmer]

The 50D is the one I use iso speeds from 100-500 i`ve found none/or acceptable levels of noise which are easily fixed in Noise ninja.Autofocus tracking is fantastic & it has a very useful 6.3fps.All his coupled with 15.1m pixels allows for some degree of cropping.in my honest opinion the 15.1mp is more than enough for most nature photographers.

Steve.

[Rocky Sharwell]

The AF on the 50D is really good. Exposing to the right does a good job of minimizing noise. (As Artie has said)...

The AF on the 5DMKII is not nearly as good....especially in low light.

[Jay Gould]

Thank you everybody for the assistance with bodies :D.

Today, I would go with the 50D and the 5DII based upon all of the comments. I think the $2,500 (50D instead of 1D) can be better spent on "glass", and the weight has to be taken into account as well.

I do not have to make the purchase until late September just prior to departure on our next journey; I could even wait until the end of December, start the journey with my 40D, and request my brother to bring both new bodies (50D/5D upgrades) to South America.

:D Gosh, I thought I had tough decisions to make when I was working - Ha!

Membership in BPN is the best value on the net!!

[Don Saunders]

You asked about why the AF on the 50D seems to outperform the 40D.
The answer - Digic 4
AF runs through the microprocessor. The Digic 4 can process an 15 MP image file almost as fast as the 40D (Digic 3) can process a 10 MP image file. The same "fundamental" AF system will perform better with a faster chip.

[Peter Hawrylyshyn]

Jay -
For the beginning to intermediate user to obtain tack sharp BIF : proper technique/experience will always be far more important than the camera body.
PH

[Alfred Forns]

Well said Peter !!!

I like the Mk3 best if I could only have one camera. AF works just fine and good noise performance.

When I was using Nikon gear I got to use the 80-400 which doesn't have a good reputation for flight. Didn't have much trouble having keepers.

[Maxis Gamez]

Jay -
For the beginning to intermediate user to obtain tack sharp BIF : proper technique/experience will always be far more important than the camera body.
PH

I have to agree with you Peter. There is a technique for almost anything.....

[Ákos Lumnitzer]

Jay -
For the beginning to intermediate user to obtain tack sharp BIF : proper technique/experience will always be far more important than the camera body.
PH

You have my vote on that one Peter - just saved me typing the same thing! :cool:

[arash_hazeghi]

I guess experiences between AF vary between users depending on the technique, IMO MKIII>>50D/40D>5DII, but I am not as professional as many of the big names here, we have some of the world's best bird photographers here:D I just wanted to add another humble point of mine regarding BIF and birdies in general, that is shutter lag and fps. If you are experienced you know what to expect from each specie so you can go with your instinct and press the shutter at the right time, but if you are beginner MKIII's 10 fps and 45msec lag will really save you. It might be my incompetence but I sometimes miss the moment with the 5DII, the shutter kinda feels "heavy", there is some lag and not as snappy as my 40D:(.

[Jim Caldwell]

I'm currently using the 5D MKII and the 1D MK II N, but I find I'm using the 5D more and more. Looking forward what Canon comes up with next!

[Arthur Morris]

Here are the resutls of an in-depth technically designed and carefully executed study carried out a huge expense:

Good photographers make good images with whatever camera body they have in their hands, and great photographers make great images with whatever camera body they have in their hands. Go figure.

That said, a good tool is a good tool (nothing lewd intented there); the trick is to try and figure out which body best suits you. Right now I like the combo of two 1-D MIII bodies and two 50D bodies.

[Charles Glatzer]

Here are the resutls of an in-depth technically designed and carefully executed study carried out a huge expense:

Good photographers make good images with whatever camera body they have in their hands, and great photographers make great images with whatever camera body they have in their hands. Go figure.

That said, a good tool is a good tool (nothing lewd intented there); the trick is to try and figure out which body best suits you.

Artie,

I am sure you could have gotten some good gov't money for that study :)

Could not agree more!!!!!!!!!!

Best Amigo,

Chas

[Rich Swanner]

Try the 50D the cost is minimal and if you succeed with it think about or rent the other two bodies. It is far cheaper and somebody will buy the 50D if you don't like it...it is a fun camera for BIF, light with a good crop...1.6x You can buy the good glass and have a really workable unit for far less then the other setups ....Rich

[Jay Gould]

Try the 50D the cost is minimal and if you succeed with it think about or rent the other two bodies. It is far cheaper and somebody will buy the 50D if you don't like it...it is a fun camera for BIF, light with a good crop...1.6x You can buy the good glass and have a really workable unit for far less then the other setups ....Rich

Hi Rich, I posted a thread on the Canon POTN Net whether those that had a 1D3 would buy another:

http://photography-on-the.net/forum/...d.php?t=677544

Interestingly, posters are still posting they would buy another and I told them 40 post back that I had made my decision to buy the 1D3.

Having made the decision, thanks Artie, Jim, and and and, I am very comfortable with the decisionand looking forward to all the benefits of the camera.

Cheers, Jay