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Just finished my first shoot with my new 1D. Compared to the 20-30-40D I was using before it's different, but the same.

Setting up I was surprised to find there was no knob on the top with shooting modes. That's because it doesn't have all those silly Sports, Portrait and other modes. Just Tv, Av, M and P. Which is all I want anyway, so that's a good thing.

The custom functions are quite amazing. Takes a while to go through them. Happily, I worked out what each one meant without resorting to the manual. Knowing the 20-40D well means the 1D isn't a big step up in complexity.

Lots of little features to like. The weatherproofing. Twin cards. Ability to set filename prefixes. Did I mention the custom functions?

Things I don't like. No built-in flash. Yes, I have a 580, but that's not always on the camera. Can't see in the viewfinder which shooting mode I'm in. It's big and heavy, but not as bad as I thought it would be. Takes a different battery to my other cameras.

Now to discuss the actual shooting. For image quality this does everything the 40D does, but better. Frame rate; 10, not 6.5. Much better, easier to get those moments when the car is "just so". Total frame capture rate much improved too, useful when doing pan shots of multiple vehicles and so on. ISO performance quite amazing, goes from 50 to 6400 and it is a long, long way ahead of the 40D on noise/ISO. I'm happy using ISO 400, a setting I avoided in the 40D. Focuses better and quicker. The 1.3 crop factor makes my 70-200 a bit more usuable than the 40D's 1.6 factor, and means my 24-105 is a bit wider too, so that's all good. Haven't seen any evidence of it being unable to focus, but only really used it for a day.

Am I glad I bought it? Yes, I'll be able to take better shots with it, no question. And more keepers. Do I absolutely need it? No. I could have just worked with my 40D, got the results I needed with that and upgraded to a 50D instead. Would I recommend it? If you shoot sports and feel you are really pushing the limits of the 40D, and are willing to spend a lot of money then yes. But if a 50D is $1750 and a 1D $5000, the 1D isn't more than twice as good. IMHO.

When you say "1D", it doesn't sound as though you actually mean a 1D, but rather the 1DmkIII.
Sorry, I've been dealing with some 1D's recently, and they are a different (although related) beast.

Congrats on your new equipment. I'm sure you'll both be very happy together!

Yes, sorry it's a Mk 111. I just think of it as my 1D as I don't have any other 1 series to confuse it with.

rmp wrote:Things I don't like. No built-in flash.

That's funny, I think I used the on board flash on my 10/20 and 30Ds about twice.

petal666 wrote:

rmp wrote:Things I don't like. No built-in flash.

That's funny, I think I used the on board flash on my 10/20 and 30Ds about twice.

each to their own...I find it handy for a little fill here and there, add a sparkle to eyes that sort of thing. Or a quick reaction and the 580 is too far away. But it's not a substitute for a "proper" flash.

That's funny, I think I used the on board flash on my 10/20 and 30Ds about twice.

The 30D has a built-in flash??

jdear wrote:

That's funny, I think I used the on board flash on my 10/20 and 30Ds about twice.

The 30D has a built-in flash??

Yes, and apparently it has shooting modes other than Tv, Av and M too. Lots of strange little pictures.

I think the mark4s will be out in the near future. No one would buy the 1ds3 anyway because the 5d2 just stole all the glory. I guess the 1d3 is different because it's still has the fps speed that the 21mp cousins don't have.

Right now I'm contemplating to change my gear ratio, from majority Nikon/minority Canon to majority Canon/minority Nikon...

Grev wrote:I think the mark4s will be out in the near future. No one would buy the 1ds3 anyway because the 5d2 just stole all the glory. I guess the 1d3 is different because it's still has the fps speed that the 21mp cousins don't have.

Exactly. If there was a say 5ds and 5d I'd probably go for the "5d" over the "5ds". But there isn't. Kind of hard to see where the camera would fit between the 50d and 1d, not sure there's room for an intermediate there.

Interesting re 1ds3 and 5d2, what would be the point now?

Grev wrote:I think the mark4s will be out in the near future. No one would buy the 1ds3 anyway because the 5d2 just stole all the glory.

The 1Ds3 has a pro body and pro AF system. Maybe not worth the extra money to you but it might be for others. I'll probably come down in price anyway.

petal666 wrote:The 1Ds3 has a pro body and pro AF system. Maybe not worth the extra money to you but it might be for others. I'll probably come down in price anyway.

It also works when there's dew on it, and in the dark. The built in grip is good, and the extra battery life is gold, as is the 10fps mode (sure, the 5DII does 30fps but only at 1900x1200, and then without AF). I'm rapt that I shot intensively for ~30 hours without a battery change the other weekend (30GB of photos), and the kids are having fun making animated GIFs of the crash sequences.

Moz, you're right except for the bit about 10 fps. The conversation was referring at that point to the 1Ds3 (5 fps).

As to what's the point of the 1Ds3 now that the 5D2's announced: for some people there isn't a point. For others there is, but from Canon's point of view they'll just be happy because they're going to make more profit overall from the combined sales than from just the old market for the 1Ds3.

moz wrote:

petal666 wrote:The 1Ds3 has a pro body and pro AF system. Maybe not worth the extra money to you but it might be for others. I'll probably come down in price anyway.

It also works when there's dew on it, and in the dark. The built in grip is good, and the extra battery life is gold, as is the 10fps mode (sure, the 5DII does 30fps but only at 1900x1200, and then without AF). I'm rapt that I shot intensively for ~30 hours without a battery change the other weekend (30GB of photos), and the kids are having fun making animated GIFs of the crash sequences.

Good point; while I don't like the fact it doesn't share a battery with the x0d line, I do LOVE the battery life!

rmp wrote:while I don't like the fact it doesn't share a battery with the x0d line, I do LOVE the battery life!

That's an exclusive or - you can either have the battery life or use the same tiny little battery as the xxD cameras. I'm more inclined to wonder why Canon don't put the xxD battery into a flash, even as an external pack option. I have lots of BP511's and would happily drop one or two into the flash instead of AA's.

moz wrote:

rmp wrote:while I don't like the fact it doesn't share a battery with the x0d line, I do LOVE the battery life!

That's an exclusive or - you can either have the battery life or use the same tiny little battery as the xxD cameras. I'm more inclined to wonder why Canon don't put the xxD battery into a flash, even as an external pack option. I have lots of BP511's and would happily drop one or two into the flash instead of AA's.

I know it's an exclusive; at least with today's technology

Agree re flash. Or, two 511s into one 1x.

petal666 wrote:

Grev wrote:I think the mark4s will be out in the near future. No one would buy the 1ds3 anyway because the 5d2 just stole all the glory.

The 1Ds3 has a pro body and pro AF system. Maybe not worth the extra money to you but it might be for others. I'll probably come down in price anyway.

Well I did not think the AF system would really benefit that much since they're both high mp bodies for 'controlled conditions' uses mainly. The weather sealing I get the point of though.

And I do think all the AF points of the 5D2 are crosstypes anyway, bringing it on par with the 40D/50D, and I really can't say the AF on the 40D is bad at all.

They should put the BP511s into the flashes, but AAs are easier to find they think.

Grev wrote:They should put the BP511s into the flashes, but AAs are easier to find they think.

Something like Nikon's solution for the MB-D10 would be ideal: it can take your choice from two different camera batteries, or a bank of 8 AAs. A similar choice of battery options, in a small shoulder pack with an umbilical cord to the flash unit, would be ideal, although with the smaller camera batteries, an in-flash solution might also be possible.

Yeah, thought it was a great idea, I tried using 8 of the 2100 and they last a long time, now using the 2700 to test as well.

And uh oh, the 5D2's AF sensors AREN'T all crosstype afterall, I was wrong.