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Dear all,

I am currently using a 40D body, and I shoot mostly street with special interest in portraiture.
I think I have glass to accommodate full-frame sensors. 135mmL, 24-70mmL, and Sigma 50mm f/1.4.

Primarily I am finding the 1.6x crop factor to be much too long for portraiture, so I am looking at purchasing a new body.

Budget-wise a old-school 5D (about $2000) is ideal, however the relatively dated functions worry me.
I can stretch my budget to a second-hand 1D MkIII (about $3100).

I will be keeping my 40D body for street/travel. However, I was wondering what people's thoughts about the 1D MkIII are with regard to portraiture. I am particularly interested by the weatherproofing and supposedly better autofocus.

Or should I just get a second-hand 5D?

Thanks in advance,
Gallant

iUDEX wrote:Budget-wise a old-school 5D (about $2000) is ideal, however the relatively dated functions worry me.

Which specific functions would those be?

What functionality does your 40D have that the older 5D does not have, and what, of that functionality, do you think might make you a better photographer?

You say that your primary concern is that the crop body provides you with too narrow an angle of view for portraiture with your current lens selection. Why not buy the 85mm f/1.2 lens, which will elegantly address that specific issue in a ... flash? For about the same investment as the 5D.

And given that you state that you can stretch your budget to PP3100, I would probably suggest either the 85, or waiting a little longer and stretching the budget further for the 5D II.

To me, the 5D sounds like what you need. The 1D3 is really a sports camera.
Not to say it can't do other stuff, but it still has a 1.3x crop. The 5D will produce cleaner images, although there is probably some test somewhere that will prove me wrong.

If you can get a 2nd hand 1D3 for $3100 let me know where, because I want to buy it. PS. I have a 5D sitting here not getting used if you want to buy it

Thanks for your replies.

gstark, first of all I don't think my ability as a "photographer" would push the limits of even a basic SLR =P
The functions that the 5D lacks that the 40D has, are more durability more than anything. First of all it has less weather sealing than the 40D, and also no sensor cleaning inbuilt. IQ-wise, I'm pretty sure from reviews the 5D is still superior.

What I am finding is the 50mm's optical range on a 1.6x body does not offer me the ability to shoot full or 3/4 portraits with the aesthetics I am after. My 135mm is well just simply too long. A full-frame or even perhaps a 1.3x could well mean my 50mm's 3m optimum range is actually useful for anything more than artistic/creative fun.. and my 135mm could be now used for full body portraiture. So I am exploring whether going the 5D or 1D MkIII be a better investment as it will result in perhaps more utilisation of ALL my lenses in the short-medium term. The 85mm f1.2 is well an inevitable for portraiture, but in the meantime a 2nd hand 5D is still cheaper. I brought up the 1D MkIII because I saw one relatively cheap on Ebay...

petal666 ... aren't you selling a 1D MkIII??? but for your convenience: http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Canon-EOS-1D-Mar ... 240%3A1318

It's ok for me to post links yeah?

- Gallant

iUDEX wrote:petal666 ... aren't you selling a 1D MkIII??? but for your convenience: http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Canon-EOS-1D-Mar ... 240%3A1318

It's ok for me to post links yeah?

- Gallant

I just thought for $3100, it's a bargain So that is its current bid, look at what the last one sold for:
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll ... 0325176894

I think it's been sold for the Buy It Now price of $3500.

Thanks for the 5D offer mate!

EDIT: after much deliberation, I've decided to get the 5D body for two reasons:
1- a full-frame body gives me instantly new focal length across all my existing lenses.
2- allows me to get closer and interact with my models/subjects.

I also found a second hand 85mm f/1.2 MkI at an alright price.

Thanks guys for your help.

I have 40d and 1DIII, tried 5D,did not like it, it is old technology and very slow. With IDIII, you can do some bird shots.