Would you buy a 1Ds Mk1 today?

[Mightyquin]

Hi all,

In my searching online for a lens for my crop cameras I have seen an ad for a 1Ds Mk1 body. It looks in nice condition from the pics of it, but is it really a bit too long in the tooth to consider for serious use now?

I would add that I currently use a 20D and 30D and find the IQ perfectly acceptable - I used them recently for a wedding job and they were fine, but I decided I need a high quality standard zoom for possible further jobs, hence my search, but also thought maybe I should go FF. I would most likely keep them to use alongside FF/backups, if I do go down that line.

I read that the image noise on the 1DS is bad above ISO400 but haven't found any examples. I'm not a 'high ISO' junkie but would need acceptable quality at say ISO 800, but I generally use my digitals like film and shoot at 100/200 mostly.

I've found a potential lens (17-55 f2.8) for the crop cameras and this body. What to pull the trigger on? Hmmm

[Hereford_EOS]

Re: Would you buy a 1Ds Mk1 today?

The 1Ds (mark one) is a 11MP full-frame camera.
45 focal points (same as 1D mark IV)
100% viewfinder coverage
3 fps shoot rate (quite slow by todays standards; 1D mark IV at 10 fps, 1D-X at 14 fps, 5D Mark III at 6 fps.
1585g weight, heavier than the 1D mark IV or the 1D-X

I still think the camera remains very desirable though.

[briansquibb]

Re: Would you buy a 1Ds Mk1 today?

The 1DS are very good cameras - however I would not think of buying an early model. The 1DS3 is very much worth consideration. A 1DS2 maybe the good alternatives is a 13mp 5D1 which I have kept as a handy walkabout. I have kept a 5D1 as an extra to go alongside the 1DQ and the 70D

[colin C]

Re: Would you buy a 1Ds Mk1 today?

The Rolls Royce of its day, but now very long in the tooth compared to current bodies.

Much as I love the performance and feel of a 1 series body, common sense would steer me towards a 5D or 6D. A 1Ds MKII would start to get tempting, but a 1Ds MKIII of the right quality and price would be difficult to resist.

[Ems]

Re: Would you buy a 1Ds Mk1 today?

I still dig mine out now again but the batteries have deteriorated over the years so I ddon’t get many exposures from a full charge. Even when they were new and fully charged I seem to remember only getting about 200 shots. A new Canon battery on Amazon is about £135.

[Mightyquin]

Re: Would you buy a 1Ds Mk1 today?

I still dig mine out now again but the batteries have deteriorated over the years so I ddon’t get many exposures from a full charge. Even when they were new and fully charged I seem to remember only getting about 200 shots. A new Canon battery on Amazon is about £135.

Good point about the batteries, not something I'd really considered. I had a search and there are cheaper alternatives but I know quality/performance can be variable with those.

I'm shocked that the camera only lasted for 200 shots on a full charge though. That would be a deal breaker for using it for weddings.

The only thing is, the seller has contacted me to say he's checked the shutter count and it's under 4K! Which kind of makes it tempting again....

[Ems]

Re: Would you buy a 1Ds Mk1 today?

Canon give the shot count from a fully charged battery as 600 under lab conditions. I’m sure I never got nearly that many.