5D3 | 7D2 | 1D4 | 1DX - Comparisons

[Paulstw]

Ok bear with me here because this sort of thing drives me up the wall until I've mapped it out in my head then onto paper. I like to look quite deep into things when I'm sitting at work on the down time. It's a perk I know, however, it can be annoying.

Below is a wee table I drew up based on some info I looked over. Reference's made to the Viewfinder Blackout times and shutter lag times of cameras that I am considering.

sutterlag.JPG

For some reason the VFB time for the 7D2 is not available yet, however, I would expect the 1D series to be ahead of the game on this.

Current Prices from Wex Photographic used for pure comparison only, and not hunting about for the best deal. All body only.

5D3 - £2299
7D2 - £1599
1DIV - £1700 (used on WEX)
1DX - £4845

I don't think megapixels, modes, button placement or software additions are important, neither is video for me (at the moment, however good to have) so I'll concentrate on where my head is on this and what I think is helpful to compare.

Working Range

workingrange.JPG

Very interesting that the 7D2 AF has the best working range out of the cameras, matched only by the 6D. I'm really surprised by the 1DIV in this respect.

There's a few other comparisons that I find alarming, like the flash sync speed on the 5D3 only being 1/200th of a sec and it's higher on every other camera. The fact that the SD card slot is severely crippled on the 5D3 and no matter how fast the card is, it only operates at a certain speed.

Summary

The 5D3 has exceptional image quality, however, seems crippled by restricted speed in all areas compared to the other cameras. Pay double and you can have that IQ with the speed of the other two.

However

The jewel in the crown has to be the 7D2. At that price point, the lower working range and similar speed to the 1D series and being faster than a 5D3 it surely has to be a serious contender. Pixel size, density and MP being a factor it's sure to produce more noise than the others, and could well, in lower light be a problem, but in good light, I doubt you could tell them apart.

It's a very hard decision when you don't have £4k to blow on the body. Things become difficult. I was thinking about a toss up between the 7D2 and 1DIV to be honest, and on paper the 7D2 looks like a steal.

I might be over thinking it, but its a lot of money to waste on wrong decisions, and there will be others thinking the same. It was just good to get it written down :)

Hope it was useful for someone, like it was for me.

Paul

[RedRobin]

Re: 5D3 | 7D2 | 1D4 | 1DX - Comparisons

Hi Paul,

This comparison will be very helpful for some folks who are considering what body to get. A final decision probably comes down to a balance between what kind of photography someone does and how much they are able to spend.

Breaking that down further, it's whether Full-frame or Crop-sensor suits best. There are pros and cons to both as we all know. All the current early reviews by professionals are supporting the idea that the 7D2 will give a Full-frame body a serious run for its money and so, considering that the 7D2 is promising to offer so much, it becomes a question of how high lens reach is on your priorities.

So, in a way, the choice is simple. But there is a 'but'.... As usual there is no such thing as one perfect camera body (nor lens) and it's horses for courses. Thank goodness that Canon (and Nikon) offer extensive system DSLR cameras!

[As an amateur wildlife photographer I will be selling my 70D body and have already pre-ordered a 7D2 - Much as I love my 70D it was a no-brainer and I can't wait!!]

[the black fox]

Re: 5D3 | 7D2 | 1D4 | 1DX - Comparisons

Hmmmm well thought out paul ,and one both myself and my lad have been mulling over of late ,and the conclusion so far is that unless the the 7d2 turns out to be be something that is truly exceptional it might even be time to think about jumping ship again ,the one that has been thrown around a lot in our house is the nikon D810 which is now sub £2000 at h.dew and would give staggering images from that with a three year warranty .a lot depends what you want to use it for in the end .so it's best to keep ALL options on the table
Personally I think my next big purchase will be a longer reach lens as that's what I,m lacking whether that will be canon or nikon fit really depends on what I see others produce .

As an aside I know quite a few pro wildlife togs and always keep a eye on what they are selling and there's some top range stuff coming to the market right now perhaps a indication of things to come hmmmmmm

[Paulstw]

Re: 5D3 | 7D2 | 1D4 | 1DX - Comparisons

I think that would be a good decision based on who the 7D2 seems to be aimed at.

I was just surprised to see that the 7D2 excel in areas and match where I thought the 1DIV would trump it. I think I'm going to rent one and use it for football to see if its any good. I need to see whether Working Range ends up making things easier in floodlit arenas and indoors.

There's no doubt that the 7D, 7D2 and 1 series bodies look quicker on paper than my 5D3 in terms of frames pers second and interval between frames. That is a big selling point for me as it can be the difference between a good and bad action shot. Couple with the fact that I write RAW and JPG to different cards and I found out that this takes much longer on the 5D3 than I thought, that 6.5 fps and the lagtime with the blackout being slower and it stacks up to missing shots on a burst run.

5D3 great for weddings and landscapes, I'd love to keep it, or replace it with a 1Dx and not need to worry but we don't all have that money.

I can't wait till the first real world trials of the 7D2 come out.

[jimsphotography]

Re: 5D3 | 7D2 | 1D4 | 1DX - Comparisons

Paul, I think it's very sensible to wait for some real world tests of the impending 7D2. I have experienced the pain and frustration of purchasing a new model of a camera body only to be faced with a load of ' bugs' that then needed fixing ( including some hardware ones as well). My advice is to wait a bit, let the problems of a new release get ironed out and with luck the price might also start to fall as well.
James

[Paulstw]

Re: 5D3 | 7D2 | 1D4 | 1DX - Comparisons

I'll wait till the cows come home for something like that. I need a 70-200 2.8 first, but I did wonder.

[the black fox]

Re: 5D3 | 7D2 | 1D4 | 1DX - Comparisons

i know where theres a cracking 1Dx for sale for just over 3k .tempted but we only just paid for the car

[Paulstw]

Re: 5D3 | 7D2 | 1D4 | 1DX - Comparisons

Yeah there's a few I know about too good condition by the look of it. Somethings in the water with all the rumours flying around about a high MP sensor camera. I just bought a car too so rules me out unless I get a big sale on Alamy lol

Going through a lot of new business advice and stuff so that might open doors for me, but we'll see. It's hard to rent a 1DIV so I can rule it out for good. I dont want to rent a 1Dx. Much like those driver away days, I don't want to drive a Ferrari all day then have to come home to my car lol

[the black fox]

Re: 5D3 | 7D2 | 1D4 | 1DX - Comparisons

yeah do i really need a better camera to take pics of seagulls 6 months of the year LOL

[LesC2009]

Re: 5D3 | 7D2 | 1D4 | 1DX - Comparisons

The reviews of pre-production 7DMKII's are certainly tantalizing - Scott Kelby was suggesting shots at 16,000 iso had very little noise. I'd been toying with the idea of going for a 6D to replace my old 40D but if the 7DMKII sensor turns out to be as good as early reports suggest, then along with the Digic 6 processor, the difference between crop & FF sensor may be negligible.

Looking forward to some real life review when it does eventually come out which rumours suggest may be 30 October.

[RedRobin]

Re: 5D3 | 7D2 | 1D4 | 1DX - Comparisons

yeah do i really need a better camera to take pics of seagulls 6 months of the year LOL

....Your seagull pics are oustanding! (Your other pics are crap though..... Just joking!).

Considering the variety of camera gear you have collectively under your family roof, it makes sense to wait regarding the 7D2. For me, considering what kind of photography I do, the 7D2 is a game-changer even if the ISO noise is the same as the 70D (which we are now reliably learning it isn't - It's better).

[Freefaller]

Re: 5D3 | 7D2 | 1D4 | 1DX - Comparisons

Below is a wee table I drew up based on some info I looked over. Reference's made to the Viewfinder Blackout times and shutter lag times of cameras that I am considering.

===================================

I might be over thinking it, but its a lot of money to waste on wrong decisions, and there will be others thinking the same. It was just good to get it written down :)

Hope it was useful for someone, like it was for me.

Paul

Paul,

Regarding your decision making process, you're not the only one who tabulates things like this when making an informed decision. It can be a really useful tool to really see the raw figures laid out and I'm doing a similar thing currently with some lenses.

The most illuminating one for me was a while ago when we were buying our house and had a shortlist of several. I tabulated the floor areas of each room from the agent's particulars and totalled them, what was the most illuminating and powerful figure for each house was the price per square metre of floor area...

However - I can't resist pointing out they when I do it, I call it a small table!! Sorry

M

[M Stewart]

Re: 5D3 | 7D2 | 1D4 | 1DX - Comparisons

FWIW - I've timed my 1D IV at 10fps, i.e. 100mS between shots, by recording the shutter clicks and analysing the recording in Audacity. With a black-out time of 80mS that doesn't leave much time to do the necessary housekeeping.

[Paulstw]

Re: 5D3 | 7D2 | 1D4 | 1DX - Comparisons

So do you mean that it's a lot of shots? lol

[Ron Lander]

Re: 5D3 | 7D2 | 1D4 | 1DX - Comparisons

The 7D2 really does look good value for money. However having been stung by an early purchase of its predecessor I'll be waiting for some proper reviews of production models before making a decision.