# Prefer my 1D Mk III to 5D Mk III, dollar for dollar



## Faxon (Jul 19, 2013)

I almost bought one of the fantastic bargain 5D's yesterday. I sat staring at the screen, watching the count go from 111 sold to 122 sold in a matter of minutes. I looked at the price. I considered the warranty question, and the missing lens not in the box. I almost bought one, knowing full well I could always have sold it for more. I did not buy one. I considered the money I would still have. I thought about my 1D and decided, for my needs, I did not need a state of the art camera, although it would be nice. I am sure the new MkIII is a wonderful thing to hold and use. However, for me, my 10Mp 1D is fine. And I really enjoy using a pro body. So I passed, and let others buy one, or two or three for a quick profit. Maybe I should have considered the profit angle, but I didn't. Let's see how much time passes until we see a $2500 brand new 5D MkIII again. I am guessing Christmas.


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## Harry Muff (Jul 19, 2013)

I'm struggling to see the point of this post. ???


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## canon_convert (Jul 19, 2013)

Harry Muff said:


> I'm struggling to see the point of this post. ???



He's talking to himself. lets not disturb him


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## kennephoto (Jul 19, 2013)

Harry Muff said:


> I'm struggling to see the point of this post. ???



Lol agreed, I was expecting more of comparison versus a short rant. I guess good thing you didn't get a 5d3! Hooray!


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## CarlTN (Jul 19, 2013)

You're all being too hard on him, I kind of see the point of the post. However, the part about debating whether to buy a camera to only turn around and try to sell it again, seems more a waste of time. 

Faxon, if you're interested in buying and selling things for profit, I suggest you try trading stock equities. They are very liquid, and it's very easy to make a profit, but also to lose money. I've mostly lost money, but I stayed in it because I made so much money early on, back in 2004 to be precise. Now I've decided I have to stay out for the foreseeable future, or until I start making more money...enough that I can afford to lose some!

As for your 1D3, I've never used one, but I did rent the 1D4. I liked it a lot. But not enough to buy a used one for over $3k. It could not autofocus in low light. The noise, in my opinion, is not that much worse than the 5D3's noise, but at lower ISO, the 5D3 has a bit more dynamic range. The main difference is the full frame sensor, and being able to go very wide with wider angle lenses...along with a bit more image pixel resolution.

The 5D3's autofocus and ability to shoot RAW video (with the ML hack), are good reasons to buy a 5D3. The 1Dx's autofocus still blows it out of the water.

It really depends on how often you shoot at 8 or 10 frames per second. If you need to do that all the time, just save for a used 1Dx, or else a new one...or else possibly a 7D Mk2 (I've grown very uninterested in this one). 

I bought a 6D, and could not be much happier. The autofocus can be weak at times, but it works reliably even in servo mode if you have good light. The AF menu is highly tweakable. I mostly don't shoot in multi-shot mode, but when I do, it works fine. 4.5 fps is very slow compared to 8 or more...but not so slow compared to 6 (as per the 5D3). As for video, I don't shoot much, but have not excited the 6D's moire problem with what I've done.


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## Faxon (Jul 19, 2013)

Well, I guess my point went over your heads. I don't drive a fancy car, either. And I am sure many bought two to sell one on eBay. Understand now?


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## Faxon (Jul 19, 2013)

And, until now, I kind a higher opinion of the folks here. Oh well, whatever. Bye.


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## CarlTN (Jul 19, 2013)

Faxon said:


> And, until now, I kind a higher opinion of the folks here. Oh well, whatever. Bye.



You seem to have ignored my thoughtful reply!! Sheesh...


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## kennephoto (Jul 19, 2013)

Faxon said:


> Well, I guess my point went over your heads. I don't drive a fancy car, either. And I am sure many bought two to sell one on eBay. Understand now?



I think a 1D is still higher end than a 5D. It's like a 10 year old Mercedes S class verses a new KIA I mean that 10 year old Merc ain't too fancy anymore but it sure was he best you could get at one point. Prolly a good decision not to get the 5d3 you can prolly get one for 800 bucks in 10 years.


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## bdunbar79 (Jul 19, 2013)

kennephoto said:


> Faxon said:
> 
> 
> > Well, I guess my point went over your heads. I don't drive a fancy car, either. And I am sure many bought two to sell one on eBay. Understand now?
> ...



You're kidding right? There is nothing at all better about the 1D3 than the 5D3. In fact, it's all the opposite. I can't think of one meaningful category where the 1D3 would be better than a 5D3. Not even close. Unless of course IQ doesn't matter, ISO performance doesn't matter, resolution doesn't matter, DR doesn't matter. You know, the side issues.


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## Harry Muff (Jul 19, 2013)

Faxon said:


> And, until now, I kind a higher opinion of the folks here. Oh well, whatever. Bye.



Bye!


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## Wildfire (Jul 19, 2013)

bdunbar79 said:


> You're kidding right? There is nothing at all better about the 1D3 than the 5D3. In fact, it's all the opposite. I can't think of one meaningful category where the 1D3 would be better than a 5D3. Not even close.



Weather sealing? Durability? Framerate? Battery life?

I agree with you, the 5D3 is easily the superior camera, hands-down... but the 1D3 is a professional body and has a few things going for it too!


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## Skulker (Jul 19, 2013)

kennephoto said:


> Harry Muff said:
> 
> 
> > I'm struggling to see the point of this post. ???
> ...



Im pleased to see there was no rant, we get plenty of them.

I think I get his point and I agree to a point. It's easy to get seduced by new kit and all the "features". But the old stuff is still pretty good and can still take damn fine shots. Having said that I don't agree with his conclusion, I have a 5d3 and am very pleased to have bought it, it gets a lot of use.

Shame the less than warm welcome seems to have put him off.


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## Dylan777 (Jul 19, 2013)

Faxon said:


> I almost bought one of the fantastic bargain 5D's yesterday. I sat staring at the screen, watching the count go from 111 sold to 122 sold in a matter of minutes. I looked at the price. I considered the warranty question, and the missing lens not in the box.  I Let's see how much time passes until we see a $2500 brand new 5D MkIII again. I am guessing Christmas.



How often do we see this type of post - don't want to pay @ retail price(from authorized dealer), but want Canon offers 100% warranty : : :

Just buy 1D Mk III and be done with :-X


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## BozillaNZ (Jul 20, 2013)

It looks like the author really wanted to buy one but tried hard to talk himself out of it.

Just do what you feel like doing and be happy!

I'm a 1D3 owner too, I had many other camera bodies (yes that includes many FF bodies, in your face you FF lovers!) and this is the one I kept in the end. But it's not about money. I've spent many times as much as the camera body on filters, tripods, not to mention lenses! The camera body will be the last thing I consider upgrading.


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## Quasimodo (Jul 20, 2013)

Faxon said:


> And, until now, I kind a higher opinion of the folks here. Oh well, whatever. Bye.




Sorry we won'r hear more from you!


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## kennephoto (Jul 20, 2013)

Quasimodo said:


> Faxon said:
> 
> 
> > And, until now, I kind a higher opinion of the folks here. Oh well, whatever. Bye.
> ...



Aw sorry! Didn't think I was being remotely close to mean or harsh! You don't have to leave, this forum is so much fun!


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## eml58 (Jul 20, 2013)

CarlTN said:


> Faxon said:
> 
> 
> > And, until now, I kind a higher opinion of the folks here. Oh well, whatever. Bye.
> ...



No Good Turn goes unpunished

Something we learn as we get Older

But I thought your Post was exemplary, thoughtful and Kind

And in the Immortal Last say of (And Often the first Say) our good friend Nuero, to the Op

H&G


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## RGomezPhotos (Jul 20, 2013)

I can never understand photographers who think about how much money they can get when they sell their gear. Why buy gear in the first place?


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## Robert Welch (Jul 20, 2013)

I have both mkIII bodies, so I guess I'm qualified to comment. First, I'll say one advantage of the 1DmkIII is the higher flash sync speed. This is not trivial for someone who needs it. The other advantages of build quality have already been mentioned.

The 5DmkIII is my most used camera, but there are situations I still love to use the 1DmkIII, often for use when I need the extra sync speed. But also to keep some of the shutter count down on the 5DmkIII. They both have dual card slots, so that is important to me. For that reason, the 1DmkIII is my backup for the 5DmkIII should it ever need to go to the shop.

It's a matter of what works, the 1DmkIII has excellent IQ, quite good enough for most all situations, except where very high ISO or extra MP for cropping is desired. When I get a good 10MP image from the 1DmkIII, there is very little I can't do with it in terms of printing large prints, etc. So bottom line, it's functionally very useful, and is very pleasing to use.

Would I sell it to replace it with another camera? I've thought about it, but for the money I can get for it, I don't think it's worth selling. I'd rather keep it than sell it for what they are fetching these days. I agree with the original post, dollar for dollar, the two MKIII cameras are pretty much on par with each other, given that the older camera is valued on todays market at less than half what the newer camera sells for. In my opinion, it's well more than half the camera.


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## Robert Welch (Jul 20, 2013)

Upon further contemplation, another issue that I think affects the value of the 1DmkIII is the number of these that have been reported to have AF issues. Many of us own models that don't seem to have this problem. One would think that if we have one that isn't, it should be worth more money (if you can prove that it doesn't). But, the over all reputation of this camera for many was that it does have AF issues, and the market reflects this perception by depressing it's value. From what I can see, I'd probably do well to sell my camera today for $1000. Not much more than a used 7D. About 1/3rd a mkIV or 5DmkIII. That is a very depressed value for the camera, which to my mind makes it one of the best values on the used camera market. If you are looking to buy the best camera you can for $1k or less, I can't think of a better one than the 1DmkIII. As an owner of one, that makes me unwilling to part with mine, it's cheaper to keep her.


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## al-toidz photography (Jul 20, 2013)

@Robert Welch....very true. I thought about selling my 1D mark iii but I cant let go of it because of that same reason. I also own a 1Ds mark iii which i would not let go until it dies on me (dead pixel, drown in water, get stolen, etc). I've rented 5D mark iii for a engagement shoot i did for two reason, first, because I want to see and perhaps experience what is it like to have 5D mark iii, second, because I sent both my 1D series for clean up. Personally, Im not impress with 5D mark iii except for high ISO capability and focus system. For what I do, the focus system of both my camera are more than enough.


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## greger (Jul 20, 2013)

Faxon don't go forever. You having the 1D Mk lll makes me think that your experiences might be helpful to us. Harry
Muff just posted his opinion. It isn't obvious at first read as to why you posted this. You don't want to turn a quick profit
at someone else's expense. Which is admirable. You really like your Camera so much that the 5D lll can't tear you away
from it. I started with a 40D and for me a 10 mega pixel camera was fine for my purposes. Cameras don't last forever
so it's always good to be up to date on what's available. 
I felt the same way about the 50D, which is a nice camera but I didn't want to upgrade until 40D went error 99. :-[
I liked your pics on Flikr. They looked great! So this has been an interesting post after all. 
I'm sure more replies will come.


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## CarlTN (Jul 20, 2013)

eml58 said:


> CarlTN said:
> 
> 
> > Faxon said:
> ...



Thanks very much! I'm glad I'm still young enough not to be old...unfortunately also not quite young enough to not be old!


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## CarlTN (Jul 20, 2013)

greger said:


> Faxon don't go forever. You having the 1D Mk lll makes me think that your experiences might be helpful to us. Harry
> Muff just posted his opinion. It isn't obvious at first read as to why you posted this. You don't want to turn a quick profit
> at someone else's expense. Which is admirable. You really like your Camera so much that the 5D lll can't tear you away
> from it. I started with a 40D and for me a 10 mega pixel camera was fine for my purposes. Cameras don't last forever
> ...



Well said, nice positive comments!


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## greger (Jul 21, 2013)

Thanks CarlTN.


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## Menace (Jul 21, 2013)

I have both of these bodies and I love them both - different tools for different jobs


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