1DMk4 or 7D?

[fess67]

Looking to 'upgrade' my 'sports / wildlife' body.

Currently have 50D and 5D2 so looking for a replacement for the 50D. Not unhappy with the 50D but found low light an issue at times so really looking to solve that problem. Question is, is the 1DMk4 that much better than the 7D??

I have done a comparsion below. Not much between them on paper really, 2 fps but offset by the slightly longer reach of the 1.6x crop on the 7D. Will the additional AF points make much of a difference? What is the practical difference in the high ISO capability? Enough to justify the cost??

Would I be better going the 7D and getting another long lens? - I have the 100-400 but was looking at the Tamrons or Sigma lenses out to the 500mm range - Are they any good?? They come in at $1000 - $1600. Would push me out to the $4400 mark.

.....It is ok going out to 500 but at f6.3 we come back to the light issue so is the 7D going to be ok at the higher ISO settings (in terms of much better than the 50D or much worse than the 1DMk4???). Soooooooooo...........is the 1DMk4 the correct option? - plus the other (probably too many) questions lol Help required

1DMk4	7D
10fps	8fps
1.3x	1.6x
45 point AF	19 point AF
16.1 Mpix	18 Mpix
$4700	$2790 (with bty grip and 3 extra batteries

[camerasnoop]

Get a 1D in your hands and you won't be asking that question.

[rowdy23]

pretty obvious to me...
not sure why the question was asked... heavily stacked to the mk4

wont regret it

[etherial]

Not sure where you're getting those prices from, 7D grey market goes for under $1200 these days from Hong Kong. Even JBs are $1257 delivered for their direct import (grey).

[I @ M]

Looking to 'upgrade' my 'sports / wildlife' body.

Easy, sell both the Canon bodies and associated lenses grab a Nikon D3s and a prime lens or two and join those who have proven the worth of the gear.

[William]

Just found the 7D for AUS $1,345 with warranty , But silly question MkIV would be the go $4.690 same place

[fess67]

yes sorry all I meant $1790 inc grip and extra batteries.

So the Mk4 would be that much better? I would hate to spend that much and really only get a little more bang for buck

[Brian500au]

I have used the 40D, 7D and most of the 1D (III, DsII, II, IIn) - I will tell you now there is no comparison between a 1D and a 7D for focus speed, build, custom functions and quality of the final result. As someone above said if you hold a 1D in your hands you don't have to ask the question. The only downside is the weight of the machine - but to me that is normal now.

[mrDooba]

If the money isn't an issue, you won't regret the 1D4. It produces beautiful files. I love mine

I don't have any personal experience with the 7D so I'm not comfortable giving you "advice" about it. Search the interweb for noise issues in less then awesome lighting conditions. That would be about your only concern with it.

As for the 1D4 I have nothing negative to say about it. It's a fantastic piece of kit.

[camerasnoop]

I'm still surprised that we as photographers with lots of money invested in gear dream that we will find something worth nothing that will be better than the gear we've spent a fortune on.

The price difference should be a bit of a clue for us. Afterall, how often do we say, you get what you pay for?

Buy it! You know you want to!

[fess67]

I'm still surprised that we as photographers with lots of money invested in gear dream that we will find something worth nothing that will be better than the gear we've spent a fortune on.

The price difference should be a bit of a clue for us. Afterall, how often do we say, you get what you pay for?

Buy it! You know you want to!

True. I was looking at DPreview and I could not see much of a 'real' diffrence and wanted real world experience to back me up I suppose. Buying it is not the problem, knowing I made the right move is

[fess67]

Easy, sell both the Canon bodies and associated lenses grab a Nikon D3s and a prime lens or two and join those who have proven the worth of the gear.

BAH!!! I have too much invested in lenses to consider downgrading to a Nikon

[fess67]

I have used the 40D, 7D and most of the 1D (III, DsII, II, IIn) - I will tell you now there is no comparison between a 1D and a 7D for focus speed, build, custom functions and quality of the final result. As someone above said if you hold a 1D in your hands you don't have to ask the question. The only downside is the weight of the machine - but to me that is normal now.

Thanks Brian.

[Shelley]

If money is not an issue, I would go the 1d4 - you get what you pay for. I have the 7d and love it, but know if I picked up the 1dmk4 I would grab my credit card as well .

[Art Vandelay]

I have both.

The mkiv has better AF, cleaner higher ISO, higher frame rate, better build quality & weather proofing.

But is it 3 times better ?

The law of diminishing returns comes into play here.

On the other side of the coin, the 7D is awesome value for money & whilst it has it's limits with higher ISO's, plenty of fine images are made wih it every day. Was reading a while back of a full time wildlife photographer in the US, Montanna or somewhere. He wanders out in the mountains for days at a time hiking and travelling light. His only kit is a 7D & a 100-400.

Really comes down to what you're comfortable in spending.

In saying all that, whilst I love my mkiv, for a variety of reasons which suit me better, am about to sell it and purchase a 5Dmkiii and go back to having a full frame & 1.6 crop in the bag.

[Roosta]

With Snoopy and Brian500, after making the switch, you won't regret it. Focus focus focus.

[Max]

I have used a 40D and 50D I don`t seem much difference in IQ, higher iso performance and a few MP to the 7D. IF you use spot centre focus in the 50D its similar enough to the 7D.
If the other focus points and other slight improvements are important to you, yes its worthwhile. But its not a huge step up.

Have you considered waiting for the upgrade 7D mark II, but really in some ways it would make more sense to upgrade your 5DII to the 5D III and keep the 50D.

The 1D iV would be nice but is it better than a 5D III for your purposes ?

[fess67]

I have used a 40D and 50D I don`t seem much difference in IQ, higher iso performance and a few MP to the 7D. IF you use spot centre focus in the 50D its similar enough to the 7D.
If the other focus points and other slight improvements are important to you, yes its worthwhile. But its not a huge step up.

Have you considered waiting for the upgrade 7D mark II, but really in some ways it would make more sense to upgrade your 5DII to the 5D III and keep the 50D.

The 1D iV would be nice but is it better than a 5D III for your purposes ?

I dunno. I think the 5D2 is great for what I use it for and I do not see the III as a big step up. I think my real dilema is still deciding if the 7D is a viable option. As Art Vandelay said, is the MkIV worth 3 times the cost of the 7D? Unfortunately I live in Kalgoorlie so getting my hands on a 1D is impossible as the only camera shop we have is Harvey Normans. I will have a play with the 7D though.

[Max]

there is a step up from the 50D to the 7D, its incremental better in focus points, slightly more frames per second, bit better metering, electronic level, slightly bigger viewfinder, slightly better build. For the current price its probably worth it. But like I said if you use mainly spot centre focus and process the raw file then end result is almost the same.

I have played with a 5DII and coming from a 7D I find the focus system alone a step back, such that I don`t really want one. Would rather buy a 17-55 IS USM for the 7D. Guess that is way I am thinking that the step up from the 5DII to the 5D III makes more sense.

The 1D iV only seems to make sense if you need it for fast action shots, otherwise for the extra cash you spend, you can get a new 5DIII. The way I read it its a bigger step up from the 5D II then the 7D is to the 5D. Maybe just look at some new lenses5

[Tannin]

There are a number of well-informed posts above. Brian500au, Mr Dooba and Art V all have relevant experience, and they are all saying pretty much the same things. Let's throw my hat into that same ring: I own both the 7D and the 1D IV and echo the previous posts from people who actually own 1 Series cameras and know something about them. You cannot measure the worth of a really fine quality tool (such as a 1D IV) by looking at the spec sheet anymore than you can measure the superiority of a really fine piano over a merely competent one simply by looking at the bill of materials. To really understand the difference between the two pianos, you have to play them - and the more you play them the greater the clarity with which you see the difference. Err ... and hear the difference, in this case.

The 7D is a wonderful camera, clearly superior to the 50D in a number of ways. I love my 7D. But my 1D IV beats it in almost all respects.

Is the 1D IV worth the extra money? Well, put it this way, I pretty much knew exactly what to expect from the 1D IV because I'd owned a 1D III for some years, and I had no hesitation. The only problem I have with my 1D IV is that it seems to have displaced my 7D as my primary bird camera, which is not what I bought it for. Now I have to figure out what to use for the tasks I had the Mark IV earmarked for - and no, I can't afford another one!

BTW: you might also consider a 1D III if you see one at the right price. A very, very fine camera, the 1D III, and absolutely worth using for the sort of tasks you have in mind.