5D is the bomb.

I just got back from the camera store. I am so thrilled I just have to gloat. I was expecting a lot from a $3300 body but somehow I underestimated it.

First thing you notice when you see this camera is the LCD it is huge.

Then when you pick it up. It is really heavy. By the specifications it is <2x as heavy as my rebel was but I had to guess before looking at the specifications I would have guessed that it was 3x the weight.

And when you put it up to your face. WOW that viewfinder is huge. I had never used a film camera, I knew the viewfinder would be bigger, but I never would have guessed the difference would be this noticeable. I would strongly suggest anyone who never had a film SLR and wishes to remain happy with their 1.6x crop camera avoid touching one of these. Once you try it, you will buy it.

And finally, I am absolutely blown away by the image quality. 2x the pixel and each pixel is at least 2x as nice. A 200% crop looks like the 100% crops I am used to.

The only thing I can see improving is more AF points or the AF points being more spread out. There might as well only be 1AF point on this camera because all 9 are effectively in the center.

I gather you do not mean the negative connotation of bomb! Those large LCD screens are great - quite noticeable difference between D2 and D70 series too. You also now know what it means to hold a metal camera!

Tom

I'm glad to hear that. I am vacillating over this camera, since I would have to sell my 2 rebels and housing and buy another housing.

I dont see why people are going crazy over this camera at that price .. i'd rather pay the little bit more and get a 1d a pro camera with pro features far out doing the 5d for about $600 more really not a big stretch when spending that much. Of course I am not lucky enough to be able to afford either right now but my point of view would be the same.

Is it purely because it is "full frame?"

however i am of course very happy for you and jealous as well .. hope you have fun with your new toy and can't wait to see it underwater as usual.

Off cource I will go to with a Canon 1D or Nikon D2x if I was land photographer. but I think that the new housings will be not so expensive as the D1 or D2X housings.

So maybe is 5D the best in Price & quality, if you are looking att the full setup

Lambis

P.S. I am to still dreamming that the D200 will be reality otherwise I will take a Gun and walk into a Bank - The D2X is expensive and I need my organs :-=)

Giles.

If I didnt have to buy a housing I would have considered a 1D. The improved AF would be very nice. But the cost was out of my league. Not only the camera is $700 more for the body, the cheapest housing option for a 1D is $4000 more than the cheapest 5D housing. So really a 1D would cost 2x as much.

Really, I think the 5D is a better value to an underwater photographer than a 1D. On the 1D you are paying $$$ for 8.5 fps. On the 5D you are paying $$$ for a FF sensor. The FF sensor is much more usefull underwater than 8.5 fps. Really the only 1D feature that would be usefull underwater is the AF system.

Is it purely because it is "full frame?"

 

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It's not just FF for it's own sake, but the implications given the lenses available. A 15mm FE will on a FF will have 180 degree diagonal coverage.

A larger sensor is alway better if you have the lenses to take advantage of it.

I agree with William, if it wasn't for the $4000 housing cost for the 1D series, I would consider a used 1Ds. They are now selling for around $2500 on ebay. The 1Ds has better features, autofocus etc..., but Canon's made significant progress in the sensor in the last 4 years, and the 5D is much lower noise and better dynamic range.

I agree with William, and I think that the only advantage of a 1D series for UW is the fast AF. Having said that, this one advantage would make me lean towards the 1D if I was a Canon user. I photograph fish a lot, and AF is very important to me, but for those that shoot mostly wide angle and/or don't think that fast and precise low light AF is that important, the 5D is an excellent option, especially because of the availability of less expensive housings.

A used 1Ds is now about the same price as a new 5D! Given that a 1DS housing will (with minor modification) take a 1D, 1DMkII & 1DSMkII it is an expensive but versatile housing! I'm in the process of buying a third 1DS(!!!) now that the price has dropped - this model produces startlingly good 20" x 30" prints and I'm hard pushed to justify increasing the MPixels. Sure the 5D is a superb camera and I'm sure that it will work well underwater, but, although 1D series housings are very expensive, there is a lot going for the 1D series as the housings are very versatile.

This said, the 5D does look and fell very good indeed and I suspect a lot of housings are going to accomodate it!

Congrats, William, on the new machine.

Alex

Excellent, hope it serves you well. You probably didn't think you would want to thank the thieves eh?

Congrats on the new purchase! I think you made an excellent choice.

As much as I like my 1DsMkII, I really think that if the 5D had been available, that's what I would have bought. Yes, there are advantages to the 1D series, but as a practical matter, the 5D seems to me to be much more of a "does it all" camera. For one thing, I never use my 1DsMkII above water; it's just too damn big, bulky and heavy. Instead, I use a 20D for virtually all above water shooting.

Bear in mind that while the 5D is heavier than the Rebel and 20D, the 1D series is 70% HEAVIER than the 5D. IOW, not only does the 5D look like a GREAT uw camera (with its full frame sensor and high pixel count), but it will server as an outstanding all-purpose camera as well.

BTW, I don't see battery life as a big deal, since having an extra battery charging and swapping them out every few dives shouldn't be a problem. It's nice that I only have to charge my 1DsMkII battery every few DAYS of diving, but since I have to download files from the CF card at least every other dive, changing batteries at the same time wouldn't be a big deal at all...

BTW, I don't see battery life as a big deal, since having an extra battery charging and swapping them out every few dives shouldn't be a problem.  It's nice that I only have to charge my 1DsMkII battery every few DAYS of diving, but since I have to download files from the CF card at least every other dive, changing batteries at the same time wouldn't be a big deal at all...

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Well that's a little simpler said than done. To change CF cards, you open the housing and the back door latch on the camera. To change battery, you have to pull the camera out, which is more work.

Not to mention for the dreaded water invasion, the 1 series is a little better protected than the other cameras. I dropped mine into a river and submerged it for 3-5 seconds. The 70-200 and 1D2 survived without missing a beat. Don't try this with brand N or with approved L lenses.

I just got back from shooting some ISO 3200. Similar to my rebel was at 400. This is so fun.

I photograph fish a lot, and AF is very important to me, but for those that shoot mostly wide angle and/or don't think that fast and precise low light AF is that important, the 5D is an excellent option, especially because of the availability of less expensive housings.

I have never used a 1D class camera before, so I can't comment on how the 5D AF

compares. However, it is a huge step forward from the 10D AF.

My 5D was consistently and accurately locking AF under low light by a campfire. It was still doing fine while I was getting 3-5 second exposures at ISO 3200 f/2.8... which is nothing short of remarkable in my book, and is well beyond what I can deal with without a tripod.

I dropped mine into a river and submerged it for 3-5 seconds. The 70-200 and 1D2 survived without missing a beat.

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Wow. That is amazing. Basically that means you have a great chance of surviving most floods with this camera. I real advantage for UW shooters.

Alex

I dropped mine into a river and submerged it for 3-5 seconds. The 70-200 and 1D2 survived without missing a beat. Don't try this with brand N or with approved L lenses. 

Big deal

Once I checked my Canon S50 housing in the pool, the only problem was that I forgot to put the O-ring back in its place, the not so surprising result was that the housing was half full in water in 2 second.

After I took out the camera and dried a little its worked but with some problems for some time and then stopped to operate at all, After 2 days just before the official funeral I wanted to give the camera the last chance and walla, resurrection! the camera work as new.

So who need 1D?? S50 is good as

The 5D seems a true wonder. But I think I will wait awhile before upgrading from my 20D. Having purchased a $2,300 D60, and then a $1,500 10D about 12 months later, followed by the $1,500 20D, followed by intro of the $899 Rebel XT .... my thinking is we'll see a $1,500-$2,000 FF by the end of next year. Canon is clearly driving in that direction. Just keep telling myself to be patient!

I moved from the 10D to the 5D and here is what i noticed so far.

The AF works much better under low light and low contrast. A big improvement for my underwater enviroment here in BC.

The large buffer allows 9 raw shot before protesting.

The electronics in this camera work much faster. The images transfer to the card faster. Images delete faster etc...

On land it is possible to get dark corners with a flash under some circumstances.

A larger LCD but not great in the daylight do to low brightness.

Much less noise at higher ISO.

Perhaps the most interesting factor is the loss of a crop for wide angle.

Be prepared to buy a larger VF card. My 2 gig card predicts 90 images before it is full. My 500 meg cards seem small now.

On land it is possible to get dark corners with a flash under some circumstances.

What lens & what aperture?