Which Full Frame Canon for Corp & Fam Portraits?

[8x10shooter]

I am a film shooter making the transition.  More and more clients are demanding digital and I am finally succumbing.  Had been shooting medium format film.

I also own a 20d and want to upgrade.

I am considering the 5D, the 1Ds Mark II and the Mark III.  If the real consensus is that one of the 1Ds cameras is the way to go, I'll spend the money, but for what I do I am not sure it is worth it.

I shoot portraits (corporate, family), some events, and a little bit of product (but not requiring much in the way of camera movement/correction.  Speed is not really an issue. Image quality is much more important.

I am leaning towards just getting the 5D.  Any thoughts?

Thanks for your thoughts,
Neal

[Ken Bennett]

The 5-D is fine for what you need. You'll get great image quality without spending $8000. The 1-series bodies are built like tanks, to stand up to hundreds or thousands of exposures per day under lousy conditions. I wouldn't go to work without my 1-D Mark II bodies. But for corporate portraits, families, and that sort of thing, you probably don't need that build quality.

[wilburdl]

The 5-D is fine for what you need. You'll get great image quality without spending $8000. The 1-series bodies are built like tanks, to stand up to hundreds or thousands of exposures per day under lousy conditions. I wouldn't go to work without my 1-D Mark II bodies. But for corporate portraits, families, and that sort of thing, you probably don't need that build quality.
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=157937\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

It really depends on your budget. You can't go wrong with either the 1DsII or 5D. If money is a concern 5D or a used 1DsII (Nikon D3 should be considered as well). If you're going to spend 8 grand I sugguest looking at a digital back. It sounds like that is where you're most comfortable and it would definitely fit your shooting style. And since you'll be shooting in a controlled environment, you would benefit greatly from the added DR over the DSLRs.
There are refurbished backs available--you just have to know where to look (there are a few MFDB sellers/resellers on this forum).

[Wayne Fox]

I am a film shooter making the transition.  More and more clients are demanding digital and I am finally succumbing.  Had been shooting medium format film.

I also own a 20d and want to upgrade.

I am considering the 5D, the 1Ds Mark II and the Mark III.  If the real consensus is that one of the 1Ds cameras is the way to go, I'll spend the money, but for what I do I am not sure it is worth it.

I shoot portraits (corporate, family), some events, and a little bit of product (but not requiring much in the way of camera movement/correction.  Speed is not really an issue. Image quality is much more important.

I am leaning towards just getting the 5D.  Any thoughts?

Thanks for your thoughts,
Neal
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=157900\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

The 1DsMarkIII will most likely deliver the highest quality, but it would take subject matter that requires that much resolution for it to make a difference, as well as some pretty large prints (or extreme crops).  I guess the corporate group shots would be one place it may help.

  Most (myself included)  feel the 5D delivers almost the same quality as the 1DsII, so a used version of that probably doesn't make any sense.

Lots of rumors about a new 5D with higher resolution (considering Nikons recent offerings you would think they are working on a revamped 5d) ... so one thought is a 5D now, then perhaps the new version when it arrives, giving you a great backup.  Betting both of them would still cost less than a 1DsMarkIII.