to buy or not tu buy

[mike clark]

the 10D is a very nice camera.  i could only fault it for it's magnification factor (which is a subjective peeve) and it's "small" resolution (6.3 is definitely nothing to be ashamed of though).

the 1ds is an amazing camera.  11 megapixels, rock solid body, full-frame capture, etc.  pretty much everyone's aware of this camera's highlights.  then there's some obnoxious things about it like the hard to clean sensor, etc.

personally, i'd wait it out.  if you're willing to spend ~$10000 on a top of the line camera, why by one that's replaced 2 months after you get it?  even if the new 1d? only has a few mechanical or software upgrades, i still think it would be worth your effort to wait for those benefits than to be ... well, impatient and pass on them.

moore's law is very much a factor when it comes to digital photography, and the 1ds' time as canon's king of the hill is running short.  if i were you, i'd stick with the camera you have and rent the 1ds from time to time so you can enjoy the benefits it offers, and save the bulk of your money to spend on the new version of it that'll be even better.

[mike clark]

remembered when the d60 got it's head lopped off by the 10d?  things move fast.  you could always try wading through the rumour pile to see if you can find any solid information on when canon plans on replacing the 1ds, or ####, call and ask.  couldn't hurt.

PMA is in mid-February.

Then in September is Photokina, which only happens every two years, and which is where really big announcements are usually made.

Photo Expo is only a couple of months later in N.Y, then there's PMA in Las Vegas again in February....

Hurry up and wait.

Michael

[Edward]

At $2500 it would be a great buy.  I have not seen a price below $6700 at a remotely legitimate dealer.  There have been low price cameras on ebay but I think all of them have been frauds.   If anyone knows of legitimate dealers selling at $2500 I will get in line.:-)

[drew]

I think Jonathan has got it pretty well spot on. I do not think that Canon are going to replace the 1DS soon, simply because it has no strong competition in the market place. As for the D60 being replaced by the 10D within a year, I do not recollect anyone claiming that the 10D offered significantly better image quality than the D60.

[icke]

Hi all,

After reading reviews and discussion here and on other sites, I’ve got myself a 10d a couple of months ago and a few nice L lenses (following the advice that the prosumer body goes better with L lenses than the pro body with cheaper lenses...)
As it happens, I may be able to fund a 1ds within the next 2 or 3 months.
I was wondering now whether I should just go and buy one or if I should wait a little longer…

does anyone out there thinks that there is an upgrade for the 1ds soon to be released?

I know, cameras are not computers in term of lifecycles. But digital cameras have a lot of ‘computer’ build in and the 1ds is more than one year ‘old’  by now
and then there is Moore’s law…  :O

Thanks,
olaf

[sergio]

Most people agree that the 1Ds will not be replaced too soon. So just do it and go shoot, otherwise you will have lost good photographic opportunities while waiting for something better down the road. There will always be something better arounf the corner. A better camera won´t make the 1Ds bad. It is what it is.

[Edward]

Doesn't PMA come up in the Spring?  It would certainly pay to wait till after then.   If this is your first move to serious digital, the 10D is plenty good enough to supply images that you can work on learning to tune in Picture Window or in Photoshop. By the time you master that, who knows what new cameras will be out there?:-)

[kyle]

I've seen on some forums the 1D available at a price of around 2500 USD which is less than half of what it was when the camera was introduced.
With firmware upgrades this camera is a real bargain now whatever "might" come out later -- and in any case unless you are a top notch shooter you would be unlikely to be able to get your hands on any 1D replacement for some months after its introduction.
The 1D is a fine camera now and will still be a fine camera  in 1 years time.
If you are a PJ / sports shooter or even a high end amateur who likes blazingly fast AF, a real fast FP rate and in general like handling a pro camera which behaves pretty well identically to Canon's top professional film 35 mm SLR - the EOS 1V  then you will love the 1D -- it is also pretty good at higher ISO as well.
Don't be put off by the 4MP -- these are LARGE pixels and you can make some pretty good 16 X 20's or even larger.

If a 1D comes your way at around 2500 USD buy it.


I've re-read the initial post and it referred to the 1Ds not the 1D. Now in this case I doubt very much if Canon is thinking of a replacement for this camera -- it's pretty much 100% OK as it is. Anybody who has shot with one of these will probably agree that this is the nearest thing to 35 MM camera heaven you are likely to get and this camera certainly is the equal of 4 X 5 MF.

Minor quibbles -- better dust control,  lower noise at 800 ISO and above and possibly a faster FPS rate (even if this meant choosing a slightly smaller resolution -- why not have a smaller resolution available as a CFn  so long as RAW mode was still available)

[Matthew Cromer]

Not sure that I would agree that the 1Ds is "100% ok".

It's a great camera to be sure, but everyone I know complains about the sensor dust problem on this camera, and how hard it is to get dirt out of the corners.

Now that Olympus has shown the way, I suspect N and C will be releasing their own versions of self-cleaning sensors in the not too distant future.

[Jonathan Wienke]

The 1Ds has its quirks, but it is definitely in a class by itself right now. One could wish for better high ISO noise levels, faster frame rate, and better sensor dust handling, but other than that it is a very solid performer with very little to dislike. There is no real serious competition for the 1Ds right now (to anyone mentioning the 14N: How about ISO 800 performance, or exposures longer than 1 second?) and there haven't been any significant price drops or other indications that the 1Ds will be discontinued anytime soon. If you can afford it, get it; it is unlikely you will be disappointed with it.

[Dan Sroka]

I’ve got myself a 10d a couple of months ago and a few nice L lenses....As it happens, I may be able to fund a 1ds within the next 2 or 3 months. I was wondering now whether I should just go and buy one or if I should wait a little longer…

Geez. You have a brand new camera and are thinking of replacing it with something that is 5x as expensive? I'd suggest you ask yourself why. Are you thinking of spending all that money because your photography will benefit substantially from the features of the 1Ds, or are you just experiencing feature-lust? If you have some good sound reasons, go for it. Otherwise, take that money and sock it away in a mutual fund, stuff it under your mattress, or donate it to charity.