Hi, I though about selling my 1Ds mark III while it held some of its value and get a 5D mk2 (to go alongside my original 5D which I still have) but didnt. Seems people are selling them for $4800-$5000 (kinda strange when a new 1D mark III is $4,000 with half the pixels) which is ok. But the 1Ds is such a joy to use that I decided not to sell it. It has helped me produce high quality images time and time again under all kinds of light and environments!
Nowadays the 5D mark II seems to get all the glory while the 1Ds mark III keeps working in the shadows out of the spotlight. I guess that is the life of a DSLR in this day and age after a few years after being introduced to the world ( 2 years this august ). Yes, the 1Ds lacks the video. But, it has absolutely one of the best DSLR viewfinders ever made. It has great durability and great battery performance. Its a joy to hold (its a bit on the heavy side of things but balances very well with primes and short zooms) with a quality feel and responsiveness that the 5D lacks (something the Nikon D700 does have!). Is this the last great DSLR I will ever buy? Is this as much as I will ever need? Well, I cant seem to need or want better files (even though I am an advertising and architectural photographer). A Canon 14-24mm lens like the Nikon would be nice though.
My journey in photography has been quite long (at least to me!). My first SLR was a hand-me-down Konica (way back in the late 80's), the I got a new Nikon FM2n (still have that camera), the a progression through Nikon AF SLR's, first a N6006 and then a N90s (very good camera). A lot of years passed (before I became a professional). I then got my first DSLR! A FUji S2 pro. Wow, I now could use all my Nikon glass which I had accumulated over the years. (no f2.8 zooms though, didnt have the money). I started working with the Fuji and it delivered. Time and time again even in somewhat poor light (or what I though was poor!). Then came Canon.
I tried a 10d and man it was much faster and produced cleaner images (no more waiting a long time to view images on the rear lcd while the camera was writing to card!) than the fuji. Then came the 1D mark II, wow, very fast, clean files, pro body. I believe that singlehandedly, the 1D mark II is the camera that caused the massive Nikon to Canon switch years ago and much of those users have stayed with Canon still even though Nikon has matched or even exceeded in some cases Canon's offerings. As if the 1D mark II was not enough out came the 5D! Wow Finally, after all these years I have a DSLR that is kinda like my FM2n, yes not as compact. But full frame again! wow. A 50mm is a 50mm again! The files were terrific (still are) and life was good. A few years go by and the 1Ds mark III shows up. I can still remember that day. The black sexy box (smaller than I though it would be though, $7500 all in those few cubic inches?? ahhh). I charged up the batteries, put on the 50mm and looked through the viewfinder and WOW. Took a few images, opened them up in photoshop..and WOW. And I though the 5D was amazing! The 1Ds mark III handled the highlights better (even in jpg files which handle a surprising ammount of manipulation) the detail, that "3d" look that is talked about, everything there. Plus all the "little" things like the menu and the focus adjustment, highlight priority, great high iso performance, awesome viewfinder, great battery, etc etc.
I just cant seem to let it go...