Canon 1D Mark ii - Opportunity to purchase.

[kylieh]

Hi - my husband's late uncle was a professional photographer, and from his estate we have the opportunity to purchase a Canon 1D Mark ii body, no lenses. Price $500 (as this is all the consignment shop is offering.)

I'm thinking it is a good price. Is it worth grabbing? I currently have a Canon 60D with some EF and EF-S lenses.

 

[ukcatfan]

As long as you can inspect it first! If it is worn out you should be able to tell. It would also help to know the shutter count.

 

[WDWFigment]

Hi - my husband's late uncle was a professional photographer, and from his estate we have the opportunity to purchase a Canon 1D Mark ii body, no lenses. Price $500 (as this is all the consignment shop is offering.)

I'm thinking it is a good price. Is it worth grabbing? I currently have a Canon 60D with some EF and EF-S lenses.

eBay completed listings are generally a great way to determine the present market value of an item.

One 1DmkII recently sold for $890. Others have not sold with starting prices of around $999. Too low of a sample size to get an absolute mean market value, but the numbers suggest that $500 is more than reasonable.

I guess the question I have is why you want it? You have a Canon 60D, which is a lot newer than the mkII. I mean, the mkII is 6(!) years old!

 

[bob100]

Hi - my husband's late uncle was a professional photographer, and from his estate we have the opportunity to purchase a Canon 1D Mark ii body, no lenses. Price $500 (as this is all the consignment shop is offering.)

I'm thinking it is a good price. Is it worth grabbing? I currently have a Canon 60D with some EF and EF-S lenses.

If you look on the Canon forums they go for $600 - $900 depending on if it's the "N" version, shutter count, condition, etc. But why get this if you already have a Canon 60D?
http://photography-on-the.net/forum

 

[pointandshoot]

Why have both? First, the MK II is a different beast than the 60D. I use a crop sensor with better FPS for my telephoto lenses when shooting sport or wild life (40D).

The MKII is great for landscape, low light, and portrait. The bodies compliment each other.

Also, two bodies gives you a back-up on travel. I had a body fail and was glad I had a second to keep the family memories captured.

Since this was owned by a photo teacher, I expect it might be well used. As other poster said, check it. If it is a good deal, I would not hesitate to own both a crop and full frame sensor.

 

[kylieh]

Thank you all for your thoughts. DH and I are going to be thinking about it some more today. It would be good to have two bodies, to have a spare. But it might have high use, I'm not sure.

I'm leaning towards at this stage not getting it. It's $500 I hadn't budgeted on, and comparing to eBay it's not a huge saving. I might be better getting more lenses and accessories!

 

[MarkBarbieri]

I have a 1D M2, a 7D, and a 5DM2, so I can speak from some real world experience. The 1DM2 was an awesome camera for its day, but that day has passed. Its advantages over the 7D are:

1) Better build - stronger, better seals. It feels like a rock (and weighs as much).

2) Larger sensor - that gives you slightly less DOF than the 7D at any given lens/aperture. The downside is that you can't use EF-s lenses on it, so it is hard to get very wide with it.

3) Better controls - It has a wicked efficient control layout...if you take the time to learn it and use it a lot. If you don't, it is wicked complicated and hard to understand.

4) Better AF - The 7D (and I'm guessing the 60D, but I don't know), has a really good AF system. The 1DM2's is better. Both are great, so the difference is pretty slight. Both make the 5DM2 seem pathetic.

5) Built in portrait grip. I like the feel of a built in grip more than the add-on, but it is really nice to be able to take it off, which you can't do with the 1D. It's a big camera whether you like it or not.

It might have a slight noise advantage, but not by much if at all.

It has a few other advantages like 9 shot bracketing. I'm sure I'm forgetting a few other things.

It has major disadvantages relative to the 60D. The LCD is tiny. No LiveView. No video. Antiquated menu system. No in-camera flash menu. No on-camera master flash. It has a much lower resolution (8mp). It uses huge NIMH batteries that won't hold a charge for long in storage. They are big and heavy, so you won't want to carry a spare. It also uses a different charger, so you'll need to take two if you travel.

If you plan on a rugged, outdoors trip where reliability and durability are paramount, I'd get the 1D. If you need the absolute best AF you can get, I'd get the 1D. In just about every other set of circumstances, you'd probably be better off picking up a t3i or a second 60D.

My 1DM2 sits in a drawer and hasn't been taken out in a long time. I suppose that I should sell it. I used to think that I'd use it for nasty conditions like beach outings, but I never do. It was a great camera that blew away everything else in its day in the things that mattered to me. That was a long time ago.

 

[photo_chick]

I wouldn't get it if it were me and I'm one who will jump on a good deal whether I need it or not. You should really consider how you will use the camera though. I was contemplating a new 1D, but after lugging my 50D around this week with some new heavier glass, I'm really rethinking that. I don't shoot in a studio a lot and I don't want to carry that much weight.

 

[DPK400]

I'm a firm believer in glass being more important than the camera. The the prosumer models available today, the quality has really increased in almost all levels of Canon's line. I've owned all one of every 1D camera since they came out and there are others that are better for some things than this camera. As mentioned before it is an older model know. It does have a decent AF system, but it was plagued with issues (which is why they released the N version). Most of the issues I experienced with with the full FPS use in sports. I'd put the 500 toward a new lens if you've already got a newer, albeit smaller, camera. The camera has a much higher frame count available on a shutter, but will soon be (if not already) denied for repairs at Canon. If the shutter goes, you are looking at a $500 brick. Stick with the newer camera and see if he has any glass.