Canon 1d Mk II N

BillyPilgrim · #1 (**permalink**) 25-02-2009, 01:50 PM

I just picked one up 2nd-hand in an internet auction. It looks in good nick and the owner said it had been treated well and not thrown around. It cost a couple of hundred quid more than a new 50d would have done.

Just wondered if there are any owners of this body on here? Do you think it is worth that bit extra etc? My current body is the 30d and I have the 300mm and 500mm canon primes. Do you think I'll notice the difference in performance?

I must admit that I feel a bit like a kid at xmas. Definitely more excited than I would have been if I'd gone for the 40/50d.

matt_xyz · #2 (**permalink**) 25-02-2009, 03:30 PM

its autofocus is meant to be about the best there is, although I've never used one. I was tempted by a second hand mkII (not mkIIN) when I was buying my 40D but eventually settled on the 40D.

I'm sure it'll be a pleasure to use. The only negative point would seem to be its 8MP compared to 15 on the 50D, so images will be less 'croppable'. I'll be interested to hear how it compares to your 30D.

Matt

zan · #3 (**permalink**) 25-02-2009, 04:07 PM

This was the first camera I used when I was thinking about making the switch to a DSLR (unfortunately just a loan!) and it was a pretty amazing camera. Used with a 300mm F2.8 or 70-200mm F2.8 it was excellent and locked the focus very quickly and well. I wasn't exactly clued up on cameras at the time, but I remember that there were never any 'near misses' with the focus. Most of the time it was spot on; if it missed it was usually because it was looking at the wrong focus point or I wasn't quick enough etc.

eeyore · #4 (**permalink**) 25-02-2009, 04:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by matt_xyz

its autofocus is meant to be about the best there is, although I've never used one. I was tempted by a second hand mkII (not mkIIN) when I was buying my 40D but eventually settled on the 40D.

I'm sure it'll be a pleasure to use. The only negative point would seem to be its 8MP compared to 15 on the 50D, so images will be less 'croppable'. I'll be interested to hear how it compares to your 30D.

Matt

they are great cameras - the af as matt says is arguably the best there is on dslr (on film the eos 3 and eos 1v are still better) and the burst speed is a very nippy 8fps as opposed to the 5fps on the 30D ( very handy if covering birds in flight, or sports action)

8mp ought to be enough unless you are printing huge pics , and even then the file ought to interpolate with genuine fractals easily enough.

the only negatives i can think of are a) the weight - its a heavy thing to lug arround compared to a 30D , and the price of the batteries - you will definitely want a couple of spares

DaiTheDragon · #5 (**permalink**) 26-02-2009, 05:56 AM

I have the 1D Markll N and the 50D. 95% of my bird photography is with the 1D. The focusing is fast and accurate. The burst rate of 8.5 frames a second is awesome and when you hold it, it just feels so solidly built. Also if you use a TC you can still autofocus.
It only has 8.5 megapixels which will print up to A3 or poster size. Don’t forget, before the Marklll came out the 1D N was the Pro’s choice for motor sports and wildlife photography.
I only have one battery and have never run out of power yet. I think the most I shot in one session was over 600 shots at a motor sports event.
The 50D is a great camera but I bought it just for Macro work. I do sometimes use it for birds when the weather is poor. I then use my 100-400mm f5.6 or 70-200mm f2.8 and as long as the image is fairly good you can crop quite heavily.
If I could only have one camera it would be the 1DMarkll N

Dai

glsammy · #6 (**permalink**) 26-02-2009, 10:45 AM

This is the camera I'm still trying to get hold of.
Just missed out on one on an auction site, probably yours Billy!

The fact it will auto focus with both TC's is a big advantage, plus the focusing performance and shooting rate would suite me nicely. I don't care about the 8m pixels, I've no problem with the images from my 20D so I'm sure the 1D will be fine for me.

matt_xyz · #7 (**permalink**) 26-02-2009, 10:55 AM

it was being able to get AF with a 1.4 converter on my 400mm lens that tempted me towards a 1d mkii. But the 1.3 crop of these cameras meant I would only actually gain 88mm compared to just using my 400mm on a 1.6 crop body (and would lose some IQ to boot). If using my 400mm lens on its own I would have 120mm less effective focal length with the 1d than with, say, my 40D. But the AF and fps do sound excellent.

Matt

BillyPilgrim · #8 (**permalink**) 26-02-2009, 01:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by glsammy

This is the camera I'm still trying to get hold of.
Just missed out on one on an auction site, probably yours Billy!

If it was the one that went for £1020 then that was me!

I was apprehensive about such a big layout over the internet but I got very lucky. The seller is a female pro photographer who has taken very good care of the camera. Do women take better care of things than men?

It arrived this morning! It is in fantastic condition and having inspected it closely I would have happilly paid up to £1200 for it. I don't think her advert did it full justice! It came with a spare battery as well.

First impressions are very positive and I'm really glad I took the plunge. The controls are going to take a bit of getting used to after the 30d but thats no problem.

Can't wait to go out and play

Thanks for the replies everyone.

glsammy · #9 (**permalink**) 26-02-2009, 07:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BillyPilgrim

If it was the one that went for £1020 then that was me!

I was apprehensive about such a big layout over the internet but I got very lucky. The seller is a female pro photographer who has taken very good care of the camera. Do women take better care of things than men?

It arrived this morning! It is in fantastic condition and having inspected it closely I would have happilly paid up to £1200 for it. I don't think her advert did it full justice! It came with a spare battery as well.

First impressions are very positive and I'm really glad I took the plunge. The controls are going to take a bit of getting used to after the 30d but thats no problem.

Can't wait to go out and play

Thanks for the replies everyone.

Yep, that was the one! Your lucky I was late getting up on the morning the auction finished!

Sounds like a good one as well. That's two I've let slip through my fingers.

Good luck with it, I'll be more than interested to see how you get on with it, especially the points Matt made re the loss of crop factor.
I did consider this but the main reason I was looking for one was the high number of shots where I'm just not getting correct focus. It doesn't matter how much extra crop factor there is if it's out of focus!

eeyore · #10 (**permalink**) 27-02-2009, 12:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by glsammy

Yep, that was the one! Your lucky I was late getting up on the morning the auction finished!

Sounds like a good one as well. That's two I've let slip through my fingers.

Good luck with it, I'll be more than interested to see how you get on with it, especially the points Matt made re the loss of crop factor.
I did consider this but the main reason I was looking for one was the high number of shots where I'm just not getting correct focus. It doesn't matter how much extra crop factor there is if it's out of focus!

graham - ive sent you a pm with a heads up of where theres a couple available.

I thought it best not to put it on the boards, good luck

P