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1DX Mark II or upgrade to mirrorless - sports, portrait, indoor/outdoor/low light, wildlife, video

rawirtz
Apprentice

I currently shoot with my 1DX Mark II or 7D Mark II and I love them both - my 1DX is my go to for almost everything though. I am considering upgrading to mirrorless, but I'm not sure which one will be the best for my needs.  I shoot high school and college outdoor / indoor / low light sports, sports videos, wildlife, and some portrait.  I love what the 1DX has for video setting options and the excellent ISO.  I use my 1DX with a cross-body strap and monopod, I am starting to get back and shoulder issues.

If I upgrade I would rather not purchase a base model and have to upgrade again in a couple of years but I also don't want to purchase more camera than I need. If I have to I will purchase all new lenses but would prefer a camera that I can use my current lenses on and purchase an adapter.

UPDATE: I don't like the fact that the 1DX doesn't have an articulating display (I do a lot of low shooting during sports) and I am not a fan of the weight. I also wish it had wireless connection capability without having to purchase a separate adapter. I currently have the following lenses: EF 70-200 f/2.8L IS III, EF 28-300 f/3.5-5.6L IS USM, EF 24-70 f/2.8 L II USM, EF 50 f/1.8 STM, EF 17-35 f/2.8 L USM. I don't want to say that $ isn't an issue, but I'm willing to pay $$$ for an excellent product.

1 ACCEPTED SOLUTION

Tronhard
VIP
VIP

No worries - I had not seen your update but appreciate your effort.
OK, given that you have a range of EF lenses rather than EF-S glass, and with the following summery as I see it:
A FF sensor is best for portraits, low light work, wide-angle work
An APS-C sensor offers a FoV boost for wildlife and some sports.
You are shooting images with a range from digital, through year books to quite large prints.

That would normally suggest two cameras a FF and an APS-C unit, but I am going to not head in that direction.  To be honest I am not convinced that the current line-up of APS-C sensor cameras is right at the present and have avoided getting one, even though I shoot with very long lenses myself.   So, I am going to suggest that you consider the Canon EOS R5, which is currently the top general purpose camera from Canon.  It has a 45MP FF sensor, but offers the ability to shoot in APS-H (1.3 x) and APS-C (1.6x) crop modes and you can switch between those modes quite quickly.  If you were to shoot in APS-C crop mode, it would render images of about 17MP, which is pretty close to what you were getting from the 7DII, but requires only one camera.  

I have shot in both all those modes and had no issues with quality, and I would expect much the same for you, given your L lenses (I had the 28-300L and was rather sad I sold it).  It should utilize your current EF glass via the Canon EF-RF adapters.

The R5 has a lighter body, uses the same batteries as your 7DII, can use a battery grip, although for weight reasons I suspect you may pass on that, is weather sealed and has a great focusing system with eye and face detection.   It also has excellent video capability - but that is not my area of expertise, so I shall leave that to others.

As I understand it, this body is on sale right now, so it should not break the bank.  The model is listed on Canon's refurb site at a great price: Shop Canon Refurbished EOS R5 Body | Canon U.S.A., Inc.  These cameras may not even have been used, but if so, will be as good as new (some argue better) and come with a warranty.


cheers, TREVOR

The mark of good photographer is less what they hold in their hand, it's more what they hold in their head;
"All the variety, all the charm, all the beauty of life is made up of light and shadow", Leo Tolstoy;
"Skill in photography is acquired by practice and not by purchase" Percy W. Harris

View solution in original post

14 REPLIES 14

Tronhard
VIP
VIP

Hi and welcome to the forum:

To understand how best to advise you, it would be helpful if you can specifically advise what it is that your current gear does not offer you.  Also, what lenses you are currently shooting with please, and finally, a budget $ value for a new body, and separately for lenses.  You might find it helpful to consider the questions in the following article:
Considerations for buying camera gear 


cheers, TREVOR

The mark of good photographer is less what they hold in their hand, it's more what they hold in their head;
"All the variety, all the charm, all the beauty of life is made up of light and shadow", Leo Tolstoy;
"Skill in photography is acquired by practice and not by purchase" Percy W. Harris

shadowsports
Legend
Legend

Trevor's article is excellent and I believe he wrote it.

You'll also want to hear from Roger (wq9nsc) who shoots sports with multiple 1Dx series body's.  

~Rick
Bay Area - CA


~R5 C (1.0.7.1) ~RF Trinity, ~RF 100 Macro, ~RF 100~400, ~RF 100~500, +RF 1.4x TC, +Canon Control Ring, BG-R10, 430EX III-RT ~DxO PhotoLab Elite ~DaVinci Resolve ~Windows11 Pro ~ImageClass MF644Cdw/MF656Cdw ~Pixel 8
~CarePaks Are Worth It

Thanks Rick, yes - I did!


cheers, TREVOR

The mark of good photographer is less what they hold in their hand, it's more what they hold in their head;
"All the variety, all the charm, all the beauty of life is made up of light and shadow", Leo Tolstoy;
"Skill in photography is acquired by practice and not by purchase" Percy W. Harris

Tronhard
VIP
VIP

Given your wide range of subject types and conditions: "high school and college outdoor / indoor / low light sports, sports videos, wildlife, and some portrait."  A significant question is very much what do you produce?
The investment to post on the web, and on digital, and even for publications like year books and magazines is going to be much less demanding that to produce large, detailed Fine Art prints.  That translates into sensor resolution in particular. 
As I recall the 1DXMkII has a 20MP FF sensor, while the 7DII (which I owned and loved) has a 20MP APS-C sensor. Is that range still acceptable for your purposes?


cheers, TREVOR

The mark of good photographer is less what they hold in their hand, it's more what they hold in their head;
"All the variety, all the charm, all the beauty of life is made up of light and shadow", Leo Tolstoy;
"Skill in photography is acquired by practice and not by purchase" Percy W. Harris

rawirtz
Apprentice

Most of my work is for personal prints, yearbooks, wall prints up to 30x40 (usually seniors and special sports moments), and digital.

Tronhard
VIP
VIP

Thank you.

Can you respond to the first set of questions I posed please - what you want to improve on, lenses, and budget?


cheers, TREVOR

The mark of good photographer is less what they hold in their hand, it's more what they hold in their head;
"All the variety, all the charm, all the beauty of life is made up of light and shadow", Leo Tolstoy;
"Skill in photography is acquired by practice and not by purchase" Percy W. Harris

I apologize, I had added those answers to my original post, but now realize that probably wasn’t the best.

UPDATE: I don't like the fact that the 1DX doesn't have an articulating display (I do a lot of low shooting during sports) and I am not a fan of the weight. I also wish it had wireless connection capability without having to purchase a separate adapter. I currently have the following lenses: EF 70-200 f/2.8L IS III, EF 28-300 f/3.5-5.6L IS USM, EF 24-70 f/2.8 L II USM, EF 50 f/1.8 STM, EF 17-35 f/2.8 L USM. I don't want to say that $ isn't an issue, but I'm willing to pay $$$ for an excellent product.

 

It would be best to provide an actual dollar amount (even if just an estimate) for a budget.  One person's $ and $$$ interepretation can be quite different from another's.

--
Ricky

Camera: EOS 5D IV, EF 50mm f/1.2L, EF 135mm f/2L
Lighting: Profoto Lights & Modifiers

$4500.00

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