Your Opinion: Used 1DS as Full-Frame Option

[Univer]

Hi All,

I'm thinking about another digital-body purchase, and, as usual, I would love to have the benefit of the community's experience before proceeding.

I'm primarily a Pentax shooter, and I assume that I will always own a K-mount digital body. But I would very much like to have full-frame capability. Following the Ricoh acquisition of the Pentax brand, the eventual introduction of a FF Pentax seems marginally more likely, although such an event - in my view - is still probably a year or two off. And that seems like a long time to wait.

Accordingly, I've been considering a used 5DMkII as a FF body. But if there really is a realistic prospect of a FF Pentax under Ricoh's stewardship, then I would like to spend as little as possible on what will be, for practical purposes, a stopgap FF body. That way I can mentally allocate more funds to the future purchase of that Pentax FF, when and if it arrives.

So I'm now wondering about a used 1DS (the first version). The price for a 1DS body (from a reputable dealer, with a warranty) has dropped to a point where a reasonable case can be made for that alternative.

I acknowledge, of course, that the 1DS represents more-or-less antiquated technology, at least in the fast-paced realm of digital imaging ("antiquated" is a relative term for me, since I'd be using the body with plenty of sixty-year-old lenses). But in absolute terms, the IQ of the 1DS images I've seen has been excellent, and I'm confident its 11MP would be adequate for my purposes. I know that the 1DS is a large, heavy camera, but I used to shoot a Pentax 6x7 fairly regularly, and I often work on a tripod, so that's a non-issue. Lack of video and ultra-high ISO performance are also irrelevant for me; I'm more likely to shoot at the custom-menu ISO 50 setting than I am ISO 800. And I gather that the 1DS is more hospitable to older lenses, in terms of mirror clearance, than the 5D; that's a powerful "plus" for me, since I will probably never mount anything but an old MF lens to this camera.

But I do have some other concerns.

I've been informed by a repairperson who works extensively on Canon bodies that shutter parts for the 1DS are no longer available from Canon. While third-party parts are available, the fact remains that the labor costs for a shutter replacement, according to this gentleman, would be in the neighborhood of US$300 - a non-trivial sum. And since any 1DS will have been a professional's camera, the shutter of such a camera may be nearing the end of its useful life. (Takes me back to the old days, when you had the same concerns about buying a used Hasselblad.)

My old eyes aren't what they used to be, and I find that I focus using live view (or the zoom function of my Panasonic G1) on a semi-regular basis. I know the 1DS lacks this feature, but I also know that it has a bright, large viewfinder. Still, I haven't used a film SLR in quite a while, so I'm definitely out of practice when it comes to unaided focusing the "old fashioned" way. I'm wondering whether I'll find this specific omission frustrating.

And those are just the potential issues I know about.

So what do you think? For someone who wants to add a full-frame body, knowing that it won't necessarily be a long-term solution, is a 1DS a reasonable option? Is there a price ceiling above which you wouldn't go? Would it make more sense to pay (almost exactly) double for a 1DSII?

Thanks, as always, for your help!

Cheers,

Jon

[poilu]

if you think Ricoh may soon make a FF Pentax
my advice is to use film
it is fun and you will use your lenses to the max
and you will enjoy big viewfinder

[yinyangbt]

[peterqd]

[ManualFocus-G]

I'd buy a used 5D instead. From what I have read (I looked into one previously) the 1DS has poor high ISO (only goes up to 1250 anyway), very slow operation, tiny and low resolution rear LCD, expensive batteries and it's a big camera. The 5D will cost you about £100.00 more but would be worth it.

[Jesito]

[Rolf]

You should wait until next year when 1DS X will be on the market. Could be that newer 1DSMKIIn or perhaps MKIII will go down. You said it by yourself "1DS is more-or-less antiquated technology". Save the money and wait few month.

[martinsmith99]

I'd avoid both the 1D and the 5D; they are old, clunky, slow, poor lcd, poor menus and the 5D seems to be a dust magnet.

Either buy a film camera with better viewfinder and learn to develop your own film, or raise the cash for a leter FF DSLR.

[trev]

While you're saving for a ff dslr, how about a used Canon eos 1n in the meantime? Super fast autofocus, superb handling, build quality to die for, 100% viewfinder, 5 fps and very very cheap at the moment.

[Univer]

Thanks, all! Plenty of good advice (as always), and a lot to think about.

Any thoughts on the 1DSMkII as a "stopgap" camera? Or should I just wait for a reasonably priced used 5DMkII, and have it over with? (Assuming one comes my way before Ricoh 'plugs the gap in the market' with a FF Pentax.)

Cheers,

Jon

[stingOM]

[martinsmith99]

5Dmkii is a good camera by my picky standards.

Old clunky DSLRs make me very angry and are no fun for me at all.

[eggboy]

The 1Ds is a brick in every sense of the word as others have mentioned

I've a 'classic' 5D, which is for me is quite a nice camera, but it's operation is fairly clunky compared to my recently lost 40D. A nice clean one will run US$1000+ and you should get a warranty for about another US$100 if you buy from one of the larger dealers. Which is a lot of money

I would agree with all the advice to stick with film for now. You could pick up a nice Pentax or even Canon F-1n for $200, a film scanner for about $250, and when you go with the Richtax/Pentoh FF dSLR, you could sell the old film camera for what you paid for it. And meanwhile have fun playing with a camera from the golden age of mechanical cameras..The F-1 is smooth as butter and you can get M42, Exakta and Nikon adaptors for it.