Backup body - 20D or 1D?

[FidelCastrovich]

At first i thought this was a no brainer - 20D, clearly. Then, upon looking into the specs of the 1D, i realized that it was quite a capable camera.

The background - i'm a budding PJ, getting into the field slowly but surely. I'll probably do some weddings in the near future, as well. Food on the table, you know.:mrgreen:

The need for a second body is quite obvious - switching lenses is a pain, plus if you do a wedding, you BETTER have a backup.

So, i got to thinking that a 20D was a great choice. They can be had for about $650 or less. But then i saw the 1D on EBAY for around $700. It's blazing fast at 8fps, has faster and more accurate AF, and is built like a tank. Plus a crazy 1/16000 max shutter speed, and 1/500 flash sync. The main disadvantage is the pixel count (by today's standards anyway) - only 4.4M.
However, the chip is bigger, and the crop factor is only 1.3.

My question, aside from having to decide between the two bodies is this : How does this 1.3 chip (CCD, not CMOS) perform, compared to the 1.6 chip on my 30D?
Will my 17-55 f2.8 work on the 1D? Will it just turn into a 22-71? If yes, that would probably give me that extra reach i wish the 17 had. Of course, if the 17-55 doesn't work on the 1D, then i'll go for the 20D, and get a 10-22 down the road.

The 70-200 would go permanently onto the 30D, if i get the 1D.

What would you lean towards?

Thanks a bunch.

 

[usayit]

At first i thought this was a no brainer - 20D, clearly. Then, upon looking into the specs of the 1D, i realized that it was quite a capable camera.

Yes.. 1 series is wonderful cameras that go well beyond the others in the Canon line. Once you get one... it is very hard going back.

The background - i'm a budding PJ, getting into the field slowly but surely. I'll probably do some weddings in the near future, as well. Food on the table, you know.:mrgreen:

The 1D is pretty darn old in terms of technology... smaller sensor.. older processor.. For weddings, the advantages of the 1D over the 20D become less evident. I would rather recommend saving up for a 5D and using a 20D as a backup.

The need for a second body is quite obvious - switching lenses is a pain, plus if you do a wedding, you BETTER have a backup.

Backups are not important to have to make switching lenses less of a pain... they are important because equipment DOES fail. You don't want equipment failure result in an earnings or assignment failure.

So, i got to thinking that a 20D was a great choice. They can be had for about $650 or less. But then i saw the 1D on EBAY for around $700. It's blazing fast at 8fps, has faster and more accurate AF, and is built like a tank. Plus a crazy 1/16000 max shutter speed, and 1/500 flash sync. The main disadvantage is the pixel count (by today's standards anyway) - only 4.4M.
However, the chip is bigger, and the crop factor is only 1.3.

Yes... again.. very capable camera. BUT.. for your assignments, does the 8fps, faster AF, tank like build, 1/16000 max shutter speed REALLY provide an advantage? For weddings, not really... portraits.. not really... in fact the larger number of pixels in the 20D will be more of an advantage.

Another thing to consider is that the user interface for all series 1 cameras are very similar in layout and in design. It is to avoid having to do a mental switch each time you change cameras. For some... it can be a bit confusing switching between the 30D and 1D because the layout and design is so different. Just something else to sink your mind to that is often over looked.

My question, aside from having to decide between the two bodies is this : How does this 1.3 chip (CCD, not CMOS) perform, compared to the 1.6 chip on my 30D?

Never looked for a comparison but at this point you are comparing a 8mp sensor to a 4.4 mp sensor with generations of difference in terms of internal image processor. Once you start enlarging and cropping, there is no comparison... the 8mp sensor will come out ahead.

Will my 17-55 f2.8 work on the 1D? Will it just turn into a 22-71? If yes, that would probably give me that extra reach i wish the 17 had. Of course, if the 17-55 doesn't work on the 1D, then i'll go for the 20D, and get a 10-22 down the road.

Nope... you'll have issues with a EF-S lens on that 1D.


If I was a sports or journalist on assignment with my final print being a newspaper or online publication, definitely would go with the 1D. For all others.. the 20D will get my choice.