would a Canon 1DX be over Kill for me: HI everyone, I am a photographer who by accident got a job with an magazine and i do lots of private jobs as well. I am doing more and more work...

magicunicorn Loc: Melbourne Australia

HI everyone,

I am a photographer who by accident got a job with an magazine and i do lots of private jobs as well. I am doing more and more work every month and i have found that my 7 D just does not cut it with the indoor events or lower light situations and i end up very disapointed with my work. Even thought i bump up the Iso its still not enough and the photos becomes graney and still some blur in quiet a few of them.
I have looked at the 5D mark 111 but the frame rate will not be fast enough for my needs as i shoot horse riding.

May i ask also what is the advantage/ disadvantage of a full frame in my line of work with the equine photography world please .

I have a canon 70 - 200 L 2.8 lens sorry forgot to add that
ANy feedback very welcome
have a great week every one

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

magicunicorn wrote:

HI everyone,
May i ask also what is the advantage/ disadvantage of a full frame in my line of work with the equine photography world please .

ANy feedback very welcome
have a great week very one

This is more than you need, but there are a couple of articles about FX/DX here. Speaking of low light, do you have good f/2.8 lenses?

Camera Reviews
http://www.kenrockwell.com
http://www.dpreview.com
http://www.dpreview.com/products/compare/cameras - comparisons
http://www.snapsort.com
http://www.whatdigitalcamera.com/equipment.html

FX vs DX
http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/full-frame-advantage.htm
http://www.google.com/search?q=fx+vs+dx

http://camerasize.com/
http://www.digicamdb.com/compare/nikon_d7000-vs-nikon_d800/

Wahawk Loc: NE IA

Changing cameras won't help for shooting equine events indoors. You will need to set up multiple remote strobes in the 'rafters' to bring up the light level. I have seen it MANY times and the only acceptable photos in such situations come from having the powerful strobes in 4-6 spots or more, depending on the size of the arena.

magicunicorn Loc: Melbourne Australia

Thank you for your replys and for all the links jerry it is very helpful thank you

CurreyPhoto Loc: Reddick, Florida

Wahawk wrote:

Changing cameras won't help for shooting equine events indoors. You will need to set up multiple remote strobes in the 'rafters' to bring up the light level. I have seen it MANY times and the only acceptable photos in such situations come from having the powerful strobes in 4-6 spots or more, depending on the size of the arena.

On the contrary, the 1Dx will do wonderfully for indoor horse shooting without the aid of flash. I shoot in many of these arenas in the southeast US throughout the year. This camera makes low noise, very detailed pictures at ISO 12800 and will do fine at indoor horseshow shoots. This camera is not overkill for this type of shooting its killer. The only real problem with the 1Dx is that if you have to shoot with your backup camera it will be wholey unsatisfactory and you will need to buy another 1Dx as your backup. That happened to me twice. Once when I went from the D2Hs to the D3 and again when I went from the D3 to the D3s. Both times when the shutter broke and I started using the backup I ended up calling B&H and overnighting the newer model to finish up the shoot. I guess I'm a slow learner.

SharpShooter Loc: NorCal

Magic, congratulations on the fact that your foto work is taking off!
I have not used the 1dx but want one, thus have researched them a lot.
If your 7d does not have the frame rate you need, no amount of flash will make any camera faster. So yes, get the X. And its low light abilities are pretty good. The X is the LATEST generation and should serve you really well for at least 4 years. But a good flash or System can do wonders for the lighting as has been pointed out. Look at the new Canon 600RT(200") flash as a system heart and maybe some Yongnuo 568's(if you need to save after a 1dx purchase) for slaves. Also look into a Better Beamer and see if it's wide enough to do a horse. The new Canon radio trigger(st e3 rt) is only rated to 100'. IR's I think will go much further, but they need line of site.
FYI, the X is in stock at Canon as a refurb. Good luck Magic

PS, as you move into serious pro shooting, you need real pro equipment, that's why they make it.

CurreyPhoto Loc: Reddick, Florida

SharpShooter wrote:

Magic, congratulations on the fact that your foto ... (show quote)

Question, will those flash units go at 11 times/sec and coordinate with the 1Dx burst rate?

SharpShooter Loc: NorCal

CurreyPhoto wrote:

Question, will those flash units go at 11 times/sec and coordinate with the 1Dx burst rate?

Curry, I have not looked at their specs since my interest had never been fast frames. I know they would not do 11fps. But with high ampere/hr remote batteries packs and on fairly brief duration, I'm sure they would fire pretty fast. If it were an all Canon system, even the slaves would be firing at ettl. And he could fire several in one area, separately and hence shot those as fast as possible, then #1 may have recycled and fire again and so on. So when they fire you have flash. If not, you still have low light performance and still get the shot as normal. If the higher of the evils is no shots at all, I would go to the occasional keeper. With luck, he would be successful with no lights at all.
Curry, not sure your question was rhetorical or not?

CurreyPhoto Loc: Reddick, Florida

SharpShooter wrote:

Curry, I have not looked at their specs since my i... (show quote)

Not rhetorical at all. I did not think there were flash devices that would flash at 11fps. Actually, the 1Ds has a burst rate of 12fps according to the
Fred Miranda site.

CurreyPhoto Loc: Reddick, Florida

SharpShooter wrote:

Curry, I have not looked at their specs since my i... (show quote)

One other point is that your system would look like a fire works show to the horses and would probably be quite distracting. The OP might better go with the high ISO capabilities of the 1Dx and forego the light of a dozen flashes.

Bruce with a Canon Loc: Islip

I shoot an older, WAY OLDER, 1 D Mk II and it is a stunning performer.
1DX is the state-of-art technology. If you are willing to invest in that, go for it!
You will be thrilled with the results

magicunicorn Loc: Melbourne Australia

Thank you everyone for your imput.
Curry photo you are right with the idea of distraction, while the horses are in the ring you are not allowed to use flash for that very reason that is why i was looking at the 1DX for its great ISo as you have already pointed out.
Sharp shooter thank you for your kind words my photo work has taken off all right i work for an equine magazine as well now taking the majority of their photos and i have many other events i do for people as well.
Currey i hear what you are saying with the backup camera i already have that problem since i up graded to my 7 D from a 400 D last year... i hate the 400 now and its very rare i even get it out..... its still a good camera and works well but frustrates me as its not anywhere near as good as the 7D.

I also do product shoots for the magazine, i have plenty of 2.8 lens which helps but my dream CAmera is the 1 Dx ....... i guess i need to start saving... ( already half way there due to photo sales)
Thank you to everyone for your imput you are all wonderful as usual.

HAve a great weekend

one shot i get this ( photo edited)

photo blurred... having problems only in low light conditions.... very disapointing

SharpShooter Loc: NorCal

magicunicorn wrote:

Thank you everyone for your imput. br Curry photo ... (show quote)

Magic, since flash is out, are the majority of your shoots of varying distance? In other words do you HAVE to use a zoom? If not, then possibly some fast glass may do the trick. Like an 85 f1.8/1.2 or 135 f2? And there is always the Holy Grail 200, 1.8. The glass could by you a lot of light and speed.
Just saying.

CurreyPhoto Loc: Reddick, Florida

SharpShooter wrote:

Magic, since flash is out, are the majority of your shoots of varying distance? In other words do you HAVE to use a zoom? If not, then possibly some fast glass may do the trick. Like an 85 f1.8/1.2 or 135 f2? And there is always the Holy Grail 200, 1.8. The glass could by you a lot of light and speed.
Just saying.

The problem with shooting at f1.4 or even 2.8 is depth of field. You will not get the whole horse and rider in good focus at those faster f stops. You have to be at at least f3.5 and 4.0 is better to get enough in focus and you have to be at at least 1/500th shutter speed or faster to stop the action. So, the only variable left is ISO. That's why the OP needs the 1Dx, the 70-200 f2.8 and a strong left arm and right hand. Those 12fps don't hurt anything either.

Jer Loc: Mesa, Arizona

The 5dm3 will give you two more stops due to its better iso.