AA filter on 5D vs. 1DsMkIII?

[bob_prichard]

Am thinking about upgrading from the 5D to the 1DsMkIII and wonder if someone

who has both cameras could post unsharpened RAW photos of the same scene (same

lens), that has lots of fine detail?

 

Thanks.

[PuppyDigs]

Short of a pro reviewer, kinda hard to find a MkIII let alone 8000 clams...

[ed_okie]

Adding to Puppy Faces' observation. What are your expectations of difference between the two cameras?

 

As to "fine detail" (recording ability, and implied "better results")... one might suggest that either instrument's capability exceeds more numerous "other weak links" in the through-put chain, especially errors created by the person holding the camera. Will one camera, or the other, make you look good? Not a chance!

[beauh44]

It's a little early to be asking for 1DsIII shots. Luminous-Landscape had a pre-production camera review but I can't recall if he posted any shots that aren't re-sized.

 

Anecdotally, I sent off my trusty, old 10D to have it converted to Infra-red by Life-Pixel. As part of the process the AA filter is removed - along with the IR filter that's placed over the sensor.

 

I'm amazed at the difference in sharpness! I wish DSLR manufacturers would come up with a way to give us removeable AA filters. When pigs fly, I guess. (Although I think Sigma cameras have removeable IR filters... maybe there's hope)

[John Crowe]

The problem with removing AA filters is the resulting moire effect in high contrast linear details. I have recently been comparing all the full frame cameras on dpreview and while the Kodak SLRc, which has no AA filter, is superior in sharpness to the 1DsII, the moire patterns in certain areas are very present. A PS specialist, which I am not, might find getting rid of them to be easy or perhaps they are much less noticeable in large prints, still something to be very aware of. You may not notice so much on the 10D since it does not have as high a resolution. If your results are moire free, perhaps I should consider removing the AA filter from mine!

 

 

Check out the resolution tests on dpreview.com for each camera you are considering. Unfortunately the 1DsIII photos are not there yet. I was surprised to see how well the 5D compares to the SLRc and 1DsII. I was also taken aback by how well the 10D did. While the 10D shows significantly less resolution I thought the difference between it and the 1DsII would be much more pronounced. The diffence reminds me of only going from L zooms to L primes. Of course my 14mm would be a real lens again!

 

 

While I would love to have a 1DsIII I am not so sure the moderate increase in resolution would be worth the not so moderate increase in dollars spent. At least for those of us who are not making a living at photography or don't have endless pockets. Good luck!

[howard_slavitt2]

Look at the blog at diglloyd.com . Yesterday's post has some great comparisons showing the resolution difference between a 1DsIII vs. that of a Nikon D3. The Nikon D3 should have roughly the same resolution as a 5D. These are about as controlled of comparisons as you're going to find. IMHO, the 1DsIII blows the Nikon D3 out of the water for resolution. So, if you're going to use a tripod all the time, mirror lockup and the best possible lenses, you'll get a huge quality jump by getting a 1DsIII. All of the above variables are critical, and if you cut corners on any of them, your quality will start to diminish rapidly . . . Oh yeah, I almost forgot, the 1DsIII will be diffraction limited by f8 (like, for example a 40D). You should start seeing resolution diminish by f10 or f11, and will certainly see a large fall off by f16. A few months ago, someone who removed the AA filter from their 5D sent me about 10 raw files. I worked with those files quite a bit, and compared them with the files from my unmodified 5D. I thought the increased resolution from having removed the AA filter was minimal. I also didn't like the change in the quality of the files; to me, and this is very subjective, they looked more digital and less natural.

[mark u]

You will find some comparisons against a 1Ds (slightly fewer pixels than a 5D) here:

 

http://www.northlight-images.co.uk/article_pages/cameras/canon_1ds3_notes.html

 

In the light of the above posts you may be interested in Keith Cooper's comments about AA filters and Moire, as well as observations of the difference between RAW conversions. He also comments on the diffraction limitation issue and the limitations of lens performance.