Size and weight is a big decision factor when you are trying to find the ideal camera for your needs.
In this section, We are going to illustrate Canon 1Ds MII and Canon 1Ds MIII side-by-side from the front, back and top in their relative dimensions.
Below you can see the front view size comparison of Canon 1Ds MII and Canon 1Ds MIII.
Here is the back view size comparison of Canon 1Ds MII and Canon 1Ds MIII.
Weight is another important factor especially when deciding on a camera that you want to carry with you all day.
Canon 1Ds MIII is 180g lighter than the Canon 1Ds MII but we don't think this will make a significant difference.
Also keep in mind that body weight is not the only deciding factor when comparing two interchangeable camera bodies, you have to also take into account the lenses that you will be using with these bodies. Since both Canon 1Ds MII and Canon 1Ds MIII have the same Full frame sized sensor, their lenses for a similar focal length and aperture will be similar in size and weight.
Weight Comparison
DSLR Cameras
Thickness Comparison
DSLR Cameras
Weather Sealing
Both 1Ds MII and 1Ds MIII have weather sealings in their body, making them resistant to water and dust.
LCD Screen Size and Features
Canon 1Ds MIII's 3" LCD screen is slightly larger than Canon 1Ds MII's 2" screen.
Unfortunately, both cameras has fixed screens so they don\'t tilt or flip in directions.
Canon 1Ds MII has a 17.0MP Full frame (36 x 24 mm ) sized CMOS sensor . On the other hand, Canon 1Ds MIII has a 21.0MP Full frame (36 x 24 mm ) sized CMOS sensor .
Below you can see the 1Ds MII and 1Ds MIII sensor size comparison.
Canon 1Ds MII and Canon 1Ds MIII have sensor sizes so they will provide same level of control over the depth of field when used with same focal length and aperture. On the other hand, since Canon 1Ds MII has 26% larger pixel area compared to Canon 1Ds MIII, it has potential to collect more light on pixel level hence have less noise in low light / High ISO images.
DxOMark Sensor Scores
DxOMark is a benchmark that scientifically assesses image quality of camera sensors. It scores camera sensors for color depth (DXO Portrait), dynamic range (DXO Landscape) and low-light sensitivity (DXO Sports), and also gives them an overall score. Canon 1Ds MII and Canon 1Ds MIII sensors have been tested by DxO and the results show that 1Ds MIII has a better overall score of 80, 6 points higher compared to 1Ds MII's score of 74.
In this section, we rank and compare Canon 1Ds MII and Canon 1Ds MIII for five different photography types in order to make your decision process easier in case you are specifically interested in one or more of these areas.
Canon 1Ds MII for Portrait Photography
Canon 1Ds MIII for Portrait Photography
Large Full frame (36 x 24 mm) sensor
Very High Resolution Sensor: 17.0MP
Optical Built-in Viewfinder
Good Ergonomics&Handling
No Image Stabilization
Read the details
Large Full frame (36 x 24 mm) sensor
Very High Resolution Sensor: 21.0MP
Optical Built-in Viewfinder
Good Ergonomics&Handling
No Image Stabilization
Read the details
Canon 1Ds MII for Street Photography
Canon 1Ds MIII for Street Photography
Large Full frame (36 x 24 mm) sensor
Optical Built-in Viewfinder
No Image Stabilization
No Live-view
Large Body
Read the details
Large Full frame (36 x 24 mm) sensor
Optical Built-in Viewfinder
Live-view
No Image Stabilization
Large Body
Read the details
Canon 1Ds MII for Sports Photography
Canon 1Ds MIII for Sports Photography
Optical Built-in Viewfinder
Good Ergonomics&Handling
Environmental Sealings
Fast Max shutter speed: 1/8000s
45 Focus Points
Good Low Light ISO
Average Continuous Shooting: 4.0fps
No Image Stabilization
Read the details
Optical Built-in Viewfinder
Good Ergonomics&Handling
Environmental Sealings
Fast Max shutter speed: 1/8000s
45 Focus Points
Good Battery Life: 1800 shots
Good Low Light ISO
Average Continuous Shooting: 5.0fps
No Image Stabilization
Read the details
Canon 1Ds MII for Daily Photography
Canon 1Ds MIII for Daily Photography
Large Full frame (36 x 24 mm) sensor
Environmental Sealings
Large Body
1565g
Body Thickness 80mm
Read the details
Large Full frame (36 x 24 mm) sensor
Environmental Sealings
Large Body
1385g
Body Thickness 80mm
Read the details
Canon 1Ds MII for Landscape Photography
Canon 1Ds MIII for Landscape Photography
Large Full frame (36 x 24 mm) sensor
Very High Resolution Sensor: 17.0MP
Environmental Sealings
No Live-view
Read the details
Large Full frame (36 x 24 mm) sensor
Very High Resolution Sensor: 21.0MP
Environmental Sealings
Live-view
Read the details
Number of available lenses is a big decision factor while choosing your interchangeable lens camera. In this case, both Canon 1Ds MII and Canon 1Ds MIII have the same Canon EF lens mount so have 271 native lenses available. But be careful that only 242 of these lenses can cover the full frame sensors of these cameras.
Another important factor is the availability of image stabilization. None of these bodies have sensor based image stabilization so you have to buy lenses with Optical stabilization feature. Currently there are 65 lenses with Image stabilization for Canon EF mount.
| Lens Type |
# of Canon 1Ds MII Lenses |
# of Canon 1Ds MIII Lenses |
| Standard Zoom |
25 (22 Full Frame) |
25 (22 Full Frame) |
| Standard Prime |
16 (16 Full Frame) |
16 (16 Full Frame) |
| Wideangle Zoom |
28 (19 Full Frame) |
28 (19 Full Frame) |
| Wideangle Prime |
44 (44 Full Frame) |
44 (44 Full Frame) |
| Telephoto Zoom |
52 (49 Full Frame) |
52 (49 Full Frame) |
| Telephoto Prime |
41 (41 Full Frame) |
41 (41 Full Frame) |
| SuperZoom |
17 (9 Full Frame) |
17 (9 Full Frame) |
| Wideangle Fisheye Prime |
3 (3 Full Frame) |
3 (3 Full Frame) |
| Macro Prime |
25 (23 Full Frame) |
25 (23 Full Frame) |
| Perspective Control Prime |
16 (16 Full Frame) |
16 (16 Full Frame) |
| Telephoto Mirror Prime |
1 (0 Full Frame) |
1 (0 Full Frame) |
| TOTAL |
271 (242 Full Frame) |
271 (242 Full Frame) |
You may have already made your decision about which camera suits better for your needs and your budget so far but in case you wonder how we rated Canon 1Ds MII and Canon 1Ds MIII, below you can find their scores in five different aspects.
Our Decision Algorithm dynamically scores cameras using 63 different specs, current price and DxO Mark scores (where possible) in order to make a more objective and consistent comparison.
Here is a summary of how Canon 1Ds MII and Canon 1Ds MIII scores compare:
Canon 1Ds MII
Ranked
#5 out of 19 in Large SLR" cameras
Ranked
#450 out of 1185 in all Cameras
Canon 1Ds MIII
Ranked
#4 out of 19 in Large SLR" cameras
Ranked
#303 out of 1185 in all Cameras
Canon 1Ds MIII is the clear winner of this comparison. It has a higher Overall Score and beats Canon 1Ds MII in all criteria.
It has better general image quality, more features, more compact body and offers more value for the money
| General |
Canon EOS-1Ds Mark II |
Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III |
| Brand |
Canon |
Canon |
| Announced |
2005-10-11 |
2008-08-18 |
| Body Type |
Large SLR" |
Large SLR" |
Sensor |
|
|
| Type |
CMOS |
CMOS |
| Size |
Full frame |
Full frame |
| Dimensions |
36 x 24 mm |
36 x 24 mm |
| Area |
864.00mm2 |
864.00mm2 |
| Megapixels |
17 megapixels |
21 megapixels |
| Max Resolution |
4992 x 3328 |
5616 x 3744 |
| Max Native Light sensitivity |
3,200 ISO |
3,200 ISO |
| Min Native Light sensitivity |
100 ISO |
50 ISO |
| RAW Support |
|
|
Autofocus |
|
|
| AF Touch |
|
|
| AF Continuous |
|
|
| AF Single |
|
|
| AF Tracking |
|
|
| AF Selective |
|
|
| AF Center |
|
|
| AF Multi Area |
|
|
| AF Live View |
|
|
| AF Face Detection |
|
|
| AF Contrast Detection |
|
|
| AF Phase Detection |
|
|
| Number of Focus Points |
45 |
45 |
Lens |
|
|
| Manual Focus |
|
|
| Lens Mount |
Canon EF |
Canon EF |
| Number of Available Lenses |
271 |
271 |
Screen |
|
|
| Type |
Fixed type |
Fixed type |
| Size |
2" |
3" |
| Resolution |
230k dots |
230k dots |
| Touch Screen |
|
|
Viewfinder |
|
|
| Viewfinder |
Optical (pentaprism) |
Optical (pentaprism) |
| Viewfinder Coverage |
100% |
100% |
| Viewfinder Magnification |
0.7 |
0.76 |
Photography Features |
|
|
| Max Shutter Speed |
1/8000s |
1/8000s |
| Shutter Priority |
|
|
| Aperture Priority |
|
|
| Manual Exposure Mode |
|
|
| Custom White Balance |
|
|
| Image Stabilization |
No |
No |
| Built-in Flash |
|
|
| Max Flash Sync |
1/250s |
1/250s |
| External Flash |
|
|
| Continuous Shooting |
4.0 fps |
5.0 fps |
| Multi-Segment |
|
|
| Average |
|
|
| Spot |
|
|
| Partial |
|
|
| AF-Area |
|
|
| Center Weighted |
|
|
| AE Bracketing |
|
|
| WB Bracketing |
|
|
Video Features |
|
|
| Max Video Resolution |
None |
None |
| Video Formats |
n/a |
n/a |
| Microphone Port |
|
|
| Headphone Port |
|
|
Connectivity |
|
|
| Wireless Connectivity |
None |
None |
| HDMI |
|
|
Physical |
|
|
| Environmental Sealing |
|
|
| Weight |
1565g |
1385g |
| Dimensions |
156 x 158 x 80mm |
150 x 160 x 80mm |
| Battery Life |
n/a |
1800 shots |
Other Features |
|
|
| Timelapse Recording |
|
|
| GPS |
None |
None |
DxO Sensor Scores |
|
|
| DxO Overall Score |
74 |
80 |
| DxO Color Depth |
23.3 |
24.0 |
| DxO Dynamic Range |
11.3 |
12.0 |
| DxO Low Light ISO |
1480 |
1663 |
|
Report a correction |
Report a correction |