You’re probably reading the title and thinking, no way, not even close, not a fair comparison. That’s like comparing apples to oranges. I would definitely agree. But what if you had some money to spare, found a great deal on a 1D Mark II and was wondering, is it worth it or should I just get the XTi? Let me save you guys the trouble of having to read the entire post if you are in a hurry: despite the Canon EOS Rebel 400D/XTi utilizing many new Canon advancements, it still does not come close to the 4 year old Canon EOS 1D Mark II.
While these two SLRs are not even close to being in the same class (amateur stepping up from point-and-shoot camera vs. pro shooter), it’s still fun to just to compare. So let’s lay it out in an easy to read table (information compiled from dpreview.com):
| SLR Cameras | Canon EOS 1D Mark II | Canon EOS Rebel 400D/XTi | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Year Introduced | January 29, 2004 | August 24, 2006 | |
| Sensor Size | 28.7 x 19.1 mm | 22.2 x 14.8 mm | 1D Mark II |
| Viewfinder | 100%, 0.72x magnification | 95%, 0.8x magnification | 1D Mark II |
| Max Resolution | 3504×2336 | 3888×2592 | 400D/XTi |
| Megapixels | 8.2 | 10.2 | 400D/XTi |
| ISO rating | 100-1600 in 1/3 stops, with 50 and 3200 as options | 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600 | 1D Mark II |
| Auto Focus type | TTL-AREA-SIR 45 focus point CMOS sensor | Multi-BASIS TTL 9 focus point CMOS sensor | 1D Mark II |
| Max shutter | 1/8000 sec | 1/4000 sec | 1D Mark II |
| Metering | 21 area eval, partial, spot (center, AF point, multi-spot), center weighted average | 35 area eval, center weighted, partial | 1D Mark II |
| Crop Factor | 1.3 | 1.6 | 1D Mark II |
| Continuous Drive | 8.5 fps for 40 JPEG or 20 RAW | 3 fps for 27 JPEG or 10 RAW | 1D Mark II |
| Storage Types | Compact Flash (Type I or II), SD card, and SDHC (with latest firmware) | Compact Flash (Type I or II) | 1D Mark II |
| LCD | 2.0 inches | 2.5 inches | 400D/XTi |
| LCD Pixels | 230,000 | 230,000 | Tie |
| Battery | Canon Ni-MH NP-E3 (12v 1650mAh) battery | Canon Lithium-Ion NB-2LH (7.4v 720mAh) battery | 1D Mark II |
| Weight | 1565 g (55.2 oz) | 556 g (19.6 oz) | |
| Dimensions | 156 x 158 x 80 mm (6.1 x 6.2 x 3.2 in) | 127 x 94 x 65 mm (5 x 3.7 x 2.6 in) |
It’s pretty obvious, side-by-side, which is the superior SLR: the 1D. There are a couple areas where the 400D/XTi has an advantage over the 1D, but it’s a slight advantage such as the LCD size. While the 400D/XTi has a bigger LCD (2.5 inch), the 1D has as better resolution screen. The most noticeable difference is megapixels. For those concerned with megapixel sizes, the 400D/XTi has nearly 2MP more than the 1D. But you have to consider from a relative stand point, that 8.2 MP on a 1.3 crop factor sensor versus 10.1 MP on a 1.6 crop factor sensor will result in lower noise. The pixel size on the 1D Mark II is 8.2µm versus 5.7µm (figures from the-digital-picture.com) meaning that the 1D Mark II is able to capture more light per pixel resulting in higher sensitivity meaning less noise in the picture. That’s why more mega pixels is not always better and the Canon EOS 5D has such fantastic low noise capabilities because of it’s full frame sensor with 12.8 megapixels.
So Which Camera Is Right For Me?
Unless you make serious money from photography or you just make serious money, I would recommend the Canon EOS Rebel 400D/XTi (or the newly released Canon EOS Rebel 450D/XSi). The 400D/XTi and 450D/XSi has some very useful features and should not be easily discounted as merely an amateur camera as Peter Gregg found out. Read his informative post about the Canon EOS 400D/XTi as a sleeper camera on his website, abetterbouncecard.com. It’s small and portable and can utilize Canon EF and EF-S mount lenses, unlike the 1D only taking EF mount lenses. The battery is small and lasts forever and is cross usable with other Canon point-and-shoot cameras. It will do a decent job for amateur sports, event photography, party photography, etc.
If you need the serious frame rates because you’re shooting sports, professional auto racing, etc., then definitely spring for the 1D. The prices for the 1D are pretty good, if you can get a good condition used one for under $2k, it’s definitely worth doing. The 1D Mark II may seem old, but it’s still performs as good if not better than a lot of the new SLRs right now. The Canon EOS 1D Mark IIn is also worth considering if you can find it for a good price. I generally see some once in a blue moon at BH Photo’s Used section and occasionally on Craigslist. There aren’t really too many major differences between the Mark II and Mark IIn other than bigger LCD (2.5 inch vs. 2 inch), you can write different file types to either card, slightly faster Digic II CPU, and a few other minor things.
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