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Rangefinder
Magazine First Exposure: Canon EOS 1D Mark II by John Rettie
Shutter lag, slow focusing and delays while images are written to the storage card—these are all negative comments you hear from photographers concerned about switching to digital cameras. Gradually, though, camera engineers have overcome these digital shortcomings as processing power has increased. With the introduction of the second edition of Canon’s EOS-1D, these grumblings are a thing of the past. Now it’s film cameras that are too slow—by far. After all, the photographer has to change film every 36 frames no matter what speed he/she is shooting. On the new Mark II, you can shoot 40 frames in less than five seconds if you wish. You won’t have to change film or the storage card, but after that 40-frame burst, you would have to wait two seconds before taking the next shot and a little longer to take the next burst of shots. From the outside, a small Mark II badge is the only visible change on the new camera. Otherwise it is identical to the 1D and, for that matter, the EOS-1Ds. Underneath the magnesium alloy body, Canon has upgraded the camera with an all-new 8.2-megapixel CMOS image sensor, double the resolution of the previous 4.1-megapixel CCD sensor. The actual physical size of the sensor is identical, so the camera still has a 1.3X multiplier effect.
A few years ago CMOS sensors were regarded as poor substitutes for CCDs. Then Canon proved it had the ability to design and produce a CMOS sensor that could deliver images with quality as good as or better than a traditional CCD. The EOS-D30 started the trend, and the flagship EOS-1Ds—with its 11.0-megapixel CMOS image sensor—proved quality is not an issue. About the only complaint was that a camera with a CMOS sensor could not perform as fast as one with a CCD. Supposedly that was the reason the 1D remained the only Canon digital SLR in the lineup with a CCD. It was aimed at news and sports photographers, where speed of operation was the overriding factor. Now every pro photographer can have a camera with speed and top-notch image quality. There are virtually no tradeoffs with the Mark II. That’s why you’ll find Canon promoting the camera as the solution for wedding and portrait photographers as well as sports photographers. Priced at $4500, it is hitting the marketplace at $1000 less than its predecessor did when it first appeared. However, it is three times the cost of the very capable 6.0-megapixel EOS-10D camera.
On the camera side, anyone familiar with the EOS-1 range of Canon cameras, whether film or digital, will feel right at home with the Mark II. The camera controls are all but identical. While this is a good thing, it is also a slight downfall in some ways. For example, one has to push two buttons and twirl a dial to change the ISO. On a film camera this is no big deal since it only gets changed occasionally. Canon has definitely listened to suggestions from users of the 1D. The company has improved various aspects of the camera’s operation on the digital side. For example, on the Mark II you can now zoom in on an image to check details. However, I was surprised to find that it’s not as easy to do as on the 10D. Instead of pushing one button and turning a dial, you have to push two different buttons and then use two different scroll wheels to move up and down or across the image. I guess you would get used to it, but I found it less intuitive.
Other changes include: provision of a video-out port, so images can be viewed on a TV monitor; auto rotation of vertical images when viewed on the camera or on a computer after uploading; and dual storage card slots. Canon says it has improved flash performance with a 550EX flash. However, on the downside, X-sync flash speed is only 1/250—compared to 1/500 sec. on the old 1D.
As far as image quality is concerned, the Mark II delivers exceptional photographs. Some might say the images are soft, but that’s an inherent result of the CMOS sensor. Images can be sharpened automatically in the camera or in Photoshop. There are plenty of settings that can be tweaked to deliver colors to suit an individual’s style. Photographers who choose to shoot in RAW mode will have even greater control on the final output. Ironically, in a side-by-side comparison of an 8x10 print with an image from the 6.0-megapixel 10D, there is not a dramatic difference.
It’s really when you start taking pictures in less-than-ideal situations, making larger prints, or cropping images that the difference becomes apparent. Some photojournalists might even find the image size (3504x2336 pixels) too large for their day-to-day needs. If so, there are three smaller sizes available that, naturally, produce smaller JPEG files. Perhaps more significant to many photographers are the great results obtained at high ISO settings. In many cases you’d be hard pressed to see any noise in an image shot at 400 ISO (compared to one shot at 100 ISO). Even at 800 ISO, images produce an acceptably low level of noise. Dual storage card slots include one for a CompactFlash (CF) card and one for a smaller Secure Digital (SD) card. Images can be to saved simultaneously on two cards, which is useful for immediate backup. Unfortunately, the camera does not automatically start writing to the second card once the first is filled. The photographer has to manually switch to the second card via a menu. A safety switch ensures that images are not lost if the card door is opened while cards are being written to. As soon as the door is closed, writing continues.
Sports photographers will love the speed of the camera. When it is set to high-speed, continuous shooting, it’s almost impossible to take just one shot. I found that just a light touch on the shutter button was enough for the camera to fire off three or four frames instantly. Hold the button down for a couple of seconds, and it’s like a machine gun firing. With a continuous frame rate of 8.5 frames per second, it’s possible to shoot 40 frames in five seconds before the buffer fills up. While shooting an auto race, I actually found the high-speed setting too fast, so I switched to the lower speed where you can still fire it at 3 fps. I never once came close to filling the buffer. Even if you do fill the buffer, it takes less than a couple of seconds for the buffer to free up to allow more shots. If I owned the camera, I’d probably use the custom menu to set my own fps speed, which can be adjusted between 1 and 8.5 fps in 1-fps intervals—a neat feature for fast shooters. (These figures are for shooting in JPEG.)
Even when shooting in RAW mode, the same frame rates can be used, but the capacity is halved to 20 frames before the buffer fills up—not bad considering each RAW image with its accompanying JPEG shot takes up anywhere from 10 to 14MB of space on the card. This amount of space is actually kind of scary since it means the photographer can only hold about 80 to 100 images on a 1GB card. In addition, if you add sound or voice notes (up to 30 seconds per image), the number of images is lower still. Although the Mark II uses the same NiMH battery as the old 1D, it lasts longer on a single charge thanks to improved electronic performance. I never ran out of juice despite doing a couple of shoots where I shot over 1000 images during a six-hour period, with plenty of chimping.
Several people commented to me how noisy the camera sounds. It’s the sound of the mirror flipping up and down and does sound like a film camera without film in it. I had one longtime pro comment that it sounded bad for this reason. On the other hand, when I was shooting a model on the beach, she said it was nice to hear the shutter being fired so she knew I had taken the shot. Another camera I was trying at the same time was silent; consequently, she kept asking me if I’d taken the shot since she couldn’t hear the shutter! Overall there is much to like
about the EOS-1D Mark II. It’s doubtful
anyone could complain about its speed of operation. It’s always
ready for action. It is a heavy camera, which suits some people nicely.
Other photographers might find it unnecessarily weighty and find operation
of some functions awkward. In the end, the EOS-1D Mark II is a state-of-the-art
camera that delivers great images without any fuss under the wide variety
of conditions that professionals might come across in day-to-day shooting. John Rettie is a photojournalist
who resides in Santa Barbara, CA. Readers can contact him by email
at john@ |
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