Canon EOS 5D Mark II

Let’s answer the big question on everyone’s mind:

This is the best camera Canon has every built. Jim Rose

I got the opportunity to play with the 5D Mark II and photograph with it. Long story short: it is very much worth the wait. It may seem arrogant and perhaps even premature to say, but I do believe the new 5D Mark II will reestablish Canon as the market leader. This couldn’t have come at a better time after the focus issues with the 1D Mark III and 1Ds Mark III has caused a lot of headache and bad blood between Canon and Canon loyalists, but the 5D Mark II brings some light to what has been a very dark tunnel of despair.

On paper, the 5D Mark II sounds very impressive: 21.1 MP, UDMA support, 1080p HD video, ISO up to 25,600, a 3 inch LCD with 922,000 pixel resolution for about the same price as the 5D Mark I when it was first introduced. In my hands, it is very well constructed and feels quite solid, but not quite the same build quality and durability as the 1D/1Ds series bodies as others have mentioned.

Jim Rose was discussing how low noise is at ISO 6400 and when the staff photographers at San Francisco Chronicle (they have two on order BTW) saw the images at ISO 6400, their jaws dropped. Jim was discussing how even George Lepp (of the famous Lepp Institute of Digital Imaging) was very impressed and said that ISO 6400 on the 5D Mark II is very usable. That’s a very nice seal of approval. At ISO 12,800 things start getting a bit noisy, but not terribly bad. By ISO 25,600, things are quite noticeable noisy, but if this is the only way to get a shot, it is still usable. According to Jim (not Canon’s official stance), ISO 3200 on the 5D Mark II is comparable to ISO 800 on the 5D. I was allowed to fire off some shots on my memory card with the 5D Mark II and the images are very nice with very low noise. Unfortunately, despite being a production camera and not a prototype, I am not able to publicly post the pictures at the time (they are posted but password protected but I’ll remove the password after the 5D Mark II starts shipping).

The 1080p HD video feature of the 5D Mark II is very, very nice. You can record up to 12 minutes of video and take stills while recording. How that works is while you are recording, you just press the shutter button as you would if you were taking a picture and it will pause the recording, take the picture (or pictures) and then resume recording. You lose half a second of video for each photo taken during recording. So if you are recording a video and three minutes into recording, you snap a picture, half a second later the recording will resume resulting in a single file, and not split video files with the thirty second skip where the photograph was taken. Very cool! Also Canon recommends that you prefocus before you start recording although you can auto focus while recording (by pressing the AF-On button), it is very slow because it uses the Live View contrast detection auto focus. Another thing to note is that you can only record videos in Aperture priority mode. You select the aperture, the camera will select a shutter speed and auto set the ISO to maintain a constant consistent shutter speed. You can also dial exposure two stops up or down. You also need a UDMA card to take full advantage of the HD video recording.

The back LCD is stunning and breath taking. At 3.0 inches with 922,000 pixel resolution, checking for sharpness has become so much easier. The images displayed on the LCD are very stunning. Also the viewfinder has been redesigned and is definitely brighter than my Canon EOS 1Ds Mark II viewfinder.

Jim has been with Canon for more than eight years, since the start of megapixels (i.e. Canon D30) and this is the first camera that he is really excited about and believes that it is “going to re-energize Canon”. Jim also speculated on the 1D/1Ds line as it was asked about it’s future considering that Nikon has moved in full frame, which I won’t post as it is all speculation. Jim also mentioned the 5D Mark II should sell very, very well considering how many people want the ultimate in megapixels but couldn’t afford or justify the cost of the Canon EOS 1Ds Mark III. This is certainly a good thing because I think the Canon EOS 1Ds Mark III, while is a spectacular SLR, it is not worth $8,000. It’s worth $5,000 and that is where they are selling used for now (and in some cases even less). Once the new Nikon D3x is released and priced around $5,000, I’m sure Canon will no longer be able to justify pricing the 1Ds at $8,000.

So is it worth it? Yes. Am I getting one? No. I’m waiting for the the new Canon EOS 1Ds Mark IV. I love the ruggedness, durability, and auto focus. Adam Tow is thinking of downgrading from his Canon EOS 1Ds Mark II and Canon EOS 1D Mark II to two Canon EOS 5D Mark II because of the size and the HD video options.

Other little tidbits: there are seventy eight Explorers of Light and Printmasters, of which Vincent LaForet, Joe Buissink and George Lepp are members. Jim Rose does in fact read DPReview.com.

I also forgot to mention:

Adobe CS3 DOES NOT support Canon EOS 5D Mark II RAW files. It also appears that there will NOT be an update for CS3 to fix this and you have to either buy CS4 or convert the Canon RAW to DNG.

The shutter on the 5D Mark II is very, very quiet. I was quite shocked, it sounded almost 25% quieter than my 1Ds Mark II.

Political Photography Part II: Jared Polis

Adam and his wife, Rae, went to Colorado to photograph the last week of his high school friend’s campaign for Congressional seat in Colorado District 2 before the elections. Jared Polis is an internet entrepreneur having started Blue Mountain, ProFlowers, and Fuser which he sold all off during the height of the dot com boom making millions. Jared is also founder of the New America Charter Schools. Jared has been campaigning for a year and half for this two year term. Adam spent a week following Jared around as he campaigned at Park-N-Rides, Honk and Waves, Meetings, Halloween and Farmer’s Market, Canvassing, and finally Election Day.

Adam packed his Canon EOS 1D Mark II and Canon EOS 1Ds Mark II with the following other items: Canon EF 28-70mm f/2.8L USM, Canon EF 135mm f/2L USM, Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM, Canon EF 24mm f/1.4L USM, Canon 1.4x Extender, Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 USM, Canon Speedlite 550EX, and a Gary Fong Lightsphere. He found he was primarily using the 28-70mm on his 1Ds Mark II and 135mm on his 1D Mark II.

Adam’s daily workflow:

1. Shoot in the morning
2. Select, rate, process in Apple Aperture 2 and upload photos to SmugMug
3. Recharge batteries
4. Shoot in the evening
5. Repeat steps 2 and 3

Reason Adam does the post processing in the afternoon rather than the evening is he figured he wouldn’t do it in the evening.

Jared Polis won the Congressional District 2 seat with 60% of the vote. To see Adam’s pictures, you can visit his SmugMug here.

Gallery

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For a $4,000 difference between the 1D, the 1Ds emblems are gold plated

Sooo, if you’ve been following me on Twitter, you may have noticed my mention of a “new toy”. Well, the wait’s over, my new toy is a camera. Not any camera, but Canon’s top-top of the line, the much sought after and highly desired Canon EOS 1Ds Mark II. Up until August 2007, it had been the highest megapixel camera for a full frame (or even cropped sensors) 35mm digital sensor. Introduced in September 2004, it took the photography world by storm offering the most megapixel at the time in a full frame sensor. The Canon EOS 1Ds (mark I) was the first dSLR to feature a full frame sensor with the Kodak DCN-14n following suite.

All this for only eight thousand dollars ($8,000). So, yea. Quite out of reach even for many professionals photographers.

I already currently own a Canon EOS 1D Mark II, which up to this point served as my primary body with a Canon EOS 5D as my secondary/backup body. I’ve been itching for another 1D body, as it makes sense to have identical bodies when shooting fast paced events such as wedding because all the controls, menu layout, and functionality are identical. So when an opportunity arose, I jumped, and now I’m a proud owner of a Canon EOS 1Ds Mark II.

Canon EOS 1D Mark II versus Canon EOS 1Ds Mark II

There are more similarities than differences between the 1D Mark II and 1Ds Mark II. Here’s a quick comparison:

The biggest differences are: sensor size, resolution/megapixels, crop factor, and continous drive. You can’t really compare these two SLRs to each other because they serve two entirely different functions. Obviously from the specs, the Canon EOS 1D Mark II is a sport/photojournalist photographer’s camera. At the sacrifice of resolution (8.2 MP versus 16.7 MP), the Canon EOS 1D Mark II can burst up to 8.5 frames-per-second, which was the fastest dSLR until the Nikon D3 and Canon EOS 1D Mark III were introduced. The 1D Mark II also can store more images in it’s buffer (40 versus 32), most likely due to the resolution differences. On the issue of crop factor, it has been my experience, that sport and to some degree, most photojournalists, enjoy the crop factor because of the perceived “reach”. But on the other hand, having a full frame sensor allows all lenses attached to the 1Ds Mark II to utilize it’s native focal length, so 16mm is really 16mm and not an equivalent to 20mm.

So if the 1D Mark II is primarily for sports and photojournalism, then what is the 1Ds Mark II’s primary role? Obviously photojournalism is one area where you need the use of wide angle and super wide angle lenses. That’s one of the reasons why the Nikon D3 is popular among photojournalist: speed, full frame, high ISO capabilities, and in my opinion the Nikkor AF-S 14-24mm f/2.8G ED N lens (the sharpest wide angle lens currently). Landscape photography is another great use. Although the Canon EOS 5D is used by a lot of landscape photographers and cost considerably less, there are a number of landscape photographers who need or want the extra four million megapixels along with superior weather sealing. But I think one of the biggest selling point for the 1Ds Mark II is portrait photography. The images produced by the 1Ds Mark II when used in portrait photography is nothing less than spectacular. Just look at the images on Flickr taken by the 1Ds Mark II. This isn’t to say you can’t use a 1Ds Mark II for sports photography, but it’s like you wouldn’t use a chain saw to cut carrots. It works, but not quite exactly the right tool for the job.

Conclusion

So how will the Canon EOS 1Ds Mark II serve me? Well for wedding photography, the Canon EOS 1D Mark II will be for fast paced action scenes such as bouquet toss, garter toss, first kiss, ring exchange, the dances (father/daughter, mother/son, first dance) and anything else where I might need the 8.5 fps burst speed. The 1Ds Mark II will be for the formal portraits, tender moments, etc. Most likely I’ll be using my Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L USM on the 1D Mark II because I usually don’t need super wide angle and the Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM on the 1Ds Mark II because I generally don’t need super reach, but I do like the bokeh produced by using a telephoto zoom lens on a full frame body.

The biggest advantage of shooting with a 1D Mark II and 1Ds Mark II is that the menu and camera functionality, for the most part, are identical. Switching ISO is the same exact two buttons. Reviewing images are the same buttons, changing focus, etc. Plus both the Mark II’s use the same NP-E3 Ni-MH batteries which mean I only have to lug around one charger. Also both the Mark II’s use dual memory storage for images so I can easily have a backup of all the images I take.

Be on the lookout for my 1D Mark II and 1Ds Mark II review with pictures coming soon.

• Full frame with 21.1 MP, certainly quite a bit of megapixels
• EOS Integrated Cleaning System
• Digic 4 with 14 bit A/D conversion
• Max JPEG sizes of 5616 x 3744
• 9-point TTL CMOS AF sensor with 6 “Invisible Assist points” (a bit disappointing that they didn’t roll the 45 point AF sensor into the new 5D Mark II)
• ISO 100-6400 with 50, 12800, and 25,600 with expansion (YES!)
• 3.0″ TFT LCD with 920,000 pixels
• Live View with 30 fps
• Movie recording capabilities of 1920 x 1080 at 30 fps
• No built in flash (I’m sure a lot of people are disappointed given that Nikon did it in the D700)
• 3.9 frames-per-second continuous burst for 78 frames (310 with UDMA card)

So Canon has certainly heard Nikon’s challenge (but not apparently heard it loud enough), but is this enough to win back some of the pro who switched? I’m not sure. Some of the biggest draw back for photographers who shoot in low light (wedding photography) and/or sports (and the likes) is the weak auto focus (seems like the same exact AF as the 5D) and weak frame rate (3.9). Certainly for landscape photography, 9 auto focus points is usually fine. Also being able to shoot at ISO 25,600 is certainly very, very appealing. I’m not as impressed as I thought I would be and at this point, I don’t think I would purchase the new 5D Mark II. But once we start seeing some actual production model images, who knows. A lot of us are still waiting for a 1D series that actually works right, perhaps this is one of the reasons why it has the older generation auto focus? Read more about the 5D Mark II with sample videos and specs at DPReview.com. You can also read Canon’s press release here.

Also a new Canon EF 24mm f/1.4L II USM lens was released.

Comparison Chart

Looking at the side-by-side comparison, the 5D Mark II certainly looks promising, but can it compete or even beat the Nikon D700? It’s got more megapixels, which isn’t always a good thing. The viewfinder is bigger, which is always nice, but it’s still not quite like the 1Ds Mark III and D3. It can do video, which I’m not sure is a good thing. Only time will tell.

Canon EOS 1D Mark III with Canon EF 800mm f/5.6L IS USM

The Canon L Series Lenses

The class started off with Jim Rose discussing about what makes Canon “L” lenses so special from the normal consumer level lenses. He also confirmed that the “L” does, in fact, stand for Luxury. What defines a L lenses is the existence of:

• Two or more Ultra-Low Dispersion (UD) elements (and/or)
• Fluorite Element (and/or)
• Ground and polished aspherical elements

Fluorite is a natural occurring element, but usually not enough in quantity to be useful, so Canon has developed a method to “grow” them. It takes at least two ultra-low dispersion to equal one fluorite element. The fluorite element eliminates almost all chromatic aberrations.

Wide angle lenses and “fast” lenses (f/1, f/1.2, f/1.4, f/1.8, f/2) experience spherical aberrations which causes the images not to be as sharp until they are stopped down to apertures of f/5.6 or f/8. By using aspherical elements, this counter-acts the spherical aberration effect and can also make zoom lenses smaller in size. There are three types of aspherical elements:

• Molded aspherical element: round glass is super heated until near melting and is poured into a molding and allowed to cool thus making a molded aspherical element. This process makes creating aspherical elements cheaper, but not as good quality.
• Replicated aspherical element: a piece of specially created resin is glued to the round glass to create an aspherical element. This types of aspherical element tends to appear in the consumer grade Canon lenses
• Ground and polished aspherical: glass is grounded and polished until they meet the aspherical criteria. Very expensive and appears exclusively in the L line.

The Canon L lenses are designed to be durable withstanding: torrential down pour rain, extreme temperatures, snow, grueling wear and tear. All the L lenses use ring type Ultra Sonic Motor (USM) focus motors. This is the fastest type of auto focus that Canon has. Jim also spoke of the f/4 zooms (17-40mm, 24-105mm, and 70-200mm) and offering customers a choice in lighter weight equipment at a lower price with the same L quality. Jim also spoke briefly of Canon’s “S” line, the EF-S mount lenses specially designed for the crop sensors.

Jim also spoke of the tilt-shift lens and it’s uniqueness in the Canon line. Also someone in the audience had asked why only one of the three tilt-shift lenses offered by Canon is designated as a L and Jim’s response was: 1) L designation is given to lenses who fit the above requirements and 2) not all lenses require fluorite or ultra-low dispersion glass to achieve optimal quality. Thus, the 45mm and 90mm tilt-shift lenses are not L quality lenses because they do not contain fluorite or ultra-low dispersion elements.

Nature’s Elusive Beauty

Jennifer Wu gave a great PowerPoint presentation on capturing Nature’s Elusive Beauty, the one moment in which the scene is perfect, the lighting is just right, the colors are popping, the scene is ready to be captured.

Jennifer shoots with a new Canon EOS 1Ds Mark III and a Canon EOS 5D. Her lenses are the Canon EF 17-40mm f/4L USM, Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L USM, Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM, and the Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM. She does very little post processing, usually dodging and burning and does not remove anything from the scene with Adobe Photoshop or up the saturation in anyway. She uses a circular polarizer and neutral density filters.

Some of the bullet point tips she offered:

• Finding locations: Internet, guide books, asking the locals
• Things to consider: seasons, fall colors at peaks, when flowers are in bloom
• Get local advice: call ranger stations (rangers have most likely hiked every inch of the area and done it repeatably where they would know the best times to visit), visitor shops to find the answer to questions
• Scout the area: scenic routes, pullout areas, off the side of the road
• Get off the beaten path. Don’t just come to a pullout area, get out, take a picture, and leave. Walk around a bit, get a different angle.
• Things to consider for photographing: weather, clouds and light (arrive before a storm-clearing storm, fog create mystery, rain-saturated colors, snow-first dusting on mountains (versus white covered mountains), wind and movement
• How to create perspective: lens coverage, distance to subject, and camera angle
• The lens you choose is about the type of coverage you want
• Focus using hyperfocal distance to get things near and far in focus.
• Always use a tripod for maximum sharpness.
• Camera angles: look down, look up, get low. Create depth with wide angle lens by getting up really close.
• Use ND and Polarizers. Polarizers for foilage, water, and midst
• User manual with spot metering on 18% grey of red or blue. Aim for exact exposure, not under or over. Shoot RAW and aim for f/16.
• Foreground elements: fill the subject with the foreground element.

One of Jennifer’s other favorite types of photography is star photography. Here are some great tips she offered for photographing stars:

• To avoid star trails and get points of light: Take 500 divided by focal length of the lens (if you are using a crop sensor, you have to take that into account and get the actual focal length) will give you the seconds to set your camera to get points of light. Anymore and you will have star trails
• Use wide angle lenses at 30 seconds or less.
• Shoot at wide open aperture (f/2.8, f/1.2 if you can)
• For moonless night, set ISO to 3200, with moon (depending on how bright), set ISO to 200-400
• Use your ISO to change exposure and not aperture or shutter
• Turn your camera’s noise reduction on which is great help
• After you take a night shot, let your CMOS sensor cool down for at least 30 seconds or you may have additional noise in your picture because of the heat on the sensor
• Set your white balance to custom kelvin from 3200-3800 to give the nice bluish sky
• WB custom 4200 works really well at the beginning of sunset, but not at 3 AM
• Try focusing on the brightest star and not on a tree or foreground element. If nothing to focus on, set to infinity and back off a bit.

Conclusion

This was a very informative free seminar sponsored by Canon. It was also an introduction course for those who signed up for the Canon Field Workshop the next day. Jennifer Wu has some absolutely stunning landscape shots and is able to articulate her technique and give steps and advice and not boring useless technical details.

As an added benefit, we were able to try all the twenty four lenses and four bodies and all the participants were given a free copy of the newly updated EF Lens Works III book that includes the new Canon Mark 3 bodies and new lenses. Awesome.

Gallery

Although it’s a bit suspicious because on the Canon UK site, we get to see a bit more of the supposed “new” SLR and it looks very similar to the 1D/1Ds lines due to lack of the mode changing dial on the top right.

I can’t imagine a new 1D/1Ds in the horizon just yet…

So how does something that is 6 years old like the Canon EOS 1Ds compare to the 3 years old Canon EOS 5D? It’s a tough call, but let’s see why anyone would choose an older SLR over a newer model. It’s worth noting that the only reason we can or even should compare the two cameras is because of the full frame sensor. Also you might be wondering why compare the original 1Ds rather than the newer and better Canon EOS 1Ds Mark II? The Mark II’s price (~$4000) is still significantly above the 5D whereas the original 1Ds’ price (~$1800) has fallen to be right on par with the 5D. Other than that, these two cameras are completely different and serve different purposes.

Comparison Chart

It’s clear that in 3 years, Canon has certainly made improvements: bigger and brighter LCD, better buffer, slightly more megapixelage. While the figures of the Canon EOS 5D certainly *look* better than the old outdated Canon EOS 1Ds, don’t discount the later as being useless. During the time I had the opportunity to try out the 1Ds in many various conditions, I’ve found the 1Ds to be quite a formidable camera that holds its own to the newer models as long as the user was aware of the limitations.

Canon EOS 1Ds Limitations

Let’s examine the limitations of the Canon EOS 1Ds in regards to Canon EOS 5D. One of the biggest differences is the LCD screen size and resolution. The 1Ds sports a 2.0 inch LCD screen with 120,000 pixels making it vastly inferior to the 5D’s 2.5 inch LCD screen with 230,000 pixels. This makes reviewing images for colors and sharpness very difficult to do. You can also scroll the image and there is 10x only zoom. Likewise, there is no orientation sensor, so any images taken in portrait orientation will appear as shot in the LCD and will not be auto-rotated as it is with the 5D. Of course all this is a relatively small issue, because it matters more how the camera takes and records the pictures rather than how it looks on the back of a little LCD screen.

The max ISO setting on the 1Ds is 1250. Meaning you only want to use 1250 for emergencies because the noise usually present at the max ISO setting tends to make an image pretty unusable unless for cases where you absolutely have no other way to get the shot. The 5D, on the other hand, is capable of images up to ISO 3200 meaning you have more room to up the ISO to get a sharper shot. The noise on the 1Ds at ISO 100-400 is decent. After 400, things start getting really bad. As some photographers may know, the trick to keeping noise to a minimum is to nail the exposure. If you have to photograph at ISO 400 and above, it’s imperative to not underexposure. Underexposure will cause noise in areas like blacks, dark greys, etc and will be become very apparent when you try to raise the exposure in post processing even by 1/3 or more. If you want to keep noise as low as possible when shooting at higher ISO, Expose To The Right (ETTR). Also using noise reduction software such as Noise Ninja can help dramatically reduce the noise, at the cost of some sharpness of course. Here are some 100% crop sample pics of our cat, Stripes, to show the noise on the 1Ds:

• JPEG, AWB, no sharpening or post processing: 1/25th second, f/2.8, 35mm, ISO 1000 with flourescent lighting (Noise Ninja applied)
• JPEG, AWB, no sharpening or post processing: 1/20th second, f/2.8, 26mm, ISO 1000 with flourescent lighting (Noise Ninja applied)

As you can see from the two samples, noise can be a bit problematic, but fortunately the noise produced by the Canon EOS 1Ds has a film like kinda noise. I was a bit put off in the beginning, but grew accustomed to it after long term use of the 1Ds.

The limited buffer of the 1Ds can sometimes be problematic. Having only 10 frames in JPEG or RAW means you have to time your shots and make them count because having a limited buffer is not the only concern, but the slow flush rate also. I’ve tried two different types of compact flash cards: a SanDisk Extreme IV 2GB and a SanDisk Extreme III 8GB, both are slow with the 1Ds. When shooting formal portraits and formal wedding portraits, the buffer isn’t a problem. I found myself running into buffer full when I was shooting fast paced events such as parades and sometimes when shooting our cat, Stripes who moves erractically and fast.

Another huge limitation is the response time, it is slow. From power off to on it takes about 1.2 seconds and review time of JPEG or RAW takes about 3.3-3.4 seconds (figures from DPReview.com). If you’re not prepared, it’s easy (and frustrating) to miss shots. I’ve had this happen multiple of times because the 1Ds was asleep and it takes a bit for it fully wake up to the point where I can fire off shots. You could always disable the sleep mode at the cost of draining the battery. The Canon EOS 5D, in contrast, is near instant from power off to on and from sleep to on. It also takes about 1.2-1.3 for record review of JPEG or RAW (figures from DPReview.com). Huge differences. Obviously the 1Ds uses the first generation DIGIC processor. It wasn’t until the Mark II models did Canon start putting in dual DIGIC processors.

The final major limitation of the 1Ds is ease of use. As anyone who has used a 1D series (prior to the Mark IIIs) will know, it takes a combination of two buttons pressed simultaneously to make setting changes. Want to scroll through images you’ve taken? Hold down the Display button and turn the Quick Control Dial (QCD). Want to change from single shot to continuous shot, hold two buttons down. The 5D certainly is quicker and easier to make changes especially with one handed. Change ISO? Press the ISO button and turn the top dial. While the concept of having to press simultaneous buttons to effect change is a good concept, in practice it is annoying and time consuming.

Canon EOS 5D Limitations

Now let’s see what the 5D limitations are when compared to the 1Ds. First, it’s quite apparent that the build quality isn’t nearly as tough and solid as the larger 1Ds, but it’s no where cheaply assembled either. The Canon EOS 1Ds definitely feels like it can take and give a beating.

While the sensor of the Canon EOS 5D is full frame, the viewfinder view isn’t; it’s only 96% of the frame. This can be frustrating when you are trying to frame a shot, but not quite sure how much or how little to include of a subject or background because you obviously can’t get a visual idea of what will show up in the final picture. Of course you could always crop and some people have learned to adjust to that 4% issue, but there is something about being able to see exactly what you are going to get.

The Canon EOS 5D has the “typical” nine-point AF diamond that the Canon EOS 20D/30D/40D and Canon EOS Rebel 400D/XTi/ and 450D/XSi but slightly modified to include 6 additional “hidden” cross-type sensors in the spot metering circle for better AI Servo tracking. For many cases, 9 AF points is plenty, but it’s certainly a whole new world when you have 45 AF points. 9 AF points becomes in adequate when you are trying to frame a subject in the upper or lower left and right hand corners where there are no AF points. This isn’t a problem is the subject fills the entire left or right hand size, but let’s say you’re trying to get a bird that only fills the upper left hand corner. This is an extreme example that obviously doesn’t happen on a daily basis, but worth noting. It’s kind of like insurance, you don’t really appreciate having it until you need it. Although I should mention that sometimes having too many AF points can be annoying if you just need 1 and not all 45.

One thing I’ve found particularly annoying about the 5D is accidental setting changes. Because I use two cameras when on assignment, I usually have one camera slung over one shoulder while using the other. With the 5D, I experience this more often than I would like is when I had the 5D slung around my shoulder and when I reach to take a quick shot, turns out I’m in Shutter Priority when I had been in Aperture Priority. Or I had set Program Mode but manage to end up in Full Automatic mode. This is certainly a disadvantage of being able to easily change settings.

Conclusion

As you can see, despite being nearly 6 years old, the Canon EOS 1Ds is still a very capable dSLR. On the other hand, is it worth spending ~$1800 for something that old versus something newer? It depends. If you already have a or used a Canon EOS 1D series camera, you can certainly see and feel the appeal. Here are some points of consideration for choosing the 1Ds over the 5D:

• If you already own a Canon 1D/1D Mark II/1Ds Mark II, getting a 1Ds may be beneficial because it uses the same exact batteries meaning you only have to carry 1 set of camera batteries. Same batteries mean same charger and the 1D series battery charger has a dual slot plug.
• The 1Ds is very rugged and built to handle, if what your photographing calls for a camera that handle some abuse, then this might be the choice for you.
• 100% viewfinder view might seem like a small point, but for some people it’s important.
• 45 point AF can’t be beat.

But on the other hand, if you’re looking for something that is small (small being a relative term here) and easier to carry and conceal, then the Canon EOS 5D maybe the better for you. Full frame in a body only slightly larger than the 20D/30D/40D maybe desirable to some. It’s build quality is definitely a bit more superior to the consumer-grade level of the xxD series, but definitely nothing compared to the 1D series.

The 5D is Canon’s lowest noise producing camera next to the new Canon EOS 1D Mark III and is right on par with the Mark III. It’s takes post processing sharpening very, very well and resolves a lot of data and prior to the 1Ds Mark III, was second only to the 1Ds Mark II. Although, noisier, the 1Ds has a certain nostalgic film feel to the images that the newer cameras seem to lack and appear a bit digital.

If I had to choose, because the type of photography I do is very dependent on low light with no flash, I would have go with the 5D. But otherwise, I would probably choose the 1Ds over the 5D.

Canon EOS 1Ds and Canon EOS 5D Gallery Images

Specifications

Released back in 2002, the Canon EOS 1Ds was Canon’s flagship model and first digital full frame sensor (35.8 x 23.8 mm) SLR on the market with a cost of nearly $8,000 (which is about the same price as the new Canon EOS 1Ds Mark III when initially released. So what did you get for $8,000? Here’s a brief preview:

• 11.4 megapixel CMOS sensor (JPEG pixel dimensions: 4,064 x 2,704)
• ISO 100-1250 in 1/3 steps (with ISO 50 as a custom function)
• 4 sRGB settings and 1 Adobe RGB
• 45 AF points
• Evaluative, Partial, Spot (3 modes), and Center Weighted Metering modes
• 2.0″ 120,000 pixel LCD
• 87ms mirror black-out
• 30 to 1/8,000 sec shutter speeds with bulb
• 3 frames-per-second (FPS) for up to 10 JPEGs or RAW

For more in-depth features, you can check out DPReview’s 1Ds specifications page. Even by today’s standards, some of the features are obviously dated (such as the 2.0″ LCD screen), but it can still hold it’s own at 11 MP with 45 AF points (still the same number of AF points on the new Canon EOS 1Ds Mark III). The only other cameras that has more AF points is Nikon’s recently released D3, D300, and just announced D700. Also worth mentioning is that Canon started the full frame digial sensor with the 1Ds whereas the Nikon has just started with the D3 and D700.

Build Quality

Solid like a tank; it is a 1D series after all. The button layouts next to and under the LCD are identical to the Canon EOS 1D Mark I. So are the buttons on top and the LCD readout panels and also the menu layout.

Here is an example of a very well used and still functioning Canon EOS 1D Mark II by humanitarian photojouranlist, Karl Grobl when he accidentally dropped his 1D with Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM from about 9 feet while seated on an elephant.

Operation

The Canon 1Ds is certainly not designed to be a sports camera like it’s brother, the Canon EOS 1D; evidenced by the huge difference in frame rates (3 fps versus 8 fps). That is not to say that it can’t be used in sports, it just takes more patience and timing. People who generally purchase the 1Ds are more interested in maximum quality and thus the resolution is hugely different (11 MP versus 4 MP). The 1Ds definitely shines when it comes to landscape photography, studio work, portrait photography, weddings (formal pictures), etc.

From the moment the camera is turned on to when you can actually take a picture, it usually takes about a second; it’s only marginally faster from sleep to wake. This is horrible if you expect to capture shots quickly when the camera is turned off or asleep. But once awake and during operation, it’s much more responsive. Unfortunately for someone who is used to using a Canon EOS 1D Mark II, the 10 image buffer on the 1Ds fills up quickly. The flush time (the amount of time it takes to write the data from the buffer to the compact flash card) is decent, but definitely shows its age when compared to newer cameras like the Canon EOS Rebel XTi/400D and Canon EOS 1D Mark II.

Like the Canon EOS 1D Mark I, the Canon EOS 1Ds Mark I also features an additional external WB sensor. On future 1D/1Ds generations, Canon did away with the external WB sensor. So far I have not noticed any additional benefits of having an additional external white balance sensor or any ill effect, but one person on FredMiranda reports that the external WB sensor can actually have a negative effect:

In my experience, the AWB sensor affected the colors in a bad way as in most cases the light falling on the subject has a different color temperature than that at the camera position. For instance, if you have the sun behind you, the subject is in the sunlight while the sensor is in the shadow. It was a good move from Canon not to continue with it. I find the AWB on my 1Ds2 much better than the 1Ds.
edwardkaraa

I wonder if Nikon’s external WB sensor helps on their D2x and D2xs?

Forgot about being able to review images on the LCD right after you take them. It usually takes a few seconds from when you take the picture to when it actually displays on the rear LCD. Also because the LCD is only 130,000 pixels, you can’t really judge sharpness or colors. It’s best to rely on the histograms. Plus another major disadvantage of the 1Ds LCD is lack of zoom. You can’t zoom in on any images you take. One good thing about having a crappy SLR LCD such as this is that it makes you more reliant on reading histograms (a good thing) and learning to better judge your settings. The more I continued to use the Canon EOS 1Ds, the less I found I was relying on the LCD to tell me whether or not I was taking a good picture, but rather checking histograms for blown highlights and good exposure. The camera LCD isn’t the best thing to judge sharpness, exposure, or colors because of many factors. For one, the image that is displayed on the rear LCD isn’t even the actual image you took, but rather a low resolution JPEG that is created in camera for the purposes of LCD viewing. That’s why when you try to check sharpness of an image you took and it looks jagged and not quite sharp but later extracted on a computer, it looks perfectly fine, that’s why. Another reason is the color discrepancies between the different models of the same brand! For example, the Canon EOS 5D has a slightly greenish hue to it’s LCD, making images appear a bit more green than let’s say the Canon EOS 30D. While I’m not saying you shouldn’t use the rear LCD, it’s a great feature, just make sure you’re using it for how it works best.

In The Field

During the couple of weeks I had the Canon EOS 1Ds, I did quite a number of photojournalism work such as our office’s employee appreciation day and most notably, the 2008 SF Pride Parade. For the 2008 SF Pride Parade, I was using the 1Ds with the Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L USM and the 1D Mark II with the Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM. Having full frame on a super wide angle lens like the 16-35mm allowed me to get shots like this.

Having a full frame SLR allows for some great wide shots especially when in tight situations such as close-up crowds, in small rooms, etc. It’s definitely refreshing when a 16mm lens is actually 16mm and not 20.8mm (1.3x crop factor) or 25.6mm (1.6x crop factor), which may not seem much, but when you get to longer focal lengths like 70mm, on a 1.3x and 1.6x crop sensor becomes 91mm and 112mm, respectively. Although on the flip side, having full frame may not always be advantageous such as when photographing birds or birds in flight, wildlife, and so forth. A full frame SLR requires a longer focal length lens than a 1.6x crop sensor to achieve the same crop.

Noise is problematic for the 1Ds. At ISO 400 and above, noise is quite apparent and gets very bad at ISO 1250. Proper exposure is paramount to keeping noise as low as possible. I highly recommend the technique of Exposing To The Right (ETTR). Software can be used to clean up noise quite well, although at a cost of some sharpness. I personally use Noise Ninja, and would highly recommend them. Here is a 100% crop of a shot of Stripes (our cat) with the 1Ds at 1/25th second at ISO 1000. Here is the same image and crop with Noise Ninja applied using the default 1Ds profile. Here is another example at 1/20th second at ISO 1000 and with Noise Ninja applied.

The 1Ds, shooting in JPEG with sharpness set to level 5 is very sharp; more so than my 1D Mark II, the most likely reason is a weaker AA (anti-aliasing) filter which allows for sharper images at the cost of increased moire. I have noticed that moire is more apparent on the 1Ds. The 1Ds produces very pleasing JPEGs that require little post-processing, provided you get the exposure and white balance correctly. I find at sharpness set to level 5, I rarely have to apply Unsharp Mask in Photoshop whereas on the 1D Mark II at the same sharpness level, I do have to apply Unsharp Mask.

After having used the Canon EOS Rebel XTi/400D for more than a year, picking up a full frame camera with its large and bright viewfinder is a revelation of how truly small and inadequate the 1.6x crop factor viewfinders truly are. The 1Ds, unlike the 5D, has a 100% viewfinder (VF) coverage (the 5D has a 96% coverage) meaning that what you see in the viewfinder is what you get. It’s amazing what a difference of a full frame viewfinder compared to a 1.6x crop sensor viewfinder or even a 1.3x crop sensor viewfinder. The best analogy is with a 1.6x crop viewfinder, it looks like your standing at the beginning of a long tunnel and looking towards the end where there is just some light, but mostly darkness. The 1.3x crop viewfinder feels like you’re in the middle, so the end of the tunnel where the light is fill up more of the darkness and with the full frame viewfinder, you’re right at cusp of the exit, so there is hardly any darkness around.

Conclusions

If you don’t mind the weight (1265g or 2.78lbs), the Canon EOS 1Ds is a great SLR, albeit six years old. Any one who has either used or felt a 1D series camera can attest to the rock solid build quality. These are the kind of cameras that photojournalist use in war zones that can (need to) handle abuse. While it may not necessarily survive a drop, in some cases such as Karl Grobl who dropped his 1D Mark II from an elephant, it will take some degree of abuse, not intentional mind you.

When the 1Ds was first introduced, its asking price was $8,000. Today’s market value is about ~$1850 which is about equivalent to a brand new Canon EOS 5D, the prosumer full frame dSLR.

Noise can be problematic at times, but a noise reduction software such as Noise Ninja can do quite a bit to reduce noise. The camera produces very sharp results because of a weaker AA filter like the Canon EOS 1D Mark I. What is interesting is that normally with a larger sensor (full frame) and decent amount of pixels (~12 MP or less), noise is very well controlled. This is the case with the 5D, but for some reason the 1Ds exhibits quite a bit of noise. Fortunately for the most part, the noise appears in no patterns which makes the images from the 1Ds look like film noise.

So given a choice between a Canon EOS 5D or a Canon EOS 1Ds Mark I, which should one choose? We’ll evaluate the differences and similarities in a future post.

Canon EOS 1Ds Gallery Images

Then I read on 16-9.net‘s website:

The other big news is that development is nearing completion of the Nikon G-Canon EF adaptor which allows this and any other Nikon G lens to be mounted on Canon DSLR bodies –with full aperture control.

I also came across this site from the DPReview.com forums where this one guy mounted the Nikkor 14-24mm on a Canon EOS 5D and did tests. Fortunately that means I don’t need to switch brands because by the beauty of technology, a converter, and heresy, I can use this lens on my Canon EOS 1D Mark II! Now why would I want to use a Nikon lens on a Canon body? Well for starters, it doesn’t really bother me that it is a Nikon lens. And Canon doesn’t offer a lens of this focal length. The closes is the Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L USM Mark II, which is no where near as tack sharp as this lens. Plus the 16-35mm is almost too much of an overlap for me. I already have the Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM, I would be paying ~$1600 to use 8mm more of wideness. The Nikkor 14-24mm offers me 10mm more and having 14mm versus 16mm on the wide end can make a big difference in many cases. An easier way to analyze all this is to list the pros and cons:

Pros

• 14mm and not a fisheye lens
• f/2.8 aperture lens means it will perform very well in low light situations
• Magnesium alloy body construction
• Sharpest lens to date for the 14-24mm focal lengths even versus prime lens

Cons

• Very expensive at ~$1700 and probably hard to acquire
• Front element design is unable to take a screw on filter for additional protection
• Lens hood offers nothing in the way of front element protection
• Decent focal length
• Need to spend additional money if trying to use this lens on a Canon body

Conclusion

Is this lens worth it? I say yes, very much so. Canon does not offer a zoom lens as wide as this, it does however have a prime lens, the 14mm f/2.8L USM I & II, that is the same focal length, BUT not the same sharpness. For Canon shooters, the Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L had long been the photojournalist/wedding photojournalist lens, but I predict that as more and more Canon shooters see how great the Nikkor AF-S 14-24mm f/2.8G ED N lens is; this will be the new preferred lens leading to all sorts of shortages and back orders. Remember how long it took Nikon to meet production demands for the other hugely popular Nikkor lens, the 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G?

I’m going to definitely start saving today and for awhile.

[April 28, 2008 EDIT] In my haste of not reading very carefully, apparently using the Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8 with the 16-9 adapter mounted to a Canon SLR results in MANUAL FOCUS only. While this isn’t generally a big deal for people who photograph landscapes, having manual focus when you are trying to capture fast paced action makes it very difficult. So now I’m back to focusing on the Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L USM.

[January 05, 2008 EDIT] Check out photographer David Clapp’s results on his blog here.