Canon's EOS-1D-Mark-II -Best Performer of the Decade.....

This mini-review will give some initial impressions with the first week of use and testing. I was one of the early users of the DCS-560 Canon/Kodak cameras, which was great camera for its time however at $25m a copy. Looking at this new Mark-II with its feature set, pixel count, image quality, speed, in camera processing parameters, 8+ fps.... the list goes on and on... what a performer. This digital camera has almost everything for a broad range of uses. With 8.2MP sensor and using LizardTech's PrintPro to up-size the image 250% produces huge images which would challenge the best medium format digital backs. The images are pure, clean, crisp, and accurate. If you're a RAW shooter the included software will give all the post imaging adjusting one can imagine. Many of my assignments have good or controlled lighting therefore I'm quite happy with in-camera processing. I go with +1 or +2 ticks on the sharpening, and +1 on the color so the skin tones are more towards tan. This heavy duty camera, literally heavy, is such a wonderful piece to work with, its worth the extra size and weight. When one combines this camera with Canon's line of "L" series lenses, this gives the user an incredible feeling of confidence when on assignment, whether taking pictures of products, food, science, fashion, engineering, construction, or action sports for NCAA events. This camera also re-defines quality low-light imaging. An ISO of 1600 produces images with very good results, and images at 3200 are surprisingly sharp, which until today was unheard of. ISOs of 50 through 1250 produce clean noise-free, or near-noise-free beautiful images.

As to image sizes, when shooting in JPEG mode, the user may change the JPEG compression settings from numeric values from 1-10, as with Photoshop when saving images. I set the JPEG value to 10 which produces file size of about 6 million bytes +/- 1 million bytes, depending on image detail and light level; low light, high ISO will result in higher image sizes. Therefor with a 2GB data card expect 330 image capacity. Using the FireWire interface, downloads average 5.5MB images at the rate of about 10 per minute.

As an opinion, in the future several items Canon could work on to improve this already beautiful masterpiece:

1. Use a full 24mmx36mm imager
2. Increase pixel dimensions to 3600x5400 pixels
3. Increase near-noiseless ISO's to 6400
4. Decrease camera weight and size
5. Change battery system to Lithium-Ion.
6. Provide an extra-bright 3" diagonal LDC display.
7. Oh why not, ...lets ask for 12 fps.

James L Wilson, Prof., Principles.of.Digital.Photography and.Post.Image.Processing Florida.Atlantic.University Boca.Raton.Campus Operating.Entity.BocaDigital.LLC. Quality.Digital.Imaging Post.Office.Box.520 Boca.Raton.Florida.USA.33429 Internet.E.Mail.Address For.Faculty.and.Students.mail.use: FAU@bellsouth.net For.Other.Business.mail.please.use: BocaDigital@bellsouth.net Desk.561.416.1110 SecureFax.561.892.2681

Comments: It is important to read the included documentation so that one can utilize (some of) the large feature-set. Its worth the effort since the features provided solve most of the photographer's needs.

Professor Jim Wilson, "Principles of Digital Photography"

15 of 16 found the following review helpful:


Incredible!  Dec 15, 2004 By JM "Cowboy"
I cannot say enough about this camera! From the moment you pick up the box, you know you have quality. The construction and materials used is top notched. Contents of the box can be found elsewhere, so I won't bother with the details.

Charging of the battery to full takes 2hrs. If you have memory on the battery from repeated charges without complete depletion, you can recondition the battery with the included charger. It just takes 8hrs. While many lament the fact that no Li-ion battery was included, Canon seems to have anticipated the needs of professionals in the field.

One also has the option of being plugged into the AC outlet and not dependent on batteries.

Reading the manual takes a bit of time. The camera has endless customizable functions which can be overwhelming at times. Not that it should deter you, but one will rarely need all those functions anyway.

Using the camera did not seem too difficult. Many functions need the use of two buttons, which may take some getting used to. Navigating through the menu was confusing initally, but improved as time goes on.

Autofocus speed is responsive and sharp. Shooting at high ISO's (>1000) had minimal noise. Looking at some of my pictures taken with 1 fluorescent light in the room and an ISO of 1600, appeared as if a flash was used. Photos of my black lab was incredible considering the ambient light and high ISO.

The camera is always ready to go. If you are in the manipulating within the depths of the menu heirarchy, and want to suddenly take a shot, just press on the shutter button, compose, focus, and shoot. Its quick and responsive. Incredible...!

Some may be wondering the sizes of the pictures. JPEG's have 4 sizes and range from 1 - 2.8 MB; RAW files are 8.4MB.

One can take an average of 800 - 1200 shots on a full battery charge--assuming one has the capacity to hold it.

Prints on my i9900 are outstanding.

Cost is a pretty penny and then some. Also consider that Amazon is an authorized Canon reseller. Many of the rebates require that you purchase from an authorized reseller to be eligible for the rebates. Also, some of the internet deals for the camera are not from authorized resellers.

Overall, a very impressive camera. The cost for many may be prohibitive for many. The EOS 20D may be a more cost effective alternative, but I do NOT regret my decision one bit.

17 of 19 found the following review helpful:


Best (compromise for an) Exploration Camera  Mar 22, 2005 By Exploration HSE Advisor
I had been waiting 3 years for any manufacturer to market a camera similar in specification to the Canon EOS1. As exploration Health, Safety & Environment advisor, work takes me to middle of the desert or the oceans. The wait was for 35mm film quality, with speed of picture taking (5 frames per second is barely enough to capture dolphins - hence the 8 + fps of the EOS 1 was desired). There was a parallel wait for an Image Stabilised 28-300 zoom lens.

Let's cut the story short. If I want a camera to bring on holiday, it would not be this one - the battery and charger are too heavy and bulky; instead I would choose the EOS20D without hesitation.

But having hundreds of failed 35mm film frames I decided not to wait any longer but to buy the EOS1D Mark II because the 1Ds Mark II is not fast enough at 4 frames a second.

With 35mm cameras, after a few seconds on the shooting, I would have to run back inside to the cabin (of a ship) to change film. If there is large enough memory card in the EOS1DII, there is no need. This camera is built with seals against the environment (and so does the 28-300mm lens). Instead of being scared of running out of film, now it is easy to keep the shutter button pressed while panning (and hoping) the dolphins do their jumps into the air.

With the 28-300mm lens attached, there is no need to change lenses either. Dolphins riding the bow wave of the ship could be captured at 28mm while those further away could be caught with 300mm setting.

It is a disappointment that the battery is not LiOn but the older NiMH. But as with any photo gear requiring a battery it is wise to have a spare, whatever the substance. I just wish Canon package a small travel size charger instead of the standard one which is very bulky. It has connections for two batteries (yet it could only charge one following the other) but most people would be happy using one battery while the other one is being charged. You just try to convince some airport officials to let you on the plane with the above kit, binoculars, laptop, mobile phone, GPS.......ext. hard disk....as hand luggage.

For work, I am committed and therefore bear the weight and troubles of hauling the hardware. But for holidays, I would choose the EOS20D with built-in flash because who would want to lug around 3 kilos all day plus flash gun and possibly a tripod?

The camera gets 4.5 stars but the battery and charger lets it down. Why just 4.5 stars ? One of the beauties I had thought with digital SLR was not having to do anything in processing, just transfer the images to the computer. Wrong. The .jpg straight out of the camera is not sharp enough. Post processing is required. Why ? Why is that necessary when the Canon S60 (which I use for different assignments (with underwater housing)) doesn't need to ? That defeats the point of having a .jpg file at 5.5 Meg when the 1.5 Meg of the S60 looks sharper straight out of the camera ? Still, there is RAW if the standard output is not suficient.

Incidentally, the EOS1DsII also produces 5.5 Meg .jpg and those also require post processing. For those of us who are not interested in working longer than necessary (me) 16.7 Million Pixels would seem a bit wasted.

I am still waiting for the camera which produces sharp .jpg files in-camera without having to post process, and can shoot at 8+ fps with a sensor size equivalent to 35mm film. Meantime I shall have to learn to shoot with RAW files and post process.

Also incidentally, the sensor size of the EOS20D is smaller, which means although itself is lighter than the EOS1D series camera, having to carry around an extrawide lens is not my idea of fun on holiday. The magnification ratio for the EOS1DII is 1.3 whereas the EOS20D is 1.6. This means I could still travel reasonably light (compromise) with the 1DII and 28-135mm IS lens attached. Sure it is possible to use stitching but that is more time spent at the computer and time is precious.

Any regrets ? None what-so-ever. It is state of the technology at the moment. Another benefit of using digital is that, it doesn't matter if you had been shooting ISO 100 all day. come the night if you want to shoot the rig with a moon as backdrop, just change to ISO 1600 without having to bother about "pushing2 the film in developing. It's a beauty when an IS L lens is attached. You'd need IS when there is machinery vibrations and the ship is moving with the swell ! Good job Canon. Now you need to shoe horn in a more capable CPU (to process the images in-camera), fit the 1DsII sensor into this one or this motordrive into the 1DsII and you may persuade me to part with more cash.


6 of 6 found the following review helpful:


Lightning Fast  Sep 13, 2009 By ELMC
I purchased this camera used recently primarily because of the cameara's ability to take 1.4x teleconverters on longer slower lenses, lightning fast autofocusing capabilities, and super speedy 8.5 fps. Seeing as the 1D Mk III sells for a lot more, I decided to go for a used 1D Mk II. After 2 days of extensive shooting in the field, I am very happy with my purchase.

Let me first say what I love about this camera.

-45 autofocus points, selectable in nearly any possible combination. This is fantastic for getting your focus spot onto nearly any possible target.
-8.5 fps. It's hard to fathom how fast this is unless you experience it in the field. 8.5 fps is amazing!
-LIGHTNING fast AF. AF on this camera, especially at center point, is extraordinarily fast and very accurate.
-Responsive handling. The shutter button is very sensitive, which is great for making sure you get the shot you want when you want it. It does take some getting used to.
-Permanent portrait grip. Shooting in portrait mode on my 40D without a grip was difficult and uncomfortable. With the 1D Mk II, it's very easy and comfortable.
-Decent performance at f/8 center point focus. One of the big selling points of the 1D bodies is the ability to autofocus using center point with a lens like the 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 with the 1.4x teleconverter. Autofocus is not fast by any means with this combination, but in good light, it is accurate and is very useful for getting close to non-moving subjects from a distance without breaking your bank.
-Weathersealing. As someone who shoots outdoors 2 days all day every week, weathersealing is a nice bonus. It takes a lot of the worry about taking this camera outdoors in rough situations away.
-3 stops of exposure compensation. I wish Canon put this on all their DSLRs instead of just 2 stops of exposure compensation!
-2 button menu. At first, I was somewhat annoyed with the 1D Mk II's user interface, mainly that it requires at least two button pushes to change any setting (with exception of the main wheel just above the shutter button). I soon realized that this is because the 1D Mk II is designed so that accidental button pushes don't change your settings unintentionally. Once gotten used to, this is a great feature for button-pushing prone people like myself.
-8.2 megapixels. Others may disagree, but 8.2 megapixels is quite enough for most photographic work and for printing even relatively large shots. Stuffing more megapixels on a sensor also tends to degrade overall apparent image sharpness. The 1D Mk II does a fine job of making the most of the sharpness quality and color contrast of any lens that is attached to it.

What I don't like about the 1D Mk II:

-Small dim LCD. The LCD on this camera is very small and not bright enough. The 1D Mk II N and 1D Mk III each have much larger and better LCD screens.
-Weight. This camera is HEAVY. I've nicknamed mine "the brick." It will wear your arms out until you get used to it. You should consider buying a padded neckstrap for this camera.
-Battery life under high speed shooting. The battery drains fairly quickly when shooting in high speed burst mode. You can still get about 850 shots on one battery while shooting in high speed burst mode. In one shot mode, it comes to just about 1100 shots. Low speed burst is somewhere between.
-1.3 crop factor. I really wish this were a 1.6 crop factor sensor. I miss the extra apparent reach of the 40D over this camera since I mostly shoot at longer telephoto lengths.
-Default settings. The default settings are somewhat odd on this camera. You have to set a custom function to display the ISO on the top screen, something I'm sure nearly every photographer pays attention to with each shot! Default file format is low quality .jpeg also! EEK!
-So so high ISO performance. When shooting in a controlled environment, the ISO quality at ISO 800+ was acceptable. After shooting in the field, ISO 800 is fairly noisy. This noise can be easily removed in Photoshop or an analogous RAW image editing software package, but if possible, should be avoided on this camera.

All in all, this camera is nothing short of a very fine piece of equipment. Even many years after it's release, the 1D Mk II is still a wonderful and powerful DSLR and offers a lot of wonderful features that are only now coming available to lower end Canon cameras.

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