Preview: Canon EOS-1D Mark IV(Reprinted from our Feb. 2010 Newsletter) Now that the new 16 megapixel, 10 fps EOS-1D Mark IV is finally starting to ship in slightly larger numbers, we have managed to get one for our rental dept. and this last weekend, I took it out and shot with it a little. I don't have many comments on its focusing system, other than that for static subjects, it seems to work very well. I definitely have not done any focus tracking tests, although so far the feedback from a few customers has been very positive when the Mark IV is used in sports/action situations. Movie mode functionality is more or less equivalent to the Canon EOS-7D, offering the same resolution and frame-rates - and the same annoying AGC on audio. It does not have the wonderful dedicated Live-View/Movie-mode switch that the 7D has, but it is improved over the 5D Mark II in that the small button immediately beside the shutter release (normally for FEL - flash exposure lock) can be used to start and stop video. High ISO quality seems more or less on par with the 5D Mark II, so it is noticeably cleaner than the 7D, offering maybe a one stop (or slightly more) advantage. This high ISO quality carries over to the video mode as well, offering cleaner video in super low light levels. One bugaboo with the Mark IV, is that while the camera is set to video mode Live-View, you have to be careful about switching it on to, for example, zoom in and manually focus a scene in low light. I had the Mark IV on a tripod and was shooting some nighttime stills of Vancouver. When I switched to Live-View to focus, never once activating video mode and filming, it still set my shutter speed up to the minimum 1/30 that video mode supports, even though I had the camera set to a 2" exposure. This was extremely annoying and I consider it to almost be a bug. When you deactivate Live-View to go back to shooting stills, your last set shutter speed should become active again if video mode was not actually activated. With the dedicated switch on the 7D making it so easy to go between stills and video mode, I have never run into this issue, even though if I do switch the 7D to video mode, it will also default to shutter speed up to 1/30 if it was set slower. The moral of the story, is that if you are not planning on doing any video, but do use Live-View to fine focus on occasion, then make sure you have the Mark IV set to Live-View "Stills" mode rather than "Video" mode. From an overall ergonomic standpoint, I think Canon has really succeeded very well with the design of the EOS-7D, and I personally found the Mark IV somewhat awkward to use, perhaps since I am so used to the 7D by now. The 1-series bodies are significantly different from the lower end Canon bodies, but anyone who is already used to the big 1-series cameras will certainly feel right at home. The Mark IV does have some significant advantages over the 7D when it comes to the viewfinder display: you have a big, beautiful vertical exposure index showing to the right of the viewfinder image, as well as many other indicators showing you shooting mode, image compression mode etc. Definitely more information in the Mark IV's viewfinder than in the 7D. Also, the bigger body with its integral grip and well placed controls is quite comfortable in my hands and I am sure I could get used to its overall ergonomics after some more familiarization. In the past I was always astounded, when I shot a 1D series body, by its speed and responsive shutter release. Well here is one area where the 7D has now caught up so closely, that the 1D Mark IV no longer astonishes. Yes, it is definitely a little faster than the 7D, but not by a very wide margin anymore. In fact, the loud mirror/shutter mechanism in the 1D Mark IV almost sounds "sloppy" compared to the tight sounding and well-damped mechanism in the EOS-7D. Of course, both the mirror and shutter are significantly larger in the 1D Mark IV, so there is more mass moving around inside, hence its different and louder sound. The focus options in the Mark IV are truly mind-boggling as far as fine tuning the settings. There are a few new focus modes which the 7D has and no other Canon body has, even the Mark IV, but overall the Mark IV is king of focus customization I believe. Other facets of the body's customization are equally impressive, offering far more ability to fine-tune the behaviour of the camera than what even the 7D offers. One unfortunate thing seems that the "Silent Shutter" modes than the lesser Canon bodies have had for some time now, where an exposure from Live-View does not move the shutter or mirror at all (at the start of the exposure), is still absent from Live-View on the 1D Mark IV. This makes a convenient "mirror lockup" on the 7D (and others) where you can just activate Live-View and shoot either with a cable-release or with the 2 second self-timer. Since not even the shutter has to open, it is actually even more effective than just mirror lockup alone! As far as image quality, the Mark IV offers a good solid 16 megapixels of resolution, the highest pixel count of any professional fast shooting DSLR, and indeed it is equal to Canon's previous high MP studio camera, the 1Ds Mark II. At low ISO settings, it would appear that for the moment, Canon has a definite edge over the competition, which only offers 12 megapixel high-speed "sports" DSLRs. However crank the ISO really high, and the 1D Mark IV still does get noisy and here the extra resolution and pixel density are not advantageous. Although the camera does go to an effective ISO of a crazy high 102,400, I would strongly suggest keeping things below 12,800. Despite the fact that the Mark IV doesn't really seem to have significantly less noise than the 5D Mark II, what noise it does have, is far more random without any obvious banding or other patterns. At really high ISO, even the 5D Mark II can show some distracting streaking noise in shadows, but the Mark IV, like the EOS-7D that came before it, seems to have completely eliminated that flaw... at least at the ISOs I tested it at (25,600 and below). Due to that fact, I would definitely say the 1D Mark IV is simply the Canon body to buy if you are frequently working at really high ISOs and really low light levels. Low ISO images I shot were impressively detailed with excellent dynamic range. Due to its low noise levels, free from any pattern artifacting, you can pull shadow detail up an amazing amount with very little loss of quality. I could even pull very dark shadows up substantially on ISO 800 shots, without any major issues. Other times where I have tried to do this with 5D Mark II images, I have often seen streaking rear its ugly head once you go beyond a certain threshold. Lastly, the sensor in the Mark IV is, like all the other 1D series models before it, still at a 1.3x crop factor. While this does offer some advantages for telephoto work, at the wide angle end, a 1D owner might feel left out since you cannot mount ultra-wide EF-S lenses (like the 10-22mm) and the widest full-frame lens, the 14mm, becomes an 18.2mm. The widest zoom Canon makes is 16-35mm, so that is then only equal to a 20.8mm lens. One interesting option might be the Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8, which I own (and Beau Photo sells!) and decided to test on the Mark IV. Although technically a cropped sensor lens (1.6x), the Tokina does not have the protruding rear component that all Canon EF-S lenses have. Therefore, the Tokina can even be mounted on a full-frame camera like the 5D Mark II. On a 5D, the Tokina will only give a sharp and unvignetted field of view at 16mm. Go any wider and the corners will suffer big time. Not surprising really since that lens was never meant to be used with a full-frame camera! However on a 1D Mark IV, with its slightly smaller sensor, this lens can easily be used all the way down to 12mm if stopped down a little, and even nearly wide open from 14-16mm with excellent quality. This gives a noticeably wider FOV, at a 15.6mm equivalent when zoomed to 12mm, so now you have a (very limited range) ultra-wide zoom for a 1.3x crop camera! Image quality at 16mm was actually slightly better on the Tokina than the Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L II zoom I tested it together with. So what does $5,000 plus get you? Simply the most rugged, fastest shooting (and likely the fastest and most accurate focusing), full-HD video capable, built-like-a-tank, top-end, 16 megapixel "sports" DSLR with the most impressively clean high-ISO images that Canon has ever offered! Stock is extremely limited, so if you want one, or want to be put on the list, give me a call. Or call Kathy to reserve a rental unit for testing! Mike Mander |
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