Canon EOS-1D

I went to Phil Askey preview page, I was quite astonished to find out that the CCD sensor size of the EOS1D is quite large (much larger than D1X). Despite the fact that the pixel count is just 4.15 mega, This means the pixel size is huge comparing to the rest of all Dig cams out there. And this give me hope.

One misconception is that high resolution is higher image quality, this's only one third of the truth (it's truer for displaying devices like LCD, monitors, or printing devices). For capturing image, the pixel is the most crucial point. In digital photography, who makes the better photon capturing pixelization, will be the winner. This will be crucial in image quality, since more photons will be absorbed much more efficiently in the bucket photo-sites (pixel), and the associated electronics around each photodiode won't be a problem hence better on fill factor for each photodiode. Hot pixel problem can be reduced significantly. And yet, I bet it will handle much better in low-light situation.

Note: It's not that smaller-size pixels can't absorb the photon rain better, it's just because current technology (for average consumer) is not there yet, deep sub-micron technology currently not good enough in quantizing the photon rain into sufficient data stream (signals). Remember CCD is just a micro chip. There are many application out there for scientific use which act as a digital camera using Intensified CCD, but these cost a fortune. High sensitivity on wide range of light wave length spectrum of CCD is still not high enough to cover the wide range of ISO. There's still a long way to go. This might be the right direction for Canon. But how good of them in doing that??? Hard to say... all i can do is to wait & see how good the EOS 1D is in capturing the ever elusive perfect digital image.

Trang Le

Philip wrote: "The only real shames are that image quality and light weight have been sacrificed to some extent in order to achieve the market-leading 8 frames-per-second exposure rate that is of little value to most photographers."

I think this analysis misses the point that this camera is targetted to working professional mews, sports, and wedding photographers for whom image quality will be more than adequate and features such as a higher frame rate most welcome.

Personally (having no immediate professional need for the current generation of machines) I'm waiting for the big file full frame model that is sure to arrive in the next couple of years. Until then, I suspect that the EOS-1D will find plenty of adherents.

I think this analysis misses the point that this camera is targetted to working professional mews, sports, and wedding photographers for whom image quality will be more than adequate and features such as a higher frame rate most welcome.

I think you may be right, except for wedding photographers. I've read so many times that many of them still prefer medium format for the formal shots, that I can't imagine that they'll be happy with a 3, 4 or even 6 megapixel digital. Perhaps for the "party pictures" after the official ceremony.

"This machine promises to be the world's most capable where autofocus and weather sealing are paramount concerns."

Who is going to take a $5000 electronic camera into the rain? All of this weather sealing is just hype. People will be buying raincovers for their $5000 cameras.

Even lenses that are made 20 years ago have very good weather sealing. Moderate rain is not going to seep inbetween the crevices of the lens helical and reach the lens elements. By the time the rain is heavy enough to seep into the camera or lens the front of your lens is covered in rain and you can't take pictures. Canon doesn't need to put rubber gaskets on the lens mounts. It is just one more useless feature they can market. Ever hear a photojournalist complain that rain seeped inbetween the lens and the camera mount? That's because it doesn't happen.

Peace, Rolland

Ahhh, but where I live, the extra sealing comes in very handy in preventing dust and sand to enter as well. Taking photos in the desert and dunes can be a real pain to the camera!

Weather sealing is nice, but will the CF cards work below freezing? I would trust my shots to a hard drive alone. The CF Mfrs claim that the cards are good to freezing, but not below. Quite a drawback.

They should work below freezing, although I can't say exactly how far below. I've personally used the IBM microdrives in -20C weather in my Olympus E-10 for hours at a time without problem. Once the drive starts spinning though, it acts as its own heat source. ;-) I would be more worried about NiMH battery technology at those temperatures (e.g., go with an external battery pack you can keep warm under your jacket).

As promised as of 11/24 5 AM I have saved out the original Canon EOS-1d Tiff images as exif jpg files from the twain utility provided by Canon. You can view them as full images if you select any image in this article. Before I had mistakenly assumed interested people could view the RAW image bits to help them understand the camera. Letting you see the full jpg files gets you closer to what you want. Please comment away now on the image quality as it is now accessible to everyone. Also let me know if there is something else I should do.

What's up with the focus in those last three shots under "Additional Images"? The compositions are all nice, but in that beach scene it doesn't look like anything is sharp. In the second scene, it looks like the edge of what seems to be a chalkboard on the left is sharp, but the man praying isn't. DOF also looks too short or the point-of-focus is misplaced in the third scene, where the rusty shed (which I take to be the frame) is tack sharp but the awnings (which I take to be the subject) are blurred.

As positive as the review is, the images seem to tell the story: "This camera is hard to focus properly."

Here is what I regard as a joke as I have no means to verify its content.

http://www.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1019&message=1787610&query=intend+to+do

It says on page 37 of the 1D user manual it clearly states,

'While Canon is producing 3000 of these wonderful machines a month, if you could, to avoid a big rush, and to not burden the many resellers worldwide, please post no more than 15 shots on the web, and be certain to post only out-of-focus, under-exposed shots.'

Funny?

BTW, can any 1v user say if it's something easily go wrong in controlling the 45 AF points.

Heh. Seems this issue has already been discussed over on the forum that Lester mentions in the previous post, complete with a response from Denis Reggie. I didn't mean to imply anything about the photographer's technique, by the way. These look like fairly typical autofocus problems (focusing on the nearest contrasty object). I suspect the focus would be right on target in manual focus mode (don't sell those Hassies yet!).

Weather Sealing? OF COURSE this is a great feature... especially if you are a yachting photographer. Like me. Professional/commercial photographers use their equipment a good deal harder than amateurs. We expect them to keep firing day after day, rain or shine, come hell and high water. My camera is my working equipment, not a beautiful expensive toy to be brought out and admired when the weather is right. If you regularly subject cameras and lenses to salt spray while standing in a small inflatable chasing a 40 foot racing yacht at 12-15 knots, ANY additional keep-the-muck-out-of-the-gear system is a winner. I have my old EOS-1's serviced by the Canon agent here in Hong Kong three or four times a year... and every time I walk into the Service Centre the staff all hide behind their desks. A well-sealed camera will save me a bundle in five minutes. I'm off to buy one as soon as I can.

While I have no doubt that the 1D will draw considerable more power, I understand that the design concept for the NiMH pack is similar to that used on the EOS 3 or EOS 1V. The EOS 3 and 1V are very capable in the cold (some people say the cameras seem to like it, whatever). Many report best results when using the NiMH pack, which is also what I use. This means that they can still save trouble by using the various gears in the drive to run the mirror and shutter in the 1D and perhaps they've worked on the power draw of the camera as well.

Only time will tell.

"The EOS-1D shares a lot of features and design ideas from the EOS-1V film body and uses that machine's 45-point auto-focus system. This compares very favorably with the inadequate 5-sensor system on N D1x and D1H. And this auto-focus system operates at the camera's maximum speed of 8 frames per second."

I cannot believe that Phil has to stoop so low as to take a shot at the Nikon D1X and D1H! This is supposed to be a review for the Canon EOS-1D and here he goes and talks about "inadequate 5-sensor system" found on Nikons. How pitiful! While Canon’s autofocus system has lots of marketing splash, in reality the latest EOS just barely catches up to the F5, D1X or D1H in autofocus speed and ability. Find a car speeding at 200mph towards you, press the shutter release on both cameras, then count the number of in focus pictures each camera produces; every test I’ve seen shows that, while the Canon can follow the car, it’ll produce fewer usable pictures in the burst than the Nikon, regardless of motor drive speeds.

Overall the review seems good. Nikon has set the world on fire with the D1, D1X and D1H. Contax has entered the race with the Digital version of the N-1 and what I read indicates that Minolta and Pentax are ready to plop down digital SLR's. I think the EOS-1D and Nikon D1H and D1X are the talk of the town and it seems that we most likely will never see another top of the line film camera from Nikon or Canon introduced. Hold on to your EOS-1v and F5.

Regarding the comment by Jimmy Rhyne, I beg to differ bigtime!! New years day had myself & a colegue sitting on cold wet grass at the top of a frulong on a horse race course, with a 300mm lens and bot of us with our brand new toys in hand, his a pair of Nikons (one of each of the D series) and me with my Eos 1D, we had identical kit and tried out eachothers machines. We both used 400iso on a very dull day with early morning mist and one one jump along I got 22 bang on images every single one of them was perfect, pin-sharp, beautiful exposures etc etc, and my friend got 13 workable shots, I say workable because they were for press release and minor softness is acceptable on newsprint, but out of those 13 only 4 were as good as mine in terms of focus, the exposures on all of his ones were perfect. We checked our images on the same computer in the office, and he has subsequently changed over to canon from being a lifelong Nikon user. To end I will say that every situation is different and your 200mph car assignment is alot faster than my horse racing event however I think the lighting and other non controllable influences would have made up for many of the differences between fast cars and slow horses.

Thanks for all the interesting perspectives on the 1D folks. As the owner of a relatively new D30 (October 2001), I can say that while I love the convenience of digital, and the quality is more than adequate for my needs, my D30 doesn't even come close to my 1V in terms of focus speed and reliability of exposure. Can anyone out there with both the 1V and 1D compare them please. I am seriously thinking of getting the 1D, but am concerned that the 1D is no more reliable than the D30 in terms of focus speed, and exposure metering.

It is good reason to believe that EOS1D will produce pictures with as good as, or even slightly better than Nikon's 1Dx. Faster! No little achievement! But not as good as Kodak 760 (for the Nikon system) which got such shameless treatment when tested by Phil Askey. Kodak 760 is a true 6 million pixle camera and truely the best digital SLR on the market today. The AF of of EOS1D will only be faster than Nikon F5 if reduction of number of AF points is choosen. Which is easy. What all these cameras can do is kill a man if dropped from 2 meters. Or swung by it's shoulder strap in eye-hight. Nice to know when one think of that 24 photo journalists have been killed in Afganistan in only three months. As a mean of protecting the electronics or keeping the moisture out, it is a lot more illusory. To test them to the limit might cost a fortune.

I is not correct, that EOS D1 has a larger CCD. It is actualy to CCD´s put together upright. I got my D1 in december and I have used it almost everyday since then. My experience is, that it has the same focus problem as EOS 1N has. Canon did correct it costless at their servicecenter. You can easily see the two CCD´s when you lighten the photo a step. the right side will show horisontal stripes in the dark areas.

The latest firmware (1.2) makes it a great bit better. Compare EOS D1 to 520 at www.pressefoto.dk

Sorry, about my terrible english =:) Jens

In October 2000, I was the first kid on the block to obtain the Canon D30 , from that moment on 75% of my commercial(corporate) shooting went from Hasselblad , a system which I've shot for 25 years ( all lastest equip & a lot of it )to the D30. However my weddings ( about 60%of my income) continued to be shot with my Hasselblads, I wouldn't even consider using the D30 . On October 19th/02 I was introduced to the Canon EOS1D , myself along with two other photogs at a friends studio in Troy NY.After that brief meeting , I could not wait to get my hands on my own Canon EOS1D. When they say it feels & shoots just like the the CanonEOS1V its a bit of an understatement . . . ITS EVEN BETTER. On December 17th 02 I received my 1st Canon EOS1D (2 more on order)..now .. all my work commerical as well as weddings will be shot with this camera . I have already sold my D30, its viewing + the fact that I wear glasses & the slow focusing was just too slow ..Please don't get me wrong . . under studio conditions it was just fine, in the field . . different situation. In spite of what I found to be its faults..the savings on film & processing more than paid its cost.I understand that Canons replacement the EOS D60 has addressed & improved on what is has been a successful product.

Not being a techie - this (new 1D) camera along with its softwear will provide the info I've never really cared to keep track of - example being what Fstop/shutter speed did I shoot that image at..along with lens&lighting info & on & on .To quote wedding photog Gary Fong . ." it will tell me the exact moment they cut the cake".

Attach Canons new L 70-200 f2.8 IS .Can you handhold at a 60th of a second ..no problem. My son was shooting a fireworks display at Albany,NY's 1ST Night celebration (a working assignment) this past NewYears at midnight, not having a tripod , he rested the lens on my shoulder . The combination of the 1D's speed of focusing along with the 70-200IS provided more than enough perfect exposures , by the way . . apeture anywhere from 2.8 & smaller ,shutter speed ..on average 1/13 second. Print out 11x17 inch on an Epson 1270 . . they're every bit the quality of my Hasselblad prints . . .let me repeat . . every bit the quality of my Hasselblad prints. My lab "Millers" ( Millers Professional ...cutting edge quality & service) allows me to upload a file within moments of shooting . . two days later the AirborneX driver is delivering the finished prints to my studio. The Canon 1D & its support products are simply superb!

. . Last word on Canon quality/service . . In early November while shooting a parade my D30 with 17-35 attached fell from the reviewing stand ( about 5ft.) to the pavement ( 1G micro drive enclosed 200+images). I picked it up continued to shoot & complete the assignment w/no loss of images.In spite of the fact that there was not a visible impact mark on either camera or lens, I did the next day (Monday), send them off to Canon /CPS ,to have it checked out... that Friday. . it was back , No Damage . and Yes the new owner was informed of this incident.

I have used the Canon 1D for the past three years for wedding work. Even when I have the Canon 1D Mark2, and the 20D I still love the speed and the image quality that I get from my Canon 1D. I simply don't have the guts to sell it. It keeps going and going.

I also don't think it's the equipment per se but rather the talent and vision of the photographer. A lot of the photos that I shot were with amateur equipment and clients really loved the photos.

I purchased a 1D (used on Ebay)recently, as finaly I found one in my price range. I have used 3 other Canon units (300D, 10D, 20D)and have just fell in love with this camera. it is old and worn but shoots fine noiseless shots. The most dramatic issue, for me, is the viewfinder composing, and the quickness of the AF in most cases. I test to shoot quickly and never had such a great tool in this area. Even though the 20D has many qualities that match or exceed the 1D, I carry the 1D more often now.

I currently have the Canon 40D, but am seriously considering upgrading to the Canon 5D.