| Canon EOS 1Ds Mark II 16.7MP Digital SLR Camera (Body Only) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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by Canon  High-speed FireWire and video out interface offer complete connectivity; optional wireless adaptor delivers high-speed image transfer Battery lasts for approximately 1200 shots at 20 degrees C, 800 at 0 degrees C Features 2.0-inch LCD screen with 230,000 pixels and 1.5 to 10x playback zoom Powered by Canon's second-generation DIGIC II image processor; capable of firing at 4 frames per second for bursts of up to 32 frames in JPEG or 11 frames in RAW 16.7-megapixel sensor provides sufficient resolution to produce files that convert to 50MB uncompressed TIFF at 24-bit colour depth |
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| From the Manufacturer An update to the tremendously popular EOS-1Ds, the new EOS-1Ds Mark II is a must-have for those seeking to capture huge, beautiful images fast. With an all new, full-frame 16.7 megapixel CMOS image sensor, combined with Canon's blazing DIGIC II Image Processor, the EOS-1Ds Mark II captures up to 32 consecutive shots at speeds up to four frames per second and has dramatically decreased startup and card-writing times in comparison to the EOS-1Ds. These improvements are complemented by Canon's renowned build quality for reliability in even the most rugged conditions. Compatibility with over 50 EF Lenses, in addition to the entire line of EOS accessories, including the new Wireless File Transmitter WFT-E1 accessory, easily makes the EOS-1Ds Mark II the most remarkable combination of resolution and speed in the history of digital SLRs. 16.7 Megapixel, Full Frame CMOS Sensor With RAW plus four JPEG file sizes available, from 16.7 megapixels down to 4.2 megapixels, the EOS-1Ds MARK II can be adjusted to conserve space on memory cards if large images are not the priority of the shoot. DIGIC II Image Processor RAW + JPEG Fast and Responsive, EOS-1 Class Performance Features Shared with the EOS-1D Mark II Dual Card Slots The EOS-1Ds Mark II comes equipped with two card slots, one for CompactFlash (CF) and one for Secure Digital (SD) memory cards. The camera can be set up to record images on either card for maximum storage capacity, or, for extra security, the same image can be recorded simultaneously on both cards. The card slot cover release knob has been redesigned to enable photographers to open the slot easily, even with their gloves on. Settings Saved Reflecting the tremendous amount of customization possible with EOS digital SLRs, an entire camera's settings can now be saved to a memory card and shared with multiple cameras. If service is needed, personal settings can be stored and reloaded onto the camera, minimizing redundant settings work. New Interfaces Rugged Build Quality Improved Image Display Expanded Zoom Displays RGB Histogram Auto Rotation of Vertical Images Compatible with Canon's Full Line of EOS Lenses and Accessories Through Canon's advanced optical know-how and sub-micron precision engineering, EF lenses offer unprecedented capabilities that meet wide-ranging needs. Leading features include a high precision ultrasonic motor that silently drives the autofocus mechanism, an image stabilizer that automatically compensates for camera shake, advanced aspherical optics, fluorite lenses, ultra low dispersion (UD) lenses, and super UD lenses. Canon's sophisticated electronic lens mount technology communicates with the camera as soon as the lens is mounted, transferring information about the lens type, aperture, and focal length, ensuring fast, precise control from the camera. Accessories Speedlite 580EX Data Verification Kit DVK-E2 Wireless File Transmitter WFT-E1 Professional-level Image Software EOS Solution Disk Digital Photo Professional (Version 1.5) Compatibility Chart
Direct Photo Printers Compact Photo Printers PictBridge What's in the box WOW !!!!
I have just given the camera back to my cousin who works for Canon head office. He brought the new 1Ds Mark II home for the long weekend. First of all the camera is not light. I tried it with the 70-200 2.8L IS lens..great pictures in low light, obviously helps if the lens is fantastic also ! Startup time is very fast. No real distracting noise on shutter, easy to hold. Good recovery time shot to shot, menu system set out logically. Many shooting options, my favorite one being the x-ray option. Not sure if this will still be offered when camera goes on sale but it's totally cool option. If you can get your subject to drink liquid dye the pics that come out are like from a science fiction movie !! Overall impression was that it is a must have camera. This is THE 35mm Digital SLR (for at least the next 2 years)
I recieved my 1DsMkII on 21 Nov 04. My previous digital SLR was a Canon 10D and I have a film based Hassleblad, which I don't use much any more. So far I can find no camera imposed limitations to my photographs (except I can never have enough resolution). I have full use of my wide angle lenses again. I love this camera. Some notes: unlike my 10D, the speed of compact flash cards make a huge difference with the 1DsMkII, I recommend at least a 40X or faster, don't use a standard CF card with this camera there is a noticeable speed difference (can you say turtle). My Lexar 40x card seems to do a decent job keeping up with the camera given my normal shooting style, but is still not fast enough to truly keep up with the camera in full continuous mode. This is not a light camera and the controls take some getting used to coming from the D60/10D realm, but they seem better laid out for my use. Although the manual and autofocus on the camera is noticeably better then my older camera, I upgraded the focus screen (to Ec-b) because my eyes tend to adjust to the lens and I can now manually focus. Upgrading the focus screen was not something I could do with my D60 or 10D and I had problems with manual focus because of this. This camera takes fantastic pictures. It is near-IR sensitive (although not as much as my 10D), so some near-infrared pictures are possible. For a multi-purpose camera this is THE 35mm camera for all but some sports and photojournalist photographers. In the studio, I am of the opinion, it can replace many medium format film systems as well. Although a bit pricey, it is well worth the money. I highly recommend this camera for the serious photographer. Absolutely Fabulous
I bought this camera after using the Canon EOS 10D for commercial photography, and I'm really impressed by its performance. If I were to list the top things I like about it, I would say: - Resolution. The camera (almost) produces A3 @ 300dpi images. That satisfies most advertising needs. - Wide Dynamic Range. The color tones and wide color gamut help produce amazing images in all color spaces. - Speed. (1)Startup speed is wonderful, I set the energy saver to shutdown the camera after 1 min of inactivity and it starts up immediately after a lightly touching the shutter release button. (2)The other thing is the 4 fps; I thought it would be too slow for sports, but it's not. (3)Last but not least, AF speed, it's almost instantaneous. - Built like a tank. The camera's weather seals are also very important to me. I live in a desert environment, so it gets very dusty especially when doing outdoors photography. Of course changing lenses outdoors for me is risky since it's a chance for dust to get into the chamber and then onto the sensor, So be careful. - Full Frame. The experience of the lenses brings you back to film cameras. The 10D had a x1.6 crop factor (17mm is actually 27.2mm), but with the 1Ds Mark II 17mm is 17mm and that made me utilize the lenses I had better. I hope I was able to convey some of the joy I'm having with it.. The only bad thing I find in this camera is its price.. But with all things considered, I think it has the value for it. The Best Digital SLR
I am a Pro Photographer who formerly used Medium Format. I wanted to get a digital SLR with better than film quality. The EOS 1Ds MK II is it! It is weather/dust resistant (to a point) when combined with Canon's "L" series lenses, and if you own this body, those lenses are a must-have. The controls are easier to master than I first thought. It is fast, no shutter lag and fast write to card. The colors and details in shadow/highlights are amazing! Truly a joy to hold! If you want the best, this is it. Soft looking images
I had read every review of this camera and was sure it was the one for me. I had been using a Kodak DCS Pro 14n and thought the higher res of the Canon would be an improvement. Immediately after shooting some studio shots, I only shoot products, I was disappointed with the softness of the images. I compared them with the crisp sharp photos of my Kodak and became very dissatisfied. I thought the Canon must be defective, or maybe some kind of setting was wrong tried every sharpening technique, using Canon's software and Photoshop. These helped but still the images had an overall soft looked which were unusable to me. I returned the camera. I went back and reread the reviews. To my own surprise each reviewer had mentioned this soft look and I had not realized what they meant. This seems to be a choice Canon made, something to do with the IR filter and moire effects. I went back to my Kodak and am much happier. At low ISO settings the Kodak outperforms the Canon for studio product work. I think the softness of the Canon's images would better suit a portrait artist then my type of work. I did not test the Canon at high ISO settings but I do know that the Kodak adds to much noise so the Canon may be a better choice for those needing faster ISO numbers. Digital Photographer Magazine ("Kodak vs. Kodak Which 13.5MP DSLR Takes The Sharpest Prints?") did a good review of the new Kodak DCS SLR's and called them the "sharpest" of all digital SLR's, sharper then this new Canon, and these new models have less noise as well. I am sure if you do not have the images side by side you would not realize the difference but I had the luxury of comparing. It was painfully obvious that the Kodak was sharper. Great Camera
I purchased this camera online one month ago from amazon here [...] And I have taken pictures from Alaska to Florida and in Washington I love how the Mark II captures images IMHO more clearly than any film SLR could ever take. Best Camera I have every used Almost perfect
I have been shooting digital for four years now mostly with the Kodak DCS cameras(660 through DCSPro). Being a life long Nikon guy it was a big decision to make the switch to Canon and the 1DS MK2. This camera is light years ahead of any Kodak digital slr. I use this camera for studio product, models, location, low light, you name it. The Canon has never produced anything but astounding images for me. All image parameters including sharpness are far superior to any of the old images I have from my Kodak days. Yes it is pricey but if you are working with this camera you will pay for easily long before it's useful days are over. Amazing but expect more PS work
This camera has the potential for pictures with amazing clarity and colors but not straight out of the camera. I too was disappointed after converting the RAW files with C1 Pro and ACR. Was it possible that my D-Rebel would be better than this monster that gives me neck pains and has made my right arm to start looking like Swartzenegger's arm? Even with L glass the results were dissapointing. The problem is not with the camera but with the workflow. After using it for 2 months I am getting used to a workflow that will give me the results I am looking for. I had to realize that this camera does not perform any processing enhancements in camera because the pros need to do it themselves. Once I got over the fact that I would have to sharpen and saturate colors a lot more than before I was content and have never touched the D-Rebel ever since. PS Beware of the severe neck pains when attaching any L zoom lens. Buy the hand strap or a better neck strap. Some photo samples can be found here: http://www.trekearth.com/members/nbournas/photos/ the best camera on earth
i think this is the BEST buy anyone can do, is superfast, flexible (50-3200 asa) interchangeble lenses, long last battery, all excellent, the only bad thing is the high price but it worth it, its like having a ferrari, almost you want to keep it at home in case that something bad happens like being stolen or damaged even do that some people say that the big size is an inconvinencie i personally would not like a tiny camera as a professional photographer it woud look ridicoulous, so the size is a good thing also, when people that even dont know the camera are impressed by the stuff it has. List price of $11,999.99?
First, the Canon 1Ds Mark II is an awesome professional camera. This review is about the completely misleading Amazon offer of 42% off. This is the biggest joke imaginable. The Amazon website shows the list price as $11,999.99. When Canon launched this camera the MSRP wasn't that high. It was $7,999. Methinks someone with a calculator got carried away. Anyway, after adding it to my cart to see the unbelievable low price it turns out its within about $100 of what every other reputable online shop is selling it for. I expected more from Amazon. This behavior is reprehensible. Price Incorrect
The Canon 1Ds Mark II does not list for $11,999. Body only it lists for around $7,500. makes disposables obsolete!
Ive gotten used to the disposable kodaks i got from the checkout isle at walmart. The problem with those, though, is that they run out of pictures pretty quick. The last straw was when we ran out of film at the family reunion just as cousin billy was about to show us how to catch a lizard with a rubber band and a twinky. At that point I knew I needed an upgrade. I ordered the Canon EOS-1Ds Mark II the next day, for [...] The feature that first caught my attention was the powerful zoom. Now when I take a family picture, I like to step back about a mile or two, then zoom in and snap that high-resolution masterpeice. My wife always complains that i zoom too close into the big pores on her nose, to which i respond by suggesting she use clean and clear pore cleansing strips (watch for her upcoming review of those soon). Another useful feature of this camera is the continuous shooting mode. This is where the camera automatically takes pictures in rapid succession, about 5 per second. The other day I set the camera on the dresser, turned on the macarena, and got wild. I then took the individual pictures and strung them together into an animated flipbook. Now watching myself do the macarena is a mere flip of the book away. Man i can dance. To summarize, you will have a lot of fun with this cam like i did. Definitely worth the [...] ! But remember, there is a [...] that comes with it; so make sure you fill in the item number clearly on the [...] card, and make sure you stay within the space alloted on the form otherwise the [...] wont go through. comaprison to a 1ds (Mark I)
It seems unfair to compare this camera to a 10D (or 20D or 30D), either favorably or unfavorably. These instruments are good in their own right, but hardly are in the same league as the 1DS Mark II. I have used all three of the xxD's, and an original 1ds body as well. It occurs to me that the folks who are interested in shelling out over 5 grand for a camera already have an idea about what they want, and that some of them are asking if they should trade in their 1ds body for a mark ii. It is to them that I am adressing this review. The remarks, I think will help those who have less experience with the line. Bear with me for the technical jargon and the emphais on Mark I vs II comparison. I want to help the buyer to decide if there really is a reason to spend this kind of money. First, regarding resolution: you probably won't be able to tell the difference between Mark I and Mark II unless you are doing studio work. An 8x10 image is virtually indistinguishable. Most of us shoot in .jpg mode, and we don't mess with RAW. If you are doing a 17x20 wedding portrait and are working with uncompressed files, the Mark II is superior. I do outdoor work, so 11.6 megapixels is plenty. Finallyl, the quality of the glass makes a big difference (much more than the sensor resolution), so if you are a little strapped for cash, buy a 5D and spend the difference on "L" series lenses, or a used 1DS (Mark I). Second: Ergonomics. I like the histogram on the Mark II better than the older camera, and appreciate the improved burst performance, and storage times. Small but significant differences. The battery life is way better, and I like that. I can get 700 frames out of a charge in the Mark II and only 200 from the Mark II. Thank you, Canon. Maybe in the next iteration they will do something with the black brick of a charger. I can only hope. Third: Sensor noise. Most ofthe high-end cameras are CMOS now, and each time we look at a new generation of pictures we are wowed by the decrease in sensor noise at high ISO's. I remember that the we praised the Mark I for the low noise up to ASA 400. For the uninitiated, sensor noise is the random firing of a sensor due to quantum effects, and manifests as sparkle or random changes in pixel color. It is more prominent in low light and high ASA. The Mark I is great up to ASA 400, good up to 800 and needs some digital filtering at 1200. The Mark II is really good up to ASA 1600, and with a Photoshop filter is good to 3200. If you shoot in low light, the Mark II is for you. Fourth: Color balance. I always loved the warm, saturated pictures that the Mark I gives, so don't get me wrong - better color rendition is not a reason to sell it for a new model. The Mark II, though, improves on it and gives beautiful color saturation with some improvement in the range of highligts. Digital photo buffs will know what I mean: if you take a picture with broad highlights, like a sky, the foreground objecst will be underexposed. and the highlights clear. Set the exposrue to the foreground, and the sky will be a burnt-out white. The Mark II has improved this much, but it still needs some work by Canon. For now, it helps to have taken a large number of pictures to get an idea as to how to set the exposure. Fifth: Accuracy of the exposure. The Mark I had an annoying tendancy to overexpose by about a stop. I got used to turning down the exposure 1-2 stops, exposing on the highlights, and using Photoshop to correct the exposure. The Mark II is more accurate, and the Manual exposure is close to the metered exposure. Sixth: The FF/1.6 business. I really don't see any reason that a 30D is a better camera because a 50mm lens gives an image analagous an 85mm lens in a full frame camera. Be advised, though, that lens evaluations depend on this distinction. Edge performance and flair may be more obvious on a full frame instrument. Both the 1DS and the 1DS Mark II tend to challenge lenses more because they work the full range of the lens from side to side and through the apertures. My 35-135 IS Canon lens gave great pictures on the 10D, but looks washed out on both of the 1Ds's. Before giving the 1DS Mark II a bum rap for less than perfect pictures, ask what lens was used. Seventh: Price. Presently, a non-grey-market 1DS Mark II sells for around $6899 from reputable dealers. A used Mark I is around half that. I would take a half star away from Canon for the pounding my pocketbook is taking, but I understand that a Mark I was just about the same price when it was released. The price gradient presently would be tolerable for those shooting in low light, or for RAW studio work. Personally, I would buy a Mark I over a 5D for the improved construction. Finally, some general remarks. I would have liked to compare this fine camera to the comparable Nikon. Unfortunately, I cannot, because all my glass is Canon, and I have no money left for a mult-thousand buck purchase of a Nikon. Maybe someone else would write a review. My only beefs with Canon have to do with sensor dust, that seems to appear by spontaneous generation, and the steep learning curve that I had with my first use. (Plan on a night or two reading the manual) I guess I can forgive them for not putting a flash in it. Add a couple of hundred to the price for the purchase of a 580EX. Canon service has been terrific. If you have the bucks, quit complaining about the price and get one if you are a serious photographer. Look at the images in dpreview.com (and the long, thoughtful review there), and at fredmiranda.com - they will leave you breathless. This is a serious instrument for serious photographers and far be it from me to give it less than 5 stars for my petty complaints. The camera to have...
As a photo gear junkie, I seem to go through cameras quickly. I buy - use - sell - upgrade... over and over and over. I have used the original digital rebel, the 20D, the 1DMarkIIN, and now the 1dsMKII. I was originally hesitant to drop the significant chunk of change required to own this product. Especially in the middle of a period of rumors circulating that the next evolution of the 1ds was coming soon. However - it was well worth the money. I shoot model based images primarly... so I need something that is portable, rugged, and wont die on me - on location. The battery lasts 8+ hours per charge - and charges incredibly quickly. I bought a spare... but I have only used it on travel weekends when I am away from a power supply for 2-3 days. Its rugged. There is nothing like the pro-series bodied by Canon. I have taken this camera out in the cold and snow - and in pretty heavy rain - and because of its weather sealing - it worked like a charm. Noise... this camera can shoot at H - which is the equivalent of ISO 3200. If you need to get the shot - and are in almost pitch black conditions - this baby can handle it. It will be grainy - but its a lot better than almost all of the other cameras out there. (I hear rumors that the 5D is better with LESS grain than this camera)... but then again - this is 16.7 megapixels. The amount of megapixels is phenominal... 16.7 - allows you to shoot a person and see all of their nosehair. While that may not sound flattering (and its not) - it means that with good glass this baby can capture even the subtlest of details. Last cool point... the dynamic range. You figure more digital cameras have a dynamic range of 5-7 stops. Film - 7-9 stops... This has got to have closer to 9 stops and is the BEST I have seen in a digital camera. I just recently got a medium format digital back - and that has 13 stops of dynamic range... but the 1dsmkii comes a heck of a lot closer to that without having to shell out 30k. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||