Digital camera Canon EOS 1D Mark II: customer reviews

Canon EOS 1D Mark II - an excellent digital professional camera, the release of which was announced in February 2004. Then he became one of the best cameras in the world. And 12 years later appeared his worthy descendant - Canon EOS 1D X Mark II, whose review is given at the end of the article.

Main changes

What most surprises the Canon EOS 1D Mark II Body? Characteristics of photos at high ISO. To ISO 400 photos with almost no noise, ISO 800 also shows a very good result and ISO 1600 is completely tolerated. In principle, this camera is great for shooting in low light conditions.

The lack of noise has calmed many users who purchased the device after 10D, which allows you to make very even pictures - the result that made the camera a favorite of many photographers. But it took a long time to overcome your fear.

1D was released long before its successor, Canon EOS 1D Mark II. The characteristics of 1D were considered by many to be better than those of 10D - and in many respects it is really so. However, the sample images for many did not seem sufficiently flawless. In addition, users wanted more than a 6-megapixel image.

Another reason for concern about the Canon EOS 1D Mark II was its clarity. The image is very sharp. Detailing is very good, and it consistently remains so in different situations. Landscape photographers especially appreciate the details captured by this camera. When comparing similar images of distant trees and shrubs, the results of 1D MKII are noticeably more detailed than those of 10D.

The size

"More" is one of the first adjectives that comes to mind after reading the Canon EOS 1D Mark II. The characteristics have largely changed in the direction of increase compared to the digital SLR cameras 10D and D60, which appeared two years before the model in question.

Of course, the physical size is the first "more" that can be seen. But even with larger sizes, the 1D MKII is better in the hands than the 10D. The camera in the grip is not thick, but high. Tactile sensations are very good - it is tenacious. In addition, the Mark II is heavier, but it, rather, helps to hold it more firmly in your hands when shooting.

Viewfinder

The viewfinder is another "big" innovation of the camera. Bright and big, it became a welcome update, although for owners 1D did not give anything new. It is no longer necessary to guess what is depicted on the part of the frame that has not entered the viewfinder. True, you need to get used to it. Users who have learned to capture an image that is beyond the scope of the 10D visor now have to forget this skill.

The Canon EOS 1D Mark II review is not so big, and the viewfinder itself is not as bright as its predecessor. This, of course, involves using a 1.3 times smaller sensor than a full-format camera, and also with the fact that, thus, the image fed to the viewfinder is smaller, and therefore less bright. Those who are accustomed to 10D or other 6-Mp will find the viewfinder bright and large, but the same 1D it is much inferior in this respect.

The Canon EOS 1D X Mark II review is due to a .76-fold magnification and full-size sensor size.

Display

The LCD screen on the rear panel became larger, it increased to 2.0 "from 1.8", and it seems even larger. Of course, the increase in the number of pixels from 118 to 230 thousand can not go unnoticed. The captured image is displayed very quickly on the display after the shutter is released. But we must hurry, so as not to miss a 2-second snapshot. The screen will have fewer greasy tracks from touching the nose, since the eyecup is now set further than the 10D.

In the modification of Canon EOS 1D Mark II N, the display characteristics have been improved. Its size increased to 2.5 inches, and the screen itself became brighter and sharper.

For comparison: the Canon EOS 1D X Mark II display diagonal is 3.2 ".

The only "more" that did not please consumers was the price of the camera.

Speed

"Faster" is another relevant epithet for the Canon EOS 1D Mark II.

First of all, the shutter began to work faster - it acts almost instantly. The descent is very smooth and acts just as quickly. The inclusion is almost instantaneous (0.5 s). The function menu also appears quickly. No more waiting.

The burst speed is 8.5 fps for 40 frames (or 20 in the RAW-CR2 format). You can practically shoot a video. Well, not exactly video, but for its time this mirror camera had the fastest auto focus and captured 8.2 megapixels with each image. CompactFlash / SD memory cards can be filled very quickly.

In the modification of Canon EOS 1D Mark II N (Body only), the speed did not change, but the buffer size increased to 48 pictures in JPEG format or up to 22 in RAW format.

Definition

In addition, the sensor increased the number of megapixels - up to 8. Of course, the size of the picture at the same time increased and required more capacity and computational resources. As a result, a 16-bit TIFF file weighs about 48 MB.

Memory cards

Previously, when shooting on film, the speed reached 8 fps, but then the cassette ended in 4 seconds. This significantly limited the ability of photographers who rarely could afford such a pleasure for financial reasons, not to mention the fear of being left without a film when working in hard-to-reach places.

The Canon EOS 1D Mark II camera with a 4 GB card can shoot the equivalent of 10 film cassettes (375 frames), but every 20-40 frames should wait for a while to clear the buffer. But the costs associated with the shooting, completely disappeared, since you can copy the footage in a few minutes to the hard disk of the laptop, and the card can be used again.

Users can choose between CompactFlash or SD memory cards. Or you can use both standards at the same time. A rear-facing card slot is much easier to see when the camera is hanging on the neck than the side slot 10D. The connectors are also accessible when the camera is in an open case.

Dynamic Range

More became and ISO settings. The camera allows you to select ISO, equal to one-third of the standard division of the scale values. Settings can be extended to a range from 50 to 3200. 9 steps is more than any other Canon EOS series before it. 10D has 8 divisions. Implementation, of course, can differ, but quantitative indicators are always convenient to compare.

Is the consequence of this reduction in contrast? Since white is (255,255,255), and black (0,0,0), when displaying or printing more information in the same range, the colors of the middle range become closer to each other. As a result, we get a slightly reduced contrast of the image, if, of course, the logic circuit of the camera processor does not add the correct curves to the image. It is not known whether such an algorithm is used in it at all and whether it includes correction of curves, but the result is pleasant to users. And the contrast can be easily corrected during post-processing. It should be remembered that some image formats support a higher contrast than others.

More focus points

At Canon EOS 1D Mark II, the number of focus points increased from 7 in 10D to 45 (as in 1D). This helps a lot when tracking an object in AI Servo mode with an open aperture. In this case, you can select the desired point. In the EOS 1D, a separate microprocessor is dedicated to autofocusing. This greatly simplified the process of shooting and allowed to increase the percentage of high-quality images.

Battery life

The battery life of the camera is extraordinary. The manufacturer estimates it 1200 frames. True, this was made possible by doubling the price and tripling the size compared to the 10D battery. According to user feedback, after shooting 800 photos with a large number of image views, the battery still shows a full charge. Completely it is discharged after 1,300 pictures and a huge number of views captured on the LCD screen of the camera. According to users, the indicator indicates full charge, even when the battery is almost completely discharged.

In this model, there was a transition from lithium-ion power sources to nickel-metal hydride. Batteries require a little more attention - more frequent cycles of full discharge and charging, so that their optimal operation lasts as long as possible. Since the capacity of the 1D II battery is very decent, with this little inconvenience, users are ready to put up. The reason for switching to the new technology is a wider range of operating temperatures and better charge cycle rates.

Control

Became more pressing. Many functions require pressing two buttons at the same time, and most settings require their holding down when changing the selected value. Users consider this less logical than single pressing in 10D, but they hope that soon they will be able to get used to it.

Crop factor

Another significant difference between the 1D MKII was the 1.3-fold crop factor. Fans of photo-hunting and landscape photographers liked 1.6-fold 10D crochet. The innovation has become a trade-off between traditional and professional full-length cameras and a line of semi-professional Canon DSLR c 1.6x. According to the owners, the zoom lenses they use now fall into a more usable range of focal lengths.

Another change associated with a decrease in the angle of view of the lens is a decrease in the depth of field for such subjects with the same optics and settings. The closer the distance from the camera to the subject being photographed, the less depth of field becomes (with the previous settings). Since now we have to approach the subject of photography in order to get the same frame with a 1.3-fold crop factor, the depth will be less. Of course, if you leave the distance as before, it will remain. But the cropping of the image will be different, and the subject will be smaller. The result can be either good or bad - it all depends on what effect the user is trying to achieve.

Wildlife lovers can view the reduced field of view in this way. 8-megapixel image can be cut to 6 Mp and get the previous 1.6-fold crop factor. Sacrificing quality, you can return to the previous 6-megapixel resolution, but enjoy other advantages of the camera.

Flash

There is no built-in 10D flash. According to users, there is nothing to regret here. Many built-in flash almost do not use, and much more often mistakenly stumble on the bulging button. In addition, a cleaner high ISO makes it possible to dispense with a flash much more often.

The metering system for Mark II has also been improved. This takes into account information about the distance from the lens when calculating mixed conditions of natural lighting and flash application. The E-TTL II seems to be a step forward after the E-TTL. A white wedding dress will still need a positive flash exposure correction, and black suits will probably require some negative compensation, but after the initial installation, the results from the photo to the photo seem unchanged.

Video

In 1D and 1Ds video output was not provided. At Mark II he appeared. This innovation was liked by photographers working in the studio - they were able to view the captured images on the TV screen.

Input and Output

FireWire-connection on Mark II instead of 6-pin became 4-pin. This has given way to both the USB 1.1 connector (for direct printing) and the video output.

The speed of the FireWire port has increased from 40 Mbit / s to 1D and 60 Mbit / s to 1Ds to 100 Mbit / s from Mark II.

External white balance sensor

Mark II does not have an external white balance sensor. All data is obtained from the image sensor, and not from a separate sensor on the camera body, which measures the illumination, like in 1Ds. It's unclear, it's good or bad. Users who shoot with both cameras note that 1Ds balance is set more correctly. True, shooting in RAW format allows you to adjust it in subsequent processing. But those photographers who use the JPG format should study this issue in more detail.

IPTC in JPG format

Photojournalists may be interested in the fact that MKII now records IPTC data in JPG format, not in RAW files. The camera also now supports the EXIF 2.21 standard, which adds Adobe RGB to the color space information. This means that Photoshop automatically determines what the file is in Adobe RGB space.

Texture

The finish of Canon EOS 1D Mark II (Body) buyers' reviews are considered smoother and "rubberized", which provides a more confident capture of the camera, even when the hands are a little wet.

Strap

Strangely enough, there is no strap in the box. According to users, it should be a mandatory attribute of all cameras of the series 1 because of their weight - it will be the first accessory that they will acquire after the purchase of the device.

Software

Software for converting RAW images has been updated and improved.

The first thing that users notice is EVU (EOS viewer) and DPP ("professional" digital photos) save RAW settings in the .CR2 file. If earlier photographers, not satisfied with the result, had to rewrite the transform many times, each time starting all over again, because the settings were not saved, but now you can simply change them to achieve the desired. Another advantage is that there is no need to complete the process in one sitting. You can walk through all the pictures once and return to them at another time to make sure that your eyes saw exactly what they were supposed to see. Interrupting the post-transformation process does not mean that everything should be restarted.

Owners liked the DPP interface, its faster speed and better functionality than the EVU. But, according to some, the result of processing RAW-files from the EVU is more qualitative. Users recommend paying attention to the fact that DPP's sharpening settings are stronger than EVU's.

New software is much faster than the obsolete FVU file viewer. According to the owners, the speed increased 2 times.

Canon's software now boasts the presence of a Windows recycle bin. It's strange, why it was not done before, but such changes can only be welcomed. Now there is no need to use a special program to restore accidentally deleted RAW-files.

Canon EOS 1D Mark II camera: customer opinion

Owners are not very happy with the fact that to lock and unlock the mirror you need to press four buttons. Some owners complain about the loss of dramatic personnel. For example, when photographing the dawn with a 500 mm lens with a delay of 1/2 sec even with a heavy tripod, cardan mount and stabilization enabled due to mirror vibration, the frame clearly shows a double image. As the lighting changed too quickly, because of the need to wade through all the screens and press the buttons necessary to lock the mirror, valuable time could be missed.

In addition, displeasure causes the need to tear off the viewfinder to change the ISO. Simultaneously monitor the subject or wait for the right moment for the frame and look at the upper LCD screen is very inconvenient.

Users hope that they will not need protection from moisture and dust, but they are pleased with the availability of such an opportunity.

Not all the innovations and functionalities that characterize the digital camera Canon EOS 1D Mark II, reviews of owners find successful. One of the biggest disappointments in the 1D II was the shutter release button on the vertical grip. It is extremely sensitive and has almost no stroke. Pressing the shutter release to focus without taking a picture is almost impossible. This is a serious mistake that could be easily avoided. The horizontal (normal) shutter release works fine - as expected. Although you can get used to such an inconvenient auxiliary descent, still it does not like many.

In addition, users note that the camera is extremely sensitive to bright red color. They advise you not to go too far to the right in the histogram when shooting red objects.

Photographers practicing macro photography or lovers of landscapes using tiny aperture holes will not be happy to know that the dust on the sensor is still an unresolved problem. Owners note even more dust on 1D than in 10D.

Verdict

In general, the owners are impressed with the changes that Canon made in this model.

Is 1D II intended exclusively for professionals? Certainly not. The ability to receive excellent quality of personnel has found a response and a large number of photography enthusiasts. Just remember that bad pictures can be done even with the best devices. But the digital photo camera Canon EOS 1D Mark II was able to raise the quality to unimaginable heights.

Worthy descendant

In 2004, the characteristics of cameras in 2016 could only dream of. The last flagship Canon EOS 1D X Mark II became a worthy continuer of the line. The model has established the next quality standard among the best cameras in the world. The Canon EOS 1D X Mark II reviews are praised for the improved autofocus system, the significantly increased dynamic range and literally unlimited RAW buffer when shooting with CFAST cards. In addition, the camera is capable of removing 170 RAW-frames at a speed up to 16 fps, and also excellent quality of 4K-video at 60 fps or Full HD at 120 fps. In conjunction with the leading in its class AF system, shooting sports, movements and important events will be available to non-professionals.

In addition to the 20.2-megapixel full-resolution CMOS sensor and dual DIGIC 6+ processor, the camera features a 61-point AF system, a wide dynamic range of ISO 100-51200 and a reduced noise level. ISO expansion is also available up to 50-409600. In addition, for the first time in the 1D series, a 360,000-pixel RGB + IR sensor appeared, which improves face recognition and motion tracking. There is built-in GPS, USB 3.0, HDMI, headphone and microphone, wireless and remote control.