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Canon EOS 1D Mark IV firmware update available

Canon’s firmware update for the

EOS 1D Mark IV is available for download from Canon immediately.

What’s the update do you ask?

This firmware update (Version 1.0.6) incorporates the
following enhancement:
Firmware Version 1.0.6 enhances the AF tracking performance.*
*AF performance has been enhances[sic] for receding subjects and for subjects that are approaching at a low speed.

Right on, Canon.



EOS 1D Mark IV tested by Brad Mangin

Anybody who knows me knows that I’m not a professional sports photographer and that putting a 1D Mark IV in my hands would be about as useful as putting me behind the wheel of any car that’s won a NASCAR race in the last decade. Can I figure things on the exposure triangle? Sure. Much past that, things get iffy.

Fortunately, Canon puts samples in the hands of guys like Brad Mangin, who is a professional sports photographer. You can see his first hand use of the EOS 1D Mark IV with the 400 f/2.8 (on and off the 1.4x tele-converter) in the Detroit Lions vs San Francisco 49ers game here, complete with a RAW file downloadable from his server.



Canon EOS-1D Mark IV Whitepaper Tells All

eos-1d-mark-IVCanon has released its whitepaper for its new flagship model, the APS-H endowed EOS-1D Mark IV. Full of insanely detailed notes on the new technology inside this beast, and clearly stating where it differs from the last generation, this is a must read for any pro out there seriously interested in what to expect from the new Mark IV.

The whitepaper itself is quite extensive–123 pages, actually– and if you don’t find yourself dreadfully interested in such things as the construction of cross-type sesnors, this is probably not the read for you. Although, at this level, if you’re not concerned with how that technology affects your photography, this might not be the camera for you, either (the stellar EOS 7D might be more your thing).

I’ve made it through bits of it, and here are some highlights:

Highly responsive AF systems offer accurate predictive AF (they focus quickly on subjects in the AF frame), but they have difficulty stabilizing focus if the subject leaves the AF frame during AI Servo AF continuous shooting. The 1D Mark III, highly responsive by design, consequently has a lower probability of accurately focusing on fast-moving subjects that are hard to keep within the AF frame. With the new 1D Mark IV AI Servo II AF algorithm, stability, reliability and AF precision have all been improved without a sacrifice in responsiveness. Predictive AF is more intelligent and avoids over-response, and difficult lighting — both low contrast and very bright conditions — is handled better.

Note that although the maximum aperture of the following lenses or combinations is f/4, cross-type focusing with 39 AF points is now possible with these current lenses:

  • EF 17-40mm f/4L USM
  • EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM
  • EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM + Extender EF1.4x II
  • EF 200mm f/2L IS USM + Extender EF2x II
  • EF 300mm f/2.8L IS USM + Extender EF1.4x II
  • EF 400mm f/2.8L IS USM + Extender EF1.4x II

C.Fn III-3: (AI Servo 1st/2nd image priority) has had the optional [3: Release/Tracking priority] setting added. Shutter-release priority (rather than focus priority) is given to the first shot. During continuous shooting (from the second shot onward), stable focus-tracking of the subject is given priority. This new setting, which was the only option for AI Servo AF release/tracking priority with the original EOS-1D, EOS-1D Mark II and EOS-1D Mark II N, was conspicuously absent on the EOS-1D Mark III. Now, EOS-1D Mark IV users will have the best of both worlds together with the new improvements to AF hardware and software.

There you go, straight from big red’s mouth. Canon has obviously done a lot of soul-searching in the making of this camera, and what I’m reading in the whitepaper is very level-headed and solid. This should be quite a camera, if these changes hold true…

Canon’s EOS-1D Mark IV Whitepaper



From Canon’s Whitepaper, A Nugget of Wisdom

Some notes on perceived image quality are appropriate here. First, images shot with the EOS-1D Mark IV tend to reveal blur and defocus more easily than images shot with the EOS-1D Mark III or EOS-1D Mark II, especially when viewed at the same size (for example, when viewing at 100% on a computer monitor). After all, the EOS-1D Mark IV provides 16.1 Megapixels — approximately 1.6 times more than the EOS-1D
Mark III (10.1 Megapixels) and approximately 2 times more than the EOS-1D Mark II (8.2 Megapixels).

As long as final print size is the same, the visible effects of blur and defocus are the same regardless of pixel count. However, it is becoming popular to view images on computer monitors; thus, clients and photographers are increasingly concerned about blur and defocus in images shot with high-resolution cameras. EOS-1D Mark II and EOS-1D Mark III users should understand the increased likelihood of blur and/or defocus when using high resolution cameras. To prevent these image defects, photographers should use faster shutter speeds at high ISO settings and/or shoot with IS (Image Stabilizer) lenses.

That, alone, made this whitepaper worth reading, I think. Remember everyone, as megapixels go up, the stuff you see at a 1:1 level will be increasingly flawed, and that decisions regarding ultimate image quality can only rationally be made at the proper final viewing size. It’ll save you a lot of frustration with your equipment if you keep that in mind.



The Voice of Raw, Episode 11

Nick and Derek tackle everything from Canon’s new EOS-1D Mark IV to the S90, Lensnbaby’s new optics, Sony price moves, Lightroom, and more. 



Lexar Announces own 600x UDMA CF

Around the end of the month, Lexar will be keeping up with the neighbors and releasing 600x speed CF cards in 8, 16GB sizes with 32GB on the way later. They’ll be shipping with a new ExpressCard reader that supports up to 133 mbps transfer speeds when slotted into a Mac or PC’s, ahem, express card slot.

With the D3s sporting a 48 RAW image buffer, the 5D Mark II, 7D, and 1D Mark IV all featuring HD video in varied frame rates and the 1D Mk IV shooting ten stills a second- high speed data transfer will obviously not go out of style any time soon.



Canon’s New EOS-1D Mark IV Gets Real

eos-1d-mark-IVCanon this morning in the wee hours when I was decidedly not awake announced their newest pro body, the long-awaited EOS-1D Mark IV. It’s direct predecessor, the Mark III, had just been announced before I hired on here at Roberts, so the announcement of the Mark IV is something of a milestone for me, personally.

Now, getting past the sentimentals, here’s what you need to know:

1. The Mark IV continues the tradition of the 1D line in using an ASP-H sensor with a 1.3x crop factor. The full-frame chips remain a hallmark of the studio-oriented 1Ds line, and of course the 5D series. It’s up now to 16.1 megapixels, and keeps dual-processors (now the DIGIC IV models).

2. It has an all new 45-point autofocus system (39 of which become the more accurate cross-type points with an aperture of f2.8 or wider). Did we  mention it’s all new and reportedly exhaustively field tested?

3. Canon is showing a rare conservative streak, and the continuous shooting mode is throttled back to 10 frames per second (versus the blistering 14 of its predecessor).

4. 1080p video. Really, were you expecting them to leave this out after the 5D Mark II, Rebel T1i, and 7D all got it? If you were, shame on you. If you weren’t, ta-da! HD video for everybody!

5. Expanded ISO. The Mark IV sport an expanded ISO range of 100 – 102,400 (which seems somehow familiar)

Those seem to be the key points, a lot of it is the stock stuff you’d expect from a camera at this price point. It keeps the 3″ 920,000 dot LCD, build, 1/300s EX shutter sync, 100% viewfinder, you get the point. Continuing the trend started with the EOS 7D, Canon’s announced a new wireless file transmitter for this beastie (and one for the 5D Mark II, too), for those of you who dig sending photos straight to a computer.

I shouldn’t have to say Get On Our Wait List Today, but it looks like I just did.




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