This is my first impression of the BETA Canon 1D Mark IV, and not a normal field review! The camera’s CF slot was glued by Canon, and I could not check the image quality and HD-video on a computer screen. As a result, all I can comment on is the handling of the camera and how the photos looks in built-in the camera display.

Today I had the opportunity to test the new Canon 1D Mark IV. I was very excited when I picked up the new workhorse and headed out into the field. As a faithful 1DS and 1D user since 2003, I really wanted to check out its new features.

With this beta camera I was told in no uncertain terms by my Canon agent that I was NOT supposed to view samples of images or HD video clips taken with this camera. That’s OK, but for me as a photographer it is not possible to say much about this camera without viewing the pictures at 100% on my calibrated monitor. Image quality for me is the most important issue with cameras. Cameras and lenses are tools, not toys.

SO, WHAT’S NEW?

The first thing that surprised me with the Canon 1D Mark IV camera was that it looks almost 100% identical to the Canon 1D Mark III camera. Same buttons, LCD screen and viewfinder. This is strange, as I had really hoped that some of the new buttons from the Canon 7D, like the Photo/Movie-button and the AF selection button, would also appear on the new workhorse from Canon. Without an instruction manual I had to spend a minute or two to find where the play button for the HD movie was located. I finally discovered it was activated by the “FEL” button.
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HD-movie

The HD movie option is new, compared to the Mark III cameras, and has the same options as the 7D. You can shoot HD movie in 1920 x 1080 pixels in 24P, 25P and 30P, which is good news for all Europeans! You also have a movie option in 1280 x 720 pixels in 50P or 60P. You choose your desired movie mode in the menu system (See movie below), not like the 7D where you push the Q button and then choose the quality setting directly with the joystick. Sound controls are still missing, as in the 5D Mark II and 7D. I can’t say anything about the movie quality, but you can see the official movies with this camera at Canon Japan

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Custom Functions

The menu in the Canon Mark IV is almost the same as for the 1D / 1DS Mark III. Some of the main differences are:

- C.Fn I 3: ISO 12 800 + H1 (ISO 25 600), H2 (ISO 51 200) and H3 (ISO 102 400). More on high ISO later
- C.Fn I 17: FE Micro-adjustment (New feature)
- C.Fn II 2: More options for High ISO speed reduction
- C.Fn II 4: Auto Lighting Optimizer
- C.Fn III 3: Release/Tracking priority (The same as 7D)
- C.Fn III 8: Better settings for AF expansion points
- C.Fn III 10: Selection of AF points changes
- C.Fn III 16: Orientation linked AF point
- C.Fn IV 11: Select button for starting movie shooting (FEL)

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See video bellow for all Custom Functions in the menu settings

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AF system

The most interesting part of the new Mark IV is the AF system. How precise and fast is it?? Good question!! I tested the Mark IV with some gulls flying toward some branches, and the AF followed very well. But since I can’t check the images, I can’t say anything about how accurate and fast it is compared to 1D Mark III or the new 7D. I’m very surprised that the new innovative and easy AF system of the 7D is not implemented in the 1D Mark IV. I couldn’t find any AF selection button or Q button to easily change between different AF modes. I could not find any option for Spot AF either. In the custom function it is still possible to choose AF expansion points, but it’s more difficult than on the 7D. My impression of the Mark IV AF system is that it is fast and precise, but how good it performs in difficult environments is hard to say for now…

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Frames per second and Buffer Capacity

Canon 1D Mark IV has dual DIGI IV processors that are faster than 1D Mark III. The frame rate and buffer are impressive, doing 10 exposures per second at more than 100 pictures for JPEG and 26 (28 in Canon’s official information with fast UDMA CF-cards) for RAW files. This will be appreciated by sports, wildlife and action photographers. See the video below to see how fast this camera actually is.

Frame rate with JPEG quality high. The CF-card slot was glued, so I don’t know how fast the CF card was.

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Frame rate with RAW. The CF-card slot was glued, so I don’t know how fast the CF card was.

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High ISO

One thing that really impressed me with this camera is the High ISO capabilities. I tested the camera with ISO settings at 1600, 3200, 6400, 12 800, H1, H2 and H3. I first took some test shots without any active High ISO Noise reduction and the images looked very good at ISO 3200 and 6400 when viewing them on the back LCD screen. I have not seen any of this images on my calibrated monitor, so this is only my impression about the camera’s high ISO capabilities. When I activated the High ISO reduction I was very impressed, because the images were very clean up to ISO 12 800. This is very good!! With the new 7D I recommend ISO settings up to ISO 1600, but with the 1D Mark IV it seems that you can push it to ISO 6400 or maybe ISO 12 800 before you suffer from visible noise. BUT, I don’t want to conclude anything here before I can see any images at 100% on my calibrated Eizo monitor. You can see my test shots with High ISO reduction activated below. Note that the LCD screen on the camera will show some patterns in the background that are really not there in the image.
 See the official High ISO settings at Canon Japan

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Final thoughts
I don’t want to make any conclusions based on this test, before having a chance to check the images at 100% on my computer monitor. But my impression so far is that this is a great workhorse specially designed for action photographers and photo journalists. With the 1D Mark IV’s great potential for HD-movie in 1080P in a rugged and weather sealed body, I think many will start to use this camera.

What about me? I need to do more investigation about the image quality and how fast and precise the AF system is before I decide to order this camera myself. But I won’t be surprised if I start to use this camera on expeditions and assignments when the production models start to show up in December.

Best regard Ole Jørgen Liodden

Thanks to Einar Breen for filming, and Bob Baillargeon for copy-editing!

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