As soon as I placed the order for my Canon 1D Mark IV I started to look into some accessories that I knew I would need. There are always a few things that you have to get when you buy a new camera (or any other electronic gadget for that matter) like batteries, memory cards, etc. Here are a few of the things that I immediately wanted to go with my new camera:

Batteries: This is absolutely the first thing I buy when I get a new camera. I can’t imagine why the manufacturers think it’s OK to ship a camera with a single battery, but they always do. The 1D Mark IV uses the same Canon LP-E4 battery as the other recent 1D cameras, including the 1D Mark III and the 1Ds Mark III. The OEM Canon version of these batteries sell for over $100, but there are many after market equivalents available for $30 to $50. I have always used aftermarket batteries in my cameras and have never had a problem, and I would have no problem recommending that for this camera as well.

Memory Cards: The 1D Mark IV takes both CompactFlash cards and SDHC cards. I have a pretty good supply of CF cards (be sure to get fast UDMA cards) but I needed to pick up a couple of SD cards. I recommend Lexar 8GB SDHC cards, but many other cards will do the trick too. Just be sure to get at least Class 6 cards for best performance with video.

Camera Bag: I want to be able to carry a good selection of lenses in addition to my camera body, and my old bag simply wasn’t big enough. Of course this happens all the time with photographers… We always need new bags! I did a lot of research and decided that the best bag for me was the Tamrac 777 Summit. Everyone’s needs are different, but this bag is definitely worth checking out.

Video Microphone: I haven’t done enough video with the new camera yet to really know, but everyone says that the built in mic simply isn’t good enough. So I immediately invested in a shotgun microphone from Rode called the VideoMic. I honestly haven’t even tested it yet, but I’m told that it’s a great mic for shooting videos with a DSLR. It attaches to the camera via the hotshoe and connects directly to the mic in port on the side of the camera.

As with all new cameras I’m sure there will be many more purchases over the next few months, but these things were enough to get me started. I’d love to hear about any other gadgets that might help make the camera better and easier to use!

I’ve had my new Canon EOS 1D Mark IV camera for a little over a week now and I thought I would share a little bit about my experience with it so far. This is my first pro level 1D series camera and it really is a different beast than the Canon EOS 40D that I’ve been using for the last couple of years. I have definitely had a steep learning curve while figuring out the differences between the 1D and the 40D. Regardless, I have some definite thoughts already and I wanted to share them here. I’d love to hear some feedback from other people who have already made the jump or are planning to do so soon. Please hit me in the comments below!

The Things I Really Like

1. High ISO Performance: Simply put, this camera shots in the dark. I’m not a major pixel peeper and I haven’t done any measurements using a microscope or by zooming in to 10000%, but it’s very clear just by looking at the images shot at ISO 5000 that they are cleaner than images at 1000 on my 40D. I have no problem just letting the Auto ISO pick whatever ISO it needs.
2. Dynamic Range: Not only is the ISO performance better, but this camera also finds detail in the shadows unlike any camera I’ve ever used before. Some of the images right out of the camera have some of that surreal tonemapped look that HDR images often display. In fact some of my images see into dark areas that I could barely see with my eyes. It’s really quite incredible.
3. Auto ISO: I typically shoot in aperture priority and with my 40D I often had to manually choose a higher ISO than that camera would pick in auto mode just to maintain an acceptable shutter speed. The Mark IV knows what ISO it needs to pick to prevent motion blur and it has such a huge range of acceptable ISO’s that it has a huge amount of leeway to do so. This is absolutely my favorite feature of the new camera!
4. 7 Stop Auto Exposure Brackets: I do a lot of exposure blending and I love to have 5 to 7 images to choose from. I don’t always use them all, but it’s nice to have them. The 40D will shoot a maximum of 3 images per bracket and as a result I always had to shoot 2 brackets to get the shots I wanted. This often caused a slight shift in the camera position while I was changing the exposure setting, and resulting images were out of register. I love that I can now just tell the camera to shoot 7 images and then use the self timer to let it rip!
5. Better Autofocus: The autofocus system on this camera is so different than the 40D that it’s still a little bit alien to me. I haven’t quite figured out how to use best it in every situation, but two things are really great. The first is the AF speed. Every one of my lenses focuses faster and more accurately on this camera than they did on my 40D. I know that my 40D needs an overhaul and I will be sending it to Canon soon. But even when it was brand new it didn’t perform anywhere near as well as this one. The other thing is that I can now shoot with lenses (or combination’s of lenses and teleconverters) having a maximum aperture of only f/8. Previously when I used a TC on my Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 L IS lens (which has an effective maximum aperture of f/8) on the 40D I had to manually focus the lens. The 1D Mark IV has no problem focusing with this combination, even in the relatively low light after the sun sets or before it rises. It is fast and accurate and that’s a good thing! (Yes, I realize that this combination is not recommended, but sometimes that extra length is the most important factor…)
6. 2 Card Slots: I love that every one of my images can be immediately backed up onto a second card at the time of capture. I’m a backup fanatic and this is a huge improvement over having only 1 card slot. Unfortunately video can only be saved on one card, so it doesn’t get backed up in camera.
7. Video: Speaking of video… I’ve never been much of a videographer, but I have been doing more and more of it lately and I’m increasingly excited that this camera has a 1080p HD video mode. I will definitely be using it, but I also have a lot to learn before I can do it effectively.

The Things I Don’t Like

1. No Custom Exposure Modes: My 40D has three programmable modes on the mode dial (C1, C2, and C3) that could be programmed with shooting settings for instantly access in different shooting settings. I used these all the time and the fact that the 1D cameras don’t have them surprised me a lot. I knew that there was no mode dial, but I still expected to be able to choose the custom modes using the same mode button and menu used to choose the other exposure modes. I think the rationale for not having them is that most pros will carry 2 (or more) cameras and each camera will be set up for a specific type of shooting. But it would be so easy to include them for those of us that don’t want to carry 2 big cameras all the time that I just can’t understand why Canon would leave them out.
2. 2 Types of Card Slots: I love that there are two slots, but I hate that I now need 2 different types of memory cards. I’ve been shooting solely on CompactFlash cards for a long time and now I also need to carry SDHC cards. Fortunately SDHC cards are relatively cheap and I was able to pick up a few at very reasonable prices over the holiday season.
3. No Dedicated Video Start Button: The live view mode can be used to control the still shooting settings, or for shooting video, but not both. If you want to switch between them then you must first go into the menu to tell the camera if live view should be used for stills or for video. This is really annoying for anyone that uses the camera for both video and for landscape shooting, and there should be a way to switch between the modes without having to dive into the menus.

The Things that are Just Different (not better, not worse)

• Size: the 1D is much bigger and heavier than the 40D. I don’t mind this, but it does take some getting used to.
• Integral Battery Grip: this is a big part of the reason why it is bigger and heavier. Some people will love this as it gives a lot more battery power and also provides an extra set of shooting controls for when the camera is in the portrait orientation. I’ve never really had a burning need for either of these features, so it’s not really a big advantage for me. I will definitely use the extra controls for shooting portrait, but I’ve never had a problem with battery life before.
• No Pop-Up Flash: I almost never used the flash on my 40D, so not having one on the Mark IV won’t hurt me. I’m more than a little dissapointed that the 1D didn’t get the built in wireless flash controller that the Canon EOS 7D recently came out with, but even that’s not that big a loss. I normally use radio frequency remote triggers for my flashes anyway.

Well that’s everything I have to say for now. These are just my initial impressions and I’m sure that these lists will grow over the coming weeks and months as I learn more about my camera. Like I said above, I’d love to hear about your thoughts and experiences, so please leave a comment with anything you’ve got!

With the recently announced release of the Canon EOS 1D Mark IV many photographers, myself included, have a major dilemma ahead of us. It’s not that this won’t be a great camera; it appears to be a fantastic upgrade to its predecessor, the Canon EOS 1D Mark III, and it would be very hard not to love it.

The problem is that Canon really muddied the waters in the SLR market with the recently issued Canon EOS 7D.  Although these two cameras have different target markets, their feature sets overlap in many areas and a lot of photographers will find both to be very attractive.

The main difference between the 1D series cameras and the rest of the SLR’s in the canon family is that the 1D’s are designed to be much more rugged, much more weather proof, and built to much tighter tolerances.  These things definitely have value, but how much is going to be a personal opinion.  For the price of the 1D Mark IV you can pick up 3 of the 7D’s.  It will be very compelling for many people to buy a much cheaper camera that has most of the high end features of a more expensive model.  In fact many people will never even take advantage of all of the high end features found in the 7D, never mind the few extra offered by the Mark IV.

My personal dilemma is that what I really want is a  mix of the two cameras.  I’ve been looking forward to buying a new camera for almost year, but none of the available cameras fully met my needs, and I was happily and patiently waiting for the right camera to show up.  Now there are two cameras that get me most of the way there, but neither takes me all the way.  Unfortunately it appears that the less expensive model is missing a couple of the main features that were on my “must have” list:

• Autofocus that works with lenses (or combinations of lenses and teleconverters) having a maximum aperture as small as f/8
• Auto Exposure Bracketed (AEB) sequences of more than 3 images

The 7D also falls short of the Mark IV on my list of “high wants”:

• expanded usable ISO range
• integral battery grip
• only 1 memory card slot

The 7D does have a couple of features that I wish the Mark IV includes:

• built-in popup flash with wireless E-TTL Speedlite master flash transmitter
• dedicated Live View/Video mode start/stop button

While these features would be really nice to have, I can easily live without them.

Putting all of this together, I’ve decided that my next camera will be the Canon EOS 1D Mark IV.  The Canon EOS 7D looks to be a great contender, but for me it just doesn’t quite match up where it counts. 

What would you decide if you were in my position??

For interest’s sake, here is a table I put together showing a comparison of the key specifications for both cameras:

	Canon EOS 1D Mark IV	Canon EOS 7D
Sensor	16.1 Megapixels APS-H, CMOS 1.3x Crop Factor	18 Megapixels APS-C, CMOS 1.6x Crop Factor
Processor	Dual DIGIC IV	Dual DIGIC IV
Autofocus System	Redesigned 45 point AF 39 cross-type points Range: -1.0 to 18 EV	Brand New 19 point AF 19 cross-type AF points Range: -0.5 - 18 EV
ISO	100-12,800 default, 50-102,400 extended	100-6400 default, 100-12,800 extended
Shutter	10 fps max 300,000 actuations	8 fps max 150,000 actuations
Metering	63 metering zones linked to all 45 AF points EV 0 to EV 20	63 metering zones linked to all 19 AF points EV 1 to EV 20
Memory Card	Dual card slots 1 CF, 1 SDHC	Single CF card slot
Battery	LP-E4 (same as 1D Mark III) Integral Battery Grip	LP-E6 (same as 5D Mark II) BG-E7 Battery Grip
Movie Mode	up to 1080p Video 30, 25, or 24 fps	up to 1080p Video 30, 25, or 24 fps
Lenses	EF Lens Mount (no EF-S lenses)	EF-S Lens Mount (all EF and EF-S lenses)
MSRP (Body Only)	$5499 USD	$1699 USD
Release Date	Expected December 2009	October 2009

Today Canon announced the upcoming release of the next camera in the professional EOS 1D series, the Canon EOS 1D Mark IV. Although this camera physically appears to be almost identical to it’s predecessor (the 1D Mark III), the new camera brings a host of new and upgraded features to the table.

The most notable new feature is the addition of high definition 1080p video and a jack for an external stereo microphone, while the biggest improvement over the previous release is the vastly expanded ISO sensitivity, which ranges all the way up to a whopping 102,400 in extended mode.

According to Vincent Laforet, on this camera “6400 ASA is the new 1600 ASA – maybe even the new 800 ASA”. Check out his video “Nocturne” which was shot using the 1D Mark IV locked at ISO 6400. The video is a bit cheesy but the image quality is amazing!

Here is a summary of some of the other specs for this camera:

• Sensor: APS-H (1.3x) Crop Factor
• Processor: dual DIGIC IV
• Resolution: 16.1 Megapixels
• ISO: 100-12,400 by default, 50-102,400 in extended mode
• Autofocus: 45 user selectable points (39 cross-type)
• Shutter: 10 fps max, shutter rated to 300,000 cycles
• Metering: 63-zone sensor, 0 to 20EV range
• Memory Cards: 2 card slots (1 each for CF and SD/SDHC)
• Battery: Canon LP-E4 (same as in the 1D Mark III)

The camera is due out in December of 2009 and will list at an MSRP of $4,999. Ouch.

If you want to learn more about this camera you should check out the initial information posted at Imaging Resource or you can visit the official Canon EOS 1D Mark IV product page. Canon has posted some sample still images and videos that are also worth a look.

No sniplet called Amazon-Canon1DMarkIV-Graphical

This is a huge step in the right direction toward my programmable camera idea… 

Check out the open source project to create new firmware for the Canon 5D Mark II, codenamed Magic Lantern.  This project is still in beta, and they seem to be focusing primarily on improving the video aspects of the camera, but it works!  And I want it for my 40D.  It sounds like Magic Lantern could be quite quickly ported over to the 50D since they use a similar operating system, but the 40D appears to be an ugly stepchild that is difficult to hack.  I’m might just have to upgrade to the 5D (or maybe to the 1D Mark IV that is rumored to be forthcoming in the fall).