Canon EOS 1D Mark IV SLR test: speed shooting for speedy release

The top reporter cameras are updated a little less frequently than the younger models. And after inexpensive new reporter camera Canon 7 D in October 2009 was the long-awaited update of the high-speed professional reporter camera series 1 D, which is now indexed Mark IV. What interested me was the high sensitivity shooting, which previous generations of cameras unfortunately lacked.

Personal impressions

Now it’s time for a baptism of fire, and in real, low-light field sports reporting. I was not able to get an accreditation for the LG FIS Snowboard World Cup in one day and had to be seated in the crowd of fans, although in the front rows. Fortunately, my colleagues in their usual spot in front of the podium were very understanding, and I can thank them very much for that.

I decided right away that I wanted to work at high sensitivities only: minimum 800, maximum 12,800 ISO. Of course, no one who uses a Canon product ever dreamed of such a shot before.

On the contrary, when getting into a dark room at an event where using flash is prohibited or unreasonable because it would destroy the light pattern, I had to prepare in advance for having to adjust the noise reduction, sharpness, take a lot of shots to get a blur free shot, when a volleyball player for example is moving at a high speed and the room is so dark that even 1600 ISO at aperture f/3.2 gives us at least 1/100 second, which is unacceptable.

All in all, I had to work at random, and then it took a long time to get rid of technical defects and refine the picture to the proper quality. Now I had a chance to use high ISO and relax a little.

In a practical test, the camera serial number 0230102440 and a set of professional optics from 16mm to 800mm took part.

The competition was scheduled to start at 6 pm, the spotlights were already on to illuminate the track, and the set sensitivity allowed me to shoot in peace, controlling only the degree of plus correction to compensate for the effects of white snow.

I almost always shoot straight into JPG and mRAW, just stylizing the picture and sharpening it a bit.

When checking the results, it seemed to me that the camera likes a slight exposure correction. Perhaps it was just this particular piece, or maybe it was the abundance of snow and overcast. But that’s what I was doing afterwards.

The quality of the camera’s JPG file makes it possible to fit it onto the magazine spread with little or no image editing. All you have to do is to choose the right noise reduction parameters for high sensitivity and to disable the option of light priority for fast response in reportage photography. First introduced in a professional camera, the option to optimize brightness also helps reduce the subsequent work with the image file.

The picture quality at ISO 800 is the same as at ISO 200 in the high-speed reporters’ cameras of the previous models. Perhaps this will allow me to stop using flashes in many shooting situations, or use them only in shade illumination, and in good light, just shorten the shutter speed to avoid blurring.

Phenomenally fast autofocus and high-speed shooting mode allowed me within a second to turn 180 degrees and shoot another participant of the event – the photographer urging the girls to actively support the virtual athlete.

The ease of selecting the focus point with the jog wheel or joystick helps me get my subject’s eyes in focus by selecting exactly one of 45 focus points manually. This is especially nice when working with super TVs from a tripod or monopod at close range. The depth of field is negligible and it’s good for taking close-up photos of the rider at the finish line or in a scavenger hunt.

I was unable to get close to the official guests of the event due to lack of accreditation. Reliable and sturdy telephoto hard case helped. I stood on it and lifted myself above the mass of onlookers and used a very light telephoto lens to “get” the politician, but the exposure parameters were on the borderline of what’s acceptable.

A test of the new tracking autofocus system. At first I simply followed the athlete, “walking” him from the start to the finish line. Then I chose a place with a steep turn, where sponsor’s flags were not so conspicuous because our magazine is not an advertising platform .

A very powerful telephoto lens of course does not support the cross-shaped focus sensor technology, but it “guides” the athlete with confidence, you just need to work out the trajectory of movement not to lose the subject, because the angle of view is about 1 degree. I was looking forward to this outfit, because I did not have a task to film the champion in this report, but the yellow color of the outfit attracted attention.

The fall of the leader of the American team, the beauty Alyona Zavarzina at the finish line. Time of action – 1 second. 10 frames per second captures all the details of a tragic event, and JPG only mode quickly clears the camera buffer and captures the frustration on a young athlete’s face a few seconds after the fall.

Late afternoon brings the sensitivity up to a hitherto unknown height, and pleases with picture quality previously unseen with Canon, at such ISO speeds.

Professional bright optics help me to shoot in total absence of frontal lighting, the camera focuses well in the dark. When there is no need to shoot at high sensitivity, it can be quickly lowered to medium, and to low sensitivity if desired.

A comparison of RAW and JPG files showed that the algorithms of conversion to JPG are now so much more correct, that in most simple cases of reportage photography there is no need to shoot in RAW followed by a conversion to another format. If other tasks are planned, like creating an exhibition product, taking pictures of wildlife, etc. d. or a wedding photo shoot followed by leisurely processing, then RAW will still be beyond competition.

Converting the few RAW files was no problem at all, using Digital Photo Professional version 3.8.0. The converter gets better with each new version, but it still lacks user-friendly interface: comfortable work is possible only on machines with two monitors or on 16:9 monitors. Unlike semi-professional or amateur class cameras, in my opinion, the “Standard” image style setting gives more predictable results than the “Fine” style in the reportage.

Conclusions

They are very simple. This is a new and revolutionary camera for Canon, it will change the way you shoot, it will change the habits of working with external light sources in reporting. Perhaps video lights play a bigger role in expensive wedding photography.

This is a camera for almost everything, except for the ultra wide-angle circular-fisheye and other rare optics.

Canon 1 D Mark IV would be nice for everyone, if it were not for its price, in America so far exceeding the price of the previous generation full-frame models.

But we’ll see. I think high sensitivity will soon make its way into mainstream cameras, along with the same refined noise reduction algorithms.

We thank Canon New York office for the camera we received for testing.

In pictures test

Volunteers on a slope. Canon EF 800 5 Lens.6 L IS, handheld shooting, ISO 1600, shutter speed 1/1000 sec, aperture f/11, +2/3 correction to compensate for snow. Matrix metering with shape priority. The camera focused instantly and accurately on the distant subject, in the original you can clearly see all the sponsor logos on the volunteer badge.

Challenging lighting situation with light sources in the frame. Canon 24-70 2.8 L, ISO 3200, aperture f/13, shutter speed 1/100 sec, correction + 2/3 to compensate for the effect of spotlights pointed directly at the camera.

Close-up of the athlete at the finish line. Canon EF 800 5 lens.6 L IS, monopod shooting, ISO 1600, aperture f/7.1, shutter speed 1/500 sec, optical Image Stabilizer on, focus tracking to compensate for model’s head movement, continuous shooting.

Canon 100-400L 4.5-5.6 L IS, ISO 800, aperture f/6.3, shutter speed 1/160 s, optical image stabilizer applied in the lens to reduce the effect of the relatively long shutter speed for this focal length.

Responsive. A fellow photographer tried to provoke the frozen volunteers into an active response. Only one girl understood his intention. Canon 100-400L 4 lens.5-5.6 L IS, ISO 800, aperture f/6.3, shutter speed 1/200 sec, optical stabilizer in the lens to minimize the effect of the relatively long shutter speed for this focal length.

Vladimir Zhirinovsky at the opening ceremony. Canon 100-400L 4.5-5.6 L IS, ISO 3200, aperture f/5.6, shutter speed 1/60 s, optical image stabilizer applied to the lens to reduce the effect of a very slow shutter speed for a focal length of 400 mm, continuous shooting to avoid camera shake from pressing the shutter release button.

German Isabella Labock in a beautiful outfit. Canon EF 800 5 lens.6 L IS, tripod shooting with a ball head, ISO 3200, shutter speed 1/640 sec, aperture fully open, +1 correction to compensate for the snow but it was not enough . Trailing autofocus, continuous shooting at 10 fps, best shot in a series of 5 frames.

Mobile reporters. Canon lens 135 2.0 L, ISO 1600, aperture f/2.5, shutter speed 1/2500 s, focus point selection strictly by cell phone screen.

When, after the competition, the spotlights put moving images of the competing countries’ flags on the snow of the giant ramp, I was again aided by the high sensitivity and high-aperture optics. Canon 24-70 L 2 lens.8, aperture f/2.8, shutter speed 1/60 sec, handheld shooting.

The fall of American team leader, beauty Alyona Zavarzina at the finish line. Time of action – 1 second. Shooting at 10 frames per second helped to see all the details of the tragic event, and the JPG-only mode helped to quickly clear the camera buffer and capture the frustration on the young athlete’s face a few seconds after the fall.

Canon 100-400 L 4 Lens.5-5.6 L IS, ISO 4000, aperture f/5.6, shutter speed 1/300-1/500 s in bursts, optical image stabilizer applied.

The young cheerleader amazed me with her obsession. The tracking focus, the choice of focus point by face, allowed to accurately focus almost at full aperture, correction +1 compensated the white color of the fur coat, shutter speed 1/200 s and image stabilizer at a focal distance of 200 mm allowed to avoid shake of the shutter button. Canon 100-400 L 4.5-5.6 L IS, ISO 1600.

And yet Alena Zavarzina’s 4th place makes her dance. The light from the spotlights which are incandescent bulbs is quite correct in the dark with automatic white balance. Continuous shooting, tracking focus, exposure correction + 2/3 to reduce the effects of white reflective surfaces. Canon lens 100-400 L 4.5-5.6 L IS, ISO 3200, aperture f/5.6, shutter speed 1/400.

Austrian women’s winner Doris Günther celebrates her victory. Canon 100-400 L 4 lens.5-5.6 L IS, ISO 4000, aperture f/6.3, shutter speed 1/400 s, optical image stabilizer in the lens, correction +1/3.

The dark uniforms of Aaron March and Roland Fischnaller, the Italian winners in the men’s group, affected the automatic exposure metering, but the faces remained well defined. One Shot, Canon 100-400 L 4 lens.5-5.6 L IS, ISO 4000, aperture f/6.3, shutter speed 1/125 seconds, optical image stabilizer in the lens, correction +1/3.

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