Canon EOS-1D Mark IV Digital SLR Camera
Canon Upgrade the EOS 1D Series DSLRs for Professional Photographers
Oct 30, 2009
The new 1D Mk IV heralds Canon's return as a serious contender for king of sports and photojournalism cameras. In a competitive market, the 1D Mk IV now comes with the high ISO capabilities to combat the current king of sports and photojournalism the Nikon D3, although Nikon have their own update the D3s to go head to head with Canon’s top dog.
"Canon works hard to be the imaging leader in all our business endeavors. This goal has fueled our innovation and R&D efforts to engineer the most advanced autofocus system Canon has ever produced," said Yuichi Ishizuka, senior vice president and general manager, Consumer Imaging Group, Canon U.S.A.
The developments in top level DSLR cameras offers photographers in general an indication of future trends in more affordable DSLRs and even point and shoot cameras. While the Canon 1D Mk IV received an increase in megapixels with a 16.1 megaixel APS-H CMOS sensor, went almost unnoticed as Canon concentrated on the new camera’s improved autofocus, high ISO, and Movie capabilities.
Autofocus
The EOS-1D Mark IV now has a new 45-point Auto Focus (AF) system with 39 f/2.8 sensitive cross-type points, providing a wide selection of focus areas across the frame.
A dedicated microprocessor manages AF system providing fast, accurate focusing, even when shooting continuously at 10fps. Canon’s AI Servo II AF offers more precision when tracking moving objects, with better overall tracking accuracy even in low-contrast and extremely bright conditions.
AI Servo II
The AI Servo AF in the Canon EOS-1D Mk IV uses a form of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to determine the speed and direction of moving subjects, allowing the camera lens to focus on the subject’s predicted position in order to increase the number of sharp photographs in sports and wildlife photography.
Advanced Low-Light Performance
In sports and photojournalism, the light is often less than ideal but professionals need to get the best possible shot.
“Throughout the EOS-1D Mark IV’s development, we’ve carefully studied feedback from our photographers and developed a camera to meet their specific requirements,” said Mr. Shinbori, Senior General Manager of Camera Development Center, Canon Inc.
“With a brand new, high-quality CMOS sensor and Dual‚ DIGIC 4? processors, the Canon EOS-1D Mark IV allows photographers to be the first to get the highest quality images to picture desks in what is becoming an increasingly competitive market.”
To help achieve this, the Canon EOS-1D Mark IV promises much improved extreme low-light performance. Standard ISO on the EOS-1D Mark IV ranges from 100-12,800, while extended ISO ranges from a low of 50 to 102,400 – the highest ISO ever offered by a Canon SLR. This low-light performance makes the EOS-1D Mark IV ideal for night shots or shooting at evening events, where the low available light normally makes shooting impossible.
To achieve this, while still reducing pixel size for the increased resolution, Canon engineers adopted intelligent noise reduction techniques keeping chroma and luminance noise to a minimum, while maintaining color balance. They also employed architecture for the new 16.1MP APS-H CMOS sensor featuring gapless micro lenses with less surrounding circuitry and more sensitive, high-capacity photodiodes, maximizing ISO performance in low light conditions.
High Definition Video
Canon EOS-1D Mark IV follows the trend of incorporating a movie function, providing the ability to capture 1080p High Definition (HD) video at 30, 25 and 24fps, and 720p footage at 60 and 50fps. The system is compatible with PAL, NTSC and native 1080/24p cinematic frame rates.
The Canon EOS-1D Mark IV offers full manual exposure, providing filmmakers and photographers with control over depth of field.
Pricing and Availability
The Canon EOS-1D Mark IV Digital SLR camera is scheduled to be delivered to U.S. dealers in late December, and will be sold in a body-only configuration at an estimated retail price of $US 4,999.
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