Reviews
I
f Canon’s new pro-oriented
digital camera had a mantra, it
would have to be “I can’t drive
55,” because this Mk II follow-up
is easily the fastest camera the
Maximum PC Lab has ever seen.
Consider its burst performance:
It can shoot up to 40 shots at 8.5
frames per second at an 8.2-mega-
pixel resolution. The next-closest
digital SLR body is Nikon’s D2H,
which buffers 40fps, but at just 4
megapixels. In contrast, the Mk II’s
predecessor—the EOS 1D—could
buffer only 20 shots. To capture
70 megapixels of data per second,
Canon has jammed roughly half a
gig of DDR RAM into the body.
Auto focus performance, which
was already outstanding in the
original 1D, receives a major
upgrade here thanks to dual
32-bit CPUs. Instead of using
a single CPU to run the focus
detection points and AF, the tasks
are now split between two RISC
chips. The resulting performance
is nothing short of astonishing.
We used the camera to shoot a
variety of scenarios from a soccer
game to a formal wedding, and
the Mk II tracked all our subjects
with aplomb.
Inside the Mk II is a Canon-
designed and -fabricated CMOS
sensor that offers exceptionally
clean images at ISO speeds of
800 and higher. Although the
Mk II offers just 2 megapixels of
additional resolution, its photos
look significantly better and more
detailed than those taken with the
prosumer Canon EOS 10D, which
has a reputation for producing
amazingly clean, grain-free images
at high ISO ranges.
The other big news is that this
is the first digital camera we’ve
seen to feature a RAID approach
to storing photographs. Fill both
the SD and CF slots in the Mk II,
and the camera will write an image
to both cards. If one card is cor-
rupted, you’ve got a full backup
on the other card. Or alternatively,
you can choose to use the second
card as auxiliary storage should the
primary card fill up. Unfortunately,the interface for implementing
either option is clumsy. Finally,
Canon fixed a flaw that plagued its
earlier digicams: The Mk II will con-
tinue writing images even if the CF
door is opened during the process.
But not all is perfect in Mark II
land. Our testing indicates that this
camera is particularly sensitive to
reds—if you overexpose a red object
in certain conditions, the colors turn
practically fluorescent. This problem
manifested itself most frequently
when shooting in late afternoon sun
with the camera set to auto white-
balance. We corrected this relatively
minor problem by paying close
attention to outdoor conditions and
the camera’s settings.
We also feel obli-
gated to note that the
camera appears to do
very little sharpening
of images by default,
which can make the
raw photo output feel
a little soft. It’s likely
Canon made this
choice because pro-
fessionals and power
users favor the more
sophisticated post-pro-
cessing and sharpen-
ing of Photoshop over
in-camera sharpening. The merits
of such a decision are
open to debate, but we would
have preferred a bit more auto-
mated sharpening.
Unlike Nikon, which is waving
goodbye to FireWire, Canon main-
tains FireWire A and now adds
a USB 1.1 port for direct outputto photo printers. On the other
hand, after lugging this tank of a
camera around for a month, we
found ourselves wishing Canon
had dumped its old nickel metal
hydride batteries in favor of Li-
Ion. We understand the logic of
using the same battery that’s in
Canon’s two other pro bodies,
but a Li-Ion would have defi-
nitely lightened the load. With
its magnesium shell, battery, and
attached fast zoom, this camera
should come with a chiropractor.
But hey, that’s the price you
pay for this much performance
and durability.
—GORDON MAH UNGCanon EOS ID Mark II
Dual CPUs make this the Ferrari of digicams
The Mark II is the first dual-processor digital camera we’ve seen,
and also features a RAID approach to data storage.MA XIMUMPCVERDICT 9
4 X 5
A wonderful viewfinder and tons of speed make
the Mk II the top gun of digital cameras.Feels like an Abrams tank slung around your neck.
$4,500, http://www.canon.comKODAK DISCSPECS
Resolution 8.2 megapixel (3504x2336 pixels)
Lens compatibility Canon EF system
Shutter 30 sec. to 1/8000 sec. (including bulb)
X-sync 1/250
Weight 54.8 oz. with battery
Continuous shooting 8.5 fps
Burst rating 40 JPEGS at ISO 100 (20 in RAW mode)
Storage Type I and II Compact Flash and Secure
Digital
Auto focus system 45 AF points at 0 to 18 EV
Battery Ni-MH good for 800 to 1200 shots86 MA XIMUMPC OCTOBER 2004