it's a lot of camera! (and it ought to be ) well, i got my hands on it today. i have really just begun to familiarize myself with it.

some of my reservations before buying are still holding true - i really love the form factor of the 20d, and while i knew the 1ds mark II was a ton bigger and heavier, i still wanted to try it out. the look and feel are battle-quality. it's quite a joy to behold!

looking the the viewfinder nearly made me cry. it's so big, bright and beautiful!

there 45 focus points, that's pretty sweet - i enjoyed the extra flexibility of more focus points to choose from. and it does make a difference if you like to shoot wide open, focus and then recompose can cause dof errors.

i'm a little concerned how my 16-35L will perform on the ff body. the folks over on the 1d forum at dpr have nothing good to say about this lens on the canon ff, but i have had stellar results from the lens on my 1.6x bodies. this could be a potential deal killer for me, as i really like to shoot wide. on a positive note - it's so freakin' cool to look through the viewfinder and see the whole 16mm fov! i'd almost forgotten what it looks like

the files are beasts! crimony - 18-21meg raws and roughly 10 meg jpgs

i'm looking forward to shooting on the streets of new york with it next week.

stay tuned.

Way to go, Andy! I can't wait to see what you capture with that new monster. You're gonna get Popeye arms hauling that one up to your eye!

[turning green with envy] nah, I'm glad for you! Must be great to hold and indeed view! One of the main reasons for me to have FF would be the much bigger viewfinder and true FOV (been bothered by that in a studio environment, I really wanted to use the 70-200 but it was just too much tele )
Kudos on the purchase Andy!

1600 and 3200

appear every bit as good as the 20d. iow, really low noise! canon really has the sensor noise thing beat imo. properly exposed 1600 on the 1ds mk2 would not need noise reduction for a print imo.

canon!

Originally Posted by andy 1600 and 3200 appear every bit as good as the 20d. iow, really low noise! canon really has the sensor noise thing beat imo. properly exposed 1600 on the 1ds mk2 would not need noise reduction for a print imo. canon!

I was afraid of the ISO performance.... Perhaps in some years when I accumulate some cash .... The 1Ds MK II would be the ultimate camera for concerts then, besides excellent high ISO performance also the ability to heavily reduce noise by resizing and beter crop-ability [drool]
Any sign of banding with the mk II? I know you haven't been troubled by it with the 20D (neither have I )
Cheers

1. Do you think the learning curve on this camera would be harder for someone who is use to shooting with pro cameras, or for someone who is just going to start shooting with pro cameras. In other words, will a pro feel like he has to relearn this camera, and run into more foibles than someone who just picked up their first pro camera and had no preconceptions?

2. I've had my eye on this camera since I've first heard of it, and lobster syndrome kicked in (My parents call me lobster boy because without knowing anything about expensive foods/items, and without seeing the price, I always manage to pick and like the most expensive item offered). I am usually pretty broke, but soon will have an opportunity to have enough money availble to pick this camera up. My question is... Do you feel that someone who eventually wants to be a pro should start with the best in hopes of just having that much less to overcome in shortcomings and image quality, and in cost in having to upgrade later? Or do you feel someone just starting as a pro would be better off getting a lesser camera and upgrading as they feel the need to? I tend to learn features pretty quickly (I do tech support for a living and often have to create many of the troubleshooting techniques for our facility off the top of my head while dealing with p.o.'ed customers), and my fear is that even though I may not "Need" such a powerful camera now...in 6 months I will find reasons to want it, and then not have the money available to me anymore.

MainFragger

Originally Posted by MainFragger 1. Do you think the learning curve on this camera would be harder for someone who is use to shooting with pro cameras, or for someone who is just going to start shooting with pro cameras. In other words, will a pro feel like he has to relearn this camera, and run into more foibles than someone who just picked up their first pro camera and had no preconceptions? 2. I've had my eye on this camera since I've first heard of it, and lobster syndrome kicked in (My parents call me lobster boy because without knowing anything about expensive foods/items, and without seeing the price, I always manage to pick and like the most expensive item offered). I am usually pretty broke, but soon will have an opportunity to have enough money availble to pick this camera up. My question is... Do you feel that someone who eventually wants to be a pro should start with the best in hopes of just having that much less to overcome in shortcomings and image quality, and in cost in having to upgrade later? Or do you feel someone just starting as a pro would be better off getting a lesser camera and upgrading as they feel the need to? I tend to learn features pretty quickly (I do tech support for a living and often have to create many of the troubleshooting techniques for our facility off the top of my head while dealing with p.o.'ed customers), and my fear is that even though I may not "Need" such a powerful camera now...in 6 months I will find reasons to want it, and then not have the money available to me anymore. MainFragger

learning curve - yeah even a curve from 1.6x bodies like the 10d, 20d etc. it's bigger, heavier, and full-framier so the differences are in metering choices and exposures and in lens performance and usage, because everything's magnified on the ff.

i think you should start with the 20d, put some $$ into good glass, and get the ff when you hit a brick wall with the 20d.

Originally Posted by Michiel de Brieder I was afraid of the ISO performance.... Perhaps in some years when I accumulate some cash .... The 1Ds MK II would be the ultimate camera for concerts then, besides excellent high ISO performance also the ability to heavily reduce noise by resizing and beter crop-ability [drool] Any sign of banding with the mk II? I know you haven't been troubled by it with the 20D (neither have I ) Cheers

no banding whatsoever that i can see or even force.... any iso.

Andy,

HoooBoyyyy, Santa came early for you I am really happy for you. I know how much you wanted this camera. I sure hope you can get acceptable results with the 16-35mm. As you say, this is a stellar performer on the 20D, it would be a shame if it didn't do as well on a FF camera. Plus, I know how much you enjoy wide. Not many other high quality wide zoom options out there

So is this a "test drive"? Or, are you thinking of keeping it? If you keep it, are you going to keep the 20D too? Have you tried it with the 580EX yet? I know, I ask lots of questions.....lol

Congratulations Like everyone else, I'm green with envy. You have to promise (no matter how much I beg), to not let me look through the VF. Doing that with your 10D and 20D damaged me for life The DW would kill me if I tried to spend $8000 on another camera, so soon. She's still in intensive care about the $5000 20D kit....LOL

I see many more Sting shows in your wife's future BTW, he's here in Feb.


Steve

Since I'm 1 for 1 in predictions, here's my next one. Despite concerns about edge softness with his beloved 16-35, Andy will keep the DsII, and sell his 20D on the internet. Shortly thereafter he'll begin posting questions about computer upgrades.

Originally Posted by wxwax Since I'm 1 for 1 in predictions, here's my next one. Despite concerns about edge softness with his beloved 16-35, Andy will keep the DsII, and sell his 20D on the internet. Shortly thereafter he'll begin posting questions about computer upgrades.

Hmmm...maybe that is why he was hinting I'd want to go with the 20D!

Originally Posted by MainFragger Hmmm...maybe that is why he was hinting I'd want to go with the 20D!

Always thinking ahead, that lad.

Originally Posted by wxwax Since I'm 1 for 1 in predictions, here's my next one. Despite concerns about edge softness with his beloved 16-35, Andy will keep the DsII, and sell his 20D on the internet. Shortly thereafter he'll begin posting questions about computer upgrades.

I'm running a fast G5 and 8 Mgbt files from a 20D can slow it down when running a filter like Neat Image inside PS - I can only imagine what files from the 1DsMKll are like to process.

Rutt and I have had discussions about the processing power the 1DsMkll files require. I think you may be right about Andy re: new computers waxy.

Originally Posted by pathfinder I'm running a fast G5 and 8 Mgbt files from a 20D can slow it down when running a filter like Neat Image inside PS - I can only imagine what files from the 1DsMKll are like to process. Rutt and I have had discussions about the processing power the 1DsMkll files require. I think you may be right about Andy re: new computers waxy.

here are some cr2 and jpgs and one processed tiff (processed in dpp). the cr2 and the jpgs are untouched


here are some full size jpgs that have been edited (sharpening, curves, etc)



the bald-one and onethumb better fix the 8mb smugmug upload limit, eh?

Originally Posted by andy here are some cr2 and jpgs and one processed tiff (processed in dpp). the cr2 and the jpgs are untouched here are some full size jpgs that have been edited (sharpening, curves, etc) the bald-one and onethumb better fix the 8mb smugmug upload limit, eh?

Wow - Now those a big suckers. I may just stick with my measely ole 8Megapixel cameras after all. Congrats Andy, on your new tool.

Originally Posted by wxwax Since I'm 1 for 1 in predictions, here's my next one. Despite concerns about edge softness with his beloved 16-35, Andy will keep the DsII, and sell his 20D on the internet. Shortly thereafter he'll begin posting questions about computer upgrades.

we'll see

i'm smart enough (barely) to know that this camera requires some practice and experience to get things right. with ff, everything's magnified eh? so, for example, i can hold my 70-200 i.s. at 1/6th second on my 20d, i'm prolly not gonna be able to do that on the ff. i'm going to shoot with it for the week, couple days in nyc, then off to the coast again and i'll shoot some california with steve on thursday night - mebbe san francisco.

oh i can't stand the review lag - 1 sec longer than on my 20d - it crimps my chimping

Originally Posted by wxwax Since I'm 1 for 1 in predictions, here's my next one. Despite concerns about edge softness with his beloved 16-35, Andy will keep the DsII, and sell his 20D on the internet. Shortly thereafter he'll begin posting questions about computer upgrades.

downsized pic

here are some full-res files (broken in thirds b/c of the upload limit). the edges don't suck.

the left third of the photo the middle third the right third

those are the shortest seagulls I've ever seen.

Originally Posted by andy the edges don't suck.

Yeah, doesn't seem that bad to me, but I'm no expert.

nothing special. i really haven't be able to do much this weekend 'cept fire off some test shots here and there. i'm looking forward to giving it a good go this week in nyc and then san fran.

iso 1600, canon 35mm f/1.4L at f/1.4





iso 100, 70-200 f/2.8L i.s. at f/2.8