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BDM
3rd of May 2005 (Tue), 16:46
I took the plunge and ordered a 1DS Mk II yesterday from B&H. It arrived this morning. (This forum has been a very bad influence on me I'm sorry to say).

I opened the box and removed the camera and all of its included accessories. All I can say is YIPES! It is a monster compared to my Rebel. Lots of switches, wheels, buttons. It is also big and heavy - - sort of like my Nikon F4S film camera. But it does appear to be built like a tank.

Its battery is charging so I haven't been able to power it up yet. But I have already noticed how much easier it is to manually focus compared to the Rebel which I found very hard to use for manual focus.

Once the battery is ready I'm going to have a go at configuring it for use in the manner I'm used to - - single center AF focus point and initially evaluative metering along with the TV mode. But I am looking forward to using the spot metering (which I use when making large format negatives with my film view camera) and the mirror lockup will be appreciated for some of the micro work I like to do.

I will regret not being able to use my Phase One Rebel software to convert raw to TIFF files for further processing in Photoshop CS. I guess I will stick with the included Canon software until a learn a lot more about the new beast.

I do have a long way to go. For example, I found the little latch which opens the memory card door but it took me a few minutes to realize that after you flip it up you must rotate it! Unfortunately, that's the level I'm operating on right now but in all fairness, it has only been with me for two hours.

I do have a question. Does anyone know if a pistol grip is available with the proper shutter release cable. I will want to resume chasing insects in flight with a micro lens and a ring light flash and the pistol grip makes holding the camera with that configuration a lot easier for me.

Bruce
Michaelmjc
3rd of May 2005 (Tue), 19:24
Sounds like you got a while to go before you're used to that thing. I've held one before, they are monsters, compared to the rebel.

Good luck with everything, hope to see some pictures.
jeffherald
3rd of May 2005 (Tue), 20:10
Regarding the pistol grip, look at this web site:

http://www.bushhawk.com/

I don't know if this is what you are looking for or not, but it came to mind when you mentioned pistol grip.

Enjoy your new camera!
weemannie
4th of May 2005 (Wed), 00:09
Congrats Bruce - Isn't it an amazing camera! :) :) :)

I've just had mine for 2 days and all I can say is WOW!

Have you tried the Continuous H drive mode yet? Its incredible I shot some images of one of our dogs running towards me and playback is like watching a movie!!!

I'm sure that, like me, you'll have years of pleasure from it. Enjoy;)
Jesper
4th of May 2005 (Wed), 02:53
weemannie, Bruce is talking about his 1Ds Mark II, and in your signature I see you have an 1D Mark II. Those are two quite different cameras....
neil_r
4th of May 2005 (Wed), 03:00
Have you tried the Continuous H drive mode yet? Its incredible I shot some images of one of our dogs running towards me and playback is like watching a movie!!!

And that is one of the differences :D

N
sixshot
4th of May 2005 (Wed), 03:27
Congrats. Nice purchase.
BDM
4th of May 2005 (Wed), 17:15
weemannie, Bruce is talking about his 1Ds Mark II, and in your signature I see you have an 1D Mark II. Those are two quite different cameras....

Unfortunately, I mistyped my original message. It is indeed a 1D MkII rather than the 1DS MkII. Someday perhaps I migfht be interested in the 1DS version (or whatever it may be called by then) but for now for the kind of photography I like to do I think the 1D MK II is more appropriate. I'm sorry about the confusion.

Bruce
defordphoto
4th of May 2005 (Wed), 20:18
Venturing into 1-Series land is treat, no matter what model. The 1DMKII is the speed-freak, PJ/Sports version. The 1DsMKII is the pixel-freak, Portraiture/Modeling version.

They both shine brighter than the sun and whether holding a 1D, 1Ds, 1DMKII or 1DsMKII, it's the same territory. You know you have something very special in your hands.
mdm
4th of May 2005 (Wed), 20:20
Lucky you!
Michaelmjc
4th of May 2005 (Wed), 21:32
I just check the fps on that camera. 8.5fps! thats insane, I think mine is incredibly fast and its only 2.8. I really couldn't imagine 8. wow!
FlyingPete
4th of May 2005 (Wed), 22:28
Venturing into 1-Series land is treat, no matter what model. The 1DMKII is the speed-freak, PJ/Sports version. The 1DsMKII is the pixel-freak, Portraiture/Modeling version.

They both shine brighter than the sun and whether holding a 1D, 1Ds, 1DMKII or 1DsMKII, it's the same territory. You know you have something very special in your hands.

Hopefully one day the two will become one!
CyberDyneSystems
5th of May 2005 (Thu), 09:13
Hopefully one day the two will become one!

"The Sleeper must Awaken! "
BDM
5th of May 2005 (Thu), 19:18
Hopefully one day the two will become one!

That would be amazing. And perhaps by then the price will not be so high that it is not affordable.

Bruce
BDM
5th of May 2005 (Thu), 19:31
Venturing into 1-Series land is treat, no matter what model. The 1DMKII is the speed-freak, PJ/Sports version. The 1DsMKII is the pixel-freak, Portraiture/Modeling version.

They both shine brighter than the sun and whether holding a 1D, 1Ds, 1DMKII or 1DsMKII, it's the same territory. You know you have something very special in your hands.

Yes, that is surely true. I did mount the EX 550 flash and my 24-70 L lens on the camera and that combination is heavy. I have a Nikon F4S film camera which is also far from being a light weight so heavy cameras are not new to me. In many ways, the 1D MKII has many of the features of the F4S which I liked and missed with the Rebel such as mirror lockup and the spot meter.

I do plan to keep the Rebel as a backup. From the various postings on the forum I'm not convinced that digital cameras are quite as reliable as film cameras. Like most computers, they do seem to develop glitches.

Initial image quality seems very fine. I made a quick shot of one of the back yard bunnies this evening and I swear I can almost see the fleas in his fur! The next step for me is to add to my Canon lens collection which is quite meager now. It took a long time to build up my Nikon lens selection and I'm sure it will be a while before I can do the same with this system. Switching camera brands is expensive. But I really thought when I got the Rebel that Canon offered more and I still feel that way.

Bruce
BDM
5th of May 2005 (Thu), 19:35
I just check the fps on that camera. 8.5fps! thats insane, I think mine is incredibly fast and its only 2.8. I really couldn't imagine 8. wow!

I guess I will find out when I try shooting some motocross races this summer. I used to do that with my Nikon F4S film camera but it was not as fast and I ended up with a lot of film to process and edit. At least there is no film and processing expense to worry about so I can make all my usual mistakes at much less cost!

Bruce
guitarman3
6th of May 2005 (Fri), 22:27
Somewhere on a XT training page they have sound files of the XT compared to the Mark II firing at full fps. Needless to say the Mark II sounds like a machine gun in comparison! Geez, it won't be long when it approaches the 30 frames a second of a consumer video camera! While I'd love to have a camera like that, I'd have to sell my house--so I'll just stick with my XT for now!
Congrats on your purchase Bruce!