Flatness/Pixelation/Grain EOS1Ds Experienced users please

[Atlantaga]

I shoot with an EOS1Ds. My wife shoots with a 20D. Most often, the images coming from the 20D are sharper, crisper, cleaner looking images with more punch than the EOS1Ds. Could experienced/professional users of the 1Ds offer any suggestions such as special "preference" other other tweaks that might help the 1Ds. Frequently, my images just look flatter and with less life until I process them. Too, I Have been having problems with pixelation even when shooting at ISO100 or 200 and in good light situations. This really becomes evident in enlarging the images to around 50 Megapixels whether with Photoshop interpolation or with Genuine Fractals. In low light or shooting with an ISO around 400 it really becomes a problem. Any suggestions other than light control or ISO such as settings or preferences that might help avoid pixelation?

[KennyG]

I assume you mean the original 1Ds. It really comes into its own when using RAW and the images are converted to TIF. If you use Capture One you can resize from RAW to a 50mb TIF without having to use the likes of GF (which I am not convinced is worth the money).

1Ds images need to be sharpened more than you realise to give them 'pop'. A good 1Ds image is about the best you can get, apart from maybe the MK-II, certainly well ahead of the 20D and probably the 1D MK-II as well. One thing to bear in mind is the 1Ds really shows up any weakness in a lens, and what may appear very good on a 20D does not perform the same on the FF sensor with more detail extraction.

May I suggest you post examples, 100% crops preferably, of what you say is pixelation along with the Exif details of the image. Even the lowly 1D MK-I 4MP can print beyond A3 images without any signs of it and I have seen 1Ds images 4 times that size that would blow your sox off.

[Atlantaga]

Thanks for the interest. I do shoot in RAW and use Windows Explorer to move the image into a file for Adobe Camera Raw Conversion and use nothing but Canon lenses...not the L series, but those rated best in bench tests. Yes, some images are imaculate, but there is the constant issue of the flatness as compared to the 20D and the pixelation in dark areas of the photos.

[CyberDyneSystems]

"Pixelation in dark areas" = Noise... if you are getting noise at ISO 100.. I would hazard a guess that the image or atleast the shadows.. are underexposed. Underexposure will allways add noise.

I have a theory based on my own experiences with the 1D MkII that may be pertinant.

The metering on the 1D is significantly different from the 10D/20D... when I went from 10D to MkII I had a very difficult time with exposure.. seemingly allways underexposed.

Underexposure will make imaes noisy, flat, and low in contrast.

Try shooting your 1Ds with more "plus" EC... this may solve your troubles.

Check your histogram!!!!! :)

and post samples.

[MDJAK]

I only have experience with the 10d, 20d and now my 1dsmkII.

Yes, without post processing, the images can sometimes be less than impressive.

I was with a friend at the Bronx Zoo recently. He was shooting with the Canon Digital Elph, an older model, 5mp. I was shooting with my 1dsmkII.

On first blush, looking at the lcd on the cameras, his pictures had way more snap than did mine.

However, when it came to printing, I printed a 17x24 picture on my Epson of a tiger from my camera, and an 8x10 from his. There was just no comparison. My picture looked as if the tiger were sitting right in front of us (the pictures were both taken through glass). His looked as if it were from an instamatic.

These full frame cameras, along with the 1dmkII which is 1.3 are such professional tools that any user error will be greatly magnified.

I recently bartered with a plumber friend; he replaced a leaky pipe in my kitchen; I went to his house and took pictures of his family. I shot a picture of his daughter standing basically right on top of her with my 100mm f/2.8 macro. This picture was outside in great lighting. The quality was absolutely astonishing. I could have printed is at 30x60 and you wouldn't have seen a pixel.

Now, if I only owned a printer that could print that big.

[Atlantaga]

I think that perhaps the lack of "pop" or flatness may be two separate issues. However, I had hoped that someone might be aware of some tweaking magic to maybe address either or both.

Re. the pixelation, that seems to be in the whole picture, but is simply more noticeable in the darker areasbut it may well be that even in a well exposed shot but it may well be that even in a well exposed shot the darker areas are simply more noticeable. ANY steps beyond simple ISO control and low light situation avoidance such as in the work flow from image capture to burning disks would be helpful. For example, I know that excessive satruation will virtually guarantee it and that excessive contrast also contributes. Any other ideas as to how and where to prevent pixelation whether in image capture, camera preferences and settings, photoshop procesing, or other workflow areas..or a better tool than Genuine Fractals.

The flatness or lack of POP may just be the nature of the EOS1Ds. Mine is one year old. It IS frustrating that the 20D is so much snappier...maybe this is something related to its algorithm for how it compiles the image data? My goal is for images that come out of the cameras universally well exposed, well focused and fairly close to most others to minimize later processing and maybe even be able to use some batch actions for RAW processing. When doing hundreds every week this is a major time stealer. What have been your experiences as to the best EOS1Ds settings/preferences for consistently well exposed, evenly exposed images and for the most consitently well focused images? With two sets of preference settings, much experience with results in tweaking them? creative-expression@adelphia.net