Canon EOS-1Ds Mark II. Review from the reader Radozhiva

For the provided review Canon EOS-1 Ds Mark II Digital many thanks Valery Nazarkin (instagram).

Canon EOS-1 Ds Mark II Digital

Canon EOS-1 Ds Mark II Digital

The EOS-1Ds Mark II is a professional camera that has become a continuation of the highly successful in the professional environment EOS-1Ds (a review of which is already
available on Radozhiva). 1Ds Mark II was announced back in 2004 at a price of $ 8000 and was released until 2007, after which the model came to replace it 1DS Mark III.

The main application of 1Ds Mark II: studio photography, magazine photography, stock photography, in general - any kind of filming where high resolution and high quality photographs are required.

In front, the camera has retained the familiar, classic appearance of its predecessor, almost without any changes. In front is the button for repeating the diaphragm, the lamp of the timer indicator and the button for removing the lens. The elements are located, in my opinion, it’s very convenient, when using the Camera you don’t have to intercept it, which is extremely important in professional filming, where sometimes it costs a lot of money.

On the back side, the camera has nothing superfluous, everything is quite thought out and, in comparison with its predecessor, changes in the controls are insignificant. The ergonomic camera is very easy to perceive in the hand - it is "аĸ necessary".

I will not dwell on appearance and management for a long time, there is a lot of information about this on the Internet and I can only say that after a short time for getting used to it, management becomes familiar and perceived quite logically and routinely.

Key Features

The camera has a dust-moisture-protective housing, which allows you to use 1Ds Mark II in difficult weather conditions, for example, in hiking and expeditions. The camera is convenient for shooting in both orientations due to the built-in battery handle, although this negatively affected the weight of the camera, which is 1.5 g.

The camera works without problems with any lenses created for the Canon EF mount, with the exception of the very old third-party optics created for the Canon EOS film cameras.

1Ds Mark II has a full-frame sensor: 36 X 24 mm CMOS, with low-pass filter and effective resolution 16.7 megapixels. Given the above parameters, the camera has a "fat" pixel size: 7.2 μm, which has a very positive effect on the final result and reduces the optical requirements. The output image from the Camera is very pleasant, colorful and contrast, despite not the highest dynamic range, and only 12-bit RAW file format.

The autofocus camera system has 45-point focusing (7 points), in good lighting the autofocus operation does not cause any complaints in practice with any lenses I tested. Viewfinder with 100% frame coverage and quality pentaprism. The desire to check the sharpness after the shot disappears - the autofocus works perfectly, even if you use non-cross points autofocus.

1Ds Mark II has slots for 2-card memory formats: CompactFlash Type I / II (supports Microdrive) and Secure Digital, including SDHC.

Serial shooting 4 frames per second, which is quite enough for most tasks, even some sports can be successfully filmed. The camera buffer holds 11 RAW shots at ISO 100 and 10 shots at any other ISO setting. When shooting in JPEG, everything is not unambiguous, below are the parameters of resolution, ISO and the number of shots that fit into the buffer:

Buffer Canon EOS-1 Ds Mark II Digital

Buffer Canon EOS-1 Ds Mark II Digital

This table will be useful when filming a dynamic reportage, which does not require further deep processing of the images or requires urgent delivery of the material (parameters are shown with noise reduction disabled and quality '10' for all resolutions of the JPEG format).

ISO in Camera is available from 100 to 1600 units, it is also possible to expand to the values ​​of L - ISO 50 and H - ISO 3200, I would like to note that in this camera Canon acted honestly - there are no “Marketing” ISOs in the camera. Even the ISO 3200 value can be successfully used for some tasks with a few caveats.

Canon EOS-1 Ds Mark II Digital

Canon EOS-1 Ds Mark II Digital

Camera features, personal experience

There is a lot of information on the Internet on this Camera, but there is some information, including from personal experience, which you most likely will not find anywhere and it will definitely be useful to users of this Camera, or those who wish to acquire it.

I was interested to check the maximum amount of memory that the 1Ds Mark II “dries up”. And so, the camera uses the FAT32 file system (at that time EXFAT was not yet used in cameras and, in my opinion, was not even adopted as a standard/was in development). First I took memory cards of the format CF and all available volumes, including 128 GB, which the camera perfectly formatted and used, even when using an adapter CF – SDXC, allowing the use of format cards SD in the card slot CF. All memory sizes worked perfectly. But when installing a 256 GB memory card into the camera, the 1Ds Mark II saw the capacity of the card, but when trying to format it, it gave an error and the ability to use such a card disappeared. And then the thought struck me that this whole situation looked strange, after which I tried to format the memory card on the computer in FAT6 format. By the way, I use the operating system MAC OS X 32 Catalina; for formatting I used a standard disk utility. And lo and behold! The camera worked perfectly with this memory card without any problems. I was extremely surprised when it turned out that the same rule applies to the memory card slot SD, with the only difference that the threshold value of memory card capacity is 32 GB, that is, memory cards with a capacity of more than 32 GB will be functional. Even the modern Sandisk Etreem Pro 256 GB memory card worked perfectly, on which more than 10.000 frames fit in RAW format, I can’t say the exact value since the frame counter in the camera is limited to 9.999.

The camera uses a small screen - only 2 inches and with a small resolution, but it displays color very adequately. It is made using TN technology. 1Ds Mark II quite accurately determines white balance, exposure, and other automatic parameters, as set by the professional camera.

I can’t but praise the autonomy of the Camera, my copy came to me in a set with three full-time batteries, one of which was original and is living out its life, it is possible to shoot about 300-500 frames on it, depending on the camera settings and shooting mode. The other 2 accumulators turned out to be very good, one of them was ordered new from China, the DSTE company, a few months ago and can quite easily capture 4000-5000 shots at full charge. The third battery is original, but survived the update using the batteries eneloop, which allows you to capture about 3000-4000 frames per charge. I have never come from a renter with a fully discharged battery, even in the cold season.

In camera settings CF.n there is a setting that allows, when focusing, to activate additional autofocus points that carry auxiliary functions, but unfortunately for a long time I could not find at least some explanation of the principle and operating conditions of these settings. As we found out, with the auxiliary point function activated, when using optics with a focal length of up to 200 mm, 1-2 nearby auxiliary autofocus points can be activated, if, according to the algorithm, this is required. When using optics from 200 mm to 300 mm, an algorithm of up to 7 auxiliary points is connected. At 300 mm or more, up to 11 auxiliary points can be connected simultaneously for shooting. All described settings function when the corresponding parameters are set and work in the “ONE SHOT” mode.

Another interesting point about autofocus: previously I had a very long experience using cameras Canon 6D and 5D Mark III, in the number of several instances, and for all of these cameras, some of my lenses “smeared” and required a fine tuning of autofocus. With the transition to 1Ds Mark II, all available lenses hit exactly on target and do not require adjustment, which is not provided for in the Camera. It’s hard to say why Canon 6D and 5D Mark III such problems, if someone has information on this, you can share it in the comments.

During the operation of the camera, I have had minor malfunctions that require disassembling the camera and eliminating the problems that have arisen. We managed to find out interesting features. For example, I found that the camera starts on the 1Ds Mark II, 1D Mark II and 1D Mark IIn are very similar and many of the components are identical. Taking into account the age of the cameras, the electronics occupies a significant place inside their case and due to the fact that it was not possible to fit all the necessary components on one board, the motherboard was divided into nodes in the form of several boards connected in series. The same rule applies to the shutter and release control units of the mirror. During the repair process, we found out that when replacing these motherboards from one camera to another, the camera is converted to the model from which the kit is installed. In this way, a 1Ds Mark II camera can be converted into a 1D Mark II by replacing a set of boards and vice versa. The components that control the shutter and the mirror, the shutter and the shutter itself, as well as the camera power board, are no different from each other. The same rule applies to the top panel and rear panel with display and buttons, the only difference is that the rear roof of the 1D Mark IIn camera is different and most likely will not be able to fully work on other models. Another feature of the 1Ds Mark II is that to replace the shutter, you will need to disassemble the entire camera, but you will not need to remove the sensor itself. To replace the matrix, minimal disassembly of the camera is required, which allows, if necessary, to adjust the matrix, to spend not much time on disassembly and assembly. I did this procedure - the alignment is done using shims. In general, the design, taking into account the time of the camera's release, looks quite logical and understandable, but still there are questions about the power board - the main power lines are implemented in the form of solder wires. The solder points are very close to each other, which, if short-circuited, can damage a number of important components of the camera, which will make it impossible to operate or make diagnostics difficult. Fortunately Canon is working on its shortcomings and in cameras of more recent models, all power connections are implemented on the basis of plastic connectors with good insulation. When assembling the camera, I soldered all the connections well and made additional insulation of the solder just in case. All in all, the fact that many of the components are compatible between cameras makes them very easy to repair. Finding spare parts is getting harder and harder, but cheap cameras with flooring for the Copies are periodically appearing on the secondary market.

Separately, I would like to touch upon the shutter, its resource and its repair. After reading what experienced craftsmen write, we managed to find out that the shutter, mechanically, came out very successful and reliable and in 99% of cases the curtains fail, which are designed for 200 thousand guaranteed operations. In this regard, the locks are quite tenacious. Cameras of the newer models 1Ds Mark III, 1D Mark III and 1D Mark IV use similar shutters, the shape of the curtains is identical, but the shutter resource is increased there - now it is 300 thousand actuations. According to the masters, simply by installing new curtains, the shutter performance is fully restored, and if you install curtains from newer cameras, the shutter resource increases. Apparently, the new cameras used more wear-resistant materials for the production of the curtain shutter. So if the repair of the shutter in the future stopped you from purchasing one of the Mark II cameras, then be safe - curtains from Mark III and Mark IV are sold on aliexpress and ebay without any problems.

If you are interested in some repair questions, you can feel free to write to me and I will help you as much as I can.

Examples of photographs for various optics

To compile a more complete picture for the reader on the capabilities of the Camera and the Picture, which can be obtained from it, I prepared quite a few examples of photos for various optics, which I have or took for the test. Lists of test subjects: Canon EF 50 f / 1.8 STM, Canon EF 28-90 f / 4-5,6, Canon EF 50 f / 1.4 USM, Canon EF 85 f / 1.8 USM, Canon EF 135 f / 2L USM, Canon EF 300 f / 4L USM, Tokina AT-X PRO 16-28 f / 2.8, Sigma 70-200 f / 2.8 EX DG HSM, Sigma 8 f / 4 EX DG, Sigma 15 f / 2.8 EX DG, Yongnuo YN50 f / 1.4, Yongnuo 35 f / 2, Helios 44-2 58 f / 2.

On a full-frame camera with a not very high resolution of the matrix and, consequently, not a very high requirement for optics, all the objec- tives proved to be quite worthy. True, the periodic camera sets a colder white balancethan he really is. The only thing when using the Yongnuo YN50 f / 1.4 lens is that the camera periodically overexposures the frame.

Personal experience

I have been using Canon cameras for a long time and for almost 11 years I have gotten used to their ergonomics and results. Later I bought myself Sony A7 series cameras, which have a large number of modern functions and parameters, but when I take a Canon 1Ds Mark II camera in my hands, you immediately understand how convenient it is in the hand and how easy it is to use. Of course, I was amazed at the quality of the picture and the very nice picture the 1Ds Mark II has. I regularly use the camera for work, as well as for creativity and photo walks. I am absolutely not confused by the weight of the camera - after a few days you just stop noticing it. Considering the low cost of the 1Ds Mark II and its availability on the aftermarket, I can recommend it not only as a comfortable camera for the soul with a pleasant picture, but also as a professional tool that allows you to work successfully, especially if you do not require high ISO values.

You will find more reviews from readers of Radozhiva here.

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Comments: 106, on the topic: Canon EOS-1Ds Mark II. Review from the reader Radozhiva

  • Alexey

    Comrades, tell me which adapter to take canon - m42, shob old manuals on 1ds mk2, and shob squeaked when focusing?

    • Arkady Shapoval

      Anyone with a chip such as this

      • Alexey

        That is, with any adapter with a chip, will there be support for manual glasses with sound confirmation of focus?

        • Arkady Shapoval

          Yes. In rare cases, such an adapter requires programming according to the instructions (programmed by the sequence of frames with a special set of excerpts)

  • Andrei

    Liked the photos from the 135L.

  • Mr. boggy

    A dream camera in terms of equipment ahead of its time, but I don’t like the color from it. Pretentiousness and contrast, strict, a kind of "gothic" in the picture. For some reason, the first Ds is much softer in color, the green landscapes do not “yellow” either, although there are saturation presets, and the contrast does not darken the shadows initially.

    • Dmitry Kostin

      What do you show?
      When developing in DPP, everything seems to be fine. The color reproduction of this camera is quite noticeably different from 1Ds_mk3.
      The presets are different and they differ noticeably in color and midtones.
      The contrast for all presets was set everywhere a little less than the default.

      • Mr. boggy

        Well, again, all this is subjective, my friends sent Rava to me, from the first and second, I twisted them in DPP, ACR, the first one won, although it is old ... Probably I wanted these bold lamp colors, but the first one is also not ideal, faces lilac in the shadows. The first Pyatak is already in the kit, therefore it is possible that Ds MK2 did not hook me))). Speed ​​in my tasks is not important at all, but still there is a reportage 1d mk2, always with a lens. Probably, after all, the second dzhik and a matrix of about 17 megapixels in Ds MK2 are already working out a little differently, but this is very noticeable to me ... And the Third Ds is generally a purely commercial machine, so sharp and very saturated in colors, but alas it climbs into acid, must follow...

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