Canon 1Ds (little pentax content)

[Ryan K. Brooks]

Hi All,

I've been shooting with a 1Ds for one week now, while I wait to see what Pentax comes up with in spring.

Here are some quick impressions:

- Incredible image quality. Resolution, Dynamic range, shadow detail are all amazing and exceed my film gear.

- Completely linear response across the sensor- no edge falloff as predicted by some folks.

- I've done some of the same local shots with my 1Ds as I have with the MZ-S, 5n, LX and 67ii and there's really no comparison. The 35mm stuff is a joke (based on a wide variety of FA, A*, SMC and Tak glass and APX 25, E100 , Provia 100F and Velvia- my main films). The 67ii is close, closest with Velvia (but w/o the crazy saturation) but just isn't as good on large prints. Grain noise and less shadow detail make the film output "murky" in comparison. Looking at 1200% mag, there's more usable info in the 1Ds picture than I can get out of a 6x7 chrome, IMHO- YMMV- insert argument here.

- Autofocus on the 1Ds is a bit better than the MZ-S, but not a whole lot. Either one is fine.

- The 1Ds body is too damn big. I already found myself thinking about taking the MZ-S/BG10 out at sunset tonight just due to size and weight- but I just couldn't do it, I wanted the results from the 1Ds.

- I wish I could put the 43 on the 1Ds. Oh well, I may get a screw to EOS adapter and try out some Taks.

- I wish the 1Ds had a flash- oh well, it's "pro".

- On the 1Ds, ISO 100-400 are nearly indistinguishable.

- The AF point selection on the 1Ds is better, but I have no need for that many selection points. I like the big array for focus confirmation, but I prefer the T layout of the MZ-S.

- The quiet (USM) focus is nice, I can get more candid AF shots compared to the Pentaxes- where I would change to manual to avoid tipping people off.

- Battery life is amazing. I only have the original battery and never think about it dying while out in the field.

If folks have questions about the 1Ds, I can answer them in private email so we don't get the list off-topic.

-Ryan