Canon EOS-1D Mark IV Pro Reviews

The 1D Mk IV is one of the best DSLRs ever produced. As to whether it is better or worse than Nikon's D3s is too close to call without direct comparison testing between the two. It's fair to say, though, that both have their benefits and faults and on comparing their ISO performances on our colour chart, the 1D Mk IV doesn't control noise as well above 12,800 but it does have other strengths. The power of this camera is immense and its ability to shoot full 16MP 14-bit Raw files at 10fps - while tracking a moving subject - is jaw-dropping. If I had the money to spare I'd buy this camera tomorrow, but realistically you need to be making serious money from your images to justify spending £4,000 on the body alone. However, with this camera you would certainly have a head start in producing good enough shots.

Overall, the 1D Mark IV's improvements are a success. Movie mode is complete enough for the main purpose of capturing video clips for news, and with the great success of the 5D Mark II, cinematographers already have a full-frame camera better suited for full-scale video production. The Canon EOS 1D Mark IV is one fine professional digital camera, and a clear Dave's Pick.

Canon's newest 1D model has no pretenses about being anything other than the high performance leader of the Canon DSLR fleet. You can pay more for the 1Ds Mark III, but not shoot nearly as fast, and with not all that much more resolution than the Mark IV. No built-in flash, no scene shooting modes, and only one shooting mode that allows the camera to make both decisions on aperture and shutter speed. You have left the entry level/prosumer world obehind and are firmly ensconced at the tip of Canon's technology spear.

So far, so good. I enjoyed my brief spell with the Mk IV. It worked well and felt inspiring to use. I really would have liked the time to tinker with the AF and Custom Function settings to really fine-tune the camera to my preferences (handling and performance).

The Canon 1-Series bodies have always been top-of-the-line and the specs for this new model were excellent, so I wasn't concerned about too much going into this review. I did have two concerns though. The first was image sharpness - this concern was dispelled early in testing. The second concern was the new AF system. I have given this attribute scrutiny and at this point, as I mentioned, I am very pleased with the 1D IV's AF performance. This is the body I plan to use throughout the Spring sports seasons.

The Canon EOS-1D Mark IV has the feel of a product that is determined to be as close to perfect as possible, and this is understandable after the uncertainty that hung over the 1D Mark III. It almost doesn't matter how many people were affected by the Mark III's AF problems - in the same way that a great flagship product has a 'halo effect' that radiates out, conferring some if its greatness on more lowly models, rumors of a flaw can have an impact on perceptions way beyond the group of people actually affected. And, with Nikon successfully competing for the professional market in a way it hasn't done since its D1, this is a product Canon needs to be perfect.

Canon USA introduce the next evolution in the EOS 1D series of cameras: the Canon EOS-1D Mark IV digital SLR camera.