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Canon EOS 1D Mark II N

Digital Camera Review

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Components

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Modes
November 16, 2005 By Alex Mekelburg
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Canon EOS 1D Mark II N
Page 4

Shooting



Custom WB


Sets manual white balance with existing exposure


JPEG Quality


Sets JPEG compression from 1 to 10 for each JPEG file size – L, M1, M2, and S


Color Space


SRGB or Adobe RGB


Picture Style


Styles include: Standard, Portrait, Landscape, Neutral, Faithful, Monochrome, and two user-defined styles; each style controls camera settings for Sharpness, Contrast, Color Saturation, and Color tone; Monochrome substitutes filter effect and toning for the color effects


Review


Displays images as they are saved; option to show image data as well


Review time


Sets length of time review to 2, 4, or 8 seconds, or Hold


Noise Reduction


On, Auto, or Off



Model Design / Appearance (9.0)
Though most DSLRs are driven by functionality and not form, the EOS-1D Mark II n has more than a hint of style. There are plenty of functional justifications for the EOS-1D Mark II n's very streamlined features – nothing sharp to snag on clothes, for instance – but the camera manages to look pretty cool. It's unlikely that anyone would pick up an EOS-1D Mark II n solely because they felt it looked better than the Nikon D2Hs, but it’s something Canon probably took into consideration, and it shows.  
 
The EOS-1D Mark II n exhibits excellent craftsmanship, with strong fit and finish. The seams where parts come together match tightly and are all even. The leather-textured rubber that covers much of the camera's exterior has a subtle sheen, while the painted surface has a very slight tooth, almost like fine sandpaper. Unfortunately, the plastic battery module is a different shade of black from the camera body, so it didn't quite match.
 
Size / Portability (6.5)
At 6.1 x 6.2 x 3.1 inches and 43.2 ounces, the EOS-1D Mark II n is about as big as DSLRs get, but the competition is not much different. The Nikon D2X and Nikon D2Hs are 0.2 inches shorter but 0.3 inches deeper, and the D2X weighs about 37.7 ounces. And these figures don't include lenses; the wide aperture zooms that are made for pro cameras are big and heavy as well.


Canon 1D Mk II n compared to Nikon D2H

In short, going out to shoot with the EOS-1D Mark II n involves a high level of commitment, a well-padded camera bag, and a strong back.  

Handling Ability (9.25)  
Both the horizontal and vertical grips are comfortable and secure to hold, and the camera balances well in both positions. The camera's weight contributes to its stability (as long as the user's arms hold up, anyway). In addition to the vertical shutter release, the EOS-1D Mark II n has a vertical main control dial, vertical buttons for AF sensor selection, flash exposure lock, AE lock, and selection of a "custom" AF sensor. The vertical controls can be turned off as well. Though the shape of the vertical grip is different from the horizontal grip, the vertical controls are placed to fall under the user's fingers just as the horizontal ones do.


Control Button / Dial Positioning / Size (8.0)
The buttons, switches, and dials on the EOS-1D Mark II n are sturdy and well finished. They provide very good tactile feedback – they must be pressed slightly further than buttons on many entry level cameras. The minor difference doesn't make the EOS-1D Mark II n slower, but it does make deploying the controls more reliable; it's easy to tell that the button has been pushed.
The EOS-1D Mark II n’s largest control is the "Quick Control dial," a rotatable disk that lies flat against the back of the camera. It spins easily, clicking as it turns. The Quick dial’s exact function depends on the camera mode; it can scroll through images in Playback mode, set the aperture or exposure compensation, and scroll through menus. Nikon uses a four-way controller, as well as front and back control dials, rather than Canon's Quick dial.
 
It's a disappointment that the EOS-1D Mark II n didn't get a copy of the small four-way controller found on the Canon 20D. A four-way controller is an excellent tool for navigating in two dimensions – around an image or a menu. On the EOS-1D Mark II n, there is no four-way controller. Two dimensional movement requires using both the main control dial and the Quick dial, often after pressing a button, or while holding one down. Autofocus point selection is a prime example – to select a point when all 45 are active, the user has to press the AF point button and then turn the two control dials. In contrast, the Nikon D2Hs and D2X have four-way controllers that navigate the AF points directly in shooting mode – there's no need to press an extra button or switch between dials.
 
Canon's strategy with the EOS-1D Mark II n is apparently to limit the number of buttons by giving many controls multiple functions. It's great to be able to adjust so many controls with such a clean interface, but the drawback is significant: pressing two buttons while turning a dial is a bit more trouble than pressing one button while turning a dial, or simply turning a dial, although it does provide an additional layer of protection against accidental alteration.

Switching to the registered autofocus point is an example: the default keystroke combination is the AF point button and the Assist/WB correction button. The two buttons sit about an inch apart, with the AE lock button between them, near the right thumb rest. Perhaps someone can activate both buttons with their right hand while holding the camera at eye level, but it wouldn't be easy. It's possible to reconfigure the camera so that the Assist/WB correction button does the job alone, but then, doing a white balance correction could lead you to accidentally switching the autofocus point. I imagine pros accustomed to shooting with Canon SLRs aren't losing lots of images over problems like this, but the setup is more convoluted than it could be.
Menu (8.0)
The EOS-1D Mark II n's menus are identical to those on the EOS 5D and similar to most Canon DSLRs.  The main menu is broken into four categories. They are: Shooting, Playback, Set-up (which is so long that it is split into two menus), and Custom/Personal functions. The menu shows a tab for each heading (two for Set-up) and uses the same color-coding scheme that nearly all Canon digital cameras use to differentiate the categories. The EOS-1D Mark II n menu's advantage over the Canon 20D menu is that it's easier to hop from one setting to another. Though the 20D offers a jump feature, enabling the user to skip over a large number of menu entries at the press of a button, all the controls appear in a single, scrolling list. In contrast, the EOS-1D Mark II n's tabs each reveal a single screen’s worth of settings, so there is less scrolling and cleaner organization.

The menu entries are:
 
 

 
Playback
 
Protect Image
Protects image from accidental deletion
Rotate
Rotates image
Erase all on card
Erases all saved images (minus protected files)
Print Order
Creates a DPOF print order
Highlight Alert
Shows blown areas in flashing black
Display AF points
Shows AF point when Playback mode is set to Info
Histogram display
Brightness or RGB histogram
Enlarge display set.
Enlarges the image from either the center of the frame or from the active autofocus point
 

 
Set-up 1
 
Auto power off
Powers off after 1, 2, 4, 8, 15, or 30 minutes, or disable
File numbering
Options of Continuous, which numbers up to 9999, A-Reset, which starts from 0001 every time a memory card is inserted, and M-Reset, which starts from 0001, and continues in whatever numbering mode was previously active
File name setting
Sets the four-letter file name prefix
BackUp
Records every image shot to both CF and SD card
Auto rotate
Rotates images automatically to orient them right-side up
Save camera settings
Saves camera settings to a memory card
Load camera settings
Loads settings from a memory card
Format
Formats memory card (erases all data)

Set-up 2
 
LCD Brightness
5 brightness settings offered
Date/Time
Adjusts the date and time stamp
Language
Options of English, German, French, Dutch, Danish, Finnish, Italian, Norwegian, Swedish, Spanish, Russian, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Korean, and Japanese
Video system
NTSC or PAL
Firmware
To be selected when upgrading camera firmware
Sensor cleaning
Exposes sensor for cleaning
 

 
Custom/Personal
 
Custom functions
Permits user to make individual settings
Personal functions
Permits user to creates sets of custom settings
Clear all Custom functions
Self-explanatory
Clear all Personal functions
Self-explanatory
Finder display during exposure
Displays exposure and shooting information in viewfinder during continuous shooting
Shutter release without card
Allows shooting without memory cards
Shutter button/AE lock button
Permits control of autofocus and exposure lock with AE lock button and shutter release
Manual Tv/Av set. For M exp.
Controls which dials change aperture and shutter speed in manual mode; allows camera to select aperture without a lens attached
Exposure Level Increments
Choose 1/3, 1/2, or full stops
USM lens electronic MF
Allows or prevents manual focusing in One-shot AF mode
Top LCD panel/Back LCD panel
Chooses what combination of data displays show among the following choices: ISO, number of remaining shots, and current shot number; the change also applies to the viewfinder display
Auto bracketing sequence/cancel
Sets the order in which bracketed images are shot, and sets whether power-cycling the camera or changing lenses will cancel the bracket
AF point illumination
Controls how AF points light up in the viewfinder
AF point selection method
Chooses the combination of button and dial to navigate through the AF points
Mirror lockup
On or Off
Number of AF points/Spot metering
Choose to activate 45, 11, or 9 AF points; choose, with 11 or 9 AF points, to spot meter at active AF point
E-TTL II
Sets flash auto exposure to either evaluative or center averaging
Shutter curtain sync
Selects first or second curtain
Safety shift in Av or Tv
Allows camera to switch the manually-chosen setting if a sudden change in light makes it impossible to get an exposure at the manual setting
AF point activation area
Permits activation of the AF points around the selected ones to improve focus performance, especially in tracking
Switch to registered AF point
Selects the control that switches to the registered AF point
Lens AF stop button function
Controls the function of the AF stop button on some EF lenses; it can be set to stop AF or start it, lock exposure, switch the AF point, switch the AF mode, or on IS lenses, activate image stabilization
AI SERVO tracking sensitivity
Sets how quick the camera is to refocus when it detects a sudden change in distance; "Moderately slow" is better for tracking subjects when something may briefly block the view; "Moderately fast" is better for situations with several subjects at very different distances
Drive Speed priority AI SERVO
Allows shooting even when the camera hasn't focused
Focusing Screen
Sets the camera to accommodate various focusing screens
 
Ease of Use (6.0)
The EOS-1D Mark II n doesn't fight the user. Its extraordinary functions and controls are efficient and logical.  But because it has a deep feature set, new users should expect a significant learning curve. The controls that everyone will use commonly more or less naturally fall under the user's hands, but less universal features – tweaking white balance, for instance, or registering an autofocus point—will take some practice before they're easy to implement. Options such as Picture Styles will take some experimentation, not only to see what they do, but to see if they're useful in a given workflow. The EOS-1D Mark II n offers a range of interface customization, and many of the customization options are likely to improve ease of use for some photographers. Given the way controls serve multiple purposes, though, it's likely that tweaking the interface will also be a matter of trial and error.
 
When we review point-and-shoot cameras, "ease of use" often translates into "simple to use." That's not appropriate with the EOS-1D Mark II n.
 

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Canon EOS 1D Mark II N
Digital Camera Review
2 Comments
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Previous: Page 3

Components

Previous: Page 5

Modes