Canon EOS 1D Mark IV

Auto Mode

The Canon EOS-1D Mark IV is a camera designed for the professional, so there's no full auto (dummy) mode. However, there are plenty of auto-controlled functions that can help when you don't want to shoot in full manual. The camera has Program AE mode that sets the shutter and aperture automatically, as well as an Aperture Priority and Shutter Priority.

There always complaints about how accurately or how quickly a camera auto focuses, and the Mark III and Mark IV have both received some criticism. However, one of the improvements of the Mark IV is a faster computer inside, which is meant to improve auto focus response.The auto focus uses 45 points of reference, and you can change which points it's using. 

Movie Mode

One of the most obvious feature upgrades from the Mark III to the Mark IV is the introduction of video recording. Whether or not professionals will use the EOS-1D Mark IV for video recording is up for debate, but it's there, and its inclusion certainly didn't hurt any other specs.

To engage video recording, you first have to turn on live preview. Then hit the FEL button at the top to begin recording. During recording, you cannot autofocus, which is certainly a weakness compared to a dedicated camcorder. In fact, none of the Canon DSLRs can autofocus during video recording. You can, however, make manual focus changes, as well as aperture and shutter speed changes. The shutter will not go below 1/3th in video mode.

There are several quality modes for video recording: 1920x1080: 30p/25p/24p, 1280x720: 60p/50p, and 640x480: 60p/50p. For best results, you'll want to record with a UDMA card. The Mark IV also has an 1/8th-inch mic input.

The EOS-1D Mark IV has a lot going for it in terms of still photography, but it's still probably not the best that Canon offers for video recording. For that, look to the 5D Mark II. With its full-frame sensor, the 5D Mark II allows for far more control over depth of focus.

Drive/Burst Mode

The Canon EOS-1D Mark IV has drive modes for: single shot, high-speed continuous shooting, low-speed continuous shooting, 10-second timer, 2-second timer, and silent single shooting. 

Playback Mode

Playing back images gives you the ability to review a lot of information about the image, including a histogram, color data, the exposure settings, and more. The camera has an HDMI and an AV out for connecting to TVs.