Canon 1DmkIV - not impressed

EMA747

EMA747

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Andy
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I have bought a Canon 1DmkIV and to be honest I am not really that impressed so far. Well let me put it another way...It's a nice camera but I am not really seeing much of a difference over my 7D. Certainly not £2500 difference.
See this other thread of mine to see what I mean http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=256156

What do other mkIV owners think? I read many people saying the images off the mkIV were "stunning" etc etc but I am not really getting that. Mine appear quite soft and don't really get much better with lots of sharpening. :(
 
You dont say what lens your using... Mine dont even need sharpening... perfect out the camera...previously had 10d, then 1dmk IIs IIIs and now IVs its easy the best ever...
 
KIPAX said:
You dont say what lens your using... Mine dont even need sharpening... perfect out the camera...previously had 10d, then 1dmk IIs IIIs and now IVs its easy the best ever...
Click to expand...
My lenses are:
Canon 17-40 f4 L
Canon 24-70 f2.8 L
Canon 70-200 f2.8 IS mkII
 
EMA747 said:
What do other mkIV owners think? I
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Well I had a hold of one felt good to me seen shots from it, never took any shots as it was brand new, first time out for Mark, looks/feels good, theres a lot to take in with it, mind boggles just stick with it, youll soon bond, all cameras you got to know them to get the best, and theres a lot to learn with them, I was boggled with all the setting functions WOOOOW, seen his shots look good stick with it,

I have a 400D if you want to trade and cash my way (NOT) LOL
 
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You should be getting perfection and not using sharpening tools.. Only using 400mm with mine during day and 135mm under floodlights (night time high iso)... but I use the 400mm at f2.8 and its perfect.. but just seen your talking raw I only ever shoot jpg
 
KIPAX said:
You should be getting perfection and not using sharpening tools..
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That exactly what I was expecting.

I might be expecting too much but I've heard so many people say they love the mkIV that I am a bit worried about what I am getting out of mine.
 
EMA747 said:
I have bought a Canon 1DmkIV and to be honest I am not really that impressed so far. Well let me put it another way...It's a nice camera but I am not really seeing much of a difference over my 7D. Certainly not £2500 difference.
See this other thread of mine to see what I mean http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=256156

What do other mkIV owners think? I read many people saying the images off the mkIV were "stunning" etc etc but I am not really getting that. Mine appear quite soft and don't really get much better with lots of sharpening. :(
Click to expand...

Swap you it for a 1D Mark III:thumbs: lovely camera ;)
 
1D4 is a fabulous thing, but of all the things it does wonderfully well, perhaps fundamental image quality is not its ace card. The sensor is only just more than half the area of full frame, which is where you should be looking for a significant IQ jump above a 7D. 1D series are peerless sports and fast action cameras, where the smaller format is an advantage; full frame is for high quality landscape, portraits, weddings etc.

But you should be beating the 7D comfortably, if not massively. You've got to be doing something wrong. I would suggest you post something up here, perhaps with a link to the full sized Raw, and let one of the PP experts take a peek.

Edit: what do the images look like as Large/Fine JPEGs straight out of the camera, with all settings on default? Maybe try that, and if you still have the 7D, shoot an identical frame (also on default) side by side to make sure it's not just the subject/lighting that's throwing it, and for a direct comparison.

Just Dave said:
Wonder why jpgs are sharper than raw :thinking:
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Because JPEGs are post processed in camera, and Raws are not.

Double Edit: crossed post, sorry.
 
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OP I have sent you a pM with a link to a pic.. straight out the cam at f2.8 see what you think compared to what your getting?
 
Thanks Tony, noticed Mark and Sean, shoots jpg for sports :thumbs:

Ta for explanation, knowing what you mean got it now, its noticeable in the difference from the 400D now you said it Doh learn something everyday :bang:
 
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Copied from other thread;

Here are a few RAW files straight out of the camera. They are not my best ever images but are typical of the conditions I was having to shoot in in Norway. They are the kind of challenging conditions I thought the mkIV was supposed to shine in.

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=5P0WYDQV

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=06JDB5C2

This one taken is sunnier conditions.
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=IBWY504H

Just for comparison here are a couple of (not so good) files off my 7D. When sharpened up they seem to have more detail than the mkIV ones.

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=ESIAUMJX

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=13A45H6R
 
KIPAX said:
if getting good pics with a 7d but not with a mkIV then its less likely to be a user fault IMHO..
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Apart from slightly high ISO noise the files off the 7D are better or at least about the same as those off the mkIV.
At least thats my take on it. I've got some pin sharp shots off the 7D of fast moving aviation subjects.
 
Just Dave said:
Andy links dont work, just get some megaupload site
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The files are there. You have to download them from the links. I don't think there is another way to share large RAW files?
 
I just had at look at the RAW's purely just to see what the mkIV was capable of. But there is nothing wrong with the camera, the 100% crops are the sharpest I've ever seen from a camera/lens. I guess you're going to have to develop your processing to suit the IV!
 
adsayer said:
I just had at look at the RAW's purely just to see what the mkIV was capable of. But there is nothing wrong with the camera, the 100% crops are the sharpest I've ever seen from a camera/lens. I guess you're going to have to develop your processing to suit the IV!
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Which ones did you look at?
 
Hmm - I downloaded the second megaupload file - I don't think it's very sharp, even after sharpening in Camera Raw.

I get much sharper results with my GF1 and kit lenses, even wide open.
 
I had a look at the first 1dIV image, exif says 24mm @ 2s, I reckon this is the softer end for that lens and can you guarantee that there was no movement on the camera at that shutter speed?

As for the last one, are you hand holding on a boat??????

These all look like camera shake of some degree to me.
 
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I'm happy with mine. I reckon its about as crisp as my old 1DsII was, inspite of the smaller sensor. I use 7D and 1DIV side by side a lot of the time and they both deliver good results. The 7D is a great value camera and, aside from a few noisy images in certain conditions, I am very happy with it. I don't think the 1DIV is £2500 better but you get into the land of diminishing returns very quickly. I actually prefer the AF on the 7D for birds in flight over the 1DIV.

I've found all my 1 series cameras until the 1DIV to need lots of sharpening in post but the IV seems to need much less than its predecessors
 
i took a quick look at the second raw. the quality is far poorer than i would expect from a 24-70 on a 1dmk4. it looks like a bad lens, the bottom of the frame is very blurry. have you tried that lens on a different body?
 
I found my 1DIV shots (especially crops) much sharper and cleaner than the ones from the 7D so I would go with editing issues I am afraid (or maybe micro-adjustment for your lenses???)
 
Have looked at most of these now and I still feel that there is some form of movement and in the second raw file, shot at f4 but there doesn't appear to be a focal point, some part of the focal range is bound to be soft at f4.
 
I have to say that I used a mkIV over the summer borrowed from a Getty tog for a cricket innings, and it just worked fine straight out of the box. Mind you, I believe it had been "optimised" by Getty's technical guys to get the best AF settings. As a result it was wonderfully sharp with no micro-adjustment at all.

I understand that you need to have a tinker with the AF to get it just right, though perhaps Tony could expand on that!?

Stick at it, you need to work with the AF settings a bit sometimes, especially with the mkIII and mkIV in my opinion.
 
tiler65 said:
I had a look at the first 1dIV image, exif says 24mm @ 2s, I reckon this is the softer end for that lens and can you guarantee that there was no movement on the camera at that shutter speed?

As for the last one, are you hand holding on a boat??????

These all look like camera shake of some degree to me.
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The 2s one there was no movement. It was loked down on a tripod with mirror lockup.

The one on the boat was hand held but at 1/1600 I would have expected it to be ok.
 
tiler65 said:
Have looked at most of these now and I still feel that there is some form of movement and in the second raw file, shot at f4 but there doesn't appear to be a focal point, some part of the focal range is bound to be soft at f4.
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I not diagreeing with you at all, but the strange thing is I am doing nothing different when using the mkIV than I would when using the mkIII or 7D and I get much sharper shots with those bodies.
 
EMA747 said:
Here is another one just to show one from the mkIV in sunshine. This is about as sharp an images as have got.
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=J2DBCJWJ

I still think this one off the 7D is in similar conditions but is much sharper to my eyes.
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=ESIAUMJX
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Had a look at some of the pics and there good but with these two above the 1dmk4 is shot in oneshot mode while the 7d shot is in ai servo mode. I think this will explain the slight differences in focus on these two as you where on a boat and and hand held you can not rule out slight movment between when you meter and actually take the shot. I had a simular prob with processing and setting when I went from a 40D to a 7D. It took me two days to get what I want from the 1Dmk4.

This was taken with my 7D and I think is soft



while this was taken with my 1Dmk4 out the box

 
Ok. Just done a quick test of all three bodies (1DmkIV, mkIII and 7D). Again the 7D files come out the sharpest. The mkIV files are closer to the 7Ds unsharpened. Once I added some sharpening in LR3 the 7D files look much better than the mkIVs with more detail and sharper edges.

I have uploaded the unedited RAW files in three batches. Each batch contains the files off each of the three bodies at the given settings.
1) Focused on plant, on the small leaf to the top left side of the bigger plant. All at f2.8, same 24-70 lens and all the same settings, ISO, focus point, metering, shutter and aperture settings. All menues settings as much the same as I can get them.
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=I5MDMNQF

2) Same as above but at f11. Same focus point on plant.
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=Z35KO1AW

3) A test out of my window at f11 just to show a wider, more far away shot. Again all settings the same for all cameras. Focus point was the purple bush in the middle of the image. This set is not the best as there is a lot of reflection off the window but it gives some idea.
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=NTFY8H0K

I would be very greatful if you could have a look at them all as I am getting worried that my mkIV is just not right. :suspect:
Although I didn't do this test with another lens I have noticed that my new 70-200 f2.8 IS mkII is showing the same pattern. ie not really that sharp on the mkIV. :(
 
Just noticed your bios is 1.0.6 and mine is 1.0.8. you could try that and i am at present downloading version 3.2 of lightroom.
 
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