Canon 1D Mark II

 Canon 1D Mark II

Canon 1D Mark II


Alright! It’s time for my first writing, let's start with something old.

I recently bought an old professional DSLR, and as the title suggests, it’s the Canon 1D Mark II. About ten years ago, I had a 1D Mark IIN, but unfortunately, its shutter broke. It was my first-ever professional DSLR, and I absolutely loved it. There was something about it that really captivated me back then, and I’ve missed its magic ever since.

Even though the camera had that magic, I also remember its flaws—especially the batteries and their capacity, which were absolutely dreadful. In Finland’s winter climate, it drained batteries quickly, and the dynamic range was rather limited.

Well, I finally got around to buying a 1D Mark II at a great price. Despite its shutter count (~48,000), the camera is in amazing condition. I charged the batteries and took it for a test run in beautiful  but cold winter weather (-15°C).

First of all, the ergonomics of the camera are fantastic. Especially compared to the newer R-series, using the camera with gloves on is effortless. For example, when shooting with the R6 in similar conditions, I have to take my gloves off to adjust certain settings. With the 1D, this isn’t an issue—I can keep my hands warm at all times.

1D Mark II
A example picture with Yongnuo 35mm f/2

Of course, the dynamic range is limited, and the images have noticeable noise. There’s also quite a bit of chromatic aberration, as the camera itself doesn’t have any built-in corrections for these issues, But when i uploaded the photos to my computer and opened them in Lightroom, I was surprised by how flexible these 8-megapixel images actually are—especially with modern editing tools. The noise is easily removed with Adobe’s new tool, and chromatic aberration disappears with just a click. And since the file size is small, all of this processing happens super fast! 

1D Mark II
Yongnuo 35mm f/2 wide open

The images on the camera’s tiny display looked terrible in the field, mainly due to its postage stamp-sized screen—which is really only useful for checking composition. On such a small screen, the colors are inaccurate, and every shot appears overexposed. This initially worried me, but once I uploaded the photos to my computer, everything looked just fine! As good as you can expect from a professional camera from 2004.

1D Mark II
Canon 28-70mm f/2.8 USM L

But what surprised me the most was that when the RAW files are converted to black and white, they produce some of the best monochrome tones I’ve ever seen. The blacks, shadows, and contrast are in perfect balance. On top of that, the camera’s natural fine grain gives the images a look very close to black-and-white film. Many have said the same about the 5D Classic, but it seems this also applies to the 1D Mark II.

This gave me an idea—since I own both the original 5D and the 1D Mark II, I could do a comparison between them.

I’ll make a note of it and write a separate post about it another time. It will be more of a practical field test rather than a highly scientific comparison, as I’m more interested in real-world performance than lab results.

Canon 28-70 2.8

Canon 28-70mm f/2.8 USM L

Very few cameras produce black and white images this stunning—not even my Fujifilm X-Pro1, in my opinion.

I’m seriously considering keeping this camera specifically for black and white photography. Even though it’s technically outdated and considered a collector’s relic, this is where it truly shines!

This camera has a serious fun factor! It takes some time and thought to get used to—especially navigating the menus and working without Auto ISO—but once you master it, the results are truly rewarding.

I’ll definitely be writing more about this camera in the future, as well as the 1D Mark IV, 1D X, and many, many other cameras and lenses!

Canon 28-70 2.8, 1D Mark II
Canon 28-70mm f/2.8 USM L


Oh, right! I mentioned the batteries at the beginning. Turns out, battery lasted for about 230 shots before running out. Maybe that’s actually a good thing, because by that point, I had already been shooting for a couple of hours and was completely frozen myself! 
 

Canon 28-70 2.8
Canon 28-70mm f/2.8 USM L


Sincerely -TS



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