by Gary / 0 comments - Orginally published:3rd July 2016
Actually, I’m not sure more megapixels was the reason
Although the jump was massive from the 8.2mp of the Canon 1D Mark II N to the whopping 21.1mp of the Canon 1Ds Mk III ( I love these catchy names. I have to treble check as I type that I have it right.) I think it was the lure of a full-frame sensor.
For those who don’t know, this sensor measures roughly the same size as a 35mm film frame. So, although my lenses are unchanged, this does have an impact because of something known as the 'crop factor'. Hmmm. Again for those that do not know, sensors that are not full frame have something known as a crop factor. That means that all the light captured by the lens is not picked up by the sensor, so if the sensor was smaller by 1.3x, you would have a crop factor of 1.3.
This means to you as a photographer that a zoom lens of, say 400mm effectively becomes a 520mm, or your sensor only captures a crop of the image the lens ‘sees’. Great news, I hear you say. However, the same is also true at the other end of the scale; your beautifully wide 24mm becomes 31mm, and when you are in a tight spot in a cityscape, trying to photograph the architecture that can be a challenge. Imagine taking a picture you have already shot and cropping it. It appears that you have zoomed in; you haven’t; you have just discarded the extra detail that you captured. You will lose some reach on zoom, but you can capture more at a wide angle. However, again I digress.
Within 2 years, I had another replacement camera.
And this one was expensive. Even I gulped when I saw the asking price. Still, I enjoyed my photography, and the shots from the ‘Sloths & Mojitos – The Costa Rica road trip’ were great, in my opinion. However, this camera should last a little longer before my burning desire to replace it becomes overwhelming.
The truth is, it does. This is because I have a couple of items I would like as features of my next camera. It has to be a Canon because of my investment in the lenses. Ideally, it would be a 1D model because I appreciate the weatherproofing. However, this feature may be flowing down to other models in the range, so they may be a consideration. I actually don’t mind the bulk of the body, and I like the dual controls for shooting in both portrait & landscape, but it’s not a show-stopper. So my requirements are;
Geotagging
Improved light sensitivity
Yep, that’s it, just two things.
Geotagging because it is incredibly helpful when travelling to assist in identifying where a shot was taken. As we have written posts for this site, we have referred to the images taken. Some are easier than others. Cities like New York do not present a challenge, but road trips like Iceland, for example, trump me at times, especially when you stop at the roadside to capture a landscape. I have absolutely no idea where some of those shots were taken. I have recently taken to using a GPS data logger. However, I need to remember to turn that on at the start of the day and remember to recharge at night etc.
And improved light sensitivity, so an evening stroll does not mean you need to take a tripod. (Yes, I know there are other techniques for stabilising a camera in these conditions, but I just want to use handheld.)
I had let the Canon EOS-1Dx pass by. It did not represent a significant upgrade on my 1Ds Mark III in my opinion. So I waited and waited for news of Canon’s release schedule.
And then.
* This post may contain links to affiliated sites where we earn a small commission at no additional charge to you.
