The new Canon EOS-1D MkIV has arrived

Canon have announced the successor to the 1D MkIII. With an all new auto focus system, a 16mp, 1.3x crop sensor that shoots at 10fps, boasts a standard ISO range of 100-6400 (LO at ISO 50 and H3 at ISO 102,400) and of course as is standard these days with Canon DSLRs, it shoots at full 1080p in the H.264 format.

Main specs:

• New 45-point Area AF sensor including 39 cross-type AF points with f/2.8 support plus new AI Servo II AF with improved algorithm.

• ISO 100 – 12800 (expandable to L: 50, H1: 25600, H2: 51200, H3: 102400) for shooting from bright to dim light with low noise levels.

• EOS HD movie with manual exposure control and multiple frame rates (1080: 30p (29.97) / 24p (23.976) / 25p, 720: 60p (59.94) / 50p, 480: 60p (59.94) / 50p).

• 16.1 Megapixel APS-H CMOS sensor and Dual DIGIC 4 Image Processors for high image quality and speed.

• 10.0 fps continuous shooting up to 121 Large JPEGS or 28 RAW using a UDMA CF card.

• 3.0-inch ClearView II LCD monitor, 160° viewing angle, 920,000-dot VGA, reflection resistance with multi coating and high-transparency materials for bright and clear viewing.

• Magnesium alloy body with shutter durability up to 300,000 cycles and exclusive dust- and weather-resistance.

High ISO

This is probably the most important feature for me. On paper the MkIV is a stop behind the D3s, and on par with the original D3 (with the exception of a lower base ISO of course) so those first high ISO shots are going to be important, if they have got it right then they really are on to a winner.

Orientation Linked AF

One feature I like the sound of is the new Orientation Linked AF – where the camera can switch focus point automatically so that if you swap from portrait to landscape mode in a hurry, the theory is it will select the correct focus point when you switch so that your focus point is still in the same place. That could be a very handy feature if it works well, as I have lost count of the times I have swapped from landscape to portrait and then had to fiddle with the Nikon D3 multi-selector to get a focus point back to where I want it. The focus certainly seems to be improved on paper with plenty of new customizable modes and settings.

You can find out more information here at dpreview.