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Canon EOS-1D Canon leaps into the professional SLR arena, with the fastest digital SLR on the planet! Select a topic Reference: Datasheet EOS-1D SAMPLE IMAGES! --------------------------------- 1. Intro and Highlights 2. Executive Overview 3. Design 4. Viewfinder 5. Optics 6. Exposure & Flash 7. Shutter Lag & Cycle Time Tests 8. Operation & User Interface 9. Camera Modes & Menus 10. Image Storage & Interface 11. Video, Power, Software 12. Test Results & Conclusion --------------------------------- Print-Friendly Review Version Additional Resources and Other Links Reader Comments on EOS-1D Review --------------------------------- Digital Camera Comparometer (TM) --------------------------------- <-- Digital Cameras (Home) <-- Digital Camera Reviews Index <<Camera Modes & Menus :(Previous) | (Next): Video, Power, Software>> Page 10:Image Storage & Interface Review First Posted: 12/08/2001

Image Storage and Interface
The EOS-1D stores images on a CompactFlash Type I or II memory card, and is compatible with IBM MicroDrives. The EOS-1D does not come with a memory card, but accessory cards are currently available in sizes as large as 640 MB. (One Gigabyte in the case of the largest IBM MicroDrive.) CompactFlash cards cannot be entirely write-protected, but the EOS-1D allows you to write-protect individual images via the Protect option of the Playback menu. Write-protecting an image only saves it from accidental erasure or manipulation, not from card formatting, which erases the entire card.

The EOS-1D offers two resolution sizes: 2,464 x 1,648 and 1,232 x 824 pixels. Two standard JPEG compression levels are available as well, Fine and Normal. The compression levels corresponding to Fine and Normal can be adjusted via the host software, and loaded into the camera as part of custom parameter sets. There's also a RAW mode, which records all the information from the CCD, without any processing. The camera can be configured to save both a RAW and JPEG-compressed image at the same time, for every shot captured. Given a large enough memory card, this looks like a very useful operating mode, giving you a ready-to-use JPEG file as well as a "digital negative" in the form of the RAW file. As noted earlier, RAW-format images can be processed on the host computer to change White Balance and even Color Matrix settings. Exposure can also be adjusted by as much as +/- 2 EV on a RAW file. Canon includes a utility for processing and viewing RAW files as part of its Solution disk.

Following are the approximate number of storable images and the associated compression ratios for a 128MB CompactFlash card. File sizes and compression ratios shown here are based on the default JPEG compression settings used by the camera. Higher or lower compression ratios used as part of custom parameter settings would obviously increase or decrease file sizes. (These numbers are based on the camera's displayed "shots remaining" with a 128 MB card. Canon's official nominal sizes for images with various size/quality settings are 4.8 MB for RAW, 2.4 MB for large/fine JPEGs, 1.3 MB for large/normal, and 1.1 MB for small/fine. Note that these "official" nominal sizes will result in slightly lower capacities (and lower compression ratios) than I've listed below.)

Image Capacity vs. Resolution/Quality 128MB Memory Card		RAW	Fine	Normal
Full Resolution 2464x1648	Images (Avg size)	28 4.2 MB	79 1.6 MB	119 1.1 MB
	Approx. Compression	1:1	7.5:1	11:1
Half Resolution 1232x824	Images (Avg size)	-	201 0.64 MB	-
	Approx. Compression	-	5:1	-

Interface software and an IEEE-1394 "FireWire" cable also accompany the camera, for high speed connection to a PC or Macintosh. I tested the EOS-1D's FireWire transfer rate with my 500 MHz G4 PowerMac. I found it to be significantly faster than USB-connected cameras I've tested in the past, but not nearly as fast as I was expecting. The EOS-1D downloaded 14.7MB of files in 16 seconds, for a transfer rate of 920KB/second. Fast, but not blazing...

One of the first things any new digicam owner will need is a larger memory card for their camera: The cards shipped with the units by the manufacturers should really be considered only "starter" cards, you'll definitely want a higher capacity card immediately. - Probably at least a 32 megabyte card for a 1.3 or 2 megapixel camera, 64 megabytes or more for a 3, 4, or 5 megapixel one. (The nice thing about memory cards is you'll be able to use whatever you buy now with your next camera too, whenever you upgrade.) To help you shop for a good deal on memory cards that fit the EOS1D, we've put together a little memory locater, with links to our price-comparison engine: Just click on the "Memory Wizard" button above to go to the Canon memory finder, select your camera model , and click the shopping cart icon next to the card size you're interested in. You'll see a list of matching entries from the price-comparison database. Pick a vendor & order away! (Pretty cool, huh?)