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Canon EOS-1DS Canon extends the EOS-1D with 11.1 megapixels, and a full-frame CMOS sensor! Select a topic Reference: Datasheet EOS-1DS Photo Gallery! EOS-1DS Test 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-1DS 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: 9/24/2002

Image Storage and Interface

The EOS-1Ds stores images on a CompactFlash Type I or II memory card, and is compatible with IBM MicroDrives. The EOS-1Ds does not come with a memory card, but accessory cards are currently available in sizes as large as 640MB. (One gigabyte in the case of the largest IBM MicroDrive.) CompactFlash cards cannot be entirely write-protected, but the EOS-1Ds lets you 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-1Ds offers two image sizes: 4,064 x 2,704 and 2,032 x 1,352 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 sensor, 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 256MB CompactFlash card. (As you can see, you're going to want some large memory cards for this camera!) 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. The numbers in this table are based on actual file sizes I observed with the 1Ds, not the projections of card capacity the camera shows on its status LCD, which tend to be a bit conservative relative to the actual card capacity.

 

Image Capacity vs. Resolution/Quality 256 MB Memory Card		RAW	Fine	Normal
Full Resolution 4,064 x 2,704	Images (Avg size)	22 11.2 MB	38 6.7 MB	83 3.0 MB
	Approx. Compression	3:1 (Lossless)	5:1	11:1
Half Resolution 2,032 x 1,352	Images (Avg size)	-	102 2.5 MB	-
	Approx. Compression	-	4:1	-

 

Interface software and an IEEE-1394 "FireWire" cable also accompany the camera, for high speed connection to a PC or Macintosh. Testing on my 867 MHz Mac G4, I clocked the download time of the 1Ds as a bit slower than that of the original 1D, at about 719 KB/second.

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