Canon EOS-1Ds Mark IICanon upgrades their "ultimate" d-SLR with 16.7 megapixels of resolution and significant performance improvements.<<Shutter Lag / Cycle Times :(Previous) | (Next): Control Enumeration>> Page 11:Operation & User InterfaceReview First Posted: 9/26/2005 |
Operation and User Interface
The Canon EOS-1Ds Mark II's user interface is certainly among the more complex that I've encountered, with extensive external camera controls that have multiple functions, and duplicate controls for vertical shooting. However, the interface is very similar to the previous EOS-1Ds and EOS-1D Mark II, which I had to refer to the manual on a number of occasions to fully understand what each control did. Once I became familiar with the layout and began to memorize each button's function(s) though, camera operation was straightforward and quite efficient. This is definitely not a camera for a casual user, but professional shooters will find it very fast and flexible to operate. Dual controls for the Shutter button, AE Lock, AF Point Selection, and the Assist button enable you to comfortably operate the camera horizontally or vertically, a mandatory option for pro photographers. The vertical controls can also be turned off if they're not compatible with a photographer's shooting style. The combination of control dials and buttons allows you to adjust most of the camera's settings without venturing into the LCD menu system, a great time-saver in fast-paced shooting situations. For those times when the LCD menu is unavoidable, the menu system offers straightforward navigation, once you get the hang of Canon's multi-button and dial-based user interface.
LCD Data Readouts
As mentioned earlier, the 1Ds Mark II uses two monochrome LCD data readouts to report camera status, and provide a visual user interface to the various knobs, dials, and buttons. As with the EOS-1Ds before it, you can actually control quite a bit of the camera's operation without venturing into the menu system on the color LCD screen. This not only saves power (by avoiding the hefty drain of the large LCD screen), but makes the camera much quicker to operate. Here are the details of the information provided by the two LCD readouts, on the top and back of the camera. (Illustrations courtesy Canon USA, Inc. Used with permission.)
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