I've owned a 350D XT, 20D, 30D, 1D MKIIn and 1D MKI and my fav of the bunch is the 1D Classic. I have different shooting standards than most of my pals and value simplicity, good IQ and reliability aboe all the wizbang features manufacturers cram into these little black boxes.
Go ask any working pro who has used Canon EOS systems thru the years and ask them about this body...prolly still using one somewhere. A used body shopper would buy the 1D for solid AF, awesome IQ for a 4MP sensor, programmable features that would actually get used, the CCD sensor which I wish they would put in a new 1D(semi-pro) body, and all encased in a magnesium casing that can withstand just about anything that can be thrown at it. Add an L lens and filters for complete sealing from the elements.
Noise is pretty good right up to 1600 and even 3200 in some cases when exposed correctly. I'm no expert on correct exposure, and far from able to do it every single time. When I do nail it though the images are damn good.
Battery life? get a Lenmar. I shot several events and a wedding on one of those bad boys. When the battery indicator was on one bar, I squeezed out another 200 exposures with chimping before the indicator began flashing.
Some great shots in this post, proving that the original 1D was, and is, no slouch!
With the exception of the Japonais image, I don't think the OP's images, or any in fact, exhibit too much noise, noise yes, but certainly not offensive noise.
I have been using a 1D classic for a couple of months now, and it is an extremely welcome addition to my 20D. Imho, it has the perfect crop @ 1.3, best sync and a fantastic feel. I love the weight of the camera; just like I love the weight of my EL/M's. The image quality, as shown many times, is something to behold.
One peeve... I'm getting a bit tired of the "this is unprocessed, straight out of the camera" comparisons. I realize no pp eases/speeds up workflow, however, personally I don't care if you washed it on hot, spun and dried it and put it in the oven after that. If the end result looks the way you intended, your mission is accomplished. When is the last time your client looked at a shot, and asked "yeah, looks good, but I bet you did some pp..."
In many respects the image quality is better, better saturation and sharpness out of camera. It does suffer a little bit from poor colour in the shade as your samples demonstrate, but it's still a very usable camera today.
Don't use mine as much anymore, but I'm always left saying "these are not bad! I'd love if my MKIII was the same, except with the improvements"
Only my 5D gives me image quality to match the 1D, compared to today's offering from Canon and Nikon, the 1D was like some 6 years ahead of the competition.
I moved from Nikon to a 1D and it gave me so many advantages over it's contemporary competition that it was like stealing candy from the proverbial baby.
I'll probably put mine in a glass case in a place of honour, none of the Canon offerings since have had such impact, I'd like to see a return to those days with Canon having a real competitive edge again.
farley wrote:
The 1D also has a flash sink of 1/500. I do not understand why canon not longer offers this.
Farley,
AFAIK this is because the 1D classic has a CCD sensor with an electronic shutter. In these extreme ranges the power is cut off on the sensor instead of the shutter doing the work. That's why X sync is 1/500 and fastest shutter is 1/16000
I have never seen a CMOS sensor with electronic shutter. So it must be a sensor design thing.
