EOS-1D Mark IV with R lenses

[ryee3]

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Has anyone used R lenses on the EOS-1D Mark IV or Mark III? Will this give me approximately 10fps and good color rendition? Is there something better coming soon on the Canon side that will be a better R solution?

[adan]

Either will do 10 fps. Using R lenses will not affect the drive speed.

 

Color rendition is partly a matter of taste, and partly a matter of how much effort one is willing to put into profiling the camera and other post-processing. I don't think my Canon 5D mark II renders color quite as well as my Leica M9 - but the 5D sensor is different than the 1D sensor, so that is not necessarily a guide.

 

As to something new, Canon has announced nothing. Based on previous updates, the 1D is about due (last updates were 2007(III) and 2009(IV)) - but the technology curve is flattening out now that the Mk 4 has video and new AF and so on, so Canon may not have much room for significant improvement.

 

I mean, is the world really holding its breath waiting for a 20 fps, 100 Mpixel camera with an LCD the size of an iPad?

 

Really new and different might be:

 

a) combining the 1D and 1Ds into a single FF 24 Mpixel 10 fps camera at some point

some kind of mirrorless EOS a la Sony's NEX (but don't expect that to do 10 fps, it would be aimed lower in the marketplace)

[hutchst]

I use 28-70, 80-200, 105-280 and 400 f6.8 R lenses on a Canon 7D. From my experience, you get sharper, better balanced pictures with the 80-200 and 105-280, than with the Canon 20-200 F4 and 300 F4. The 400 is extremely good, considering its age. Of course, you lose autofocus and auto exposure, but you can get the focus confirmation beep with a Dandelion chip. The problem with the 105-280, which is the best lens of all of them, is the weight - nearly 2 kg, so a monopod or tripod are very helpful. Try checking with the following site to see if the 1D series has special problems. USING LEICA-R LENSES ON CANON dSLRs

[andybarton]

You shouldn't lose auto-exposure.

[hutchst]

I know, but I seem to have managed it, despite following the Dandelion chip instructions. My own technical incompetence, no doubt.

[andybarton]

You will need to use stop-down metering, but the Aperture Priority auto-exposure will still work.

[hutchst]

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I think I understand. You are right that stop-down metering works, but the value does not show in the viewfinder, so it is a matter of experience to get the speed/exposure equation right (not a big deal and more than compensated by the better results).

[stunsworth]

I can only speak for the Canon 5D that I used to own, but if you were in auto exposure mode the exposure would be adjusted automatically as the lens was stopped down - and the speed was shown in the viewfinder.

[andybarton]

The camera will automatically adjust the speed for you and I would be surprised if all the information didn't show in the viewfinder. It certainly does on my Nikon D700, and my mounts are completely "dumb".

[Rolo]

I have a Canon 1D MkIV and a 35mm Summicron R fitted with a Leitax adapter with focus confirmation chip.

 

It's the only R lens I have and I'm extremely pleased with the sharpness and colour rendition. To my eye, it pulls out colours that don't exist when I shoot with Canon lenses.

 

Auto Focus is lost, obviously, but focus confirmation is very precise and in fact it caused me a problem. With this adapter, when the lens is focussed using One Shot exposure, the camera beeps when focus is achieved. Fine. When it's not in focus and hasn't beeped, it won't fire. That is a major problem in a fast moving environment as you get critical focus or nothing ! Zone focus is not available.

 

The fix for this is to set the camera to Ai Servo and use manual focus, or Zone focus.

 

With the 1D, the any AF spot can be used for focus/confirmation, removing the need to 'focus and compose' and it also allows one to attach the metering system to the AF spot. The Auto metering continues to work, but it is set for the aperture that's being used at the time. No problem for me using the lens at f2-f4 in medium-low light.

 

In Ai Servo mode, the exposure metering continues to work and for me, works best in Spot Mode. The ability to take a reading off a key subjects face is valuable and I do it most of the time.

 

So,the R lens can be used with precise, confirmed focus when there's time and manual focus where speed is important and with auto metering at all times.

 

Hope that helps.

[hutchst]

I am sure you are both right. I will try it out again this evening and see what happens. My recollection is that the exposure in the viewfinder remains at 1.4, irrespective of the setting on the lens, but I must admit I need to check if the speed is shown or not.

[ryee3]

I have a Canon 1D MkIV and a 35mm Summicron R fitted with a Leitax adapter with focus confirmation chip.

 

It's the only R lens I have and I'm extremely pleased with the sharpness and colour rendition. To my eye, it pulls out colours that don't exist when I shoot with Canon lenses.

 

Auto Focus is lost, obviously, but focus confirmation is very precise and in fact it caused me a problem. With this adapter, when the lens is focussed using One Shot exposure, the camera beeps when focus is achieved. Fine. When it's not in focus and hasn't beeped, it won't fire. That is a major problem in a fast moving environment as you get critical focus or nothing ! Zone focus is not available.

 

The fix for this is to set the camera to Ai Servo and use manual focus, or Zone focus.

 

With the 1D, the any AF spot can be used for focus/confirmation, removing the need to 'focus and compose' and it also allows one to attach the metering system to the AF spot. The Auto metering continues to work, but it is set for the aperture that's being used at the time. No problem for me using the lens at f2-f4 in medium-low light.

 

In Ai Servo mode, the exposure metering continues to work and for me, works best in Spot Mode. The ability to take a reading off a key subjects face is valuable and I do it most of the time.

 

So,the R lens can be used with precise, confirmed focus when there's time and manual focus where speed is important and with auto metering at all times.

 

Hope that helps.

 

I bought the CANON Mark IV and am glad I did. I can still easily use my R lenses on my DMR. After waiting a long time for the R solution, the Canon Mark IV is a very excellent option.

[adan]

I will add - on the subject of autoexposure - that while "Aperture Priority" is available, there is a bug.

 

The Canon meter can be fooled by some lenses. It tends to underexpose with fast lenses and overexpose with slow lenses.

 

The meter has artificial intelligence that corrects for this with Canon and 3rd-party AF lenses designed for the EOS mount, by identifying the lens and correcting the exposure. But with R lenses there are no electrical signals to ID the lens as an f/2.8 or f/4.5, thus no "windage" applied.

 

I have to remember to put in my OWN exp. comp values based on the lens I am using. My R 21 f/4. will overexpose 1.5 stops while my R 180 f/3.4 will underexpose by a stop (and a R 180 f/2.8 by 1.5 stops) in the same lighting - unless I add some opposite exposure compensation.

[wildlightphoto]

... My recollection is that the exposure in the viewfinder remains at 1.4, irrespective of the setting on the lens...

 

That's not exposure. It's the camera's guess at what the lens' maximum aperture is because it lacks any other information. Exposure is a combination of aperture, shutter speed and sensitivity. In aperture-priority mode the meter will respond to the actual light coming through the lens (with adjustments as noted above) and adjust the shutter speed accordingly.

[HeinzX]

I own a 1 D IV app. since one year, before it was 5 D II. I use a lot of different lenses, most of them developed or redesigned in the last time. Best results I get with the 24/1,4 II, the 50/1,2 , the 80/1,2 and the 70/200 IS II USM (very fast AF). As far as Macro is concerned stellar results can be achieved with the 180/3,5 Makro with has excellent resolution (but slow AF). I take my pictures in the RAW fomat. Colorwise I have no complaints, converting pics either with DPP or with Camera RAW of Photoshop CS 5. LR I do not like so much, but that is a very personal point of view. I do not like non AF lenses on this camera, as I often need the excellent AF of the 1 D IV for high speed photographs of moving objects. Another point is, that the standard focusing screen is not very suitable for manuell focusing and should

better be changed (with is possible).

 

Regards

Heinz

[Eastgreenlander]

How many Leica R lenses will successfully work on the canon 1D mark II?

[edmond_terakopian]

I have a Canon 1D MkIV and a 35mm Summicron R fitted with a Leitax adapter with focus confirmation chip.

 

It's the only R lens I have and I'm extremely pleased with the sharpness and colour rendition. To my eye, it pulls out colours that don't exist when I shoot with Canon lenses.

 

Auto Focus is lost, obviously, but focus confirmation is very precise and in fact it caused me a problem. With this adapter, when the lens is focussed using One Shot exposure, the camera beeps when focus is achieved. Fine. When it's not in focus and hasn't beeped, it won't fire. That is a major problem in a fast moving environment as you get critical focus or nothing ! Zone focus is not available.

 

The fix for this is to set the camera to Ai Servo and use manual focus, or Zone focus.

 

With the 1D, the any AF spot can be used for focus/confirmation, removing the need to 'focus and compose' and it also allows one to attach the metering system to the AF spot. The Auto metering continues to work, but it is set for the aperture that's being used at the time. No problem for me using the lens at f2-f4 in medium-low light.

 

In Ai Servo mode, the exposure metering continues to work and for me, works best in Spot Mode. The ability to take a reading off a key subjects face is valuable and I do it most of the time.

 

So,the R lens can be used with precise, confirmed focus when there's time and manual focus where speed is important and with auto metering at all times.

 

Hope that helps.

 

Can you not override the fire option in the custom functions??

[Rolo]

How many Leica R lenses will successfully work on the canon 1D mark II?

 

I anticipate that all of them will. There's no mirror problem with the 1D's.

[Rolo]

Can you not override the fire option in the custom functions??

 

Not that I've found and I've searched, and searched.

 

Maybe another make of adapter has a different outcome. I'll be keen to learn, if so.

 

I find it to be a very nice camera with exceptional autofocus and metering systems. Focus confirmation for R lenses is excellent and the lenses perform wide open. They are not bulky either, unlike the L lenses and for street photography it has a lot of attraction for me. Having said that, I'm in another Rolleiflex phase at the moment, (see Flickr) and may never surface again. It's all so much fun !

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Hallo,

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[edmond_terakopian]

 

Not that I've found and I've searched, and searched.

 

Maybe another make of adapter has a different outcome. I'll be keen to learn, if so.

 

I don't have a Mk IV so can't look but I'm sure I remember from the earlier bodies that there was a CF override......perhaps my memory's not serving me well!