Review for Canon EOS-1D Mark IV 16 Megapixel Digital SLR Camera - Body Only

Author: randym77 {!} from Poughkeepsie, NY on Jun 5, 2010
Pros:  fantastic for sports and wildlife
Cons:  heavy, expensive, limited wide angle lenses
Would recommend:  yes

randym77 wrote:

If you're used to consumer cameras with their "portrait," "sports," "landscape," etc., modes, this camera will take some getting used to. But given the price, I assume most people buying this camera know what they're getting. I've used this camera a lot in the two months since I bought it. Mostly for sports. I love it. It's everything I hoped for. I haven't seen any evidence of the autofocus issues one prominent reviewer reported. I especially love the way you can adjust the autofocus sensitivity, so that the camera will continue to track a player, even if the referee crosses in front of him. The 10 fps mean you won't miss a shot (though you can lower the rate, if you don't want to fill up your memory card that quickly). Battery life is very good, despite the large, bright LCD screen. I bought an extra battery, but haven't needed it so far. I can take thousands of photos a day, and recharge the battery overnight. It is a large, heavy camera, but no more so than any pro camera. (Might be a shock if you're upgrading from a Rebel or 40D, though.) The biggest drawback is the APS-H sensor. That means Canon EF-S lenses, meant for APS-C cameras, won't work with this one. The EF lenses work fine, but they are generally meant for full-frame sensors. This is only a problem on the wide end. Wide angle on a full frame camera is not very wide on a cropped sensor. There aren't many wide angle options available for this camera. But I use zoom lenses far more than wide angle when I'm shooting sports or wildlife, and I suspect that's the case for most people. All in all, I'm very pleased with this purchase. Would buy it again in a heartbeat.