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Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III review - INTRODUCTION
Wednesday 6th February 2008
Barney Britton
INTRODUCTION
When you use the word 'resolution', what do you mean? The term is often used as shorthand for pixel count, but this is a little misleading. In photography, resolution refers to the amount of detail a still or video device can capture and record. It is partly determined by the number of photosites on a digital camera's sensor: if one sensor has a higher density of photosites than another, it will capture a larger image, but not necessarily a better one. As we saw when we tested Nikon's full-frame D3 (15 December 2007), above-average resolution is achievable with an 'average' number of photosites. The size and design of the photosites, the type of signal processing and the quality of the lens all affect a camera's ability to resolve detail.
One of the main attractions of Canon's 1Ds series cameras is that they have always offered extremely high pixel counts. The 1Ds had 11 million pixels, at a time when six million was considered high; the 1Ds Mark II offered 16.7 million pixels, and the new EOS-1Ds Mark III boasts an incredible 21 million pixels – almost 30% more than its predecessor. The downside to ever-increasing pixel counts is the necessity to reduce the size of the photosites, which results in the need for greater signal amplification, and – potentially – greater noise in the images. By decreasing the gaps between the microlenses, Canon has managed to avoid too drastic a downsizing of the photosites, but at 6.4 microns, the pixel pitch of the 1Ds Mark III is still smaller than that of the 1Ds Mark II, at 7.2 microns.
Another selling point of the Canon EOS-1Ds series is that the sensors are the same size as a frame of 35mm film. The most obvious benefit of a 'full-frame' camera is that there is
no focal length magnification effect when 135 format lenses are mounted. If you have a 17mm wideangle lens for your Canon EOS film SLR, it will behave like a 28mm when attached to an EOS 40D, but put it on the front of an EOS-1Ds, 1Ds Mark II or 1Ds Mark III and, hey presto, you've got your wideangle back.
The EOS-1Ds Mark II was a well-respected camera, but Canon has made no secret of the fact that it intends the 1Ds Mark III – its new flagship – to be a medium-format film 'killer', and with its resolution of 21 million pixels, a 300ppi print measuring 17x11in is possible, which is easily enough for a double-page spread in a glossy magazine. With a modest reduction in print resolution, images will stretch to A2 or even A1 size. Now that the controversial pixel 'bar' has been set even higher, I'm keen to find out exactly what it is that Canon is pushing – the technological envelope, or its luck?
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