Canon EOS 1D Mark II N Digital SLR Camera Review

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After great debate, I have decided to not write a hands-on Canon EOS 1D Mark II N review. It is just me here and I have to prioritize what I am working on. Apparently some of the other camera review sites have come to the same decision.

There are just not enough enhancements in the Canon EOS 1D Mark II N over the Canon EOS 1D Mark II that I used as my primary body for many months to justify the time and cost to create a hands-on "N" review. I will however give you with my thoughts on this is excellent 1-Series body as it has a strong niche in Canon's DSLR lineup and consequently, this site's Canon Digital SLR guide. What I write is based on experience with the very similar 1D II, using the identical new features on other Canon Digital SLRs, and my at-least-average ability to visualize other simple improvements (such as buffer depth).

Are you photographing sports or other fast-moving action? There is probably no better camera available for this purpose. With an excellent 45-point, high sensitivity autofocus system paired to a rugged, weather-sealed body capable of firing 8.5 very high quality frames per second into a deep buffer, the Canon EOS 1D Mark II N is ideally suited to capture every moment of fast action.

The biggest improvement over the 1D II is, in my opinion, the 2.5" LCD. I have used the same 2.5" LCD on the Canon EOS 5D and now the Canon EOS 30D. And I like it. It is not perfect - I would like to have better visibility in bright daylight without adjusting the brightness (a menu option), but I consider the LCD a nice improvement.

The Canon EOS 1D Mark II N features a new "Magnified View From Any AF Point" option that sounds very useful for checking sharpness. Instead of zooming in (during review) and scrolling to the AF point used, you can now zoom in at the AF point used. Magnified view is now available during quick review as well.

The frame buffer can never be too large. I'll take any improvement offered to me in this area - especially when the frames go by at 8.5 per second. However, going from 20 to 22 frames will probably not make much difference to most photographers.

Model	fps	Max JPG	Max RAW	Startup	Shutter Lag	VF Blackout
Canon EOS Rebel T3i / 600D	3.7	34	6	.1s	90ms	130ms
Canon EOS Rebel T2i / 550D	3.7	34	6	.1s	90ms	130ms
Canon EOS Rebel T1i / 500D	3.4	170	9	.1s	90ms	130ms
Canon EOS Rebel T3 / 1100D	3 / 2	830	5	.1s	110ms	150ms
Canon EOS Rebel XSi / 450D	3.5	53	6	.1s	90ms	130ms
Canon EOS Rebel XS / 1000D	3 / 1.5	n/a	5	.1s	90ms
Canon EOS Rebel XTi / 400D	3.0	27	10	.2s	100ms	170ms
Canon EOS Rebel XT / 350D	3.0	14	4	.2s	100ms	170ms
Canon EOS 60D	5.3	58	16	.1s	59ms	100ms
Canon EOS 50D	6.3	90	16	.1s	59ms	100ms
Canon EOS 40D	6.5	75	17	.15s	59ms	100ms
Canon EOS 30D	5.0	30	11	.15s	65ms	110ms
Canon EOS 20D	5.0	23	6	.2s	65ms	115ms
Canon EOS 7D	8.0	94/126	15	.1s	59ms	100ms
Canon EOS 5D Mark III	6.0	16k	18	.1s	59ms	125ms
Canon EOS 5D Mark II	3.9	78/310	13/14	.1s	73ms	145ms
Canon EOS 5D	3.0	60	17	.2s	75ms	145ms
Canon EOS 1D X	12/14	180	38	.1s	36-55ms	60ms
Canon EOS 1D Mark IV	10.0	121	28	.1s	40-55ms	80ms
Canon EOS 1D Mark III	10.0	110	30	.2s	40-55ms	80ms
Canon EOS 1D Mark II N	8.5	48	22	.2s	40-55ms	87ms
Canon EOS 1DS Mark III	5.0	56	12	.2s	40-55ms	80ms
Canon EOS 1DS Mark II	4.0	32	11	.3s	40-55ms	87ms

The Canon EOS 1D Mark II N now allows "split recording". The camera can save the RAW file to one memory card (typically the CompactFlash card as CF generally has higher capacity per $ and overall at this time) and the JPEG to the other (typically the SD card). Retained is the ability to save the same image simultaneously to both cards (great for backup purposes) or to save images to one card until it is full and then continue saving on the other card..

Another recording enhancement on the Canon EOS 1D Mark II N is the automatic folder creation ability. When image 9999 was reached on the 1D Mark II, user intervention was required to create a new folder on the memory card. No user intervention is required when surpassing folder shot capacities on the 1DIIN.

The Canon EOS 1D Mark II N incorporates Canon's Picture Style controls - just like Canon's other recently-released DSLRs. I personally don't find the Picture Styles very useful, but they don't get in my way. I select Neutral and adjust my settings during post-processing. Everyone is different - and apparently many like this simple-to-use feature (or at least Canon thinks so). Users intending to do no post-processing may want to select the "Standard" style. What I do like is that Canon is standardizing the imaging parameters across its DSLR line.

The Canon EOS 1D Mark II N displays the ISO setting in the viewfinder during ISO adjustment. The photographer can now keep his/her eye in the viewfinder while making this change.

Burst frame rates on the Canon EOS 1D Mark II N can be adjusted from 1 to 8.5 fps. A custom function is utilized to select these rates. Did I mention that 8.5 frames per second is fast? Listen to the 1D Mark II ...

Canon EOS 1D Mark II 8.5 FPS Burst
Canon EOS 1D Mark II Single Shots

The 8.5 fps frame rate is the feature I would like to see added to my Canon EOS 1Ds Mark II more than any other. This rate is still the fastest for a Digital SLR.

While the Canon EOS 1D Mark II N improvements over the 1DII are nice, I don't expect many photographers will justify the cost to upgrade from their 1DII.

The Canon EOS 1D Mark II N retains the 1D Mark II's 1.3x Field of View Crop Factor (FOVCF) 8.2 MP sensor and DIGIC II image processor. The following table illustrates sensor and viewfinder differences across the recent Canon Digital SLR models.

Model	FOVCF	Sensor	Pixel Size	Pixels/Megapixels		Viewfinder		DLA^*
Canon PowerShot G1 X	1.9x	18.7 x 14.0mm	4.3µm	4352 x 3264	14.3			f/6.9
Canon PowerShot G12	4.7x	7.4 x 5.6mm	2.7µm	3648 x 2048	10.0			f/4.3
Canon PowerShot G9	4.7x	7.6 x 5.7mm	2.5µm	4000 x 3000	12.1			f/4.0
Canon EOS Rebel T3i / 600D	1.6x	22.3 x 14.9mm	4.3µm	5184 x 3456	18.0	.85x	95%	f/6.8
Canon EOS Rebel T2i / 550D	1.6x	22.3 x 14.9mm	4.3µm	5184 x 3456	18.0	.87x	95%	f/6.8
Canon EOS Rebel T1i / 500D	1.6x	22.3 x 14.9mm	4.7µm	4752 x 3168	15.1	.87x	95%	f/7.5
Canon EOS Rebel T3 / 1100D	1.6x	22.2 x 14.7mm	5.2µm	4272 x 2848	12.0	.85x	95%	f/8.3
Canon EOS Rebel XSi / 450D	1.6x	22.2 x 14.8mm	5.2µm	4272 x 2848	12.2	.87x	95%	f/8.3
Canon EOS Rebel XS / 1000D	1.6x	22.2 x 14.8mm	5.7µm	3888 x 2592	10.1	.81x	95%	f/9.1
Canon EOS Rebel XTi / 400D	1.6x	22.2 x 14.8mm	5.7µm	3888 x 2592	10.1	.80x	95%	f/9.1
Canon EOS Rebel XT / 350D	1.6x	22.2 x 14.8mm	6.4µm	3456 x 2304	8.0	.80x	95%	f/10.2
Canon EOS 300D Digital Rebel	1.6x	22.7 x 15.1mm	7.4µm	3088 x 2056	6.3	.80x	95%	f/11.8
Canon EOS 60D	1.6x	22.3 x 14.9mm	4.3µm	5184 x 3456	18.0	.95x	96%	f/6.9
Canon EOS 50D	1.6x	22.3 x 14.9mm	4.7µm	4752 x 3168	15.1	.95x	95%	f/7.5
Canon EOS 40D	1.6x	22.2 x 14.8mm	5.7µm	3888 x 2592	10.1	.95x	95%	f/9.1
Canon EOS 30D	1.6x	22.5 x 15.0mm	6.4µm	3504 x 2336	8.2	.90x	95%	f/10.2
Canon EOS 20D	1.6x	22.5 x 15.0mm	6.4µm	3504 x 2336	8.2	.90x	95%	f/10.2
Canon EOS 10D	1.6x	22.7 x 15.1mm	7.4µm	3088 x 2056	6.3	.88x	95%	f/11.8
Canon EOS 7D	1.6x	22.3 x 14.9mm	4.3µm	5184 x 3456	18.0	1.0x	100%	f/6.9
Canon EOS 5D Mark III	1.0x	36.0 x 24.0mm	6.25µm	5760 x 3840	22.3	.71x	100%	f/10.1
Canon EOS 5D Mark II	1.0x	36.0 x 24.0mm	6.4µm	5616 x 3744	21.1	.71x	98%	f/10.2
Canon EOS 5D	1.0x	35.8 x 23.9mm	8.2µm	4368 x 2912	12.8	.71x	96%	f/13.2
Canon EOS 1D X	1.0x	36.0 x 24.0mm	6.9µm	5184 x 3456	18.1	.76x	100%	f/11.0
Canon EOS 1D Mark IV	1.3x	27.9 x 18.6mm	5.7µm	4896 x 3264	16.1	.76x	100%	f/9.1
Canon EOS 1D Mark III	1.3x	28.1 x 18.7mm	7.2µm	3888 x 2592	10.1	.76x	100%	f/11.5
Canon EOS 1D Mark II N	1.3x	28.7 x 19.1mm	8.2µm	3520 x 2336	8.2	.72x	100%	f/13.2
Canon EOS 1D Mark II	1.3x	28.7 x 19.1mm	8.2µm	3520 x 2336	8.2	.72x	100%	f/13.2
Canon EOS 1DS Mark III	1.0x	36.0 x 24.0mm	6.4µm	5632 x 3750	21.1	.76x	100%	f/10.2
Canon EOS 1DS Mark II	1.0x	36.0 x 24.0mm	7.2µm	4992 x 3328	16.6	.70x	100%	f/11.5

* DLA (Diffraction Limited Aperture) is the result of a mathematical formula that approximates the aperture where diffraction begins to visibly affect image sharpness at the pixel level. Diffraction at the DLA is only barely visible when viewed at full-size (100%, 1 pixel = 1 pixel) on a display or output to a very large print. As sensor pixel density increases, the narrowest aperture we can use to get perfectly pixel sharp images gets wider.

DLA does not mean that narrower apertures should not be used - it is simply the point where image sharpness begins to be compromised for increased DOF and longer exposures. And, higher resolution sensors generally continue to deliver more detail well beyond the DLA than lower resolution sensors - until the "Diffraction Cutoff Frequency" is reached (a much narrower aperture). The progression from sharp the soft is not an abrupt one - and the change from immediately prior models to new models is usually not dramatic.

Check out this specific diffraction comparison example using the ISO 12233 chart comparison tool. The mouseover feature will show you the degradation at f/11 compared to f/5.6.

As no changes were made in this area, the Canon EOS 1D Mark II N retains the 1DII's excellent, solid feel and includes the built-in portrait grip. Build quality is rugged and the body is weather-sealed. The shutter remains 200,000 actuation-rated. Though heavy compared to a DSLR without a portrait grip, 1-Series bodies are hard to give up after becoming used to them.

Since sports/action photography typically requires fast shutter speeds to stop the action, higher ISO settings are often required. Canon CMOS sensors deliver excellent low-noise performance at higher ISO settings.

While the Canon EOS 1D Mark II N is arguably the ultimate sports and fast-moving action body, not just sports photographers are employing this camera. If 8.2 megapixels of resolution are enough, this camera can capture them as well as any other. With its top-of-the-line features, the 1DIIN is deployed for a far range of uses including photojournalism, portraiture, weddings, wildlife, products ...

I get a lot of emails asking for help in deciding between the Canon EOS 1D Mark II N and the Canon EOS 5D. This is not an easy question to answer. In the 1D II N's favor are the frame rate, AF system, 100% viewfinder and weather-sealing. In the 5D's favor are the full-frame sensor, 12.8 megapixels of resolution and, if you are not using a battery grip, size/weight. The FOVCF is one of the noteable differences - makes sure you understand this when making your decision.

What don't I like about the Canon EOS 1D Mark II N? The name.

Read the Canon EOS 1D Mark II N white paper (linked below) for more detailed information including some additional minor improvements. The sample pictures are from the 1D II.