Rivolta al settore professionale e concepita, nelle intenzioni del produttore, per infastidire anche le soluzioni basate su medio formato, la terza serie delle reflex digitali full frame Canon offre un sensore da 21,1 Mpixel, 5 scatti/secondo, bi-processore Digic III , elaborazione colore a 14bit , display LCD posteriore da 3” con funzione LiveView e sistema di pulizia automatico del sensore; condivide molte nuove implementazioni tecnologiche con la nuova Canon EOS 1D MkIII già in vendita da qualche mese.
Tra le funzionalità che riteniamo essere più interessanti, oltreché lo scontato aumento di risoluzione del quale si farà -anche a sproposito- un gran parlare, è l' HighLight Tone Priority , ovverosia la possibilità di estendere il range dinamico per catturare dettaglio anche nelle zone delle alte/basse luci.
La qualità dell'immagine è infatti una delle caratteristiche fondamentali che contraddistinguono l'offerta super-professionale basata sul medio formato rispetto alla “concorrenza” in formato 35mm: la generosa dimensione del sensore e quindi la relativa grandezza delle singole celle fa in modo da avere un rapporto segnale/rumore molto favorevole con il risultato di catturare immagini prive di “grana”, soprattutto nelle zone più scure; a ciò si aggiunga la possibilità che hanno molti dorsi digitali per medio formato di catturare 14 o addirittura 16bit di dati per il colore.
Da qui si capisce come, per particolari campi d'applicazione, il medio formato sia da preferire al 35mm full frame... fin'ora.
Pur essendo certi del fatto che il regno del “645” non si possa conquistare facilmente, pensiamo che la nuova Canon 1ds MkIII di frecce ne abbia parecchie al proprio arco e crediamo che la versatilità e la velocità del sistema 35mm rispetto al MF sia uno dei punti chiave che potrebbero indurre molti professionisti se non a soppiantare almeno ad affiancare all'attrezzatura “classica” la nuova ammiraglia giapponese.
La prima foto rilasciata ufficialmente da Canon e scattata con la nuova 1Ds MkIII.
Clicca qui per visualizzare l'immagine nelle sue dimensioni reali (pagina ufficiale Canon USA).
A sinistra l'immagine per intero; a destra il crop al 100% dell'occhio della modella.
Dati.
Risoluzione: 5.616x3.744pixel
ISO: 100
Scatto: 1/320sec @f1,8
Obiettivo: Canon 85mm f1,2 MkII
Punto di bianco: automatico
PictureStyle: Neutral (Sharpness 2)
Una cosa però vorremmo aggiungere: con oltre 60MByte occupati in memoria da un singolo file JPEG non sarà forse il caso di pensare a computer sempre più potenti, oltreché capaci?
Prezzo di circa 8.000 Euro, disponibilità intorno alla fine dell'anno ( Novembre 2007 ).
Per il resto, facciamo parlare le specifiche tecniche più importanti riportate di seguito e riprese dalla scheda ufficiale, in lingua inglese, del sito USA (in rosso le caratteristiche di maggior interesse).
Image Format
36.0 x 24.0mm ( full-frame sensor )
Sensor Type
Full-frame, high-sensitivity, high-resolution, single-plate, CMOS sensor
Pixels
Approx. 21.10 megapixels
Total Pixels
Approx. 21.90 megapixels
Memorie
CF Card Type I/II, SD/SDHC (1 slot cad.), e/o media esterni (USB v.2.0 hard drive, Canon WFT-E2A), UDMA-compliant CF/SDHC SD
Image Format
JPEG, JPEG+RAW, RAW (Canon CR2)
Processing power
Dual DiGiC III system; 14bit
File Size
JPEG/Large: Approx. (TBA) MB (5,616 x 3,744)
JPEG/Medium 1: Approx. (TBA) MB (4,992 x 3,328)
JPEG/Medium 2: Approx. (TBA) MB (4,080 x 2,720)
JPEG/Small: Approx. (TBA) MB (2,784 x 1,856)
RAW: Approx. (TBA) MB (5,616 x 3,744)
sRAW: Approx. (TBA) MB (2,784 x 1,856)
Color Space
Selectable between sRGB and Adobe RGB
Interface
USB 2.0 Hi-Speed, mini-B port. NTSC/PAL for video output
Settings
Auto, Daylight, Shade, Cloudy, Tungsten Light, White Fluorescent Light, Flash, five Custom WB settings (1-5), user-set Color Temperature (2,500~10,000K), five Personal White Balance PC-1 to PC-5
Auto White Balance
Auto white balance, taken from imaging sensor
Personal White Balance
White balance bracketing: Three consecutive images, Up to +/- 3 levels in 1-step increments
White balance shift: blue/amber bias and/or magenta/green bias +/- 9 levels; manually set by user
Viewfinder Type
Eye-level SLR with fixed pentaprism
Coverage
Approx. 100% horizontally and vertically
Magnification
0.76x (-1 dpt with 50mm lens at infinity)
Eyepoint
Approx. 20mm
Dioptric Adjustment Correction
-3.0 to +1.0 diopter
Mirror
Quick-return half mirror (Transmission: reflection ratio of 37:63)
Viewfinder Information
AF (AF points, focus confirmation light, point selection mode, registration), Exposure (metering mode, spot metering area, shutter speed, aperture, manual exposure, AE lock, ISO speed, exposure level, exposure warning), Flash (flash ready, high-speed sync, FE lock, flash exposure level), Image (JPEG recording, RAW recording, shots remaining, maximum burst, white balance correction, memory card information), Battery check
Depth-of-Field Preview
Enabled with depth-of-field preview button; possible in Live View Function
Eyepiece Shutter
Built-in
Auto Focus Type
TTL-AREA-SIR AF-dedicated CMOS sensor
AF Points
45-point (19 high-precision cross-type AF points plus 26 Assist AF points)
AF Working Range
EV -1 ~18 (ISO 100 at 73°F/23°C)
Focusing Modes
Autofocus (One-Shot AF, Predictive AI Servo AF), Manual Focus (MF)
AF Point Selection
Automatic selection; Manual selection: 19 AF points, or only inner 9 AF points (C.Fn III-9-1), or outer 9 AF points (C.Fn III-9-2)
Selected AF Point Display
Superimposed in viewfinder and on LCD panel
AF-assist Beam
None. Emitted by EX-series Speedlite or optional ST-E2 Speedlite Transmitter
Metering Modes
63-zone TTL full aperture metering
Evaluative metering (linked to all AF points)
Partial metering (approx. 8.5% of viewfinder)
Spot metering (approx. 2.4% of viewfinder)
Center spot metering
AF point-linked spot metering (C.Fn. I-7-1)
Multi-spot metering (max. 8 spot metering entries)
Center-weighted average metering
Metering Range
EV 0-20 (ISO 100 at 73°F/23°C with EF 50mm f/1.4 USM lens, ISO 100)
Exposure Control Systems
Program AE (shiftable), Shutter speed-priority AE, Aperture-priority AE, E-TTL II program AE (Evaluative flash metering, Averaged flash metering), Manual, Bulb
ISO Speed Range
Equivalent to ISO 100-1600* (in 1/3-stop or whole stop increments), ISO speed can be expanded to ISO 50 and 3200 (via C.Fn I-3)
* Standard output sensitivity. Recommended exposure index.Exposure Compensation
Exposure Compensation (user-set): up to +/-3 stops in 1/3- or 1/2-half increments
Auto Bracketing (AEB): 3 shots, up to +/- 3 stops, in 1/3 or 1/2 stop increments, in all exposure modes. Sequence can be changed via C.Fn I-5AE Lock
Auto: Applied in One-Shot AF mode with evaluative metering when focus is achieved
Manual (user-set): By AE lock button in all metering modes
Shutter Type
Vertical-travel, mechanical, focal-plane shutter with all speeds electronically controlled
Shutter Speeds
1/8000 to 30 sec. (1/3-, 1/2- or 1-stop increments), X-sync at 1/250 sec. (with EOS dedicated external Speedlites; 1/250 maximum with other shoe-mount flashes, and 1/60th-1/250th with studio strobes*)
* maximum sync speed with studio strobes will depend upon flash characteristics and connection method; testing is encouraged to verify fastest possible sync speed with specific studio flash equipmentShutter Release
Soft-touch electromagnetic release
Self-timer
10 sec. delay, 2 sec. delay
Remote Control
Canon N3 type terminal
EOS External Flash or Dedicated Speedlites
E-TTL II autoflash with all EX Series Speedlites
PC Terminal
Provided; accepts third-party flash units with sync line voltages up to 250V maximum
Drive Modes
Single, silent , high-speed continuous (approx. 5 fps) , low-speed continuous (approx. 3 fps), 10- or 2-sec. self-timer
Continuous Shooting Speed
Approx. 5 fps (at a shutter speed of 1/(TBA) sec. or faster in all recording modes)
Max. Burst During Continuous Shooting
JPEG: approx. 45 frames
RAW: approx. 15 frames
RAW+JPEG: approx. (TBA) frames (Large/Fine)
LCD Monitor Type
TFT color, liquid-crystal monitor
Screen Monitor size
3.0 in., diagonal
Pixels
Approx. 230,000 pixels
Coverage
Approx. 100%
Brightness Control
7 levels provided
Playback
Image Display Format
Single image, 4-image index, 9-image index, Jump, AF point, Magnified zoom (approx. 1.5x to 10x), Brightness or RGB Histogram, Auto rotate, Rotate
Live View Function: view image before shooting on LCD monitor; live histogram and live simulation of exposure level possible with C.Fn IV-16-1Highlight Alert
In the single image display and (INFO) display, over-exposed highlight areas will blink
Image Protection
Single image, all images in a folder, or all images in the memory card can be protected or cancel the image protection
Erase
Single image, all images in a folder, all images in the memory card or check-marked images can be erased or unprotected.
Direct Printing from the Camera
Possible with compatible PictBridge-enabled printers
Compatible Printers
CP and SELPHY Compact Photo Printers, PIXMA Photo Printers and PictBridge compatible printers (via USB Interface Cable IFC-200U, included with camera kit)
Settings
Print quantity, style (image, paper size, paper type, printing effects, layout), trimming, tilt correction
Dust Delete Feature
LiveView Preview
LCD realtime view
Picture Style
WAV
Recording Time
Max. 30 sec. per recording
Menu Categories
Shooting
Playback
Setup
Custom function/My Menu
LCD Monitor Language
18 (English, German, French, Dutch, Danish, Portuguese, Finnish, Italian , Norwegian, Swedish, Spanish, Greek, Russian, Polish, Simplified/Traditional Chinese, Korean, Japanese)
Battery
One dedicated lithium-ion battery pack LP-E4 AC power can be supplied via the AC Adapter Kit ACK-E4 (included)
Number of Shots
At 73°F/23°C: Approx. (TBA)
At 32°F/0°C: Approx. (TBA)
The above figures apply when a fully-charged Battery Pack LP-E4 is usedBattery Check
Automatic, displayed in six levels. Precise readout of percentage remaining, shots taken since last charge, calibration recommended, and approx. remaining battery life are displayed with Battery Info menu setting.
Power Saving
Provided. Power turns off after 1, 2, 4, 8, 15, 30 min.
Back-up Battery
One CR2025 lithium battery
Dimensions (WxHxD) - Weight
.
