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Who needs full frame?
On one side we have an indisputably superb crop professional body; on the other, the fact that it is priced at nearly double the price of full frame body. The Mark 4 is an interesting option on account of this, and despite its performance, a camera that can only be recommended to a select niche of professional. The Mark 4 is a full-size, integrated vertical grip body designed for the professional, and the magnesium alloy body, solid grip, moisture and dust scaling are all givens at this level. The Mark 4 is a tank, built for desert and Antarctic alike, although it’s lighter than the Nikon D3s, and has a less luxurious, slightly harder rubber grip. All flaps and buttons are moisture sealed too, and this sealing is a cut above the sealing on the impressive (in this regard) EOS7D. The sensor is an APS-H, larger than the APS-C variant, with a crop factor of 1.3x compared to a full frame. Some rationalize its existence to Canon’s inability to manage more than 6fps from a full frame sensor, meaning sports and wildlife photographers would go to Nikon route, not out of choice, but necessity.
As is common for vertical grip dSLRs, the body has two status LCDs. The rear one is pretty useless unless you intend to look at it while spinning dials. The top one however, has all the necessary visual cues needed when changing settings. The layout of buttons on the ear is radically different from other Canon bodies like the EOS 7D and 5Dmk2. The most glaring difference is the lack of the vertical strip of buttons on the left side of the main LCD. These buttons are now clustered on the top of the body, above the LCD and even beneath it. This is not bad, but it takes getting used to, and we don’t like the fact that it involves more movement of the left hand to reach various buttons. We miss the RAW button. The memory card bay supports dual cards, one CF and one SD.
The 45-point, autofocus system with 39 cross type points and 6 assist points is a serious step up from the EOS 5Dmk2, but the 7D with its sparser points remains equally versatile in terms of selection of focus clusters. The Mark 4 focuses instantly in good light and mediocre light, and a bit slower in dim light, where it needs to rely on contrast, the speed is lens depending, and with a 50mm f1.2, we found the Mark 4 quite fast at night shooting even silhouettes and statues with little contrast although it did hunt unsuccessfully at times. When focus is achieved, it is typically spot on and very sharp. The vertical controls are sparser, and you do feel the pinch because the rear status LCD is largely a white elephant. Overall, the focus system is great, but the ergonomics are not as spot on as the 7D.
As expected of a relatively larger sensor with a lower pixel depth, the Mark 4 is a great performer in low light blowing the 7D out of the water with much more detail at ISO 6400 than the 7D manages at ISO 3200. ISO 1600 on the 7D is comparable to ISO 6400 on the Mark 4. Up to ISO 6400, there is no difference between the Nikon D3s and the Mark 4, although noise in Nikon looks more like pleasant grain, while on Canon with their stronger noise reduction, noise shows up as artifacts more than grain. At ISO 12800, the D3s takes the lead and maintains this, obviously on account of its huge sensor, but the fact that the Mark 4 holds up till ISO 6400 itself is quite commendable. In bright daylight and low ISO shooting, the Mark 4 produces a more detailed output than the D3s, noticeable if both images are viewed at the same size. What is really heartening is that JPEGs have a great deal of highlighting, and lots of detail – most pro bodies are notorious for giving greatly improved output by shooting in space hungry RAW mode, and the Mark 4 bucks this most unwelcome trend.
If the benefits of a crop sensor like greater corner sharpness, less vignette and of course a longer zoom with any lens appeals to you as a pro shooter, then the Mark 4 will satisfy. If you’re a sports photographer or shooting wildlife, the high fps coupled with the low light ability of the Mark 4 should be right up your alley. It is more versatile than the D3s for shooting in good light and at base ISOs will produce a larger image and hence larger usable prints. However, if you want absolutely the best low light performance, it is still the Nikon D3s. For Rs. 2,59,995 for the body, the Mark 4 is not cheap, and you could easily pick up a Nikon D700 or Canon 5Dmk2 for half the price and of course with less than half the speed.
SPECIFICATIONS:
APS-H;
Resolution: 16.1 MP;
Sensor size: 27.9 mm x 18.6 mm;
Video resolution: 1920 x 1080p;
Battery: 2,300 mAh;
Weight: 1230 grams
CONTACTS:
Canon India Private Limited
Phone: 1800-345 3366
Email: info@canon.co.in
Web site: www.canon.co.in
Price: Rs. 2,59,995