A Look Back at the Canon 1Ds Full Frame Camera

Maple Leaves -- Canon 1Ds & Schneider 105mm f4.5 Enlarging Lens. Click for larger.

I have been sorting out some old pictures I have taken for a photo book project, and came across photos taken with Canon's first full frame camera, the 11 MP 1Ds.  This was a slow camera with an awful LCD screen and noisy high ISOs above 400.  I sold it mostly because I couldn't stand the glacial write speed.  But, some of my favourite pictures were taken with this camera.  I love the low ISO quality of this camera, especially the colour and sharpness of the pictures.  Perhaps one day, when this once $10,000 camera can be had for a few hundred dollars, I will pick one up again.

Colours from Older Cameras

Fall Leaves 2008 -- Canon 1Ds & Schneider 105mm f4.5 Enlarging Lens. Click for larger.

Looking back at some of the pictures I took with older cameras, I found that I prefer the colours from those cameras.  This is especially true for the original 1D and 1Ds.  I just love the colour fidelity of the 1Ds at base ISO.  The colours seem more saturated and pleasing than, say, 7D or T2i.