Canon EOS-1D banding
QIn a bit of an impulse-buy scenario, I’m now the proud owner of a slightly battered-looking Canon EOS-1D, which produces super-high-resolution 4-megapixel pictures. In all seriousness, although the camera is a real monster, it does feel like it could be used to proverbially hammer nails and it appears to be in full working order. However, at ‘higher’ ISO settings, especially in pictures with areas of darker tone, I’m seeing some signs of banding. Is this normal for this camera, is it a sign of age or is something else faulty in the camera? Pat Wheldon
AThe Canon EOS-1D was the first digital version of the famed EOS-1 professional SLR. It was launched at the end of 2001, more than a year after Canon had already debuted its then one-and- only, exclusively in-housedeveloped DSLR, the EOS D30. A surprising oddity about the EOS-1D was that it used a conventional CCD sensor. The D30 had already demonstrated that Canon’s work on refining CMOS sensor technology was making great strides. So the EOS-1D’s use of a CCD was puzzling. Although Canon didn’t confirm or deny it, the story goes that the company planned to launch the EOS-1D with a CMOS sensor but, for whatever reason, this plan was scrapped fairly late in the development of the camera.
To answer your question, yes, the APS- H sensor in the EOS-1D was prone to banding at its higher ISO settings. This was a shame because noise – especially in that era of DSLR development – was very well controlled. The EOS-1D remains the only Canon EOS DSLR to feature a CCD instead of a CMOS
sensor.