One day short of a year after the EOS-1D Canon has officially announced the 11 megapixel, full-frame capture EOS-1Ds digital SLR. This camera had a leaked introduction to the web world a couple of weeks ago. The 1Ds is heavily based on the excellent EOS-1D D-SLR with that superb environmentally sealed magnesium body, 45-point AF, selectable colour space, Firewire connectivity, FAT32 support for CF cards greater than 2 GB and RAW+JPEG imaeg output (as well as many other features). Also new to the 1Ds is control of personal functions from the camera menu. The EOS-1Ds has a continuous shooting capability of 3 frames per second for up to 10 frames.

Canon EOS-1Ds preview

Notable new features / changes (compared to the EOS-1Ds):

• Full-frame 11 megapixel CMOS sensor (no FOV crop / multiplier)
• Continuous shooting down to 3 fps, max 10 images
• ISO range 100 - 1250, ISO 50 selectable from custom function
• Personal functions can be set via in-camera menu
• JPEG compression now represented as numbers rather than a ruler
• FAT32 filesystem support for Compact Flash cards greater than 2 GB
• Playback magnification now available
• Images can be tagged with a unique 'signature' for use with Data Verification Kit
• Improved battery life (thanks to CMOS sensor)

Press Release (Canon Europe):

Canon introduces the world's first full frame professional digital camera with an 11.1 Megapixel CMOS sensor - The EOS-1Ds

Amstelveen, September 24th, Canon announces the world's highest resolution professional digital camera the EOS-1Ds, featuring the first ever full frame 35mm CMOS sensor, with 11.1 million effective pixels. The EOS-1Ds captures astounding detail & colour, almost doubling the resolution considered state of the art for a digital SLR camera in the world today*.

The EOS-1Ds has made a huge leap in resolution by means of the continuous development of the CMOS sensor. Canon's groundbreaking CMOS technologies deliver high resolution, low noise and low power consumption, allowing photography to make a quantum leap in terms of digital image quality.

The EOS-1Ds can capture images at approximately 3 frames per second for a 10-frame burst, even at the highest quality setting. It also has almost three times as many pixels as the super fast EOS-1D.

With its extremely high resolution, the EOS-1Ds has been designed to meet the needs of those professional photographers who need the ultimate in digital image quality. Therefore, it is expected to appeal to professionals active in a wide range of specialties including studio, commercial, reportage, or fashion photography.

"The introduction of this camera tops Canon's flagship professional digital range, claiming dual world records for both the highest resolution, with the EOS-1Ds, and the fastest speed, with the EOS-1D, thus providing an incredibly competitive pro product line-up" said Mr. Komatsuzaki, Head of Canon Consumer Imaging, Europe. "Launched in September 2001, the Canon EOS-1D remains the fastest professional SLR digital camera ever**, with a continuous shooting speed of 8 frames per second and a burst of 21 frames."

L to R: Canon EOS-1Ds CMOS sensor, Canon EOS-1D CCD sensor, Canon EOS-D60 CMOS sensor

Having a full frame sensor the same size & aspect ratio as 35mm film has long been the holy grail of digital photography, but the EOS-1Ds also delivers what has so far not been possible, ultra-high resolution in the SLR format. Another long-awaited benefit of a full frame sensor is that it allows the use of wide-angle lenses without any focal length magnification, a traditional limitation of previous digital cameras. "The world's best photographers will be happy to see that the arrival of the EOS-1Ds means that digital output now rivals the quality of 35mm film," said Mr. Komatsuzaki.

The EOS-1Ds sees the introduction of Canon's new imaging engine. This has been specially designed to achieve high image quality, excellent colour reproduction and a wide tonal range equal to, or better than, the 35mm slide film often favoured by professionals. In addition, the CMOS sensor's extremely high signal to noise ratio means that noise is minimized, even at the equivalent of ISO 1250.

The EOS-1Ds incorporates outstanding professional features globally acclaimed in the multi award winning EOS-1D and EOS-1V. These include 45-point area autofocus, 21 zone metering, the familiar EOS ergonomic layout and the camera's renowned toughness & durability.

In response to customer requests, an image enlargement function has been introduced. 25 sections of a selected image can be enlarged on the camera's LCD screen, thus allowing you to check for detail & sharpness.

As CMOS sensors consume less power than CCDs, battery life has been improved, so that the NP-E3 battery pack can now capture up to 600 exposures on one charge***. CMOS sensors are also utilised in the award winning Canon EOS D60 prosumer model.

With the high-speed FireWire standard, IEEE1394, enabling 50 Mbps throughput, high transfer speeds allow rapid plug & play downloads to a computer. CF cards can be formatted in either the FAT16 or FAT32 file system. Formatting in FAT32 is intended for high-capacity CF cards over 2GB and is selected automatically by the camera when formatting this type of card.

Other leading innovations include the unique ability to dial in colour temperatures to meet specific lighting conditions. 10 White Balance (WB) modes and WB bracketing provide maximum flexibility and superb colour accuracy. ISO speed bracketing allows photographers to fix aperture and shutter speeds, yet shoot at 3 different equivalent film speeds. Such advances offer the professional advanced creative opportunities.

Entirely new software is available for the EOS-1Ds from the EOS Digital Solutions Disk and is compatible with both Windows and Mac operating systems. The camera also features a CF card type I/II slot enabling the use of CF cards and IBM Microdrives.

The EOS-1Ds utilizes a tough, weather resistant magnesium-alloy body and has over 70
moisture & dust resistant seals, plus a Ni-Mh battery pack with protective sealing. The shutter
has been tested to an awesome 150,000 exposures.

An optional accessory, the Data Verification Kit DVK-E1 consists of a dedicated IC card and card reader, together with special software for Windows 2000/XP. This allows one to check that the EOS-1Ds' image files have remained absolutely unaltered after being circulated. This may well be a landmark for digital imaging in law enforcement, copyright and many other areas.

The EOS-1Ds is compatible with over 60 of Canon's EF lenses. Canon has also extended its professional photographic system by introducing the Macro Twin Lite MT-24EX for extremely versatile macro flash photography.

* As of September 2002
** As of September 2002
*** At 20°C / 68°F

Canon EOS-1Ds specifications