I’m in love with my camera, here’s why
If you’ve been around the YouTube photography block, you’ve surely seen countless videos titled, ‘Is the _____ camera still good in year _____?’ Of course, the answer is always yes. If a camera made good images 20 years ago, it would still make good images today. There will, of course, be limitations with older cameras; however, the perfect camera has never existed and that still holds true today.
For me, the most important thing about a camera is if I’m actually excited to take it out and use it. I’ve owned countless cameras, both film and digital. Some have been more inspiring than others, but there is one clear winner when it comes to inspiring me to be more creative and proliferant with my photography. Enter the Canon 1D Mark II.
My love affair with the Canon 1D Mark II actually began before I knew literally anything about photography. One of my college mentors was shooting for a local newspaper. One day we were chatting, and he had his camera bag with him. I saw one of his cameras poking out the side of the bag, and I asked to have a look. He handed me this massive chunk of a Canon camera body, gave me some quick instructions, and allowed me to snap a couple photos.
I didn’t know it at the time, but I just shot my first images on a Canon 1D Mark II. This camera was a flagship at the time (2005), in every sense of the word. From the way it felt in the hands, and that gorgeous shutter sound — I was hooked.
Fast forward 15-20 years and many cameras later, I found myself longing for something. I couldn’t exactly put my finger on it, but I wanted to explore something different in photography. I was chasing a film-like look in my images, and I just wasn’t getting it out of the clinically perfect camera bodies of today. The process of shooting and developing film seemed too expensive and wasteful, so that wasn’t a good option. But what if I bought a flagship digital camera from around the time film cameras were being phased out? Surely that would produce the film-like color and texture I desired. Bingo.
I purchased my first 1D Mark II in 2018. This camera was well used — a beater. I think I paid $150 for it. Keep in mind, these things were over $6000 in 2005 money. I never got an accurate shutter count from it, but it had to be a billion. Although it was certainly rough around the edges, it was giving me the exact look I wanted straight out of camera. Life got in the way, and I just didn’t use it as much as I expected. Honestly, I wasn’t using anything — I basically quit photography for a while. I sold it. I knew almost immediately that I’d regret letting it go.
After life slowed down a bit, my interest in photography returned. I bought a new Canon EOS R to rekindle the magic. It’s a great camera, don’t get me wrong, but the images…..just feel flat. I had a difficult time getting the colors to look right. The whole process of making images with it is just easy and clinical. It’s a tool for a job, but I can’t say that it’s much fun to use.
This past December, I was searching around for used cameras on MPB.com. I’m not sure I was really looking for another 1D Mark II, but I stumbled upon a pristine 1D Mark II n. The Mark II n is essentially the same as a regular Mark II, but the rear screen is a bit larger. The screen is still horrible by current standards, so don’t be confused about it being a huge improvement over the previous model. After some internal debate, I decided to purchase the camera and get back into the vintage DSLR game. This was a good decision.
I took delivery of the camera a few days later, and it was everything I remembered.
So, let’s talk about some pros and cons of this machine. It’s an amazing piece of kit, but it’s also 20 years old. Any 20-year-old piece of technology is going to have some limitations, no matter how good it was (or still is). We’ll start with the negatives.
The downsides:
It’s 20 years old, and Canon won’t service it. If it breaks, it’s probably cheaper to buy another one instead of repairing it.
Don’t come at me, but the ISO performance is pretty bad after ISO 800 or 1000. ISO 800 can be easily recovered in post and the ‘grain’ is actually pleasing. By the time you get to ISO 1600, you introduce a lot of banding and other weird digital noise that is not so pleasing. I don’t let this slow me down, I just try and work around it. I shoot with a f/1.8 or f/1.4 lens and try to use whatever light is available to keep the ISO down. If photographers made it work in 2005, you can still make it work today (that’s what I keep telling myself, anyway).
The batteries are horrible. Good luck finding an original Canon battery for it. There are plenty of third-party batteries available. Some of them are better than others, but the batteries will be an issue. The charger could be its own separate discussion. It’s massive, and it’s more expensive to replace than the actual camera. If you have one in good working order — protect it.
The sensor is only 8.2 megapixels. If you like enlarging your subject by cropping out 90% of the image, this is not your camera. As long as you’re filling the frame, everything is fine. The sensor is wonderful.
The positives:
The sensor is only 8.2 megapixels. Yes, I just called this a negative — for basically one reason. No, you won’t be cropping these files a lot, but there are other advantages. It allows you to shoot in RAW and export 100% quality to JPEG. You end up with a beautiful 8-megabyte file. The files are easy on your hard drive, and they’re easy to edit.
This camera delivers the classic, desirable Canon color science. The colors straight out of the camera are perfect. It makes gorgeous RAW files and perfectly renders JPEGs right out of the camera.
It pairs beautifully with vintage EF lenses. I regularly shoot this camera with the older EF 35mm f/1.4 and the EF 17-40mm f/4. The older lenses look amazing. Not to mention, the older EF lenses can be purchased at bargain prices these days.
The autofocus is amazing, even by 2025 standards. One-shot focus is instant, and the servo mode tracks as good as my 5D Mark III. It will track a single focus point or track multiple points with all focus points selected. I would suggest reading the manual on how the autofocus system works. It can be a little quirky, but focus is extremely reliable if you set it up correctly and understand it.
Some might see this as a negative, but I like how deliberate I need to be when shooting this camera. It makes me slow down a little and really make sure that I have everything set correctly.
With a few negatives and positives out of the way, let’s review some images. These were shot on a variety of older Canon lenses, and I have noted them in the captions.
Canon EF 400mm f/5.6
Canon EF 17-40mm f/4
Canon EF 35mm f/1.4
Canon EF 400mm f/5.6
Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 STM
Canon EF 35mm f/1.4
Yes, the Canon 1D Mark II is still relevant. Yes, the Canon 1D Mark II still makes great images. Yes, the Canon 1D Mark II has a few limitations. Should you buy one in 2025?
Yes.