Asian Diver and Scuba Diver No. 3/2017 Volume 147 | Page 5

My Camera of Choice
Tested in the Extremes
Text & images by William Tan
Image 1: Taken on Canon EOS-1D X Mark II with EF 8-15mm f/4L Fisheye USM lens
Settings: Shutter Speed: 1/320, Aperture: f/8, ISO: 500, White Balance: Auto
It was an honour when Canon placed an EOS-1D X Mark II in
my hands and gave me the opportunity to shoot images to
promote its launch in April 2016. I tested the camera under
extreme conditions at various locations: In Hokkaido’s
freezing waters (around minus 1.8 degrees) during the winter
season; shooting thresher sharks under dim morning light
at Malapascua; balancing contrasts of mantas against bright
sunbursts at Hanifaru Bay; and stacking on macro diopters to
test the autofocus on balloonfish hatchlings in Takeno that
were no longer than 2mm. In every aspect, the EOS-1D X Mark II
outperformed its predecessor. It is now my camera of choice.
Image 2: Taken on Canon EOS-1D X Mark II with EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM lens
Settings: Shutter Speed: 1/250, Aperture: f/22, ISO: 100, White Balance: Auto
Image 2: Shrimp Larva (Aristeidae)
Shot at: Kenting, Taiwan
The super fast autofocus system in the EOS-1D X Mark II is
able to accurately track tiny and mobile planktonic subjects
through a 100mm macro lens. The amount of detail the new
sensor captures allows you to see delicate textures in the
almost transparent exoskeleton of this shrimp larva. The
EOS-1D X Mark II’s optical (pentaprism) viewfinder provides a
bigger and brighter view that is especially useful when filming
these fast 3mm-sized creatures.
Image 1: Sperm Whales (Physeter macrocephalus)
Shot at: Trincomalee, Sri Lanka
In a situation where you have a photographer and three large
sperm whales all swimming at the surface, water movements
can make getting a perfect reflection of your subjects rather
challenging. Fortunately, the EOS-1D X Mark II is capable of
burst shooting at 14 frames per second (with AF/AE tracking)
in high-speed continuous shooting mode. As you can see from
the resulting image, I was able to choose frames showing
perfectly still waters just before the reflections break into
abstract art forms.
Find out more:
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20.2-megapixel full-frame CMOS sensor
Dual DIGIC 6+ image processors
ISO speeds of up to 409,600
4K 60p/50p with 4K frame grab
Dual Pixel CMOS AF
14 fps shooting and AF sensor with 61
AF points