New Canon EOS-1D Mark IV HD camera test. I shot this with a body on loan from my Canon Rep in LA. I wanted to really look at the HD video 1080p function through most of the ISO settings, from 500 ISO (a typical "normal" rating for a professional video HD or film camera) to 6400 ISO, which is about as fast as I would ever need to imagine going for any night filming. the settings were 2.8 t-stop, 23.98 fps, 40th of a second shutter, neutral look setting.

I shot with no lights other then the ambient street lamps in down town LA. I also shot a Canon 7D and a Canon 5d right along side it. I will post them all, so we can compare the low light abilities of all the HD camera functions side by side. I am a professional DP who is really interested in pushing these video cameras to the limits and seeing what professional applications these cameras may have.

The 1d really dominated in the final decision. I took the footage into a post house in LA and timed in professionally with a davinci 2k color suite. the 1d had less video noise and did not have banding black issues that the 5d has in super low light areas of the frame. And the 24p and the dual processors of the 1d seem to make it the go to pro video still camera for certain situations. I still shoot my network shows on really expensive Sony f35 and Arri d20 cameras for now...

Nelson Cragg