Storage compartment

The storage compartment is situated on the back of the hand grip. The compartment door is spring loaded and 'pops open' as soon as you turn the knob (note that this has been made easier to operate, especially useful if you're wearing gloves). You can close the door and pick up the camera in one movement. If you take a closer look at this images below you will see the rubber environmental seal around the inside of the compartment door. Behind the compartment door you will find two storage slots, one for Compact Flash (Type I/II, Microdrive and FAT32 support) and one for Secure Digital cards.

The SD slot was a new addition to the EOS-1D Mark II and now appears on the EOS-1Ds Mark II. This slot can be used just like the CF slot for storage or as 'backup' where every image is written to both CF and SD. While useful it isn't as flexible as Kodak's (now discontinued) implementation on their DCS SLR/n & SLR/c digital SLR's which allow you to select different image formats for each slot (for instance writing a RAW to the CF card and a JPEG to the SD).

Battery, Charger, AC Adapter and Compartment

The Mark II's battery fits into the base of the camera, it has a double locking system which requires you to turn a lever and then press a release button before the battery can be removed. The battery itself is of the NiMH type, which in these days of Lithium-Ion and Lithium-Polymer is rather surprising, I really had expected Canon to move up to the lighter more powerful Lithium based rechargeable batteries.

The battery charger connects to the battery via a plug on the end of two cables and is capable of charging two batteries simultaneously (a full charge of a totally flat battery takes approximately two hours). Note that there is also a 'refresh' feature for conditioning batteries.

If you take a close look at the last image below you'll see some of the rubber environmental seal around the end of the battery which keeps the compartment waterproof.

AC Adapter / DC Coupler kit DCK-E1

	Supplied with the Mark II is the DC Coupler (a dummy battery with a DC-IN socket) and AC Adapter PA-V16 (100 - 240 V AC input, 13V, 1.8A output). This kit allows you to connect the camera to an AC power supply for studio shooting, remote capture and long Firewire connectivity (or simply while the battery is charging).

Environmental seals

Just like the EOS-1D/1Ds/1V the Mark II is fully environmentally sealed, this means that there are rubber O-rings around the controls and that compartment doors have rubber seals. In total the camera has no less than 90 environmental seal points (indicated in red in the image above). It is however worth bearing in mind that the camera is only as well sealed as the lens used, and for that you'll need one of the special L lenses with rubber grommets which fit flush to the lens mount:

• Canon EF 16 - 35 mm F2.8L USM
• Canon EF 17 - 40 mm F4.0L USM
• Canon EF 24 - 70 mm F2.8L USM
• Canon EF 24 - 105 mm F4.0L IS USM
• Canon EF 28 - 300 mm F3.5 - F5.6L IS USM
• Canon EF 70 - 200 mm F2.8L IS USM
• Canon EF 300 mm F2.8L IS USM
• Canon EF 400 mm F2.8L IS USM
• Canon EF 400 mm F4.0 DO IS USM
• Canon EF 500 mm F4.0L IS USM
• Canon EF 600 mm F4.0L IS USM
• Canon Extender EF 1.4x II
• Canon Extender EF 2.0x II

Connectivity

On the right side of the camera (from the rear) are two rubber doors which can be opened and rotated 180 degrees (as shown here). They cover the PC sync terminal (flash), remote terminal, video out, IEEE 1394 (Firewire) and USB 1.1 port. Canon indicate that the USB port is only intended for direct printing, however it would have been nice to have a proper Hi-Speed USB 2.0 port there as an option for image transfer.

Flash / Accessory Hot shoe

The Mark II features the updated 'E-TTL II' flash metering algorithm. This system is essentially similar to E-TTL (pre-flash metering) but that the algorithm has been tweaked to ignore very bright specular reflections and to also take into account distance information from the lens (if available) to produce a more accurate flash exposure. E-TTL II works with all Canon lenses (although distance information is only provided by some lenses).

Other flash photography features

Lenses which provide distance information

Base

	The bottom of the Mark II is the same as all previos EOS-1D cameras. The metal tripod mount is aligned with the center of the lens. The eyelet on the left is for attaching the optional hand strap. The base itself is plastic, I much prefer Nikon's large soft rubber foot which can help to steady a heavy camera braced vertically against a 'temporary tripod'.

In the box

Inside the box you'll find a large range of accessories and items:

• Canon EOS-1Ds Mark II digital SLR
• Eyecup Ec-II
• Battery Pack NP-E3 (NiMH)
• Battery Charger NC-E2
• DC Coupler Kit DCK-E1
• Wide Strap L5
• Interface Cable IFC-200D4 (Firewire)
• Interface Cable IFC-400PCU (USB)
• Video Cable VC-100 (Composite)
• CD-ROM's
  • EOS Digital Solutions Disc
  • Digital Photo Professional Disc
• Manuals / Paperwork:
  • EOS-1Ds Mark II Instruction Manual
  • Battery pack and charger Instructions
  • DC Coupler Kit Instructions
  • EOS-1Ds Mark II Software Instruction Manual
  • Quick start guide to shooting
  • Warranty Card
  • EOS-1Ds Mark II Accessories guide