Canon's EOS-1D Digital SLR Camera

Though I'm not much of a shutterbug myself (don't even like my picture taken), a little research tells me that a Single Lens Reflex (SLR) camera lets you view the subject of your clandestine image capturing through the same lens that actually takes the photograph by means of mirrors and a prism system. Apparently, these are the type of cameras that are favored by the pros, whether or not they're shooting digitally. The price of these cameras seems to reflect their intended use, but although Canon says its new its new interchangeable lens SLR EOS-1D.1 is designed for professional sports photographers and photojournalists, I know there are amateurs who salivate about high-end gear to use in their hobby of choice (just look at all the overclocking and gaming nuts who don't use their machines to earn a paycheck). The camera's features include a continuous shooting speed of eight frames per second for up to 21 consecutive frames at full resolution, a 4.48 megapixel CCD sensor (4.15 million effective pixels), a dust and weather-resistant magnesium alloy body, 45-point autofocus, a 21-point evaluative metering system, compatibility with Canon EOS System lenses and Canon EX-series flash units, 21 custom functions, and 25 personal functions for fine-tuning camera settings. The EOS-1D's 4.48MP CCD sensor (4.15 million effective pixels) uses RGB primary color filters and a 12-bit analog-to-digital converter and offers an 8 fps refresh rate with the ability to control shutter speeds internally rather than relying on a mechanical shutter. The EOS-1D has a top shutter speed of 1/16000 and a top X-sync shutter speed of 1/500. Images made with the EOS-1D can be recorded as 12-bit RAW files or in one of three JPG formats (Large/Fine, Large/Normal, and Small/Fine). In the RAW file format, you can select a new RAW + JPEG mode which allows you to capture a RAW image and JPEG of the same shot simultaneously. This feature benefits photographers by allowing them to quickly transmit a JPEG file while storing a RAW image for archiving purposes. The maximum continuous shooting speed of the EOS-1D is 8 frames per second, and high-speed shooting can be achieved in either One-Shot AF or AI Servo AF modes. In JPG mode, up to 21 consecutive frames can be captured in a single burst of continuous shooting at full resolution. When shooting in the RAW mode or combined RAW + JPEG mode, up to 16 continuous shots can be captured in a single burst. In addition to the 8 fps setting, 3 fps and single-frame shooting are also provided. The EOS-1D has a single slot for Type I or II CompactFlash memory cards, and is compatible with IBM Microdrives as well as conventional CF cards. To help you organize your snapshots, the camera lets you create subfolders on each CF card. Up to 500 folders can be created per card, with each folder capable of storing up to 9,999 images. The Canon EOS-1D digital SLR camera will be available in December and have a suggested retail price of $6,499. If you're a hobbiest and not a professional, I can only assume that you're not married. As long as this news item is, the feature list for this camera is yet longer. If you want the whole laundry list of features, your best bet is to check out Canon's site .