It's Here! The Holiday Buyer's Guide 2004

Canon EOS-1Ds Mark II - 16.7 Megapixel Monster

So your neighbor just bought an eight megapixel camera... how do you put him to shame? Buy the Canon EOS-1Ds Mark II, which will give you an amazing 16.7 megapixels. The newest camera from Canon is an upgrade to the previous EOS-1Ds, which has a "measly" 11.1 megapixels.

The 1Ds Mark II can burst up to four shots per second for up to 11 RAW images or 32 JPEG images. Just like other professional Canon cameras, it will accept more than 50 EF lenses for your wide-angle, macro and telephoto needs. An optional wireless transmitter will blast your photos into your network.

Definitely for the serious photographer, the Mark II has an MSRP of $7,999 (body only, lens not included) and will be available late November. You will be able to purchase it through major photography outlets such as B&H Photo

News Flash - 8 GB On A Card

Monster digital cameras require monster-sized CompactFlash cards. The Canon EOS-1Ds Mark II, mentioned above, shoots RAW images 17 MB in size! Suddenly, 256 and 512 MB CompactFlash cards don't seem so big. The Lexar 8 GB CompactFlash card is for the serious photographer who doesn't want to continuously swap out full CompactFlash cards.

The card comes in both 40X and 80X versions, which means the maximum transfer rates are 6 MB/s and 12 MB/s respectively. Of course, the faster you can transfer images, the faster you can get the job done. Both versions have a lifetime warranty.

Retail price for this monster Compact Flash card is around $1,500. You can purchase it from online retailers such as PC Connection