October 19, 2011
Least Chipmunk in Custer State Park, South Dakota, and more initial thoughts on the Canon EOS 1D X

We found this very cooperative least chipmunk yesterday in Custer State Park, South Dakota. It was sitting on a wonderful perch eating some of the food it had collected in its cheeks, and it didn't mind us moving into position to photograph it. In fact, it just continued to eat, maintaining practically the same pose the whole time we were with it.

Canon EOS 1D X

I forgot to mention one more thing I like about the newly-announced Canon EOS 1D X: a built-in two-axis level. I almost always use a bubble level when making landscape images, and there have been a few times when I didn't have one with me and really wished I did. With the 1D X, I'll no longer be without a level. I also read in the 1D X review at Imaging Resource that the new battery for the 1D X, the LP-E4N, is backwards compatible with the LP-E4 of the 1D Mk IV and 1Ds Mk III. So, I won't have to deal with two batteries when I (likely) retire my 1Ds Mk III — its batteries will work with my 1D Mk IV. Finally, the image buffer size, or maximum burst, is still listed as "TBA." I really hope it's close to the 28 RAW images for the 1D Mk IV.