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I first got the EOS-1D Mark IV DSLR back in December of last year and I have to say that it’s a good, solid camera. As a photojournalist I like cameras that are totally sealed – it’s fast, precise and the quality of the files shows it definitely gives good results.

Obviously as I’m shooting reportage, or news, the way and the speed that I shoot at is a little different to say, Frits van Eldik shooting Formula One action or Thorsten Milse following a bird in flight with tracking AF.

To me the camera seems to be a natural improvement of the EOS-1 system and the implementation of a new AF system, plus a number of other small changes, makes it very attractive.

© Ziv Koren/Polaris Images

Parkour performer jumps off a pole. Shot on the EOS-1D Mark IV, with the EF16-35mm f/2.8L II USM lens, the exposure was 1/1250sec at f/5, ISO 100.

I recently shot a portfolio of pictures on a group of kids, who are immigrants from Russia, for a story for an Israeli magazine on their training. ‘Parkour’ is what they do – they wake up in the morning and travel and exercise. Really, they just run, jump and go on top of things. So, I went on assignment for a couple of days to shoot them all in action.

One of the images from the shoot (shown above) was picked up for a Canon advert – it was shot at around 1/1250sec at f/5, at ISO 100. With the EOS-1D Mark IV you can really get a sharp image of the decisive moment of a guy up in the air. I did shoot some pictures at 10fps to test how fast and accurate the camera was. It’s a very important feature to have, but I would normally only shoot at around 3fps.

© Ziv Koren/Polaris Images

Port-au-Prince, Haiti, after the earthquake, January 2010. Shot on the EOS-1D Mark IV, with the EF70-200mm f/2.8L USM lens, the exposure was 1/30sec at f/2.8, ISO 500.

I recently travelled to Haiti and shot with the EOS 5D Mark II and the EOS-1D Mark IV. In such extreme conditions you push the limits of the abilities of the cameras and you need a camera you can rely on. Those are the sort of harsh conditions I often shoot in – it’s my job; this is the kind of work I do. It was hard to shoot in low light conditions but having a camera that allows you to be able to shoot at extremely high ISOs – 12,800 or even 25,600 – for pictures that can be run in a magazine is a big advantage.

Working in a very dusty environment like Haiti means something like the sensor cleaning facility is very important, especially when you are changing lenses. The sensor cleaner worked perfectly well. In situations like that you really need a strong, solid camera body and the EOS-1D Mark IV is a real hardcore piece of kit.

© Ziv Koren/Polaris Images

Port-au-Prince, Haiti, after the earthquake, January 2010. Shot on the EOS-1D Mark IV, with the EF16-35mm f/2.8L II USM lens, the exposure was 1/5sec at f/2.8, ISO 12,800.

I think the video abilities of the camera are a big advantage and the battery life is extremely important. When I got my first EOS-1Ds series camera back in about 2003 I could only shoot up to about 200 pictures. Now I can shoot up to 3,000 pictures, if I don't use the back screen very often. The battery is also smaller and less bulky to carry.

To be honest I work in a very standard way – I don’t play around too much with camera settings like Custom Functions. I hardly do any post-production. I’m not one for playing around in Photoshop – maybe a bit of contrast and levels, but that’s all. I shoot in manual mode and was happy with the results – there were good, vivid colours.