Shooting World Cup football with the EOS-1D Mark IV - Canon Professional Network

July 2010

The recent 2010 World Cup in South Africa saw many of the world's best sports photographers shooting football action with the EOS-1D Mark IV DSLR - the first major football tournament where the camera was put through its paces. CPN covered the event in-depth, direct from Johannesburg, and has decided to re-publish a selection of the CPN video interviews from the event with photographers who explain the benefits of using the EOS-1D Mark IV DSLR.

At the 2010 World Cup the 'must-have' kit for Canon photographers was the EOS-1D Mark IV body, the EF70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM zoom lens, the EF400mm f/2.8L IS USM telephoto lens, plus a fisheye or wideangle lens attached to a camera (usually triggered remotely by a foot pedal) placed behind the goal.

CPN spoke to many of the top photographers who covered the tournament to find out how the EOS-1D Mark IV, and its accompanying lenses, performed when shooting the soccer action. The EOS-1D Mark IV was highly praised by the photographers for, amongst other things, its high ISO capabilities, image quality, colour reproduction, and AF tracking ability. Just click on the films below to find out more about the key features and benefits that the EOS-1D Mark IV brings to shooting football.

Click here to watch Kai Pfaffenbach (Reuters) revealing his techniques for shooting football action with the EOS-1D Mark IV, the EF70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM zoom, and many other Canon lenses.

Click here to watch Thomas Coex (AFP) explaining the capabilities of the EOS-1D Mark IV DSLR and the EF70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM zoom lens for shooting football action.

Click here to watch Cameron Spencer (Getty Images) recounting his experiences shooting with the EOS-1D Mark IV and a variety of Canon lenses at the 2010 World Cup.

Click here to watch Eddie Keogh (Reuters) explaining the image quality he gets when shooting football with the EOS-1D Mark IV and the EF70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM and EF400mm f/2.8L IS USM lenses.

* To view more exclusive CPN video interviews with photographers and picture editors at the 2010 World Cup just click here and go to the 'Multimedia Stories' part of the page.

Biografia: Thomas Coex: A photographer for Agence France Presse (AFP) for the past 20 years the recent World Cup in South Africa was the second World Cup tournament Thomas Coex had photographed. In 2000 Coex won 3rd prize in the World Press Photo Spot News category for an image of Palestinian youths taking cover during clashes with Israeli troops.

Biografia: Eddie Keogh: Veteran Reuters photographer Eddie Keogh shot his seventh football World Cup finals in 2010. Based in London Keogh is an award-winning photographer who previously worked for major UK newspapers. He was highly commended in the 2010 Sports Journalists’ Association Awards in the Specialist Photographer category.

Biografia: Kai Pfaffenbach: Hailing from Germany Kai Pfaffenbach shot his fourth World Cup in South Africa. After working for a German newspaper he joined the Reuters agency in 1996 and, as well as covering sporting events such as the World Cup and the Olympics, he has also shot conflicts in Iraq and the Middle East. Kai is now one of Reuters’ senior photographers.

Biografia: Cameron Spencer: Originally from Australia, and based in Sydney, Getty Images’ staff photographer Cameron Spencer covered his first ever football World Cup in 2010. He had previously shot two Olympic Games and two rugby World Cups. In 2009 he came third in the NPPA’s ‘Best of Photojournalism’ Sports Photojournalist of the Year category.