Here are my thoughts on Canon's 1Dx. As I point out in the review, this isn't meant to be a super technical analysis or completely exhaustive review, but my thoughts after using the camera for two months.
Hope this helps for those on the fence and for those who already have it, I'm curious how closely your thoughts echo mine...
Thanks for posting. I primarily shoot sports and will probably upgrade from my 1D4 eventually. It sounds like it would be a worthwhile upgrade especially for the higher ISOs (6,400 - 12,800 ISO for HS football is par for the course where I am).
I also have been shooting with a 5D3 and have found the high ISO performance to be great but like you I can't find the perfect "case" for the autofocus. I would appreciate it if you would follow up on that once you find what works best for you.
Thank you,
Andy
A really great review, Chris . You are absolutely into the art of photography itself rather than pixel peeping or evaluating the sensor technology in your review of that camera. Thank you for posting!
The improved high ISO and amazing AF sound nice but the AF illumination issue in AI-Servo is holding me back so I'm waiting to see what potential solution Canon come up with. I shoot a lot of sports in low light gyms and have to deal with dark blue uniforms as well so that has me concerned. If Canon is incapable of doing anything I may skip a generation as my 1D4 is still taking very fine photos.
ggreene wrote:
The improved high ISO and amazing AF sound nice but the AF illumination issue in AI-Servo is holding me back so I'm waiting to see what potential solution Canon come up with. I shoot a lot of sports in low light gyms and have to deal with dark blue uniforms as well so that has me concerned. If Canon is incapable of doing anything I may skip a generation as my 1D4 is still taking very fine photos.
Yeah, it is SUPER annoying, that they tried to essentially fix something that wasn't broken to begin with, but while the red focus points were MUCH better, I find that I'm able to live with the black. The little work around that I've found is while I'm shooting if I can't see the focus point, to quickly move the joystick that controls the focus points over one to the right or left and then immediately back again. When you move the focus points they highlight in red so you know which one is selected. That will basically show you again where the focus point is and you can keep shooting. Not ideal, but it's a decent work around.
AGeoJO wrote:
A really great review, Chris . You are absolutely into the art of photography itself rather than pixel peeping or evaluating the sensor technology in your review of that camera. Thank you for posting!
Thanks!!! That's what I was hoping for... A review from the standpoint of the camera being an artist's tool rather than from a purely technical standpoint.
Curious if you have shot a Nikon D4? I shoot the D4 and really have no complaints or suggestions except that I would enjoy 12fps. But I understand that 12 fps (as is 14 fps) is conditions limited. So I'm not sure, that for the low light photography I do, that the 1Dx will shoot faster than 10fps.
For football I've been using case 4, but tweaked so the AI Servo sensitivity is set to the lowest setting. This for the most part eliminates AF losing the subject if momentarily blocked, but if it's something like the QB and the pocket collapses around him, then you only get about 1/2 second before the AF jumps. At the default setting I found the AF jumped to a new, closer subject much too quickly. But I have yet to test all the AF cases.
I've also been experimenting during less critical game moments with the 61 point zone AF. It can work really well, but there are times when it will shift off the intended area, such as helmet/face and onto the body, which might be at a different plane of focus. Where I've found it invaluable is for something like kicks/punts, where you want to move the punter way off center in case the kick is blocked, but without having to mess with AF point placement for quickly switching to shoot the kick return.
I was skeptical about how much of an improvement the X would be over the IV, but I've been happy with it so far. I feel that high ISO is about a stop cleaner, from RAW. SOOC Jepgs can be made pretty much noiseless by using the standard NR setting, but at the expense of image detail. I'm regularly shooting it in the ISO 3200 range when before I would have preferred to keep the IV at around 1600. The camera just seems to be really fluid when shooting. Fewer AF hiccups or fps hesitations. And 12 fps, which might seem excessive, actually has been useful because in a half-second burst of action, that one extra frame can make a difference.
The X also seems to handle sunny, warm, midday events on FieldTurf better than my previous Canons. While there is nothing you can do to eliminate the heat radiating off the field, the AF seems to be more reliable in these situations, even if the images aren't tack sharp. I'm not seeing the massive focus jumps in front of and behind the subject that I experienced with the III and still got at times with the IV, but it's still early going in this respect, as most of the events I've covered so far have been on grass or later in the day.
Great review Chris! And a big YES to the lack of red AF ponts BUT...BUT I have a tech notice from Canon stating a "work" is in the fix for this.
When is anyone's guess but they hear us 1Dx'ers. Maybe!
Nice work.
Dan
So just so I understand...if you are switching the AF points...the point you are on as you scoot around the various points, does not show as red...instead it is black...and therefore not visible, is that right?
MSC wrote:
So just so I understand...if you are switching the AF points...the point you are on as you scoot around the various points, does not show as red...instead it is black...and therefore not visible, is that right?
It depends on how much light is around you. You can set it to always flash red but with the 1DX you won't see the red until the subject or the general environment is dark enough. Then you will see them flash red as you move through the points. All the points light up with small squares and the active one moves around as a large square.
In good light you will only see the black squares and they will do the same thing, small black squares for all the points and a larger square for the active one that will move around.
Shane the AF point does not stay illuminated like it does in other D bodies. It's a bit annoying but I really had no problem with it during Vball season or under the lights for soccer.
John P Mulgrew wrote:
I usually keep mine in the center but I could see where it would be a total PITA if you like to move the AF point away from center.
Thanks John…Let me ask you and others, as someone that has one…I do a lot of theater shooting and spot focus and metering tied to the selected AF point is important. To frame up shots, I'm constantly moving the AF point and have been using 1D bodies for years…the question is, what is your opinion about the DX and doing this.
So far the AF point illumination issue hasn't bothered me on my 5D III and I've shot in some dark environments but it would be nice if they could address the issue via FW.
. You are absolutely into the art of photography itself rather than pixel peeping or evaluating the sensor technology in your review of that camera. Thank you for posting!