rscheffler Offline Upload & Sell: Off
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I definitely suggest getting a 1DXII on loan from CPS. I did it and it confirmed to me that the camera is not a huge, revolutionary improvement, but it is still an improvement in a number of small, but useful facets.
On the point about sensor performance and dynamic range, it needs to be taken in context. The higher the ISO, the less dynamic range difference there will be between 'old' and 'new' Canon sensors. For your proposed indoor sports work, it's highly unlikely you'll see a significant sensor performance difference between the two. Sure, the 1DXII will probably be slightly better, but it won't be the considerable difference evident at ISO 100. At 1600 the two are less than a half-stop apart, according to DxO. They also measure the 1DXII's sensor as 1/3 stop less sensitive than the 1DX, which itself is 1/3 stop off 'true' ISO values (i.e. ISO 100 setting on the 1DX measures as 80 'real' ISO and 64 'real' ISO for 1DXII). Other considerations beyond just sensor performance will factor as much, or more, in a decision for or against the 1DX or 1DXII. That said, if you shoot a lot at lower ISOs, such as outdoor aspects of weddings, the 1DXII will allow a fair amount more flexibility in post than the 1DX. Yes, after a 2-3 stops push, low ISO 1DX shadow values will get quite noisy.
rabbitmountain wrote:
I know it'll be either 1Dx or 1Dx2. I have been thinking after seeing the replies above and suddenly I thought that it's quite possible that I will eventually do want to get a 1Dx2 in a couple of years. If I get a 1Dx now I pay about 3~3.5k. If I upgrade in 3 years I get 1.5k for the x and pay another 4K for a good used x2. In total it's still over 5k that I will pay. The money is already in the bank and the interest rates are about zero. If I should leap for a 1Dx2 now immediately then I have a new camera instead of twice a used one and get shooting the better camera for the first three years as a bonus. At a little extra cost. ...Show more →
This is a reason I bought a 1DXII now rather than wait until later in the year, or whenever. The price will not go down (wasn't this the topic of another thread?), nor is it likely to go up. So there's really no reason to wait, unless you need the money for something else. If you really want to save money on camera purchases, then you should buy at the end of a product cycle and/or buy the outgoing camera used when the new model becomes available in quantity. With the way the 1D product cycle is stretching out currently, you could be waiting until 2019 for the 1DXII to be phased out... And since it will be for your business, it's just one more thing you can depreciate against your business revenue.
I was somewhat surprised, but indeed the anti-flicker feature was immediately useful at improving image quality in some wedding situations. I expect it could be equally useful for some sports venues.
Something else to consider is you may be able to leverage the 1DXII's 4K video capability to help with some types of sports coverage. Rather than thinking about it as video, think of it as 30 or 60 fps 8MP stills capability, albeit Jpeg only. I'm not sure how it will work in poorly lit venues in respect to light cycling, and have yet to really test it in a proper sports environment, but it could be an effective solution to achieving consistent 'decisive moment' results. I have tested it on cars and cyclists on the street in front of my home and it was very easy to follow focus subjects with the DPAF and then immediately extract 8MP still frames from the video footage. No, the files won't look as nice as 20MP raw conversions, but for some situations, it will be more than good enough...
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