Incidentally, for all of you who own 5DMk3 but not 1DX, I have yet to verify the iTR AF usefulness to bird photography. Therefore, from the practical AF performance standpoint, I think any 1DX superiority over 5DMk3 is questionable.
(While I had some very subtle indications that iTR AF might help tracking occasionally, I have also managed to fool it by "making" it drop an easily tracked bird. Either way, I need to do quite a bit more experimenting along those lines in order to be sure.)
AI Servo tracking consistency is the best of any 1D series I've used, and it usually works well at 12fps too. Combine this improved shot to shot consistency with more reliable off-center focus points and the 20% higher fps rate than the 1DIV, and over the fall while covering football, I found I was averaging about 40-50% increase in technically acceptable keepers per event. Of course the creative value of many of these might be questionable, but the difference is these weren't immediately discarded due to problems such as flaky focus tracking. That said, it's not 100% perfect. I've had rare sequences where the subject went one way and the focus the other. I can't see how user error factored into those.
Buffer depth, particularly an issue in the past with high fps RAW capture, is finally pretty good, especially with a fast card. I would still like to see about a 30-50% capacity increase though. Side note: dual CF card slots has been a welcome addition, in particular when covering events in poor weather. With high capacity cards, it's possible to cover entire events without having to crack open the camera (other than maybe swap the battery). When prices come down a bit more, I could see myself working with dual 128GB mirrored cards for redundancy (though will have to test the impact this will have on buffer clearing and card write speed for some events).
High ISO is improved to the point where I don't think twice about 3200 or 6400. I recently shot a corporate event almost entirely at ISO 12800. At first I was a bit nervous about it, but with a touch of NR in post, you'd never know. One nitpick though: I'd like to see better high ISO (6400+) color quality.
Usable 61-point AF array subject tracking. I think this is the first iteration that has actually worked pretty well. The color tracking too, seems to be pretty decent. While it hasn't worked in all cases for me, it has eliminated the need to try to manually select the correct AF point for moving subjects in many situations where their movement is fairly unpredictable. I also like the camera's button customizability, which allows me to assign three different AF point array/pattern options - one each to the AF-ON, * and front function buttons. Great for on-the-fly changes.
Not as significant but still notable:
Better, more consistent auto WB.
Seemingly better and more consistent TTL flash performance.
I love the sound of the camera - it inspires confidence in its build quality. But, I do wish the 'silent' advance mode was quieter.
I'm very curious to see what the 7DII delivers. If AF performance is on-par with the 1DX (or within 85-90%), it could be an extremely viable alternative to older 1D series cameras. It will be interesting to see how much Canon tries to segment it and somewhat protect the 1DX. I'm sure this will occur to some extent, but if it's along the lines of what the 5DIII is to the 1DX, there might be some hope.
PetKal wrote:
Incidentally, for all of you who own 5DMk3 but not 1DX, I have yet to verify the iTR AF usefulness to bird photography. Therefore, from the practical AF performance standpoint, I think any 1DX superiority over 5DMk3 is questionable.
(While I had some very subtle indications that iTR AF might help tracking occasionally, I have also managed to fool it by "making" it drop an easily tracked bird. Either way, I need to do quite a bit more experimenting along those lines in order to be sure.)
I haven't tried it for BIF, but I have found it quite useful for youth hockey and some other sports, people running on the street, etc. I don't have a 5DIII to compare it against either, so I'm not sure how much of a real world difference there is. I have noticed though that the longer one tracks a given subject with it, the higher the chance the AF point will float away from the desired area of the subject and onto something else on the subject with equal or greater contrast. My understanding is iTR is supposed to detect faces? In situations with kids wearing hockey helmets and a fair amount of fast paced action, it seems not to reliably maintain focus on a given point, but it usually is quite good at keeping the focus point on some part of the subject. Depending on the distance to the subject, this might still be within the depth of field.
My feeling is it's still a bit of 'work in progress' on Canon's part, but has been useful for some of my needs.
This is really a major leap forward for me, because in the past I'd perhaps get 1% keeper rate in comparable light conditions, on the same target type, and even then the resulting IQ would have been poor. Today my keeper rate was close to 20%, plus no time spent on NR.
A very clear example where the camera's much enhanced ISO capability, combined with the AF improvements, translate directly into increased keeper rate as well as better image quality, given the poor light conditions.
Buffer depth, particularly an issue in the past with high fps RAW capture, is finally pretty good, especially with a fast card. I would still like to see about a 30-50% capacity increase though. Side note: dual CF card slots has been a welcome addition, in particular when covering events in poor weather. With high capacity cards, it's possible to cover entire events without having to crack open the camera (other than maybe swap the battery). When prices come down a bit more, I could see myself working with dual 128GB mirrored cards for redundancy (though will have to test the impact this will have on buffer clearing and card write speed for some events).
I work with dual 128GB CF cards all the time. Sometimes with mirrored cards for redundancy. But most of the time only writing to one card at the time. It's very good. If you use fast cards the buffer clearing will still be very good when writing to both cards. I have four of those large cards. And I use Transcend 1000x and Lexar 400x cards. They are UDMA 7 cards
CanonPhotog wrote:
With the 5DIII, the new focus system has tripled my keeper rate. And, like you, I'm no longer afraid to push the ISO limit a bit more. I really can't think of much that I *don't* like about the 5DIII.
CanonPhotog wrote:
With the 5DIII, the new focus system has tripled my keeper rate. And, like you, I'm no longer afraid to push the ISO limit a bit more. I really can't think of much that I *don't* like about the 5DIII.
And with the autofocus at F8 Firmware upgrade soon it'll have everything I need
Niall
Will Patterson wrote:
Having shot with every DSLR Canon has made from the D30 up to 1D Mark III, my 1D X feels/acts like Canon literally went back to the drawing board because it handles/acts/performs like no other camera of theirs. It's lightning fast in everything it does. The biggest single improvement to me is the autofocus system, it just never misses.
Secondly to me, would be the high ISO performance (and with that, the clarity of the photos in the low to mid-range ISO's). I don't remember getting as many compliments on my photos as I have with this camera, if that's any sign. The camera really gets the job done and has stepped up my game....Show more →I have similar feelings. I went from 5DII to 1DsIII and felt that my keeper rate was just out of this world, but pushing the ISO just wasn't there like it was in the 5DII, so after much internal conflict, and research, I made the jump to the 1Dx and haven't regretted anything. For the very reasons you cite above and a host of others that include all the customization of menus to various functions on the camera as well as the super display screen. I always wanted to go with larger cards in my cameras and matched up best I could. With the 1Dx I have now gone with dual 64GB cards and dont worry about a large card failing since I have them written to in dual write mode.
Just a great camera! my next dilemma will be a 30MP camera that does everything the 1Dx does but in a studio type of format.....I will cross that road when I get to it....until then 1Dx, "resistance is futile!"
This is fun . All shots done with the same lens, same focusing distance, same exposure parameters, ISO 1600 only. What would have happened if I shot this at ISO 3200, let alone 12800.?
The first full frame image taken with 1DX shows the target.
CanonPhotog wrote:
With the 5DIII, the new focus system has tripled my keeper rate. And, like you, I'm no longer afraid to push the ISO limit a bit more. I really can't think of much that I *don't* like about the 5DIII.
PetKal wrote:
That is really about narrow definition of "reach", as used in some circles on this forum, when in "FL limited" situation.
I think the T'top's gaze moved slightly away from the camera, to the right. Are you on good terms with the T'top? Have you fed it recently? We have a right to know!
StillFingerz wrote:
Did not know Dinos were top-of-desk-feeders, must be more careful with my postal materials, sly Dinos, nicely captured Peter
:
That is why, as a couple of minutes ago, when I went to get an envelope for a letter, the pack was empty, whilst I was sure there were some yesterday !!!!
Niall
BTW, as I've never seen a plastic triceratops in my house, they must be nocturnal
Niall
I'd like to see the same comparison using a 1.4x. Like Niall, I'm waiting for f8 AF so I can use a 1.4x to equalize the reach of my 5D3 and 7D even if it costs me an ISO stop. So far my live view tests look promising.
1-Shutter delay is way shorter, no need to anticipate as much as before
2-VF is much more clear
3-AF is just like coming from a grass cutter and get to drive a good sports car. It helps a hell in my keeper rate
4-Silent mode
5-LV helps
6-High ISO
7-HDR mode is a nice discovery
8-2 Memory Card bays help too
9-Proper screen where I'm able to check sharpness
10-Battery information is just way better.
11-It feels better in my hands
12-Cropping room
13-Sensor cleaning, oh yeah I so much needed that
14-FPS up to 6 from just 3
15-A bit more DR
16-ISO up to 12800 or so found to be very usable after Topaz NR is used against being lucky at ISO 3200 in the old 5D. This is some 2 stops or so in my experience. YMMV
And there must be some others that made my live easier.
However: There is one thing I miss:
LOW ISO Clean images from the 5D, they had something I cannot quantify but I miss it.
Side note: dual CF card slots has been a welcome addition, in particular when covering events in poor weather. With high capacity cards, it's possible to cover entire events without having to crack open the camera (other than maybe swap the battery). When prices come down a bit more, I could see myself working with dual 128GB mirrored cards for redundancy (though will have to test the impact this will have on buffer clearing and card write speed for some events).
. All shots done with the same lens, same focusing distance, same exposure parameters,