ggreene wrote:
Like the 1D4 and before? I thought the 5D3 and 1DX use a similar viewfinder as the 7D which got rid of the ability to have the bright red individual AF points.
The 5D 3 can have red focus points but not in AI Servo. The 1Dx, with the most recent FW, does have red focus points when using AI Servo and ONE SHOT like the 5D 3. The 1Dx has the ability to make the red focus points brighter in SERVO. The 5D 3 does not have this capability. The focus points on the 1D IV are much brighter.
Yes, the VF on the 1Dx and 5D 3 are similar to the 7D. The 7D has 19 focus points so the focus points look larger and easier to see unlike the 61 focus points of the 1Dx and 5D 3 which cover more area but are smaller.
The problem with the FW update for the 1DX is that there is a ton of light spillage in the viewfinder to make the AF point somewhat red. It's not very bright and it tends to be washed out by the whole thing being dimly illuminated. The 1D4 and before implementation is miles ahead.
ggreene wrote:
The problem with the FW update for the 1DX is that there is a ton of light spillage in the viewfinder to make the AF point somewhat red. It's not very bright and it tends to be washed out by the whole thing being dimly illuminated. The 1D4 and before implementation is miles ahead.
I don't know what you mean by "light spillage", but I have both cameras and when the focus points are set to "bright" and the VF grid disabled, the red focus points are fine to see. I'll admit, that not as bright as the 1D IV. Regardless of illuminated focus points, the 1Dx is a much better camera.
popinvasion wrote:
Can someone explain their desire to own this camera? What specs are you loving? How will it benefit you and your style of shooting? I just see nothing that interests me spec wise so I'm curious what I'm missing. I don't shoot wildlife or sports so maybe that's it
Look at what the Pentax K-3 and Sony A77 II offer; most want that with a Canon mount, or a Nikon mount (as in the case of the slightly-less-rumored D400/D9300).
mogud wrote:
Regardless of illuminated focus points, the 1Dx is a much better camera.
True that. Shooting 2 or 3 days a week with both 1D IV and the 1Dx, I 'll echo the above. The 1Dx really does continue to impress me, although the 1D IV files are very, very nice. But the responsiveness and flexibility of the AF systems are hugely different, and since my work depends so much on that AF adaptability, the cameras are night and day apart with the 1Dx being worth every cent paid.
My interest on the 7D replacement would be the "1.6 teleconverter" it would create and allow an ersatz 600mm reach to compliment the "shorter FL range" of the 1Dx. 7D usefulness would have a lot to do with near-1Dx AF and frame rates, with decent noise floor, though.
mogud wrote:
I don't know what you mean by "light spillage", but I have both cameras and when the focus points are set to "bright" and the VF grid disabled, the red focus points are fine to see. I'll admit, that not as bright as the 1D IV. Regardless of illuminated focus points, the 1Dx is a much better camera.
When I set AF point illumination on, the AF points flash red but so does the entire viewfinder screen. My understanding is that this is the design like it or not. No longer does Canon have individually lighted AF points like they have in the 1D4 and previous 1D bodies.
The other annoying thing about it is that it does not stay on. It only flashes on for a moment for AF lock. In AI-Servo this is pain in the butt for maintaining tracking in low light. You have a flagship body designed for low light shooting with optimized AF and high ISO and we get black AF points. Makes no sense.
I don't expect the 7D2 will improve on the design but I would hope the 1DX2 does.
I own both the 1D X and the 1D IV and if I was rating them, I'd normalise the scores so 1D X was 100 and the 1D IV would rate about 90 IMO. I'd say the two differences are the AF, and high ISO IQ. I wouldn't say 1D X is much better in AF, but it's definitely better and of course tuning the system is a lot easier and it certainly does better with low contrast subjects. On that same scale I'd give the current 7D 65-70. AF is not in same league as 1 series (any) and IQ varies wildly between excellent and ordinary. I could never get a handle on why one minute it was producing fantastic results and the next rubbish. The sweet spot for the 7D is a lot smaller than for the 1D IV let alone 5D 3 and 1D X.
I see no problem with a possible 7D II having many specs that seem on par to 1D X. It's often been the case a newer lower end model seems to have better features than higher end model. It's still a crop sensor and that will always be a huge difference to many no matter how good the new sensor is IMO. If the 7D II is genuinely essentially a mini 1D X with greatly improved sensor technology, I would pay $3.5K in a heartbeat and I'll bet a lot of people would stretch their budget too if it can do what a 1D X can do for half the money. IQ would only need to match 1D IV and it would be reason enough to jump on one. If tey can do even better with the sensor that's a bonus.
Now whether this pans out we'll know soon, but I hope it's not a let down especially on the sensor.
ggreene wrote:
My understanding is that this is the design like it or not.
The original 1DX and 5DIII did not have focus points that would highlight in RED.
The flashy, red focus confirm was added in firmware after the Olympics when the agencies complained about dark object tracking.
The X is an excellent BIF and Sports body, but, in low light affairs, concerts and receptions the constant RED focus points of the 1DsIII, 1D IV and 6D make precise focusing much easier.
If the 7DII has 6D type illuminated focus points they will be back on track.
ggreene wrote:
When I set AF point illumination on, the AF points flash red but so does the entire viewfinder screen. My understanding is that this is the design like it or not. No longer does Canon have individually lighted AF points like they have in the 1D4 and previous 1D bodies.
The other annoying thing about it is that it does not stay on. It only flashes on for a moment for AF lock. In AI-Servo this is pain in the butt for maintaining tracking in low light. You have a flagship body designed for low light shooting with optimized AF and high ISO and we get black AF points. Makes no sense.
I don't expect the 7D2 will improve on the design but I would hope the 1DX2 does. ...Show more →
I find if I turn off VF grid in the 1Dx and 5D III, the red flashing VF seems to be reduced. I also set the focus point to constant. I also have the VF illumination set to brighter in the 1Dx. This can't be done in the 5D III.
Maybe I'm used to the viewfinders of the 1Dx and the 5D III that the focus points are not an issue for me anymore. I will admit the the 5D III handling of focus points is not the same as the 1Dx. The 1Dx is better.
mogud wrote:
I find if I turn off VF grid in the 1Dx and 5D III, the red flashing VF seems to be reduced. I also set the focus point to constant. I also have the VF illumination set to brighter in the 1Dx. This can't be done in the 5D III.
Maybe I'm used to the viewfinders of the 1Dx and the 5D III that the focus points are not an issue for me anymore. I will admit the the 5D III handling of focus points is not the same as the 1Dx. The 1Dx is better.
I used a 1D2 and 1D4 for almost 10 years and that constant red AF point came in handy a lot of times. If the 1DX AF point stayed on in AI-Servo it would be a lot better.
Funny post on CR about the 7DII. To quote "If what we posted turns out not to be true, it will be the greatest hoax of specs that I have seen in the 6 years we’ve been around. I will release what we have in our possession after the announcement if it turns out we were wrong".
Maybe he's tired of people saying he's making it all up. My guess is he got forwarded a promotional brochure headed to Photokina somehow, or at least that's what he thinks he has.
I'm typically skeptical of about everything, but I appreciate him saying "look, if I'm wrong I'll try to prove I wasn't just leading everyone on for site clicks".
CR Guy's current list of specs are completely reasonable and completely in-character for Canon. More important for CR Guy's credibility, predicting a camera with those specs didn't require any inside information. Anyone could have guessed that the camera would have an already existing sensor (the one from the 70D), an AF system that trickled down from an existing camera (the 5D Mark III) and a few other standard features (GPS, maybe; WiFi, maybe; two card slots, maybe).
So whether CR Guy is wrong or right about this particular spec list, he still didn't provide anything useful -- after months and months of posting rumor after rumor.
