1D X "Limitations" Fixable?

[wickidwombat]

liv_img - "Also exposure compensation with Auto ISO. Fix a shutter and an aperture, and have the exposure compensation dial work."

Viggo - "Aim the centerpoint at a grey area, lock with AF-ON button and, boom, whitebalance sampled. Instead of taking an actual picture , and then set and then turn to Custom WB, setting."

Couldn’t agree more with these two wishes. It’s interesting that they should even be mentioned in a discussion about the new ‘state of the art’ Canon flagship! such basics should be available on an 1100D i.e. they entire DSLR range. I‘m not sure how important the additional mode would be for pros but setting whitebalance easily/quickly is just basic.

making the AF-on button a white balance would screw it up for those of us that use back button focus but if you ahd to hold the af-on and the * together to do that it would be very cool sort of like the original 1D had functions where you had to hold 2 buttons together to set AEB etc

[Ryusui]

making the AF-on button a white balance would screw it up for those of us that use back button focus but if you ahd to hold the af-on and the * together to do that it would be very cool sort of like the original 1D had functions where you had to hold 2 buttons together to set AEB etc

+1

Currently, I will either choose AWB if I'm in a rush or manually set the temperature for my WB.  And I also use the AF-ON button 100% for focusing.  So having the combined option that wickidwombat suggested would make me use custom WB much more often.

[zim]

liv_img - "Also exposure compensation with Auto ISO. Fix a shutter and an aperture, and have the exposure compensation dial work."

Viggo - "Aim the centerpoint at a grey area, lock with AF-ON button and, boom, whitebalance sampled. Instead of taking an actual picture , and then set and then turn to Custom WB, setting."

Couldn’t agree more with these two wishes. It’s interesting that they should even be mentioned in a discussion about the new ‘state of the art’ Canon flagship! such basics should be available on an 1100D i.e. they entire DSLR range. I‘m not sure how important the additional mode would be for pros but setting whitebalance easily/quickly is just basic.

making the AF-on button a white balance would screw it up for those of us that use back button focus but if you ahd to hold the af-on and the * together to do that it would be very cool sort of like the original 1D had functions where you had to hold 2 buttons together to set AEB etc

+1 on that wickidwombat

How much R&D have you just saved them 

Anyway 1Dx is a stunning camera and I'm lovin all the speculation. Has CR ever been as active? Maybe they'll get everything right (just for me) on the 6D you know the 2K FF 9 cross point 5 fps high IQ beauty that will be out next month LOL 

[wickidwombat]

going a little OT here but on the white balance topic, I use these
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/67mm-White-Balance-WB-filter-mount-Lens-Cap-DSLR-AU-/260866113858?pt=AU_Cameras_Photographic_Accessories&hash=item3cbcd50142
keep one in your pocket and if you need a custom WB pop it on (they fit snug onto the filter rim)
really cheap and work increadably well. A quicker way to actually set the custom WB would be nice as discussed
maybe when you select the custom WB icon it would then enable the AF-ON and * button to set the WB from the next shot then it could prompt you for which slot to save it to on the screen, use the controller to select and set then bang you are good to go. (currently setting custom WB with Nikon isnt any easier though)

[Canon-F1]

This is a bit like: "I have a Pentium 3! Where can i download the firmware update to make it a i7?"

No seriously... You cant update hardware limitations via Firmware...

well you heard about AMD triple core chips where you can unlock a 4 core.
the core might be not 100% up to tolerances but it works.

the hardware is there it´s just not utilized.. and there are MANY MANY more examples where a firmware update can do miracles. just look on the panasonic GH2.
 
so no.. your example sucks....

[pwp]

If the f/8 AF limitation was a pragmatic compromise that enabled superior AF at faster apertures then I have no problem with it. Probably <1% of all shots taken worldwide would be taken with f/8 max aperture setups. That's definately unfortunate for the ultra telephoto shooters, but I guess the majority needs priority.

1DX limitations? How about the long complained about mirror lockup function being buried deep in the CF menus.

There is a downside to the demise of the SD slot: the EOS-1D X will not take an Eye-Fi wireless/memory SDHC combo card. I know the upcoming bolt-on Wireless Transmitter WFT-E6A should answer most of the critisisms of the older WFT series, but even a modest built in WiFi function would be extremely useful. I use the SD sized EyeFi to stream small JPEG files to iPad while the RAW files go to CF. I'll really miss this with the twin CF 1DX.

But for the most part the 1DX looks brilliant. There's always room for more refinement, and you'll never get a full set of functions that will 100% satisfy every photographer on the planet. But wow, the 1DX is going to check a lot of boxes for me.

Paul Wright

[Canon-F1]

There is a downside to the demise of the SD slot: the EOS-1D X will not take an Eye-Fi wireless/memory SDHC combo card.

they suck anyway.. no pro i know would use them.
i returned mine after 4 days.

for studio work you have ethernet with the 1D X and there sure will be better solutions then the eye-fi cards.

[Stu_bert]

There is a downside to the demise of the SD slot: the EOS-1D X will not take an Eye-Fi wireless/memory SDHC combo card.

they suck anyway.. no pro i know would use them.
i returned mine after 4 days.

for studio work you have ethernet with the 1D X and there sure will be better solutions then the eye-fi cards.

Mine works fine thank you in a 1Ds MK 3 body, and it serves it's purpose (out in the field). Spending 400+ on a wifi transmitter is not something I think is reasonable, even if it gives me http & ftp capabilities and remote control.

PwP - Apparently some 5D and 7D users have purchased specific CF<-> SD cards which have some success in working - scan the eye-fi forums for details

[Canon-F1]

and it serves it's purpose (out in the field)

and that purpose is to transfer small JPG files for a preview i guess?

i had problems many photographer have reported with these cards.
20% of the photo are blank, black, or banded.. corrupted.
constantly dropped the connection. even when the access point was only 5m away.

and given the bad user reviews im not alone....

sorry for OT.

[lol]

"Never had any AF performance that I would say was usable"

Thats a sad situation. I have regularly used my 30D at MotoGP events with my 100-400 & 1.4x in extremely bad weather (i well remember the pouring rain at Donnington) where I used f/8 with no problems at all obtaining good focus in AI Servo.

Could I ask which TC did you use? I've only ever tried the cheap(er) Kenko and also the current Sigma. Always did wonder if the Canon ones were much different but not enough to get one, yet, although I've been thinking about it again for other reasons. All I got when I tried most times is hunting but rarely a lock.

[pwp]

There is a downside to the demise of the SD slot: the EOS-1D X will not take an Eye-Fi wireless/memory SDHC combo card.

they suck anyway.. no pro i know would use them.
i returned mine after 4 days.

for studio work you have ethernet with the 1D X and there sure will be better solutions then the eye-fi cards.

Sorry to hear you couldn't get EyeFi working for you. It's not an uncommon story.

Yet there are plenty of professional photographers out there working smoothly with EyeFi. It is necessary to be aware of its limitations. I only use it to stream small jpegs to an iPad with the app Shuttersnitch which is handy for a client to watch the images roll in rather than peering over your shoulder. Attempting to stream RAW files with EyeFi is an exercise in futility.

Still, EyeFi does definately feel like a temporary technology. I feel pretty certain that built in WiFi will be a feature of many new cameras in the not too distant future.

Paul Wright

[Doodah]

The Magic Lantern software has shown us many things are merely software limited... the question is whether Canon bothers to unlock some of those limitations or we need Magic Lantern to once again weave some of their magic...

[wickidwombat]

If the f/8 AF limitation was a pragmatic compromise that enabled superior AF at faster apertures then I have no problem with it. Probably <1% of all shots taken worldwide would be taken with f/8 max aperture setups. That's definately unfortunate for the ultra telephoto shooters, but I guess the majority needs priority.

if that were the case I am sure they could have a custom function to enable / disable the f8 sensitivity of the center point disable f8 and increase sensetivity and enable to make it more like that of a 1D4, I would guess this could all be done in firmware?

[pwp]

If the f/8 AF limitation was a pragmatic compromise that enabled superior AF at faster apertures then I have no problem with it.

if that were the case I am sure they could have a custom function to enable / disable the f8 sensitivity of the center point disable f8 and increase sensetivity and enable to make it more like that of a 1D4, I would guess this could all be done in firmware?

Yes, it quite possibly could be a firmware item. The number of Custom Functions has expanded like crazy already in the short history of Canon DSLR bodies and that's a good thing. If Canon gave us full potential choice in CF can you imagine getting your head around the bazillion settings choices? Could be fun.

But the f/8 AF thing seems to have become THE pre-release hot potato for the 1DX.

Paul Wright

[K3nt]

Would somebody care to explain to me what this "f/8 AF limitation" is, please?

Does it mean autofocus won't work if you set your aperture smaller than f/8?

Forgive me for such a noobie question, but I haven't seen this really answered anywhere and I just don't get the controversy.