Canon officially announces the development of the EOS-1D X Mark III

[GoldWing]

Not one word about COLOR

 

[dcm]

It's machine learning, yes, the deep convolutional/recurrent/whatever neural nets that have been all the rage for a couple years now. Beating humanity in Go and Starcraft and hallucinating shoggoths and now powering Google Translate and what have you.

But it is almost certain that the network in the camera is not going to be learning anything; it's been pre-taught and is basically just a big spreadsheet that you pass image data in and get some sort of feature classification data out that you can then use to figure out which part of the image the AF needs to track.

Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning has been used in cameras to determine exposure for some time. Remember “fuzzy logic”? The algorithm is trained from a portfolio of sample shots during development. The camera just applies what it has learned when you are using it. It doesn’t learn anything new from the pictures you take or adjust it’s algorithm. That would take quite a bit more processing power.

Improvements in computational resources (memory, processor) allow us to apply Machine Learning to harder problems, such as autofocus. It will be trained with a range of examples Canon constructed. How well it works for you will depend on how close their examples match your use and the ability of the algorithm to generalize what it has learned to address cases the examples didn’t address.

BTW: My AI experience started in the 1980s and ML about 10 years ago, not related to cameras. I am working on improvements to machine learning algorithms for performance and generalization in addition to teaching these days.

 

[peters]

Most times in weddings one can't hear thmeselves think, so I wonder how a problem it is anyway. All in all, it say it has elecronic shutter as well, so you can use that via the live-view and forget about the mirror clicking.

Oh, in my experience its quite the opposite - in the church or in the "register office" (where the legal part of a wedding takes placei n germany) its VERY silent and every click feels like one click to much. Especialy with a strict pastor or small register office, its very annoying to have such a loud shutter.
I once saw one photographer with a Sony a9 with completely silent shutter, and it was like a charm. Many guests commented on the fact that the photographer was incredible silent and not noteable. =)
I like the fact very much that the new 1D got a electronical shutter =)

 

[DBounce]

4k 10bit 4:2:2 with clog. If it's true, I can sell my 1dx ii and EOS R!

I already parted with my 1DX Mk2, but I’m keeping my EOS R. I do wish that the new RF lenses were compatible with the new camera. Are we supposed to buy duplicate focal lengths for EF and RF? Not liking that part.

 

[DBounce]

Thanks Gordon Laing. He also mentioned internal RAW recording for video.

View attachment 187200

Canon, it’s 2019, can we lose the1980s LCD screens and replace them with OLED displays?

 

[richperson]

I already parted with my 1DX Mk2, but I’m keeping my EOS R. I do wish that the new RF lenses were compatible with the new camera. Are we supposed to buy duplicate focal lengths for EF and RF? Not liking that part.

I have tried to avoid duplicating focal lengths at this point. I did get the RF 28-70mm as it works great in my low light theater environments, which the R also does a good job in. I really want the 85mm f/1.2 (I have the EF version), as it fits with they primary use of my R (theater and portrait), but otherwise, I am trying to hold off on any new RF lenses. Spending money for the 1DXiii will use up all my discretionary spend anyway.

Once a sports R comes out, then I will probably be selective as I would assume I would use it side by side with the 1DX, so maybe use the R for wider angles and the 1DX for the long telephotos. The Canon R adapters have worked so well it's not super compelling to duplicate unless it's one of the f/2 lenses or you really need that extra half stop or sharpness of the R primes.

 

[jhpeterson]

Not one word about COLOR

From what I've seen, all indications are it will be black again.

 

[mpmark]

Could it be that resolution and IBIS aren't mentioned because they are not set in stone yet? Although the mention of frame rate implies the resolution somewhat.

If 20 FPS in LiveView is the best they can do, and the total throughput is at least as high as the one from the M6 II (32.5*14) it means the resolution is at least 22.75 MP.

No, at this point the camera would be already made, a small group of photographers have already shot with it. You cant be at the stage of deciding what still goes in it or design and expect a release months from now. It doesnt work that way, they have to get production lines and stock established before a release date.

 

[ethanz]

The improvement can be okay, but what I'll really like to see is the total lack of oil splattering. I'am getting more then sick of that, 400+ spots in a single image. Evening after evening cleaning the images. We have a company in Holland that is capable of cleaning the sensor completly, but after only two trips it is as bad as before. For me no 1DX anymore if they don't solve this problem. And I'll use these type of camera's for a very long time already. Very frustrating!!

So true. Maybe they should invent some blue-goo type stuff to put on there so they don't need oil.

 

[mpmark]

If this would be a touch input, I wouldnt be that happy :/

from the photo it looks elevated like a joystick/button combo

 

[BillB]

Before getting too excited, they left out some very important information and hyped some that few use. Live view on a 1D, really?? Rarely used it on my 80D but suddenly it will be a go to function when you want speed or focus points. Not seeing it happen in the real world.

Live View can be very useful on a tripod

 

[TominNJ]

Live View can be very useful on a tripod

live view is awesome with tilt shift. I don’t think I could use the tilt function without it.

 

[justaCanonuser]

I and others have expressed disappointment in the 1DX2 coming out with 20 MPs. After using it primarily for bird photography I am loath to lose the FPS but am well aware of there being a significant benefit to some more resolution provided good high ISO performance remains. I'd be hesitant to spring for a 1DX3 unless it had at least 24 MPs. For hand held shooting much greater focal length means too much weight so more MPs can be very helpful for FL limited situations and smaller birds.

Jack

Yes it is a trade-off, I am a birder, too. That's why I frequently use a crop 7D Mk II for birding, despite its underwhelming AF performance (phase AF). I think there are still some people missing the former crop 1D series therefore, on an up-to-date level. The 7D series would fill this gap if Canon would improve its AF system substantially, but the question is if Canon will bring out a 7D Mk III. Not sure about that.

 

[SV]

Surely they must know the sensor size/MP at this stage, but not telling...is very telling. Probably low twenties to get those "blistering fast" frames per second

 

[justaCanonuser]

What generates the oil splatter? The mirror or the shutter? Is it a problem in mirrorless bodies? I don’t know anything about this issue.

Obviously you never used a Nikon DSLR The oil splashes out of a badly sealed mirror mechanics, as far as I know.

 

[padam]

Surely they must know the sensor size/MP at this stage, but not telling...is very telling. Probably low twenties to get those "blistering fast" frames per second

The rumour with IBIS and 28MP was false, but it will be at least 24MP and of course the size is FF.

 

[Sparky]

Looks great. I won’t upgrade my 1DXii, as it suits my needs fine. But, I am curious about what will filter from this into the 5D5?

 

[richperson]

The rumour with IBIS and 28MP was false, but it will be at least 24MP and of course the size is FF.

Do we know that for sure? I'm assuming no IBIS because they didn't announce it, but could also see that they have prototypes with and without IBIS (turning on and off could be software), and maybe each has a different sensor, which could be why they haven't announced the mp either.

 

[Aussie shooter]

The pixels are not the problem, since the pixel pitch of the 1D series is always moderate. Much cheaper Canon cameras offer more pixels. The main offering of the 1D's is speed, Canon's best video implementation (not crippled), and ruggedness.

That is kind of my point. Lower mp mean longer and better quality lenses are required to overcome focal length limitations. So where with say a 5dsr and a $4000 400mrm lens might be sufficient in a particular circumstance, with a 1dx2 you would also need a 12000 600mm lens. So the cost goes up exponentially.

 

[padam]

Do we know that for sure? I'm assuming no IBIS because they didn't announce it, but could also see that they have prototypes with and without IBIS (turning on and off could be software), and maybe each has a different sensor, which could be why they haven't announced the mp either.

The hardware is final (why would they show it otherwise), they just haven't released the full specs yet.
IBIS has more heat emission and it does not have that much use for sports shooters anyway, so it would make sense to left it out in favour of internal raw recording, better battery life and a faster mechanical shutter.
Maybe the mirrorless equivalent will have it in a smaller body, smaller battery, but it will not have internal raw recording. And it will come later as they need more time to develop IBIS.