A bit more about the Canon EOS-1D X Mark III [CR2]

You're buying the wrong third party batteries. Some of them are junk. Others are just as good, if not better than, the genuine Canon batteries. Try STK (Sterling Tek), they last more charge/recharge cycles than my Canon originals do.
Nope, not going to fall for that "these are actually good" line. The manufacture of Li-ion batteries may be somewhat more common today but the reliable sources are OEM because they demand it. Independent packagers like Watson and Sterling Tek cannot and thus one will get burned sooner or later.
 
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Doesn't look an impressive step forward by any stretch. More like - "oh, we have to release a new 1DX in 2020". It's a very good camera, of course, but there seems to be very little innovation over the past 4 years - compared to what happens elsewhere in technology, not the least in the mirrorless department. And that's for a product with a pricing that could buy you ~7 iPhone 11's (256 GB).

  • Modest bump in FPS from 14 to 16 mechanically. Who regularly shoots 20 fps in live view?
  • No improvements to silent shutter seemingly. The 5D Mark III from 2012 is still the best. Of course, there are mechanical reasons for this, but it would be exciting to see some novelty innovation in important aspects like this where the DSLR's are lagging behind terribly.
  • A new wildly expensive WFT unit (WFT-E9) - despite stating that WiFi is built into the camera? I can get WiFi in a tiny 100 USD phone. I should be able to send images to my tablet/phone/laptop instantly without needing to purchase a clumsy 400 USD device. How about mobile network/LTE support as a feature? Allowing it to be turned on/off to save battery of course. Connectivity features still seem to be 5-10 years outdated.
  • No innovations such as a switchable electronic/optical viewfinder to make use of the live view improvements.
  • Still way too poor focus coverage optically. Improvements mainly gone into live view.
  • Eye-AF? Intelligent subject tracking improvements?
  • No IBIS - okay, that's a lesser deal.
  • High ISO noise improvements? Not expecting much in that regard based on the press release, but that's important as well.
  • Has the new AF-On quick-select focus feature been properly tested? Not sure it's a big UX improvement to combine AF-On with focus point selection. Theoretically it should be an advantage, but it's highly critical that the button is well-functioning, so the main function - AF tracking - isn't compromised.
 
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Michael Clark

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Doesn't look an impressive step forward by any stretch. More like - "oh, we have to release a new 1DX in 2020". It's a very good camera, of course, but there seems to be very little innovation over the past 4 years - compared to what happens elsewhere in technology, not the least in the mirrorless department. And that's for a product with a pricing that could buy you ~7 iPhone 11's (256 GB).

  • Modest bump in FPS from 14 to 16 mechanically. Who regularly shoots 20 fps in live view?
  • No improvements to silent shutter seemingly. The 5D Mark III from 2012 is still the best. Of course, there are mechanical reasons for this, but it would be exciting to see some novelty innovation in important aspects like this where the DSLR's are lagging behind terribly.
  • A new wildly expensive WFT unit (WFT-E9) - despite stating that WiFi is built into the camera? I can get WiFi in a tiny 100 USD phone. I should be able to send images to my tablet/phone/laptop instantly without needing to purchase a clumsy 400 USD device. How about mobile network/LTE support as a feature? Allowing it to be turned on/off to save battery of course. Connectivity features still seem to be 5-10 years outdated.
  • No innovations such as a switchable electronic/optical viewfinder to make use of the live view improvements.
  • Still way too poor focus coverage optically. Improvements mainly gone into live view.
  • Eye-AF? Intelligent subject tracking improvements?
  • No IBIS - okay, that's a lesser deal.
  • High ISO noise improvements? Not expecting much in that regard based on the press release, but that's important as well.
  • Has the new AF-On quick-select focus feature been properly tested? Not sure it's a big UX improvement to combine AF-On with focus point selection. Theoretically it should be an advantage, but it's highly critical that the button is well-functioning, so the main function - AF tracking - isn't compromised.


"Who regularly shoots 20 fps in live view?"

Someone at the Olympics with a remotely controlled tripod mounted camera pointed at the gymnastics vault horse or the finish line at the sprint races or at the World Series pointed at the batter's box, or...

"No improvements to silent shutter seemingly."

Do you have sound recordings of the shutter operation of the new 1D Mark III? How do you know this?

"A new wildly expensive WFT unit (WFT-E9)"

The external unit is only for extended longer range, if needed. The internal radio is fine for short distances, such as transmitting to a device on the photog's body. Did you even bother to read the entire press release before launching into your diatribe?

"Eye-AF? Intelligent subject tracking improvements?"

Have you not seen the substantial improvements in those areas with the updated firmware for the EOS R? Why wouldn't Canon also include that in the 1D X mark III?

"Has the new AF-On quick-select focus feature been properly tested? Not sure it's a big UX improvement to combine AF-On with focus point selection. Theoretically it should be an advantage, but it's highly critical that the button is well-functioning, so the main function - AF tracking - isn't compromised."

Again, what information do you have in this regard? Are you one of the pre-production testers of this camera?
 
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Joules

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Doesn't look an impressive step forward by any stretch. More like - "oh, we have to release a new 1DX in 2020".
Did you read the development announcement?

No improvements to silent shutter seemingly. The 5D Mark III from 2012 is still the best.
It will do 20 FPS electronically shutter, so completely silent at insane speed.

Still way too poor focus coverage optically. Improvements mainly gone into live view.

Eye-AF? Intelligent subject tracking improvements?
They have made a massive upgrade to the iTR sensor, going from less than half a Megapixel to over 10. I wouldn't make any negative statements about AF yet, especially since the hardware got such a boost and Canon claim it will be improved significantly. Eye AF should be a piece of cake since the 90D already handles face detection in the viewfinder.

High ISO noise improvements? Not expecting much in that regard based on the press release, but that's important as well.
There's just not much space left for improvement.

Things like IBIS or hybrid viewfinder are likely not well suited for being introduced in a 1D. Seeing that you are already sceptical about the AF button change, image the issues if such features are not 100% robust in their first generation.
 
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"Who regularly shoots 20 fps in live view?"

Someone at the Olympics with a remotely controlled tripod mounted camera pointed at the gymnastics vault horse or the finish line at the sprint races or at the World Series pointed at the batter's box, or...
I doubt this modest change would cause people to start using the more battery-draining live view mode for remotes which they sometimes can't access for hours. I have never used live view for a remote - and can't recall seeing anyone else doing that - either in person or in a tv broadcast. The light from the screens might also not be popular with tv broadcasters if you have 10 of them close to a long jump sandpit for instance. Unless you can turn off the screen while still in live view technically speaking. But not sure if this is doable.

"No improvements to silent shutter seemingly."
Do you have sound recordings of the shutter operation of the new 1D Mark III? How do you know this?
I don't know that, but seeing there is no mention of what could be potentially be a groundbreaking new feature for many sports shooters, I assume it sounds pretty much like the predecessors. Which is not surprising, of course. I'm just listing things that would be strong selling points. Esp. for shooters considering a switch to mirrorless.

The external unit is only for extended longer range, if needed. The internal radio is fine for short distances, such as transmitting to a device on the photog's body. Did you even bother to read the entire press release before launching into your diatribe?
I didn't read that from the press release. Are you sure you can transfer files from the built-in WiFi unit - and does it support both ad hoc (direct connection to another device) and infrastructure (connection to an Access Point)? I was excited to read this part, but they immediately go on to mention a new WFT device in relation to file transfers. It just doesn't seem very innovative for 2020 to still have to rely on a clunky 500-600 USD appendage.

"Eye-AF? Intelligent subject tracking improvements?"

Have you not seen the substantial improvements in those areas with the updated firmware for the EOS R? Why wouldn't Canon also include that in the 1D X mark III?
I guess they might, but no real mention of this in the press release. AF improvements seemed mostly to be in live view mode.

"Has the new AF-On quick-select focus feature been properly tested? Not sure it's a big UX improvement to combine AF-On with focus point selection. Theoretically it should be an advantage, but it's highly critical that the button is well-functioning, so the main function - AF tracking - isn't compromised."

Again, what information do you have in this regard? Are you one of the pre-production testers of this camera?
No, and it is indeed an interesting new addition/potential improvement if it can be pulled off successfully. So I hope they know what they are doing as this is an essential working function.
 
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Joules

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I don't know that, but seeing there is no mention of what could be potentially be a groundbreaking new feature for many sports shooters, I assume it sounds pretty much like the predecessors.
It is just a development announcement though, and they do mention the electronic shutter. So they have stated already that there is an actually silent shooting mode. Going into details for the sound of regular shooting seems like something too granular at this point for a pure development announcement.

I guess they might, but no real mention of this in the press release. AF improvements seemed mostly to be in live view mode.
From the announcement: "The camera’s new autofocus algorithm will improve stability and tracking when using both the Optical Viewfinder and in Live View shooting mode"

I get the feeling that there is a lot of technological advances going on at Canon, seeing how they managed to polish so many things that Sony fans could nitpick previously. No more banding, really high throughput speed, uncropped video, more battery life thanks significantly higher efficiency, quick face and eye AF on all new models, and so on. When the next high end camera hits, the next iteration of all these small steps should result in a big overall upgrade.
 
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I doubt this modest change would cause people to start using the more battery-draining live view mode for remotes which they sometimes can't access for hours. I have never used live view for a remote - and can't recall seeing anyone else doing that - either in person or in a tv broadcast. The light from the screens might also not be popular with tv broadcasters if you have 10 of them close to a long jump sandpit for instance. Unless you can turn off the screen while still in live view technically speaking.
You can have the camera connected to the mains and the live view streamed over Gigabit Ethernet to basically whatever you want. Just bear in mind that if you are on the other side of the planet from your camera, due to network delays you will need to start your 20fps burst a little earlier than normal.
 
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It will do 20 FPS electronically shutter, so completely silent at insane speed.
That is an improvement for sure. But you are still taking those shots looking at the rear LCD instead of through the optical viewfinder, which is not very practical in a lot of situations - for accuracy, handling and simply viewing the screen outside in bright daylight. That's where a hybrid viewfinder would have been a very interesting feature. But it could be argued such a feature would be unintuitive of course. Why not just make the switch to mirrorless in that case.

They have made a massive upgrade to the iTR sensor, going from less than half a Megapixel to over 10. I wouldn't make any negative statements about AF yet, especially since the hardware got such a boost and Canon claim it will be improved significantly. Eye AF should be a piece of cake since the 90D already handles face detection in the viewfinder.
I will try and be optimistic about the AF improvements in terms of tracking. But I was hoping for some significant change in optical AF points coverage. One of the main DSLR limitations for me in that regard is the lack of wider coverage of AF points for composition.
 
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It is just a development announcement though, and they do mention the electronic shutter. So they have stated already that there is an actually silent shooting mode. Going into details for the sound of regular shooting seems like something too granular at this point for a pure development announcement.
It would still be groundbreaking if they had made significant improvements. This is already a critical issue for pros, and increasingly so. There was this recent story of press photographers with DSLR's getting kicked out of a political event, while the Sony A9 guy could stay...

Come to think of it, I doubt they would invest many resources pursuing this from a practical point of view, as the electronic shutter will always be superior to any mechanical tweak of the current shutter sound.
 
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It would still be groundbreaking if they had made significant improvements. This is already a critical issue for pros, and increasingly so. There was this recent story of press photographers with DSLR's getting kicked out of a political event, while the Sony A9 guy could stay...
Was the story or the event sponsored by Sony, by the way?

Come to think of it, I doubt they would invest many resources pursuing this from a practical point of view, as the electronic shutter will always be superior to any mechanical tweak of the current shutter sound.
"The grapes are sour"?

I wonder... what caused you to register on this forum just to spread FUD about this particular camera?
 
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Was the story or the event sponsored by Sony, by the way?
It was a PetaPixel article quoting the Washington Post (paywalled article). The event was the recent NBC-sponsored Democratic debate.

Silent Sony a9 a ‘Great Advantage’ for Photographer at Democratic Debate
"The grapes are sour"?

I wonder... what caused you to register on this forum just to spread FUD about this particular camera?
I consciously try to refrain from injecting any kind of personal attacks or innuendo in my posts as it derails from the subject. We all have biases, preferences and interests, and it's impossible to know what motivates someone to participate here or in any other online platform.

If it matters - which I don't think it does - I'm a CPS Platinum member who doesn't own a single Sony or Nikon product. This particular camera is the pro DSLR flagship, announced at a time when mirrorless cameras are making substantial improvements.

If I misread, misunderstood or misrepresented the press release in expressing my concerns, you are of course fully entitled to correct me on that basis. Obviously, we don't have a full spec sheet yet, so there will be some degree of speculation before an actual production camera is out.
 
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It is just a development announcement though, and they do mention the electronic shutter. So they have stated already that there is an actually silent shooting mode. Going into details for the sound of regular shooting seems like something too granular at this point for a pure development announcement.

The electronic shutter may be silent, but what about the mirror?
 
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It was a PetaPixel article quoting the Washington Post (paywalled article). The event was the recent NBC-sponsored Democratic debate.

Silent Sony a9 a ‘Great Advantage’ for Photographer at Democratic Debate
That "opinion" piece in the Washington Post is not paywalled (at least to me) and tells a different story. While this article (and the preceding, linked blog post of the same author) about Doug Mills shooting Sony does look like a Sony ad, its message is not about "press photographers with DSLR's getting kicked out of a political event".

Neither the Petapixel itself presents the story in your terms.

I consciously try to refrain from injecting any kind of personal attacks or innuendo in my posts as it derails from the subject. We all have biases, preferences and interests, and it's impossible to know what motivates someone to participate here or in any other online platform.
Knowing the motivation simplifies communication. Too much time is being spent on discussing irrelevant matters because people have XY problems.

If it matters - which I don't think it does
You are right, it doesn't.

If I misread, misunderstood or misrepresented the press release in expressing my concerns, you are of course fully entitled to correct me on that basis. Obviously, we don't have a full spec sheet yet, so there will be some degree of speculation before an actual production camera is out.
I could theoretically spend hours on correcting all your misrepresentations, but I don't have time for it, so the key question: why does it matter to you? What are you trying to achieve and what would I need to help you with?
 
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Well, some people do have savings accounts.
That's the same as a checking account when it comes to affording something, no? It's money you have, not credit you can use. I just "purchased" a $13,000 embroidery machine, and didn't break my bank. Because I used Credit (with 60months, no interest), but it makes me money, so affording the extras that are required of it really isn't a big deal. Extra hoops can cost up to $700, depending. They aren't necessary, but if it's going to pay for itself, nbd.
Same with batteries, compared to the $6k of the camera, is an extra $100 really a deal breaker? If you're a working pro, you'll probably pay that off pretty quick.
 
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You're buying the wrong third party batteries. Some of them are junk. Others are just as good, if not better than, the genuine Canon batteries. Try STK (Sterling Tek), they last more charge/recharge cycles than my Canon originals do.
I use a mix of third party and first in my 5DMIV and my t3i. For the t3i, the Wasabi Power brand of batteries are absolutely solid performers. They last as long as official on a charge, no problem. For about two years, anyway. They're definitely fading faster, but for $12 for two of them, I can't really complain. I usually only stock up on third parties when I know I'm going to be gone for a while and want to have a cache of extras on hand.
 
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That's the same as a checking account when it comes to affording something, no? It's money you have, not credit you can use.
It's money you might have wanted to use for something else. Like a downpayment for your new home. Or paid education for your children. Or, if you are really cheap, even a photo tour to Serengeti.

I just "purchased" a $13,000 embroidery machine, and didn't break my bank. Because I used Credit (with 60months, no interest), but it makes me money, so affording the extras that are required of it really isn't a big deal. Extra hoops can cost up to $700, depending. They aren't necessary, but if it's going to pay for itself, nbd.
Same with batteries, compared to the $6k of the camera, is an extra $100 really a deal breaker? If you're a working pro, you'll probably pay that off pretty quick.
How much do you think an average pro photographer earns?
 
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