Canon EOS-1D X Mark III field testing has begun [CR2]

Apr 25, 2011
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A couple observations that have gone unnoted in the discussion:
1) Whether you like mirrors or not, when Canon opts to stop refreshing lenses in EF mount, it's game over.
Actually, it's the other way around. When we stop liking mirrors, then Canon will stop refreshing lenses in EF mount.

2) If you make more money on medical imaging than on cameras, your technology research emphasis will be on resolution, detection, optics, materials and a bunch of other things that really matter to those most important business lines. One of the areas not stressed is processor speed.
It would be very stupid for a sensor maker not to make money on sensors for automation these days. A market for medical imaging is not that big.
 
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That would make a lot of sense. A pro body R a little higher than the 5D, with R lenses would be a good proposition, priced 4.5k

I like this idea as I always carry more than one body and multiple lenses. An RX body equivalent to the 1D X MkII (or even the 1D X) with an EF to RF adapter offering no performance loss would be dynamite. Fast shooting (though perhaps not the 20fps the a9 can produce), high dynamic range (which is more important to my mind than the sheer number of pixels), and a pro body which can take the abuse Arctic or Saharan weather conditions can produce (something the Sonys simply cannot survive)—Wow! Sign me up for two of them!
 
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Jan 29, 2011
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Look at allllllll that nicely balanced glass with full integrated grip bodies capturing images ranging from 10-14 frames per second. And not to mention soooooooo much f4-5.6 and more going on, the 1d series may not be a Sony with with better noise sensitivity but the 1d series has such smooth and nice grain at higher ASA and skin tones that actually depict humans compared to that mushy dishwater skin tones that Sony has. Photography isn’t just about dick measuring it’s about having fun, telling stories and maybe making some money if that’s your goal. The most beautiful images I have seen are the ones I have stored in my brain, we often forget to put the camera down and see and live life. Just because you have a nice camera in your hands doesn’t mean you are cool or an artist. Those who are living and doing life in front of our lenses are the cool ones and those people should be respected and sought after and not those of us mashing buttons. I used to think that I needed the best gear to make a career in cinematography and photography and you don’t. I used a 5dmkiii and a 1dxmkii( yes with that beautiful mjpeg codec that most of you hate) to make some documentaries that are on Netflix and hbo and other stations, I have had photos taken with a 60d published in the New Yorker and other publications, I use a mavic and a mavic air and have some of those images on the travel channel. If you are good at what you do you can take and make any piece of gear work. Photography is sometime not about the gear but about the place and time. I stopped commenting and coming to this site because it’s as bad as Facebook with some of the people but I came back yesterday to see what’s up and new and I see that tribalism is still alive and well. At the end of the day canon may not make the most tech crazy gear but it is reliable and I, like many professional cinematographers and photophotographers love and am grateful for the reliability of canon products. But I refuse to get any R series no matter the specs of the reliability and ergonomics are not there. Switch brands if you want no one cares, get excited about all that new R glass if you want but don’t forget to live. Also Cfast is not dead, those things are everywhere and with ARRI still using them they will be around for awhile, a well lit scene looks better with canon color science than a wide open aperture high asa Sony with no lighting. Ummmmm....... did I forget anything. Oh the 1dxmkii is probably the best photo camera body ever made and unless you own one won’t understand, I hope the 1dxmkiii camera doesn’t get a tilty flippy screen and internal recording is waaaayyyyy more betterererer than an external recorder. Ooooooo forgot about pixel pitch, actually the hell with it, this got way to long winded. Go buy a 1dxmkii and a c200 or 300mkii and stop complaining.
I don’t understand how your rant is related to my post. Is there a connection to anything you say to my point that Canon AF is widely regarded as ‘the best’ amongst a large percentage of people who rely on that performance for their living?
 
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Actually, it's the other way around. When we stop liking mirrors, then Canon will stop refreshing lenses in EF mount.


It would be very stupid for a sensor maker not to make money on sensors for automation these days. A market for medical imaging is not that big.

I take it your first statement was sarcasm. However, your second statement is simply untrue. The bioanalytical instrumentation systems market uses image sensors across the entire IVD process.
 
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unfocused

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...Whether you like mirrors or not, when Canon opts to stop refreshing lenses in EF mount, it's game over.
Actually, it's the other way around. When we stop liking mirrors, then Canon will stop refreshing lenses in EF mount.
I take it your first statement was sarcasm.

Sarcasm or not, it is absolutely true. Why is it that people can't seem to get it through their heads that Canon does not decide the market, the market decides what Canon will make.

Canon will continue to make EF mount lenses and DSLRs as long as it is profitable. There is no secret agenda to stop making a product that people want. That would be stupid and Canon is not stupid. Judging by the comments here from people who actually use and own the Canon 1Dx line, the demand is going to be there for a long, long time.
 
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I take it your first statement was sarcasm.
Not at all.

However, your second statement is simply untrue. The bioanalytical instrumentation systems market uses image sensors across the entire IVD process.
I work in autonomous driving. And no, it's not the only industry that will soon require hundreds of millons, if not billions of sensors with high processing speed.
 
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Sarcasm or not, it is absolutely true. Why is it that people can't seem to get it through their heads that Canon does not decide the market, the market decides what Canon will make.

Canon will continue to make EF mount lenses and DSLRs as long as it is profitable. There is no secret agenda to stop making a product that people want. That would be stupid and Canon is not stupid. Judging by the comments here from people who actually use and own the Canon 1Dx line, the demand is going to be there for a long, long time.

Actually, that's not completely true. If it was, we'd still be driving around in Ford Model Ts. Industry innovates, oft times based on research breakthroughs or on sheer speculation (along with some educated guesses), and then the market either accepts or rejects.

I do agree that the market has the final say, but the market is more often than not the follower of new technologies...not the arbiter. However, more than once has a company deliberately steered its market in a direction the market did not necessarily want to go, and left the nonadopters in the dust. Re: Adobe and their subscription model. Pentax and the switch from the M42 mount to a bayonet. Canon switching from the FD mount to the EF. It happens all the time.

Do I believe Canon will drop the EF mount anytime soon? No. It's far too established and the RF line is too immature and narrow as it stands. Will Canon drop the EF line in the future? Of course; that's called progress. One day, perhaps years from now, the EF line will be as dead as the FD mount. That doesn't mean that all Canons will be mirrorless at that time. A DSLR body could be designed to incorporate an RF mount. Canon did it before when they shifted from FD to EF. History does tend to repeat itself.
 
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FramerMCB

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Nobody is considering a pellicle mirror alternative? Or flapping mirror with interchangeable viewfinder housings to allow both EVF and OVF options to get the best of both worlds?
I don't see Canon offering this on their flagship models currently. Some manufacturer in the future may offer some type of modular system but I still think anyone doing that would only consider it by offering it as a system and then only doing/allowing the swap-outs at designated service centers. Too much risk. Unless the modules can somehow be like plug and play. I just don't see this - but I'm no product/design engineer either.
 
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Actually, that's not completely true. If it was, we'd still be driving around in Ford Model Ts.
EOS RP is Ford Model T.
EOS 1D X is Baldwin Consolidation.

I do agree that the market has the final say, but the market is more often than not the follower of new technologies...not the arbiter. However, more than once has a company deliberately steered its market in a direction the market did not necessarily want to go, and left the nonadopters in the dust.
Or bites the dust itself.

Because the market is the arbiter. If you are lucky (or not burning your bridges), the arbiter may look like "a follower".
 
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rwvaughn

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Mirrorless is not yet ready or advanced enough for Olympic sports, professional sports or college sports action regardless of how much we wish it were. Not when a photographer makes a living based on personal reputation and the ability to provide that magic money making shot. Anyone that claims mirrorless is ready right now is fooling themselves or very naive.
 
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Actually, that's not completely true. If it was, we'd still be driving around in Ford Model Ts. Industry innovates, oft times based on research breakthroughs or on sheer speculation (along with some educated guesses), and then the market either accepts or rejects.

I do agree that the market has the final say, but the market is more often than not the follower of new technologies...not the arbiter. However, more than once has a company deliberately steered its market in a direction the market did not necessarily want to go, and left the nonadopters in the dust. Re: Adobe and their subscription model. Pentax and the switch from the M42 mount to a bayonet. Canon switching from the FD mount to the EF. It happens all the time.

Do I believe Canon will drop the EF mount anytime soon? No. It's far too established and the RF line is too immature and narrow as it stands. Will Canon drop the EF line in the future? Of course; that's called progress. One day, perhaps years from now, the EF line will be as dead as the FD mount. That doesn't mean that all Canons will be mirrorless at that time. A DSLR body could be designed to incorporate an RF mount. Canon did it before when they shifted from FD to EF. History does tend to repeat itself.

Your argument rests on one assumption; that mirrorless renders DSLR obsolete... or, to be fair, that mirrorless provides 10 times or more utility that DSLRs. Currently mirrorless does not do that. In fact, mirrorless currently does not beat DSLRs in all aspects. Battery life and the ability to see through the camera when it is off are 2 characteristics.

Doubtless battery technology and electronics advancements will make battery life a moot point in the future. However, that Sony, Panasonic and FujiFilm all don't have credible competitors to DSLR would lead me to believe that Canon will release new DSLR models once the RF push has subsided somewhat.
 
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It is comical that people in here think we who shoot professionally just go out and buy new shit at the drop of a hat or announcement. I shoot professional motocross and road racing, I work with people and magazines that supply and use 1dmkiv’s, 1dx mki’s, 300mm version ones and all sorts of old gear still. I use my 1dxmkii and a 1dc, for me and those like me to say I’m going to get rid of allllll my super telephotos and these two bodies that work perfectly for a few mega pixels or new mount with no proven reliability are high. I do video as well and I have a c200 for that, it will take something ungodly drastic to get me to replace my 1dxmkii and 1dc. If it is not getting me more money, then there is no reason to purchase. We want a big bulky durable camera that can get drenched, dropped, and beaten,familiar grip and button layout and not some lightweight camera that doesn’t balance out our super telephotos with terrrible ergonomics. Mega pixels will not make me or other professionals think we should get this new camera but if improved autofocus and 10bit internally recorded video to Cfast is a thing then yes we professionals will consider. I like Cfast, I like it a lot, and 2 Cfast slots would be nice but one is still fine, having a 1tb Cfast makes having a second slot close to moot. The 1dxmkii is an incredible and reliable camera, it will be hard to beat.

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Depends upon the company! As soon as the 1Dxmk2 came we went out and bought 32 of them! Then the C700 Global Shutter camera came out and ANOTHER 32 were bought and again with the Sony Venice another 32 were bought and as soon as that certain BIG media company that's coming out real soon now with that fancy DCI 8K Video/50 megapixel with 60 fps full size stills AND video at 4:4:4:4 16-bits per RGBAD/YCbCrAD channel MF-size sensor combined stills/video camera after finishing up with our codec, we'll get another 32 of those cameras! (at a much reduced price of course since WE made the codec!) You think cameras are expensive? Try buying 64 (i.e. 32 of two zoom lenses of different focal ranges) Fujinon Cinema Zooms at $90,000 a pop! What a bill that was!

SO YES people and companies DO BUY cameras as soon as they come out and will throw them away or give them to staff as soon as the next big thing comes out! The KEY THING is to think of your business as a WAY TO MAKE MONEY! Ergo, buy the gear that will make you MONEY consistently and ALSO get the latest and greatest gear if it will make MORE MONEY than what you will spend by at least 50% (preferably 100%) in the first year! It makes SENSE to spend a few thousands (or a few million!) if the return you get is a few tens of thousands (or 10+ million!) in the first year or two! If you look at it that way, you can MENTALLY JUSTIFY getting the latest and greatest as soon as it comes out. THEN it makes finanical sense to spend the big bucks up front! Don't think of what you're spending NOW. Think of what your final return will be and spend enough to GET that return in the time period you need to!
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Mr. Majestyk:

Ooh, 21.8MP, 16fps,, Tweaked 61pt AF, dual CFExpress, blah blah blah.

Maybe they can surprise, but surprising us would be a surprise nowadays in itself. Hopefully it's not another lame update like the 1DXII and they go out with a bang.

My specs:
24.2MP stacked sensor, 1/200s read speed
14EV DR @ISO80-125, 0.5EV more DR through rest of range than 1DXII
ISO 80-102K, expanded to ISO 40-808K, same per-pixel noise as 1DXII
Hybrid operation. 14fps mechanical shutter
10fps e-shutter using DPAF, LV through hybrid OVF+EVF (3.69MP)
all new AF covering 70% of VF, few hundred points, all x-type to f/5.6, subset x-type to f/8, central cluster x-type @ f/11. AF down to EV -5
eye-AF in LV and AF-C up to 10fps
New efficient video codecs, no more mjpg garbage, 200Mb/s, c-log, zebras,
4K@ 24p,25p,30p, 48p, 50p, 60p, from 5K and downsampled
1080p @ 240p, 180p, 120p as well as standard options
illuminated buttons
flip-out screen
Dual CFExpress
1.4kg

===

DONE !!! AND A WHOLE LOT MORE......
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Mirrorless is not yet ready or advanced enough for Olympic sports, professional sports or college sports action regardless of how much we wish it were. Not when a photographer makes a living based on personal reputation and the ability to provide that magic money making shot. Anyone that claims mirrorless is ready right now is fooling themselves or very naive.

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Are you telling me my Phantom Flex 4K Global Shutter Cinema Camera at 4096 by 2304 pixels (9.4 megapixels) at 1000 fps which i've taken to some of the biggest sports and media events in the world WON'T have it's output accepted by a big magazine? (it has!) Mirrorless operation has been on both video and still cameras for DECADES (ever since Sony HyperHAD 1990's era DigiBeta and Kodak Digital Backs) and even then, those 756 by 486 pixel images were accepted at 24p/30p/60i frame rates for global newspaper and magazine publication once resampled using high end image resizer software!

So MIRRORLESS HAS BEEN READY FOR DECADES! Some of my STILL FRAME images were only 756 by 486 pixels but ended up in GLOBAL European and USA publications. I think Canon (and that OTHER monster-sized media company!) can EASILY make 4K/8K (30+/50+ megapixel) Pro-Level Mirrorless Still and/or Video Cameras whose output will EASILY be accepted for print and web publication!
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Many times the shot itself is far more important than what the camera resolution and format it was taken with! Even in those days, it was nice during a World Cup or Olympic match to be able to take a 24 fps video sequence and simply CHOOSE which still frame you like with the MOST emotional impact and then simply crop and resample (i.e. using a high end fractal-like resizer) to the desired TIFF format and resolution specified by the magazine or news publication. Since a real-time Internet didn't really exist in those days, we had to use MULTIPLE dialup modems to send a finished 3200 by 2400 pixel (4:3 aspect ratio) CMYK TIFF file (30.8 megabytes) in less than two to four hours so they could publish for print the next day! (you usually carried 4 to 8 of the 19.2 Kbaud portable modems with you in your pack and plugged them into multiple wall phone sockets so we could aggregate them as a single "virtual" 153.6 Kbaud connection. it was a SLOW process compared to today BUT BACK THEN in the early 1990's it was considered a TOP-OF-THE-LINE portable and FAST connection speed setup!
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AlanF

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Actually, that's not completely true. If it was, we'd still be driving around in Ford Model Ts. Industry innovates, oft times based on research breakthroughs or on sheer speculation (along with some educated guesses), and then the market either accepts or rejects.

I do agree that the market has the final say, but the market is more often than not the follower of new technologies...not the arbiter. However, more than once has a company deliberately steered its market in a direction the market did not necessarily want to go, and left the nonadopters in the dust. Re: Adobe and their subscription model. Pentax and the switch from the M42 mount to a bayonet. Canon switching from the FD mount to the EF. It happens all the time.

Do I believe Canon will drop the EF mount anytime soon? No. It's far too established and the RF line is too immature and narrow as it stands. Will Canon drop the EF line in the future? Of course; that's called progress. One day, perhaps years from now, the EF line will be as dead as the FD mount. That doesn't mean that all Canons will be mirrorless at that time. A DSLR body could be designed to incorporate an RF mount. Canon did it before when they shifted from FD to EF. History does tend to repeat itself.
"History repeats itself, first as tragedy, second as farce." Karl Marx
 
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Your argument rests on one assumption; that mirrorless renders DSLR obsolete... or, to be fair, that mirrorless provides 10 times or more utility that DSLRs. Currently mirrorless does not do that. In fact, mirrorless currently does not beat DSLRs in all aspects. Battery life and the ability to see through the camera when it is off are 2 characteristics.

Doubtless battery technology and electronics advancements will make battery life a moot point in the future. However, that Sony, Panasonic and FujiFilm all don't have credible competitors to DSLR would lead me to believe that Canon will release new DSLR models once the RF push has subsided somewhat.

Sorry, I made no such assumptions. In fact, I do not believe, as I clearly inferred in my last paragraph, that mirrorless will completely supplant the DSLR. I simply stated that I would love to see a mirrorless R body functionally equivalent to my 1D X, 1D X MkII, or the forthcoming(?) MKIII. My Sony a9 is a terrific camera, and beats my Xs in so many ways, however, it is not a professional body like the X.

Where you got the "...mirrorless provides 10 times or more utility that DSLRs..." remark from is a mystery. I never made any such claim, as it is really preposterous.

I hope that Canon will continue to support the EF line, as I have a 45 strong EF lens inventory costing over $100k. No way I want to drop them and completely switch over to RF. Do I think that someday the EF will be replaced by the RF? Yes. Years or decades, not in months or weeks. Will there be a DSLR with an RF mount? It's definitely possible from an engineering standpoint, but who knows?
 
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unfocused

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Ah, good old Harry. I wanted a reason to switch off again and here it is.....

“Some of my STILL FRAME images were only 756 by 486 pixels but ended up in GLOBAL European and USA publications.”

Link to one of them.
I don't have the link, but I'm pretty sure it was in the "Journal of Delusional Psychosis."
 
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20fps can only be achieved in certain use cases on the a9
I have an A9 and a 1DXii. Both have their strengths and weaknesses. The Sony A9 is very good and the frame rate excellent. However, it’s designed to be shot electronically. The standard shutter is 5FPS, which is poor when under artificial lighting and avoiding the risk of banding. You also need the standard shutter for flash work. However, I expect the next iteration of the A9 is going to be quite something. It is tiny, but you can add a grip to make it bigger. Personally, though, I still prefer the canon as high frame rate shooting is much more fun than seeing a little grey box flicker on the EVF. The canon ergonomically is also much better for me as I have big hands and my finger gets jammed between the lens and the grip on the A9.
 
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Ah, good old Harry. I wanted a reason to switch off again and here it is.....

“Some of my STILL FRAME images were only 756 by 486 pixels but ended up in GLOBAL European and USA publications.”

Link to one of them.

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Then you would KNOW who I really am and THAT would be a VERY BAD IDEA on my part!

My name isn't famous but some of my photos are (infamous?) and you would DEFINITELY KNOW THEM especially if you're a bit older (35+)!

I'll decline that challenge for now......
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