Had some time today to play with 1DXm2 live shooting mode using EF85f/1.2L USM II.
So far I was very pleased with the results.
This was good surprise which I did not think about when making decision to get 1DXm2.
Fully opened (at f/1.2) system is focusing very fast, absolutely accurate almost in full darkness when it is almost not possible to see anything (at f1.2 with EV set to minus 1 auto ISO goes to 51200 and higher). Even though camera able to find the faces instantly and track selected face (it is possible to switch over using joystick). What I see Live View AF works very accurate with the sensor noise at ISO 51200 which is always problematic for any on sensor AF.
In general the less signal SNR the less accurate AF results.
But 1DXm2 does very well in such situations.
So now there is no need any more to put 85f1.2 on Sony a7S or A7r2 to use it in very dim conditions and get accurate focus.
And Live View AF on 1DXm2 in such low light conditions is working very fast.
Before 1DXm2 best results for 85f1.2 were when it was put on Sony A7R2 using Metabone IV adaptor. On 1DX all that above was practically not possible and not practical.
Now 1DXm2 is surpassing A7R2 is LiveView AF speed in very dim conditions (for EF85f1.2) and the only remaining advantage of A7R2 is IBIS allowing to use Shutter Speed around 1/20 -1/30 sec.
But that is only useful for static object, for moving ones it is still required to have shutter speed faster than 1/100 . The only thing that 1DXm2 still cannot catch up is the eye AF available on A7r2 with native lenses. Once get used to this lack of this feature on any other camera is very limiting , especially at wide aperture below 1.8. On the other hand 1DXm2 face tracking works very well so for apertures from 1.8 and above this is more that enough.
There are two modes in 1DXm2 Live view – one with face detection and object tracking and the other is FlexiZoneAF. Both working very well and each has its own applications.
There are also two silent modes in Live View, not sure what is difference – but mode 2 seems to be a bit less noisy.
As a summary – if anyone wants to get absolute image sharpness when using any lens then 1DXm2 Live View is now the best mode for that. Basically 1DXm2 is now on par with the best mirrorless systems when using on sensor AF. It could be used now at full extent for most general still photography shooting applications and only for sports and fast actions or wildlife and BIFs it is still better to use dedicated AF sensor, or when battery life is critical as in Live View battery consumption is significantly higher.
In general from what I see 1DXm2 is now much more versatile, flexible and much more useful camera than 1DX.
So far I was very pleased with the results.
This was good surprise which I did not think about when making decision to get 1DXm2.
Fully opened (at f/1.2) system is focusing very fast, absolutely accurate almost in full darkness when it is almost not possible to see anything (at f1.2 with EV set to minus 1 auto ISO goes to 51200 and higher). Even though camera able to find the faces instantly and track selected face (it is possible to switch over using joystick). What I see Live View AF works very accurate with the sensor noise at ISO 51200 which is always problematic for any on sensor AF.
In general the less signal SNR the less accurate AF results.
But 1DXm2 does very well in such situations.
So now there is no need any more to put 85f1.2 on Sony a7S or A7r2 to use it in very dim conditions and get accurate focus.
And Live View AF on 1DXm2 in such low light conditions is working very fast.
Before 1DXm2 best results for 85f1.2 were when it was put on Sony A7R2 using Metabone IV adaptor. On 1DX all that above was practically not possible and not practical.
Now 1DXm2 is surpassing A7R2 is LiveView AF speed in very dim conditions (for EF85f1.2) and the only remaining advantage of A7R2 is IBIS allowing to use Shutter Speed around 1/20 -1/30 sec.
But that is only useful for static object, for moving ones it is still required to have shutter speed faster than 1/100 . The only thing that 1DXm2 still cannot catch up is the eye AF available on A7r2 with native lenses. Once get used to this lack of this feature on any other camera is very limiting , especially at wide aperture below 1.8. On the other hand 1DXm2 face tracking works very well so for apertures from 1.8 and above this is more that enough.
There are two modes in 1DXm2 Live view – one with face detection and object tracking and the other is FlexiZoneAF. Both working very well and each has its own applications.
There are also two silent modes in Live View, not sure what is difference – but mode 2 seems to be a bit less noisy.
As a summary – if anyone wants to get absolute image sharpness when using any lens then 1DXm2 Live View is now the best mode for that. Basically 1DXm2 is now on par with the best mirrorless systems when using on sensor AF. It could be used now at full extent for most general still photography shooting applications and only for sports and fast actions or wildlife and BIFs it is still better to use dedicated AF sensor, or when battery life is critical as in Live View battery consumption is significantly higher.
In general from what I see 1DXm2 is now much more versatile, flexible and much more useful camera than 1DX.