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

ahsanford

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Aug 16, 2012
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But, even with the kids on a swing up close the 1dx2 was terrible where the R is nearly flawless, at f1.2.


I hear you, but that may not be entirely the camera's fault depending on which lens you've chosen. EF has some baggage that RF does not. All of the RF large aperture lenses are impressive pieces of modern tech, whereas with EF the odd L large aperture lens (EF 50 f/1.2L, EF 85 f/1.2L II) may swing and miss or take forever to lock.

I tried out the R last year with the RF 50L and other than it being FBW, it was the droid I have been looking for. That lens was brilliant compared to the EF.

- A

50 Prime Rib 2.jpg
 
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SecureGSM

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I will not say it will be unusable for video, but it sure is a lot harder to track fast moving subjects when you can't look through the viewfinder. This is where mirrorless shines IMO. I have shot video with my 5DIV and 1DxII and with a Sony a9 and a9II. Being able to track through the viewfinder while employing awesome continuous AF using 200-600mm of focal length is a wonderful thing. I am looking forward to Canon's fast action pro mirrorless, hoping it will meet or beat the Sony a9II. There is no way I could capture video like this using the back LCD screen. Link to video:
I do not see a distinctive connection between the OP and your post. Sorry.
I do not dispute an EVF vs LCD screen point here. I am not a videographer.
However it is clear that your use case (long telephoto video) is quite specific. You are seemingly very happy with Sony A9. I am keen to understand Why are you looking to buy a Canon DSLR at this time?
Excuse my ignorence.
 
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Someone just needs to make a simple hotshoe-mounted HDMI viewfinder. Someone can be Canon.

I actually do pretty well with a Zacuto, but I am not a serious video guy. I am 95% stills. I can track pretty well with my 5d4 in 4k using a 70-300l at 300 on all sorts of wildlife. I even work well with the 500f4 although it is usually too much for larger wildlife. I will admit I haven't tried a lot of birds. As you know there is serious crop on the 5d4 in 4k.
 
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I hear you, but that may not be entirely the camera's fault depending on which lens you've chosen. EF has some baggage that RF does not. All of the RF large aperture lenses are impressive pieces of modern tech, whereas with EF the odd L large aperture lens (EF 50 f/1.2L, EF 85 f/1.2L II) may swing and miss or take forever to lock.

I tried out the R last year with the RF 50L and other than it being FBW, it was the droid I have been looking for. That lens was brilliant compared to the EF.

- A

View attachment 188088
Fair point, but I wasn’t using an EF f1.2, I’ve tried with any EF lens including; 35 L II, 24-70 f2.8 L II, 70-200 II, 16-35 f4, 85 L IS. No aperture or depth or lens can do what the RF50 and RF85 does. And might I add, neither of those has exactly blistering AF. :)
 
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addola

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I am not doing video, but if I had to, I would use an external audio recorder anyway. In-camera audio recording is noisy. Correct?
True, but having the in-camera audio helps in synchronizing with the audio recorder in post. 120fps is typically meant for slow-motion with some background music so you don't usually need the audio.

My point is why do they exclude audio in 1080/120fps in this powerful camera compared to Nikon & Sony offering. I wonder if it was a "cripple hammer", or actually a technical limitation since I believe Canon typically have higher bitrates. Nikon Z6's 1080/120fps is 144 Mbps, Sony A7 III's 1080/120 is 100 Mbps where Canon EOS R's 1080/60fps (All-I) is 180 Mbps. But, if Canon used the same codec for 1080/120, it would be 360Mbps, which I think is doable in a camera that can handle 480 Mbps (like the EOS R, for example).
 
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I will not say it will be unusable for video, but it sure is a lot harder to track fast moving subjects when you can't look through the viewfinder. This is where mirrorless shines IMO. I have shot video with my 5DIV and 1DxII and with a Sony a9 and a9II. Being able to track through the viewfinder while employing awesome continuous AF using 200-600mm of focal length is a wonderful thing. I am looking forward to Canon's fast action pro mirrorless, hoping it will meet or beat the Sony a9II. There is no way I could capture video like this using the back LCD screen. Link to video:

Amazing video of that belted kingfisher! All the more amazing for me as I have tried to photograph them and they are quick and shy little buggers. I would like to understand more about why you think the Mark III doesn't stand up on the video front. I am not a video person and watched the promo video (surf shooting) and was quite impressed. I will cross-post my comments below from that thread.

My impression from this video is about how far this camera has advanced its video capabilities. I am not a video shooter (I think I did it once as an experiment) but this review mentions at least 20 video centric advancements/capabilities/deficiencies and I have no idea what he is even talking about! As modern equipment is expected to serve multiple purposes I think the Mark III has hit the mark for many.

Unfortunately, for me, I was hoping for a killer wildlife rig (for stills) with more reach or cropping capability then the Mark II. We certainly got major improvements in focusing capability and FPS (needed upgrades from the Mark II) but didn't see any improvement in MP. I will be interested in hearing how this rig handles extenders (1.4 and 2x) as this would be the likely way I would have to extend me MPs. I already own the 600mm f4L II and 1.4 and 2.0 extenders. I don't get good results today from these extenders on the 5DSR (no major surprise) and never went with the 7D MII as there were too many complaints about the system. If this system shows good improvement in those areas for BIF and wildlife portraiture (eye focus) then I might still get it.

On the fence at the moment.
 
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If that's what I think it is, they are quite expensive and not so simple. The loadable LUTs are nice, but the rest of the functionality is not really needed if you let the camera itself record the videos.

It is a 2.5x viewfinder which attaches to the back of the lcd. They are $250 or so.
 
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ahsanford

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It is a 2.5x viewfinder which attaches to the back of the lcd. They are $250 or so.


The reality that you can flip the mirror up and get some sweet mirrorless action...
...held up 12" from your face like an iPad user = fail. Not for me.
...with an ergonomic turd blossom of a Z-finder, loupe, etc. = DOA. Not for me at all.
...on a tripod = fine I guess for landscape/macro work, but I don't really need DPAF or peaking for that if I'm manually focusing 10x.​
...with a tilty-flippy shooting high above a crowd or from a really low/odd shooting position = strong. That is a nice upgrade for me, who still uses a 5D3.

But all the above means that I largely won't get the sweet mirrorless action out of an SLR in the manner which I prefer to shoot. I'd like to do all the following in handheld shooting with the VF up to my eye:
  • Get massively expanded AF point coverage across the frame
  • Get histo info through the VF in realtime
  • Accurately and quickly manually focus large aperture glass (since focus screens are RIP in all but 1-series products)
  • Amplify light in dark rooms (for composition, focus assist, etc.)
And with EF, a proper 50 prime may never arrive. ;)

So for me, that means that as much as I should be in the market for a 5D5 as an OVF devotee, I probably will be getting some future variant of an R instead. Whatever percentage better a 5D5 would be to my 5D3, it pales in comparison to what unlocking those four bullet points above would represent. Unlocking what I can't do today is likely more useful than improving what I can do today.

- A
 
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My, how times change.
It is not that long we were hearing from Sony fanbois how the absence of a fully articulated LCD was the ultimate indicator that Canon refused to listen to their customers. 6 pages in and the fully articulating LCD has not even been mentioned (well, it has now).

And the trade-in deals are looking good....can I or can't I? If I can afford the camera, what about a longer supertelephoto instead?.....DAMN YOU, CANON. Why won't you just die like people say you are doing????
 
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ahsanford

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My, how times change.
It is not that long we were hearing from Sony fanbois how the absence of a fully articulated LCD was the ultimate indicator that Canon refused to listen to their customers. 6 pages in and it has not even been mentioned (well, it has now).

And the trade-in deals are looking good....can I or can't I? If I can afford the camera, what about a longer supertelephoto instead?.....DAMN YOU, CANON. Why won't you just die like people say you are doing????


Tilty-flippy on a [heavy rig with a gripped-only configuration] + [much higher likelihood of a heavy lens being attached] always seemed like an iffy mechanical / biomechanical propostion for the 1-series. Also, this is a staple instrument for sports/wildlife folks who would demand bullet-proof / NFL lineman tackleproof robustness and perfect weather sealing.

But on the A9 rigs, I see a niche where a tilty-flippy might be more valued than with the 1-series: reportage, photojournos, etc. On TV with news/political reporting, I tend to see more Sonys creeping in where Canons used to be. If you are some correspondent who has to fight through / over crowds, shoot utterly silently, need to keep form factor modest, etc. and if a grip and big glass is not needed, I could absolutely see value for a tilty-flippy with a high fps rig.

I always repost this bit from NYT's Doug Mills: https://www.c-span.org/video/?c4714207/user-clip-doug-mills-switches-sony-a9

The A9 was a competitive advantage for him as other folks couldn't see what he was shooting b/c they couldn't tell when he was shooting. I find that fascinating. I have no idea if he's still with Sony or if Canon won him back somehow, but this was his rationale at the time.

For that niche of photog, a tilty-flippy might be welcomed.

- A
 
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Del Paso

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Canon is a sinking ship. Sony has fired several torpedos at Canon and there is water rushing in which cannot be stopped but can only be slowed somewhat, such as with this model which comes in too late but still unusable as a video camera. Canon will eventually take enough water and sink to the bottom.
I deeply admire your sense of humour.
I hope it was humour...because, if it wasn't, you'd be doomed !
 
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PureClassA

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I am not doing video, but if I had to, I would use an external audio recorder anyway. In-camera audio recording is noisy. Correct?

Yes and no. If you are using the internal audio preamp with the internal camera microphone ...BIG YES. Noisy and nasty. Then again, in camera Mics are really just meant for the most basic scratch audio so you can Sync externally recorded audio to the video in post production much easier than trying to simply lip read.

When I shoot video on the DX2 or EOSR I'm using a hotshoe mounted, externally powered Mic from Shure or Rode plugged into the camera Mic jack (using the otherwise noisy internal preamp). However because the Mic has it's own (battery) power and preamp, I can literally turn the Camera's Mic Volume level to one or two notches above MUTE and get near perfect audio because the internal camera audio preamp at that extremely low level has nearly zero noise. I then use an external preamp/recorder with another higher grade Mic (like the Rode NTG 3 shotgun) and record to 24/96 or whatever on a Tascam or Zoom or even sometimes directly into Apple's Logic Pro on a MacBook. With two low noise signals like that, it's a real cinch to sync audio in Adobe Premier or Final Cut X or whatever you use.

AAAAAALLLLLL that being said, shooting at 120fps in camera with ZERO ability to record any audio makes syncing in post much more of a trial and error guessing game HOWEVER, what actual freaking audio are you gonna use in SLOOOOOOO-MOOOOOOOO like that anyway? Probably none. So not having audio there isn't huge. What I'm more curious about is whether the 120fps is prebaked in camera like was on the DX2 or if you can actually send it out over HDMI now to an external Atomos or whatever because then the internal sound recording is moot since I can sent mics directly into my external recorder (Atomos Ninja V).

120fps is B-Roll stuff. Every time you see super slo-mo out there, you've got music playing over it or voice-over narration or something like that. It's probably pretty rare by comparison you'd ever use audio shot at that speed.

Set-up below. Scratch Mic on Camera, main mic, NTG3, over the interview subject. Sync in post. you can see the tascam recorder on the light stand on the left
 

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AlanF

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Yes, of course you’re right, that’s why the 5d mkII was used in Avengers among other high end movies.
A Norwegian, excellent, tv-series called “Dag” was filmed exclusively with the 5d2 and 1d4 and I’ve always thought it looked amazing.
Darren Aronofsky's 'Black Swan' was shot on ARRI Super 16mm, Canon 7D, Canon 1D Mark IV, and Canon 5D Mark II. Great movie.
 
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cayenne

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I am not doing video, but if I had to, I would use an external audio recorder anyway. In-camera audio recording is noisy. Correct?

Well, it's nice to have as an easier means to sync your external audio to your video you shoot....and if nothing else always nice to have a backup just in case your external audio craps out for some reason...
;)
 
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