EOS-1D X Canon USA Press Release

[ions]

It's amusing and immensely telling how many people are ready to jump ship without seeing a decent set of image samples. Tells me how much effort I, or anyone, should put into seeing their image samples. Anyway, the specs look good, regardless of a few odd choices. This is a tremendously versatile looking camera. I'm not one of those people that is convinced that it is better to have one specific tool that does one job 99% well but little else when another can do all jobs 95% well. Arbitrary numbers to make a point - if that sensor is good it'll compete with a specialized high MP camera to the point it makes no difference between the two cameras and it's still able to do everything else. For many photographers they want to be able to capture an image with the camera they pick up. This camera will allow them to capture almost anything they want and not have to worry if it'll keep up. I, as a photographer, am interested in images from it. The set already published is a good start, let's get to the nitty-gritty with the next set that is released. I am assuming that no full size jpeg images have been posted yet because they still have several months to work on getting the processing algorithms better and better. Why worry people with a few pre-production niggles that will be well resolved by the time the camera is available?

 

[A_K]

Watch the sample movie , stop at 1 min 54 seconds - look at the noise....51200 ISO -
how does Nikon D3s look at this level?

Alot less noisy. How do you know it's iso 51200?

you can see the Info at the end of the video

Though the photo seems quite blurry , highly processed , while the Nikon sample is sharper...

I really hope Canon got rid of those horizontal lines running through the picture with the noise.

 

[Edwin Herdman]

Earlier yesterday I read through the materials a bit more carefully and saw that indeed they are planning to discontinue the 1D / 1Ds differentiation. While Canon doubtless has mostly pleased the 1D Mark IV market by upping resolution and shooting speed yet further while at the same time finally increasing to full frame, current 1Ds owners might reasonably be tempted to ignore this camera.

I can't say what I was thinking weeks ago when I dismissed these camera specs but I am definitely skeptical about this as a "one size fits all" camera. In that respect the situation is worse than I would have guessed...but it's a real spec list and it's here to stay.

18 megapixels is quite a bit but not enough to post billboard style images with.

 

[wtf1234567]

Canon dont need 1D apsH no more, coz it seems to me that those who want to shoot with extra zoom would go for or wait for 7D II...rather then this 1D X.
I using 1Ds MkIII....was waiting for 1ds IV for upgrade...now i am not sure yet if i should get this 1D X or 5D MkIII...feeling so lost...

 

[JR]

The more I read about the 1DX the more I want one even if I am not the target market (photo enthousiast - ok, seriously insaine too!). Funny how browsing through some Nikon forum this past day, the Nikon user seem more excited about the 1DX specs as some of the Canon user...I guess the Nikon user all hope the D4 is at least as good as the 1DX...this suggest Canon may have done a good move, assuming it is not the last one .

 

[DarkKnightNine]

Earlier yesterday I read through the materials a bit more carefully and saw that indeed they are planning to discontinue the 1D / 1Ds differentiation. While Canon doubtless has mostly pleased the 1D Mark IV market by upping resolution and shooting speed yet further while at the same time finally increasing to full frame, current 1Ds owners might reasonably be tempted to ignore this camera.

I can't say what I was thinking weeks ago when I dismissed these camera specs but I am definitely skeptical about this as a "one size fits all" camera. In that respect the situation is worse than I would have guessed...but it's a real spec list and it's here to stay.

18 megapixels is quite a bit but not enough to post billboard style images with.

With this camera I think Canon will push more people like me toward the Leica S2 for their studio needs and the 1DX will serve as an on location, editorial, sports and events camera. I was hoping Canon would fill that high resolution gap with this camera because buying into the Leica system is ridiculously expensive, not to mention I'm not all that crazy about their overly simplistic interface. I've been on the fence about whether to take the financial plunge into the Leica world hoping Canon would introduce something in the 25-35MP range to compete with the S2, but it seems now I don't have a choice.

 

[DarkKnightNine]

2) What the heck are the dual Digic 5s in the 1DX doing for their money? Pull me up for flawed logic if you know better:

1D Mk3 - 10fps x 10MP = 50MP/second for each Digic 3
1D Mk4 - 10fps x 16MP = 80MP/second for each Digic 4 (increase of 60%)
1DX - 12fps x 18MP = 108MP/second for each Digic 5 (increase of 35%)

And the 1DX has a dedicated Digic 4 for AF and metering. Pretty poor show for Digic 5 considering Canon have had three years to develop it (Moores Law anyone?). I am missing something?

If the reduction of moiré during video shooting is partly/mostly in processing as opposed to optics, onboard live video processing of that type is likely to place heavy demands on the processors.

Not to mention these processors are in a weather sealed body that doesn't allow much for heat dissipation like computers or other gadgets. I would guess it's extremely difficult to develop these chips to get greater performance out of them while keeping them energy efficient. It must be a nightmare for Canon engineers. I'm sure if they didn't care about your camera exploding in your hand or melting it's internals, they could develop insanely fast processors.

 

[NotABunny]

Why on earth would you need 30+ MP for a studio shoot? So you can print stuff on the sides of buildings?

As a matter of fact yes. Go to Macfly's website and you'll see that he does shoot images (movie promos, mainly) that do indeed go on the sides of buildings.

On the other hand, people who look at such prints look from afar. But more importantly, what printers can print that size at photo quality (so that one could say that all those pixels would make a difference)?

While nobody here actually understands why Macfly really needs lots of MP (nobody say "crop" because he's not doing sports or wildlife), I think people are simply annoyed by the I-will-take-my-toys-and-leave attitude.

Really? Why? Because Canon's most top of the line camera is not the one having most megapixels? Does he or anyone have a need to feel that they have the most expensive equipment? Perhaps Canon will announce cheaper FF models with more MPs. Considering history, this is likely to happen.

 

[surfing_geek]

Everyone seems to be talking like this is the last announcement Canon will make and that this is going to be the MP ceiling from now on.

Either that or that Canon will release a 1DXs or something. I think the announcement made clear the amalgamation of the 1D line, as the 1Ds and 5D were at loggerheads with each other previously, both competing for the same ground. I think the 5DIII will now become THE high MP camera of choice, aimed at the studio/landscape/high MP photographers.

I wouldn't be surprised if we don't have too wait to long for the 5DIII, it's due for it's 3-year refresh soonish and Canon must feel the need to keep the current users happy.

 

[jeremymerriam]

I do still-life work and portraits. I plan to invest in the next generation digitalbacks that go for around 8-9k. I was hoping to see better color profiles and DR in this camera, but for 7k for something that doesn't give me what I need

so you are the guy who has inside infos about the dynamic range of the new camera?
that´s great... because all the world is waiting for that info.
please share! 8)

The devil is in the details. What NOT has been said is usually just as important as what IS said. When they are competing with another powerful company like Nikon, they are not going to leave out important details such as color profiles and dynamic range. Also, bigger micron pixels means a more likely bigger AA filter. Sounds to me like less sharp images; in this day and age they probably will have an in-camera sharpener to give us the perception of sharper images ( something I loathe).

This ISO and MP war in competing cameras is useless to me. I want to see better color and DR to produce advertising and fineart quality of work without having to resort to larger format film something I cannot afford to shoot on a day to day basis.

 

[neuroanatomist]

Earlier yesterday I read through the materials a bit more carefully and saw that indeed they are planning to discontinue the 1D / 1Ds differentiation. While Canon doubtless has mostly pleased the 1D Mark IV market by upping resolution and shooting speed yet further while at the same time finally increasing to full frame, current 1Ds owners might reasonably be tempted to ignore this camera.

Interesting. I had rather the opposite reaction, thinking that 1D IV owners would be tempted to ignore this camera, while 1Ds owners might be more interested. I am in the camp that most people do not need even the full 21 MP, and hopefully 1-series owners are savvy enough to know that beyond a certain point, more MP aren't necessary for most applications. Granted, that's not true for all applications, and sometimes you need a lot of resolution - but I suspect most people in that situation already use medium format.

OTOH, 1D IV owners would be getting a modest 2 fps bump, and better ISO performance on top of the already-excellent 1D IV. While technically the new FF sensor delivers a very modest 2 MP resolution increase, they are losing the 1.3x crop factor - many applications for which a 1D IV is best suited (sports/wildlife) involve shooting where focal length is limited. Under those conditions, loss of the crop factor means the equivalent of 10 MP on target, a big drop from the 16 MP of the 1D IV. Alternatively, 1D IV users who change to the 1D X could use supertele lenses that are 100mm longer - e.g. exchanging their 300/2.8's for 400/2.8's, and even with the 'lighter' MkII version of the 400/2.8, it's still 50% heavier than the 300/2.8 and 64% heavier than the 300/2.8 II. Not to mention the cost. To me, that sounds like a reason for 1D IV owners to be tempted to ignore the 1D X.

18 megapixels is quite a bit but not enough to post billboard style images with.

Not to worry - Chuck Westfall has positively assured us that the images from a 1D X can be freely upsampled to whatever resolution we desire. :

 

[thepancakeman]

With this camera I think Canon will push more people like me toward the Leica S2 for their studio needs and the 1DX will serve as an on location, editorial, sports and events camera. I was hoping Canon would fill that high resolution gap with this camera because buying into the Leica system is ridiculously expensive, not to mention I'm not all that crazy about their overly simplistic interface. I've been on the fence about whether to take the financial plunge into the Leica world hoping Canon would introduce something in the 25-35MP range to compete with the S2, but it seems now I don't have a choice.

I'm still new to this whole photography thing, so excuse the ignorance. What does the Leica give you in the studio that the Canon does not? Thanks!

 

[Gothmoth]

The devil is in the details. What NOT has been said is usually just as important as what IS said. When they are competing with another powerful company like Nikon, they are not going to leave out important details such as color profiles and dynamic range. Also, bigger micron pixels means a more likely bigger AA filter

well maybe.. maybe not.

as other people, who have close ties to canon have said, there is more new then you can read in the press release.

maybe canon is going the adobe way.
there are alway more new features in adobe software then you read in the press release.

and canon HAS said they increased DR.. they gave no concrete numbers... sure.

 

[cbphoto]

One thing's for sure: this camera has created quite a buzz.

 

[ronderick]

Just got my hands on the November 2011 issue of Asahi camera, and surprise! They already have a feature article on the EOS 1DX (p. 97-105).

A quick pickup of the Canon staff interview about the 1DX I find interesting (p.102-103):

Q: Why merge the 1D and 1Ds lines?
A: The original goal in the start was to make a camera that has both high res. and high speed, but not possible in the earlier period due to tech limitation. That's why there's 2 lines (1D, 1Ds). Now, with the tech. problem solved, the two have been merged.

Q: Why call it 1DX?
A: 3 reasons - 1. a "crossover" of 1D and 1Ds; 2. the top model, therfore "Extreme"; and 3. 10th generation counting from F-1.

Q: Why an increase in shutterlife?
A: A boost in FPS means there's a need to increase the endurance of the shutter. Changes in the drive mechanism makes it possible to boost shutter durability from 300,000 t0 400,000 cycles.

There's also mentioning that while there's a drop to 18 MP from 1Ds3's higher MP, the 12 FPS means that there's more load to process; that's where the muscles of Digic 5+ comes in handy. (The guy goes on talking about the new mechanism and how it improves noise reduction, but it's too technical for my limited knowledge).

As for the timing of the news release, the staff explains that it's a balance between the date when the camera becomes available and giving pro photographers enough information ahead of the London Olympics.

 

[Mark D5 TEAM II]

Also, bigger micron pixels means a more likely bigger AA filter.

That's the first time I read something like that. Not trying to start an argument with you, but this is inaccurate. The original 5D had comparatively huge 8.2µm photosites and it had one of the (relatively) lightest AA filters of any Canon DSLR, which contributed to its great IQ that still kicks the crap out of any cropper to-date. Also, the 1Ds3 & 5D2 shared the same 21MP sensor but the former had a lighter AA filter, so the size of a sensor's photosites doesn't determine the relative strength of its AA filter.

 

[GeorgeMaciver]

Well, I've had a wee think about it and I'm going to start saving for this thing. Never mind anything else, the in-camera multi exposure attracts me. I have the G12 and it works superbly on that little thing, so I can only guess what it's like on this new camera. I'd love to see some sample photographs.

 

[DarkKnightNine]

With this camera I think Canon will push more people like me toward the Leica S2 for their studio needs and the 1DX will serve as an on location, editorial, sports and events camera. I was hoping Canon would fill that high resolution gap with this camera because buying into the Leica system is ridiculously expensive, not to mention I'm not all that crazy about their overly simplistic interface. I've been on the fence about whether to take the financial plunge into the Leica world hoping Canon would introduce something in the 25-35MP range to compete with the S2, but it seems now I don't have a choice.

I'm still new to this whole photography thing, so excuse the ignorance. What does the Leica give you in the studio that the Canon does not? Thanks!

No problem, The Leica S2 is a borderline Medium Format camera that has a huge 37MP sensor in lightweight camera no bigger than a Pro body DSLR. Not to mention that sensor is about 60% larger than a FF 35mm camera. It's great for fashion or studio photographers who need extreme detail in their shots and/or know their images will be blown up to billboard sized advertisements. You can read more about it here: http://s.leica-camera.com/

 

[DarkKnightNine]

It would be a clever marketing ploy on Canon's part to put out a 5DII successor with 30+MP. That would see a lot of professionals needing a 1D X and 5DIII - OK a lot have one or more 1DsIIIs or 1DIVs plus a 5DII already anyhow.
That way, Canon could put a very clear line between the intended purpose of the 1D X and the 5D line, and create more of a reason for people to have both!

Writing out 30+MP at 10fps is probably more than current storage and bus architectures can do, which may be one reason for sticking at 18MP for the 1D X. A large section of the market will be happy with a 30+MP camera that can do 3-5fps. - Of course that will not make everyone happy, but it will probably make Canon a lot of money!

If Canon did indeed pull out a 30+ MP 5D Mark III, that would certainly make me ecstatic. As I've stated before, I am now seriously considering buying a Leica S2 (a 37MP beast that's ridiculously expensive compared to what a 5D Mark III would cost) for studio and fashion shoots, and replacing my two 1D4s with two of the new 1DXs for everything else. The problem is the Leica S2 (including various lenses) could easily cost me upwards of $50,000 or more. And it only shoots about 2fps. So if the 5DIII is a 30+MP camera that shoots at 3-5fps and has a great AF system, it would be perfect for my needs. I can use the same lenses for both systems and save a huge amount money.

 

[DarkKnightNine]

My professional supplier here in Japan already has a list price for the new 1DX:
http://www.nationalphoto.co.jp/2F/digital_slr_canon.htm
They are listing it at ¥583,200 Japanese yen which is about $7,600 at today's exchange rate. I expect it will come down a little as we get closer to the actual release date.