Review: Canon EOS-1D X Mark II by TDP

[Canon Rumors Guy]

<p>Bryan at The-Digital-Picture has completed his review of the Canon EOS-1D X Mark II, and came away impressed by the host of improvements over its predecessor.</p>
<p>Bryan’s Summary</p>
<blockquote>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">My expectation that the 1D X II was going to be worth the upgrade from the 1D X was very high. </span>That I sold my 1D X at 1D X II announcement time made clear my confidence that this would the best sports/action camera ever. I have no regrets – the 1D X II exceeded my expectations. To me, it was worth the upgrade.</p>
<p>The 1D X Mark II is directly targeted at professional use where speed, reliability and bringing home the best possible image are important. This use includes sports, wildlife, fast action, reportage, weddings, events, media and wire service use in the toughest environments. If getting the shot matters, this is the camera I want in my hands. That this camera is so fun to use makes getting that all-important shot a great all-around experience. <a href="http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/Canon-EOS-1D-X-Mark-II.aspx">Read the full review</a></p></blockquote>
<p>I won’t be putting the camera through any serious work until next month in Africa, but I expect to experience the same great things that Bryan has using the camera.</p>
<p>The EOS-1D X Mark II has been somewhat hard to come by, but at the moment it appears that the <a href="http://bit.ly/23Mjw42">Canon Store has stock</a> of the premium kit.</p>
<p>Buy/Preorder Canon EOS-1D X Mark II</p>
<ul>
<li>Canon EOS-1D X Mark II Premium Kit $5999: <a href="http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1221604-REG/canon_0931c016_eos_1d_x_mark_ii.html/bi/2466/kbid/3296" target="_blank">B&H Photo</a> | <a href="http://adorama.evyy.net/c/60085/51926/1036?u=www.adorama.com/ICA1DXM2KP.html" target="_blank">Adorama</a> | <a href="http://amzn.to/1m9GcsS" target="_blank">Amazon</a> | <strong><a href="http://bit.ly/23Mjw42" target="_blank">Canon Store</a></strong></li>
<li>Canon WFT-E8A $599: <a href="http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1221610-REG/canon_1173c001_wft_e7a_wireless_file_transmitter.html/bi/2466/kbid/3296" target="_blank">B&H Photo</a> | <a href="http://www.adorama.com/ICAWFTE8A.html?KWID=64393" target="_blank">Adorama</a> | <a href="http://amzn.to/1POf7D2" target="_blank">Amazon</a> | <a href="http://bit.ly/23MjDMI" target="_blank">Canon Store</a></li>
</ul>
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[Maximilian]

Once again a good and balanced review by Brian. Thanks.

 

[Crapking]

Excellent review! I have used the 1Dx II now for several games / events and find his analysis spot on. I just received my WFT - E8a in the mail from B&H yesterday and look forward to trialing it during a match I am shooting tonite. A quick set up with my iphone (Canon connect app) revealed the ability to shoot untethered using my phone as a trigger. The view screen being larger also helps with image review and images can be selected / deleted and / or transferred to the phone for quick uploading. I will be anxious to see how this works. my wife will no longer have to wait for me to process our travel photos - I can send the OOC jpegs to her phone, and still process properly when I get home - winner, winner, chicken dinner. Just wish I didn't have to pay ~$600 extra for this wireless feature.

 

[[email protected]]

Great review, but I do have a question on the noise tool pictures. It appears to me that when comparing the 1dx I versus 1dx II, the pictures did not have the same level of critical focus. In particular, the 1dx II pictures were just a bit out of focus. This makes the appearance of noise to be less. Is it just me?

 

[Crapking]

Probably not AFMA'd yet...I've found that to be case occasionally with close focus shots. Once FOCAL releases their update, I am sure that will improve, but even without it, I can vouch that I am pushing shadows much less, and applying 10 - 20% less noise reduction in my action photos at ISO 1600-6400.

 

[ahsanford]

Once again a good and balanced review by Brian. Thanks.

Love his site -- I've been going there for years and years -- but I'm not sure 'balanced' is a word I'd use. : I'm hard-pressed to think of the last time a Canon-branded product didn't get a very favorable review.

I deeply respect his insights / methods / thoroughness / transparency, but I wish he were more openly critical of Canon products, perhaps 'curving everything to a B' so that the real A+ products would stand out a bit more. I wasn't expecting the 1DX II to let him down one bit, mind you, but I didn't really have to read the review to know he would love it... Something to consider.

- A

 

[RGF]

Great review. Tells it as he sees it.

 

[Maximilian]

Once again a good and balanced review by Brian. Thanks.

Love his site -- I've been going there for years and years -- but I'm not sure 'balanced' is a word I'd use. : I'm hard-pressed to think of the last time a Canon-branded product didn't get a very favorable review.
...

Okay, you're right if it were a review between 1 DX2 and the Nikon D5. Brian is of course a "Canon guy".
So if you're putting "balanced" as neutral and independent my choice of word was wrong.
But I like how he puts pros and con s in his reviews as well as daily use knowledge. And this is also something I'd call balanced. If that's wrong usage for that word, pleas let me know (no native speaker).

 

[ahsanford]

Once again a good and balanced review by Brian. Thanks.

Love his site -- I've been going there for years and years -- but I'm not sure 'balanced' is a word I'd use. : I'm hard-pressed to think of the last time a Canon-branded product didn't get a very favorable review.
...

Okay, you're right if it were a review between 1 DX2 and the Nikon D5. Brian is of course a "Canon guy".
So if you're putting "balanced" as neutral and independent my choice of word was wrong.
But I like how he puts pros and con s in his reviews as well as daily use knowledge. And this is also something I'd call balanced. If that's wrong usage for that word, pleas let me know (no native speaker).

You're using the language just fine.

I just never see him disappointed with a design decision or how something performs.

Sentences like "I'd have expected one stop better high ISO noise levels in a Mark II version" never seem to appear at TDP. He also gave a fairly short statement on the 5D3 not allowing focus screen changes and didn't say a word about its black AF points in servo move that many have griped about. Both were fair game for negative comments in his review and he chose not to go there.

Again -- love his site. I just think that he's too kind to Canon.

- A

 

[Tiderace]

"Unfortunately it does not record 4K output via HDMI" OMG people. So, there is no way to record uncompressed 4K video? Or what is the story folks? This is important.

 

[Larsskv]

"Unfortunately it does not record 4K output via HDMI" OMG people. So, there is no way to record uncompressed 4K video? Or what is the story folks? This is important.

If I got it right, shooting uncompressed 4K can be done to the CFast only.

 

[mackguyver]

After reading his review, I'm glad I decided to pass on the upgrade to the 1DXII. Assuming I could have gotten around $3k for my 1DX, it would have have been a $3k upgrade for me, essentially the price of a 5DsR.

While Brian feels it's well worth the upgrade, it really depends on your needs. For me, the extra megapixels, frame rate and AF improvements aren't really enough as those are more than adequate on the 1DX. What I was really hoping for was improved noise and a bit more DR. The noise improvements don't seem significant and according to DPR the DR is better at ISO 100, but this is not a camera that many use at ISO100.

The built in GPS is nice, but I already have the annoying external GPS, the video stuff does nothing for me, and the other improvements are mostly nice to haves.

Perhaps more will come with a firmware upgrade in a year or two, but for my work, it's not worth the money to me. The 1DX is still an exceptional camera for all but high MP work, and perhaps the 5DsR will be my camera.

Also, I agree on Brian's glowing reviews - and keep in mind that persuading us to buy a $6,000 camera via his affiliate links nets him a tidy little sum. All the same, he has built an excellent resource for us Canon shooters and I don't begrudge him anything for wanting to be paid for his work.

 

[Crapking]

I'm not a Canon fanboy,nor a techno-pixel peeper but I can say there is a greater 'functional' dynamic range in that I am pushing the shadow slider much less with the Mark II, and I am shooting with a 1/2 - 1 stop less ISO, and I am using less NR in Lightroom. Combined with the anti-flicker feature, the extra FPS, and the dramatically improved AF video features, the decision to upgrade was 'worth' it for me, YMMV, but if low-light, action, event shooting is your passion (profession), then the main (? only) reason to NOT upgrade would be financial. Many may say these are incremental improvements, but with the 1Dx as good as it was, the new 1Dx MII is now as good as it gets.
I never bought the WFT for the 1Dx b/c the speed was not that impressive, but with the upgraded WFT 8 version, I now can send photos to my phone/computer very quickly wirelessly - I just wish it wasn't an $600 accessory.

 

[ashmadux]

Once again a good and balanced review by Brian. Thanks.

Love his site -- I've been going there for years and years -- but I'm not sure 'balanced' is a word I'd use. : I'm hard-pressed to think of the last time a Canon-branded product didn't get a very favorable review.
...

Okay, you're right if it were a review between 1 DX2 and the Nikon D5. Brian is of course a "Canon guy".
So if you're putting "balanced" as neutral and independent my choice of word was wrong.
But I like how he puts pros and con s in his reviews as well as daily use knowledge. And this is also something I'd call balanced. If that's wrong usage for that word, pleas let me know (no native speaker).

You're using the language just fine.

I just never see him disappointed with a design decision or how something performs.

Sentences like "I'd have expected one stop better high ISO noise levels in a Mark II version" never seem to appear at TDP. He also gave a fairly short statement on the 5D3 not allowing focus screen changes and didn't say a word about its black AF points in servo move that many have griped about. Both were fair game for negative comments in his review and he chose not to go there.

Again -- love his site. I just think that he's too kind to Canon.

- A

I think you need to read more of his reviews. The only reason he doesn't review nikon gear is that he doesnt have the times and resources - he'd written before that he planned on it. Take a gander at his third party lens reviews...tokina's and sigma's especially...without drama, he just says "there are problems..".

Basically, you're giving his site a backhanded compliment, and it's not warranted. Im another person that bought all of his gear based on his reviews, reading them again and again and again. I dont have money to waste and i would like to know what im getting. Unlike dpreview and their overdepressing reviews on good camera's, Bryan's review are straight no chaser, without indulgence.

Maybe you want him to be more mean spirited because canon makes good camera's that are not exactly bleeding edge in many circumstances? Find another site (achoo DPR 86% bronze compared to whaaaaa?).

Biased...get real. Bryan+TDP FTW.

 

[mistaspeedy]

If I got it right, shooting uncompressed 4K can be done to the CFast only.

The 1DX mark II has compressed 4K video. It uses mjpeg for video (a bunch of jpeg files, which we know are compressed image files).

 

[PureClassA]

Just got one in today from LensRentals.com

I will be giving a serious workout this weekend. Probably 12-14k frames worth

 

[lloyd709]

'that I sold my 1DX on it's announcement' - sorry to be cynical but clearly shows this is a guy that is using it to make his living on a daily basis - not!@

 

[H. Jones]

'that I sold my 1DX on it's announcement' - sorry to be cynical but clearly shows this is a guy that is using it to make his living on a daily basis - not!@

Almost all of the professional photography that Bryan of The Digital Picture does is done with his 5DS and as such, he doesn't need a 1DX on a daily basis to take the pictures that he needs to take. You can't mock a guy for just needing a 5DS for the majority of his work.

Running The Digital Picture is how Bryan makes a living on a daily basis, and he offers completely rational and in-depth reviews in a very professional way. As a professional that makes my entire living off of photography, I look to his reviews to give me a good idea of what the equipment can do for me, and he has never let me down. He is a professional reviewer, and he offers very good and in depth points, and has excellent technical comparison tools.

 

[East Wind Photography]

I have been using the 1dx mark 2 now since it was released. I can say it is a pretty significant upgrade as a system from the 1dx. I agree mostly with this review and very pleased he took the time to compare it vs its predecessor. I have no use in a comparison with sony or Nikon.

I think a reader on the bench needs to determine if their requirments are worth the 3000 upgrade. I think in the end it was, at least for me. With NR applied iso 51000 is pretty useable and i cant wait until dxo optics pro releases their plugin for it.

 

[douglaurent]

I found out a few more things that are missing in the review:

- 4K videos are much noisier than on the 1DC
- 4K 25fps is possible with fast CD cards, even 4K 60fps up to 8 seconds
- the video auto focus is great and the only one to date in a photo camera that's really usable
- some third party lenses don't work in any way, like the Tamron 15-30/2.8 VC
- the new batteries don't work with the old charger
- missing C-LOG sucks also for photographers when doing video framegrabs (stupid protection of the coming C500 II)
- still no internal timelapse function, sad
- HDR photo function of 5D series is not available, bad
- missing focus peaking is also not a support for manual photography
- no swivel screen
- no in-body-stabilization although the body is much larger than Olympus or Sony cameras
- missing crop modes

If someone wants to have a fast photo camera with high resolution AND all relevant video qualities, he would need 3 cameras: 5DsR, 1DC, 1DX2. If someone wants a convinient workflow on top, you need an A7R2 and and A7S2 as well. I hope at some point it will all be integrated in 1-2 cameras, but at the evolution pace of Canon this might be in the year 2035.

In the last few years new Canon cameras always feel like something they should have released 2-4 years earlier. I hope the A9 release of Sony at Photokina gives Canon the final pressure to release cameras like the 5D4 and 1DX2 as mirrorless versions as well, instead of inventing a second new useless mirrorless line. It would make so much sense. Until then I use the 1DX2, just because there is no other option.