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

[ahsanford]

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.

+1. As much I think he needs to be harder on Canon with his reviews, few can doubt how thorough and thoughtful his usage insights are. He's not a working pro in the classic sense, but running that site would not be possible if he was.

He's not a dedicated sports photographer, but he tests the crap out of the AF setup at his kids playing field sports.

He's not a dedicated landscape photographer, but he wades through the rivers and streams to get that great waterfall shot.

He's not a dedicated wildlife photographer, but those pictures of bears and eagles don't take themselves. He's out in the bush doing the dirty work.

As for upgrading right away, he doesn't get free gear to my knowledge, so once a Mark II comes out, the Mark I is sold off to pay for it. He's working quite hard to continually bring us this data year over year.

- A

 

[ahsanford]

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

I will comment/qualify/temper some of your shortcomings:

Orange = he doesn't shoot much video, I'd head elsewhere for reviews on that.

Red = surely someone carrying a 1DX II doesn't need an auto/in-camera feature like this when they likely have better tools to do this manually / on their own. Should it have a hand-pannable pano mode and selfie mode as well?

Blue = That's never been offered in any Canon SLR, correct? Surely no one was expecting that from a 'lens IS' company like Canon.

Green = had no idea. Wow.

Great list, though. I strongly agree that there is no do-it-all camera today.

- A

 

[JoeDavid]

If you shoot indoor sports, the upgrade is worth it just for the anti-flicker feature. The 1DX can crank out 12FPS of mostly crap under some venue lights. Under the lighting of the Georgia World Congress Center, only about ever 4th shot is correctly color balanced and exposed. There's usually a lot of post work. I look forward to my next indoor venue with the 1DXm2. I've used the 7Dm2 and 5DS anti-flicker and it works great. It will be interesting to see if the 1DXm2 can crank out 14FPS while maintaining an even exposure and color balance.

 

[J.R.]

Nice review ... but, but, but ...

While there is benefit to being able to pull out highlight and shadow details, if I miss an exposure by 2 stops or more, I feel like I have failed my job as a photographer.

Poor Brian.

 

[J.R.]

If you shoot indoor sports, the upgrade is worth it just for the anti-flicker feature. The 1DX can crank out 12FPS of mostly crap under some venue lights. Under the lighting of the Georgia World Congress Center, only about ever 4th shot is correctly color balanced and exposed. There's usually a lot of post work. I look forward to my next indoor venue with the 1DXm2. I've used the 7Dm2 and 5DS anti-flicker and it works great. It will be interesting to see if the 1DXm2 can crank out 14FPS while maintaining an even exposure and color balance.

With the anti-flicker on, the frame rate drops to adjust for the light while it 'recycles'. You won't get 14 fps.

 

[J.R.]

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

- the new batteries don't work with the old charger

The old batteries work with the new charger ... and it's not like you have to buy the new charger separately. How is this an issue?

 

[LetTheRightLensIn]

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

I do have to say that he does seem to never have any Canon product not wildly exceed his expectations and if a lens doesn't test quite right he will get 2,3,4, 30 copies if the brand says Canon. OTOH he'll tested a (dropped?) Tamron, get coke bottle results and be done with it (on lenses that have done SUPER well for me).

That said useful info, just realize that his reviews sometimes read a little bit like Explorer's of Light statements.

 

[East Wind Photography]

If you shoot indoor sports, the upgrade is worth it just for the anti-flicker feature. The 1DX can crank out 12FPS of mostly crap under some venue lights. Under the lighting of the Georgia World Congress Center, only about ever 4th shot is correctly color balanced and exposed. There's usually a lot of post work. I look forward to my next indoor venue with the 1DXm2. I've used the 7Dm2 and 5DS anti-flicker and it works great. It will be interesting to see if the 1DXm2 can crank out 14FPS while maintaining an even exposure and color balance.

Yes i left this off during the first couple of outdoor games. As the night wore on, there were shots that missed the color and exposure. After anti flicker was on, that problem went away but drive mode was noticeably affected. It would stutter once in a while. There were times where a decent shot was missed because of the stutter. So its a trade off. Get the shots so you have less editing with antiflicker on, or get them all and try to salvage the images that are dark or color shifted.

I think in the end, i prefer the anti-flicker on. I think at 14 fps you can general accept one or to being missed. With the 7d2 which is my B camera now, missing a shot or two at 10fps can make a bigger difference. I couldnt imagine it being that useful on the 5ds unless you were shooting team shots in a stadium.

So my opinion is that antiflicker is a useful feature on the 1dx mark ii for sports and therefore is a plus for th upgrade side.

 

[J.R.]

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.

I've been thinking of getting the WFT-E8A as well but the $$$ is a bummer. Please do share your experience on using it with a tablet / phone - I may talk myself into buying one. ;D

 

[expatinasia]

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

I also love his site and the reviews he does, but I understand what you mean.

I think his review of the Canon flagship by a Canon user - who has very little interest in what Nikon is doing, other than to help improve Canon's own products by improving competition - for Canon users, is excellent. He does bring up the two different card issue, and am glad he also states his opinion that he would have preferred Canon to make the 1DX Mark II with two of the same slots - something I very much agree with.

I haven't quite finished reading the review, but will head back to it soon, but I did think he mentioned that the new batteries don't work on the old charger. Anyway, if you buy a 1DX Mark II you get a new charger with it, and you can still use your old batteries although not at 100% performance.

BTW - just curious, but does the "Donate Now" / "Tip Jar" system work on websites like that? Have you every donated?

 

[East Wind Photography]

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.

I've been thinking of getting the WFT-E8A as well but the $$$ is a bummer. Please do share your experience on using it with a tablet / phone - I may talk myself into buying one. ;D

I find the camranger to be immensly more useful. Its bigger but it also has its own battery. Software was just updated to support 1dx mark ii.

 

[Refurb7]

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

I do have to say that he does seem to never have any Canon product not wildly exceed his expectations and if a lens doesn't test quite right he will get 2,3,4, 30 copies if the brand says Canon. OTOH he'll tested a (dropped?) Tamron, get coke bottle results and be done with it (on lenses that have done SUPER well for me).

That said useful info, just realize that his reviews sometimes read a little bit like Explorer's of Light statements.

Which products "wildly exceed his expectations"? All? That's a totally unfair comment.

Canon's flagship is a great camera. No surprise that he would like it.

Bryan has proven that knows photography better than the mega-underexposure pushers at DRReview. I find his reviews to be full of practical insights for real photography — covering everything I want to know.

 

[Random Orbits]

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

LOL, 50L!

In all seriousness, Canon hasn't had that many lemons of late, and hindsight is 20/20. Closest one that I can think of is the 24-70 f/4L IS, but that's more for it's initial price ($1500!) than any flaws that is has. It makes more sense at its current street price than when it first came out. It is also interesting that he has also chosen to retain the f/4 even though it's weaker near 50mm.

One lens (of a few) that I've picked up after reading his reviews is the 70-300L, which didn't get much love early on. I was looking for something that was lighter/more compact than the 70-200 + 1.4x, and the 70-300L filled the role admirably.

 

[unfocused]

I'm pleased that the reviews are finally starting to come in on the 1DX II. It's good to see all the different opinions.

One thing I've noticed is that all the sites pretty consistently say that the high ISO files from the II are not that much different from the I (at least in Raw). Good to know and kind of interesting because when it was first released and all that was available were reviews from Canon "explorers" who got early copies, they were raving about the improved high ISO performance. I suspect it's mostly a case of confirmation bias. Not a criticism of the 1D II, just good information to file away while considering the camera.

I have to say, if I got a $6,000 camera and it had oil/grease on the sensor I would be quite P.O'd. I would have sent it back immediately. I'm hoping it was a one time problem, but it does give me a little pause. I'm hoping Canon isn't going to have the same problem with the ID X II that Nikon had a few years ago.

I agree that the Digital Picture does tend to only throw softballs in its Canon camera reviews. I think his lens reviews are more useful because he actually compares lenses (both Canon and third party).

All in all, not a bad review, but I'm still waiting for DPR's in-depth review and will be looking for others as well. The more information the better.

 

[J.R.]

One thing I've noticed is that all the sites pretty consistently say that the high ISO files from the II are not that much different from the I (at least in Raw). Good to know and kind of interesting because when it was first released and all that was available were reviews from Canon "explorers" who got early copies, they were raving about the improved high ISO performance. I suspect it's mostly a case of confirmation bias. Not a criticism of the 1D II, just good information to file away while considering the camera.

Andy Rouse was here in India last week and he was saying that that the IQ on processing the high ISO RAWs with DPP is considerably better than with Adobe LR. I wonder if it actually true. I think I might as well try it out.

 

[j-nord]

One lens (of a few) that I've picked up after reading his reviews is the 70-300L, which didn't get much love early on. I was looking for something that was lighter/more compact than the 70-200 + 1.4x, and the 70-300L filled the role admirably.

70-300L is definitely an under rated lens that doesn't get much love.

 

[j-nord]

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

I do have to say that he does seem to never have any Canon product not wildly exceed his expectations and if a lens doesn't test quite right he will get 2,3,4, 30 copies if the brand says Canon. OTOH he'll tested a (dropped?) Tamron, get coke bottle results and be done with it (on lenses that have done SUPER well for me).

That said useful info, just realize that his reviews sometimes read a little bit like Explorer's of Light statements.

Which products "wildly exceed his expectations"? All? That's a totally unfair comment.

Canon's flagship is a great camera. No surprise that he would like it.

Bryan has proven that knows photography better than the mega-underexposure pushers at DRReview. I find his reviews to be full of practical insights for real photography — covering everything I want to know.

I love his reviews and visit his site regularly however, I have no illusions that he is biased. He definitely has a tendency to exaggerate how fantastic upgrades/refreshes are for both bodies and lenses. I agree with ahsanford, it's hard separate the B+ lenses from the A+ based on his reviews.

 

[Refurb7]

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

I do have to say that he does seem to never have any Canon product not wildly exceed his expectations and if a lens doesn't test quite right he will get 2,3,4, 30 copies if the brand says Canon. OTOH he'll tested a (dropped?) Tamron, get coke bottle results and be done with it (on lenses that have done SUPER well for me).

That said useful info, just realize that his reviews sometimes read a little bit like Explorer's of Light statements.

Which products "wildly exceed his expectations"? All? That's a totally unfair comment.

Canon's flagship is a great camera. No surprise that he would like it.

Bryan has proven that knows photography better than the mega-underexposure pushers at DRReview. I find his reviews to be full of practical insights for real photography — covering everything I want to know.

I love his reviews and visit his site regularly however, I have no illusions that he is biased. He definitely has a tendency to exaggerate how fantastic upgrades/refreshes are for both bodies and lenses. I agree with ahsanford, it's hard separate the B+ lenses from the A+ based on his reviews.

However, the Digital Picture's "Lens Image Quality" comparison tool separates the B+ lenses from the A+ lenses right away. Couldn't be easier than that.

 

[FlorentC]

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

I do have to say that he does seem to never have any Canon product not wildly exceed his expectations and if a lens doesn't test quite right he will get 2,3,4, 30 copies if the brand says Canon. OTOH he'll tested a (dropped?) Tamron, get coke bottle results and be done with it (on lenses that have done SUPER well for me).

That said useful info, just realize that his reviews sometimes read a little bit like Explorer's of Light statements.

Which products "wildly exceed his expectations"? All? That's a totally unfair comment.

Canon's flagship is a great camera. No surprise that he would like it.

Bryan has proven that knows photography better than the mega-underexposure pushers at DRReview. I find his reviews to be full of practical insights for real photography — covering everything I want to know.

I love his reviews and visit his site regularly however, I have no illusions that he is biased. He definitely has a tendency to exaggerate how fantastic upgrades/refreshes are for both bodies and lenses. I agree with ahsanford, it's hard separate the B+ lenses from the A+ based on his reviews.

However, the Digital Picture's "Lens Image Quality" comparison tool separates the B+ lenses from the A+ lenses right away. Couldn't be easier than that.

Not quite. While this tool is nice and well done, the chart only shows contrast and resolution (to some extent), and there's much more to image quality than that. Sometimes the rest is covered in his reviews, sometimes not.

See the 35L II review for instance. There's a lack of "real-world" comparison images and commentary between this lens and the others from its category, starting with the Sigma 35mm Art. He only paraphrases - VERY briefly, one sentence! - the results from the "Lens Image Quality" tool, and again, where are the other aspects of image quality?

Anyway, TDP is a great resource, with lots of stuff not found anywhere else.

 

[douglaurent]

Wanted to take only charger on a longer trip, so the old used one would have been better.
If you have an old and new 1D model and use old and new batteries in a mixed way, it's not really logical that only the new charger will work for both, when old and new cameras work for both.

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

- the new batteries don't work with the old charger

The old batteries work with the new charger ... and it's not like you have to buy the new charger separately. How is this an issue?