What surprises does Canon still have in store for the EOS-1D X Mark III?

Jan 29, 2011
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Waiting to see what it offers in terms of video.
Waiting to see what it offers in terms of stills photo :)
Blah, waiting to see what the high resolution R brings, I just don't see any excitement in the 1DX MkIII for stills shooters, so far the most interesting thing has been illuminated buttons, big whoop (not)!
 
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If, after they've strung out this release for an extra year, the iii has a 20.X sensor I'm going to Sony. I can't wait to complain about whatever they complain about in the AlphaRumors forums.

Seriously though, if they need to go with their little 20MP micro-sensor to match what Sony/Nikon/The rest of the world can do as far as IQ, ISO performance, etc. on larger sensors, then they're tacitly admitting their R&D/technology sucks.
 
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Sep 11, 2014
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Blah, waiting to see what the high resolution R brings, I just don't see any excitement in the 1DX MkIII for stills shooters, so far the most interesting thing has been illuminated buttons, big whoop (not)!

IMO there's not excitement because the messaging has been mixed, and it looks like they're going to F this up with a sensor that's inferior to competitors.
 
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Nelu

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At 20MP I'm not interested. This 1DXMKIII is for video not photography.
I have the original 1DX and I skipped the Mark II, waiting now for the Mark III. Well, if the resolution stays the same I guess I'll get a cheap Mark II because the video bells and whistles mean nothing to me:-(
 
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As a generalist I very rarely run into AF limitations, when I do it is invariably due to light limitations so my only real interest in AF improvements for DSLR's is in low light sensitivity.

Indeed I find the criticism of AF to be, in general, farcical when most people don't even know exactly what the three variables do and rarely if ever change them. I ignore anybodies comments about AF unless I know they know what they are talking about, people like Grant Atkinson, Ari Hazeghi, who not only shoot a lot but also intimately understand the specifics of the AF settings. I find AF so adjustable I will use different settings after I have been shooting for a half hour and gotten into the swing of things and then after a few hours I'll dial responsiveness down as I get tired.

Eye AF in a DSLR is a cute gimmick with very limited functionality outside video, at which point we go back to the video centricity of the majority of these improvements.

I run into AF limitations all the time and I know what I'm doing. Try shooting an elite gymnast in a highly sequined leo often against an extremely busy background, or a dancer in a head to toe black costume against a velour back drop...you'll find the limitations very quickly. A big Improvement in AF is about the only reason I'd quickly pickup a III. I don't need any more MP. Actually I could really use a vastly improved silent shutter mode for dance, but I'm pretty sure I have to wait for a pro mirrorless body to get that.
 
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Jim Corbett

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It's not possible but the opposite is. They could make a mirrorless camera with EF mount!
We would not need AF adjustment and if they could make 2 more EF L IS 2.8 zooms (15-35, 24-70) everything would be OK. We would miss nothing!
At least this does not require magic. Still, both of the above combinations will not happen.
Well, that's the magic, isn't it - 1dx body and CPU, sans mirror, RF mount, CFexpress, high rate EVF, 4k Super 35, 16fps, lossless comp., 200 frames buffer, back in business :)
The real problem is not so much the technicalities, but the stagnant corporate thinking; lack of faith and will to even imagine it.
 
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It's not possible but the opposite is. They could make a mirrorless camera with EF mount!
We would not need AF adjustment and if they could make 2 more EF L IS 2.8 zooms (15-35, 24-70) everything would be OK. We would miss nothing!
At least this does not require magic. Still, both of the above combinations will not happen.
The rumor is that they are working on a D1 caliber camera that could use EF and RF without an adapter. They would have a way to move the sensor based on the lens type.
 
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tron

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Blah, waiting to see what the high resolution R brings, I just don't see any excitement in the 1DX MkIII for stills shooters, so far the most interesting thing has been illuminated buttons, big whoop (not)!
If rumors are wrong and it comes close to 30Mpixels I could see it replacing my 5DMkIV. Also I could see it becoming a birding camera albeit with the help of a 1.4XIII.

As far as an EOS Rs model I could hardly find any use since I use 5DsR for birding and it is good enough. More megapixels would probably be useful only in the form of a 5DsRMkII. Also, 5DsR, 5DIV and EOS R are already very good for landscapes.
 
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Blah, waiting to see what the high resolution R brings, I just don't see any excitement in the 1DX MkIII for stills shooters, so far the most interesting thing has been illuminated buttons, big whoop (not)!
Olympus had illuminiated buttons even on their entry level 4/3 DSLR E620. Nikon has been selling cameras with illuminated buttons for sometime now and it is a useful feature hoping to see on Canon cameras(maybe upto 7D mk II replacement).
 
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I have the original 1DX and I skipped the Mark II, waiting now for the Mark III. Well, if the resolution stays the same I guess I'll get a cheap Mark II because the video bells and whistles mean nothing to me:-(


DITTO I'll be keeping my MK II's, I don't give a hoot about video.
 
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I'm really not the target market for this camera, but part of me wishes they'd implement the hybrid viewfinder patent they applied for recently on this body. With the performance increases they've shown on their mirrorless cameras, the really high-speed burst rate available in live view, the silent shooting, it seems like a hybrid viewfinder would make a lot of sense here. Let the photographer choose if they want it to operate as a mirrorless camera or DSLR based on their use case or immediate need.

With the caveat that again I'm not the target market for this, that sort of technology advancement would turn some heads in my mind.
 
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Jan 29, 2011
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I run into AF limitations all the time and I know what I'm doing. Try shooting an elite gymnast in a highly sequined leo often against an extremely busy background, or a dancer in a head to toe black costume against a velour back drop...you'll find the limitations very quickly. A big Improvement in AF is about the only reason I'd quickly pickup a III. I don't need any more MP. Actually I could really use a vastly improved silent shutter mode for dance, but I'm pretty sure I have to wait for a pro mirrorless body to get that.
If I saw a dramatic change of elite gymnastics photographers dropping Canon for any other single brand I'd think you had a point, but I don't so I don't.

But you will get the silent sguttewre in the MkIII.

Screen Shot 2019-12-17 at 11.05.19.png
 
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As a generalist I very rarely run into AF limitations, when I do it is invariably due to light limitations so my only real interest in AF improvements for DSLR's is in low light sensitivity.

Indeed I find the criticism of AF to be, in general, farcical when most people don't even know exactly what the three variables do and rarely if ever change them. I ignore anybodies comments about AF unless I know they know what they are talking about, people like Grant Atkinson, Ari Hazeghi, who not only shoot a lot but also intimately understand the specifics of the AF settings. I find AF so adjustable I will use different settings after I have been shooting for a half hour and gotten into the swing of things and then after a few hours I'll dial responsiveness down as I get tired.

Eye AF in a DSLR is a cute gimmick with very limited functionality outside video, at which point we go back to the video centricity of the majority of these improvements.
I shoot birds-in-flight (BIF) with my 1DX2/EOS 600mm F4 lll and believe I have a good grasp of the AF custom case settings, as well as BIF shooting techniques. That said, the 1DX2 uses "predictive" algorithms that causes the subject tracking to be unstable against backgrounds with contrast. The AF of the D6 and A92 are biased toward tracking and maintaining focus lock, once acquired. You mention Ari Hazeghi. Ari is a highly accomplished BIF photographer who shot Canon for a decade. Last year he sold his Canon gear and now shoots the Nikon D6. Ari has written in detail of the shortcomings of the Canon AF for BIF photography. Another dedicated BIF photographer is Art Morris. Art was a Canon Explorer of Light but now shoots the Sony A92. Art is outspoken about the limitations of the Canon AF for BIF photography. I was recently shooting BIF with Art in Bosque Del Apache. The tracking of the A92 is remarkable.

Canon said in a recent interview that improvements in AF tracking is one of the main developments of the 1DX3. If true, I am a buyer. Canon also said to expect a reduction of weight with the 1DX3 which is great news! Another big improvement will be adoption of dual CFexpress cards and adoption of HEIF files. I am curious to see the IQ of the compressed HEIF files, and the benefit, if any, HEIF may have on FR and/or buffer capacity.

BTW My daughter is a wedding photographer and is ecstatic about her results with Eye AF for still photography.
 
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I shoot birds-in-flight (BIF) with my 1DX2/EOS 600mm F4 lll and believe I have a good grasp of the AF custom case settings, as well as BIF shooting techniques. That said, the 1DX2 uses "predictive" algorithms that causes the subject tracking to be unstable against backgrounds with contrast. The AF of the D6 and A92 are biased toward tracking and maintaining focus lock, once acquired. You mention Ari Hazeghi. Ari is a highly accomplished BIF photographer who shot Canon for a decade. Last year he sold his Canon gear and now shoots the Nikon D6. Ari has written in detail of the shortcomings of the Canon AF for BIF photography. Another dedicated BIF photographer is Art Morris. Art was a Canon Explorer of Light but now shoots the Sony A92. Art is outspoken about the limitations of the Canon AF for BIF photography. I was recently shooting BIF with Art in Bosque Del Apache. The tracking of the A92 is remarkable.

Canon said in a recent interview that improvements in AF tracking is one of the main developments of the 1DX3. If true, I am a buyer. Canon also said to expect a reduction of weight with the 1DX3 which is great news! Another big improvement will be adoption of dual CFexpress cards and adoption of HEIF files. I am curious to see the IQ of the compressed HEIF files, and the benefit, if any, HEIF may have on FR and/or buffer capacity.

BTW My daughter is a wedding photographer and is ecstatic about her results with Eye AF for still photography.
Anybody who quotes Arthur Morris in support of an opinion clearly has little background understanding. You are as welcome to your opinion as is anybody else, however I disagree with you and think Art is a joke, and I have spoken to him personally about it. In person he is much more accepting of his personal limits regarding BIF as a genre he freely admits he does not specialize in and never has.

I do believe very experienced single genre users can find differences between manufacturers AF algorithms to make a marginal difference to their personal keeper rates (and that is what Ari actually says), but I believe anybody that lambasts 1DX MkII, D5 or A9 II as being uncompetitive or dramatically different from either of the others is an idiot.
 
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unfocused

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I get a little tired of this trope that only people who don't know what they are doing complain about the autofocus.

The fact is, many if not most sports shooters still default to single point or single point expanded because virtually none of the other settings do well at locking on a subject when shooting sports. That shows right there that there is room for improvement.

To say that people just need to study the various use cases and refine their choices is a red herring. I can guarantee you that top sports photographers like Peter Read Miller aren't digging through the menu like that. In fact, he says as much on his video channel. If a system isn't intuitive right out of the box it needs work. Canon's autofocus is good, but it definitely can be improved and judging by Canon's own development announcement, they realize that.
 
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