If you thought the DSLR was dead then think again. The heavyweight Canon 1DX latest incarnation’s feature set is being revealed by Canon.
The fanfare around the mirrorless revolution is huge and it’s easy to forget that there is still a place for the DSLR, especially amongst professional photographers.
Looking through the specifications and features that have been revealed to date, it looks like an impressive beast. Here’s what we know about the camera so far.
New autofocus system
According to Canon, the EOS-1D X Mark III is blisteringly fast. It’s said to offer exceptional precision, reliability, high-performance autofocus along with subject tracking.
Canon has given the EOS-1D X Mark III a new autofocus algorithm to increase its stability and tracking whether you’re using the optical viewfinder or the screen to compose images.
Apparently it uses ‘deep learning technology’ to make the focus tracking more accurate.
The dedicated autofocus (AF) sensor that’s used with the optical viewfinder has approximately 28x the resolution at its centre than the one in the EOS-1D X Mark II. That should make it more precise.
Richard Heathcote, Senior Sports Photographer, Major Events, Getty Image said: “The new autofocus algorithm in the EOS-1D X Mark III takes subject tracking to a new level, with an intuitive controller and accurate results. It delivers as you would expect from the ultimate professional sports photography camera.”
Canon has also increased the brightness range that the AF system operates in.
Canon’s Dual Pixel CMOS AF system is on hand in Live View and video mode and enables 525 selectable AF areas. These areas cover around 90×100% of the image sensor and the camera uses the same AF algorithm as when the viewfinder is in use.
Continuous Shooting
The Canon EOS-1D X III can shoot at up to around 16fps with the mechanical shutter or approximately 20fps in Live View mode using the mechanical or electronic shutter. That’s with full AF and auto exposure.
Canon has opted for dual CFexpress card slots and they enable five times the raw file burst depth of the EOS-1D X Mark II.
New Sensor
The Canon EOS-1D X III has a new CMOS sensor and Digic processor. The sensor has been developed by Canon and is said to deliver better image quality. Images can also be captured in 10bit using the HEIF file format.
In addition, 4K videos can be recorded internally at 60p and 10bit using Canon Log. Raw-shooting is also possible in movie and stills mode.
Connected
The Canon EOS-1D X Mark III has built-in Wi-Fi and low-energy Bluetooth connectivity along with GPS.
Canon claims that the camera’s data transfer rate is twice that of the EOS-1D X Mark II when the built-in ethernet or new optional wireless file transmitter (WFT-E9) are used.
Professional photographers will also appreciate that the network set-up has been simplified.
Refined Controls
The EOS-1DX III has the same heavy-duty build-quality and weather-sealing as the EOS-1D X Mark II and it seems that the control layout will largely be familiar to Mark II shooters.
However, there’s a new control built into the AF-ON button for selecting the AF point. In addition, the EOS-1D X Mark III’s buttons can light-up to make them easier to see in low-light.
Canon has used the same LP-E19 battery in the Mark III camera but claims that its life has been extended. We’ll have to wait for more details to find out by how much.