Canon USA Introduces EOS-1D X Digital SLR Camera

[Steve Nunez]

Is this the sole new product that is to be announced for Nov 3rd, or are other products still possibly pending?
I was hoping for a mirror-less camera to run head to head with the GH2!

[Ken Diewert]

Originally Posted by Robert Sanders

I think the ultimately irony, from my perspective, is that I bought the 7D so I could shoot some shallow DoF video. In the end, the camera turned me back into a photographer. And now I use the camera 99% of the time as a photographer. And as a photographer I never use "live view" for obvious reasons.

Haha... Not me Robert... my 5d clip counter has passed 10,000 once already and is now at 7,000 again. My shutter count for stills... 6,500... Since July 2009.

[Sabyasachi Patra]

Originally Posted by Chris Hurd

You have to understand that the 1-series cameras are intended primarily for the pro photo market and are built for extreme shooting environments, namely photojournalism. You don't want fragile moving parts on these cameras. A flip-out LCD would be broken off in a heartbeat on the sidelines of an NFL game or in the middle of a riot or an embedded journalist in a combat area. A flip-out LCD is pointless on a 1-series body... you have to think beyond what *you* want and recognize the bigger picture of what type of environment this camera is made to fit specifically, and realize what is best for that particular market.

I wouldn't be surprised to see a flip-out LCD on the next 5D model -- and I hope it has one, but it has no business being on a 1-series camera, which is made for all-weather shooting in harsh environments.

I only shoot with 1 Series bodies. I have been shooting with my 1D Mark II and 1D Mark IV cameras in pouring rain and understand the benefits of a 1 Series body as well as limitations. You use a camera according to its strength and usage for a particular environment. If you are a photojournalist covering NFL, then certainly opening the flip LCD switching on the Live view, manual focusing (as the AF in live view is not fast enough) and clicking is just not going to fly. So clearly this is not meant for NFL situations. However, that doesn't mean the feature is not important. How many NFL journalists shoot video using a 1 series body? Not many. Using that logic Canon should have dropped video from the 1D X.

The 1 Series is a professional body meant for professional applications for all photographic genres and each will push this camera differently. Finally it is upto Canon to decide which feature they can include. Till then it is wild speculation about the reason for dropping a feature, unless Canon has clarified it.

I was a bit surprised by your tone. When you say "..you have to think beyond what *you* want ..." that means half of the people can't express their views here? Communicating in forums like this where we don't have the benefit of watching the gestures of others, sentences like these can always be interpreted in a negative manner.

Anyway, I will share more thoughts when I get one for review.

Cheers,
Sabyasachi

[Jim Michael]

Originally Posted by Steve Nunez

Is this the sole new product that is to be announced for Nov 3rd, or are other products still possibly pending?
I was hoping for a mirror-less camera to run head to head with the GH2!

Based on a Canon survey I participated in recently they are working on a mirrorless camera. The questions had to do with importance of features and pricing.

[David Heath]

Originally Posted by Steve Nunez

Is this the sole new product that is to be announced for Nov 3rd, or are other products still possibly pending?

I thibk the fact this has been announced now means it this has nothing to do with the Nov 3rd date. The most sensible speculation is that Nov 3rd is likely to do with something regarding digital cinema - not what is primarily a stills camera.

[Don Parrish]

I see some spec sheets listing USB 2.0, why not 3.0 ??

[Brian Drysdale]

Perhaps because not all computers have USB 3.0

[David Heath]

I think if a USB3 device is connected to a USB2 computer (or the other way round) it will still work - but at the speed of the lowest device. There's nothing to lose by making something USB3 capable, but there will only be a gain when connected to another USB3 device.

[Pete Bauer]

(Edited)

I couldn't find anything that specified which version of USB will be in the camera. Is there a link to official info on that?

It is correct that USB3 is backward compatible. I do hope they go with USB3. IMO, if they would go with USB2 it would be an unfortunate design choice for a top-of-the-line camera. I've become totally spoiled by being able to dump a card full of files from CF card to computer in just a matter of seconds using USB3, rather than many minutes. If you don't have a USB3 capable computer, then you'll just downgrade to USB2 speed. From the buyer point of view, no reason not to have the much faster industry standard interface on the camera.

BUT, since it has gigabit ethernet, I could certainly overlook the USB thing!

[Chris Hurd]

Originally Posted by Sabyasachi Patra

Till then it is wild speculation about the reason for dropping a feature, unless Canon has clarified it.

A flip-out LCD has never been a feature of the 1-series body. Therefore Canon has not "dropped a feature." They have chosen not to bring it over from their prosumer EOS 60D or their consumer Rebel T3i, just as they have not brought over, say, EF-S lens compatibility. There are perfectly valid reasons for these decisions. It is not "wild speculation" to explain why a certain feature has not been added to the 1-series.

Canon has indeed dropped some features from the EOS-1D X, such as SDHC / SDXC card compatibility and a few other things.However, a flip-out LCD has not been dropped since it was never there on the 1-series to begin with.

Originally Posted by Sabyasachi Patra

When you say "..you have to think beyond what *you* want ..." that means half of the people can't express their views here? Communicating in forums like this where we don't have the benefit of watching the gestures of others, sentences like these can always be interpreted in a negative manner.

When a person makes a post here saying "feature X should be on camera Y," they need to be prepared for honest answers that might not have been what they wanted to see. My reply suggesting an alternative point of view to consider the bigger picture regarding feature sets on a certain product is just that -- a suggestion.

On this site it is a very firm policy to *always* assume the good faith and good intentions of your fellow members here. That's not a suggestion, it's a rule. Hope this helps,

[Chris Hurd]

One more comment about the flip-out LCD question. Just to get this issue settled and to put an end to any guessing or speculation, I spoke with Erik Allin of CUSA this morning and asked him if adding a flip-out LCD feature was ever under consideration for the EOS-1D X. He said thatthey had thought about it, but ultimately Canon did not have a practical way at this time to insure the weather-tight integrity of the 1D X at the LCD hinge points, nor were they confident about its durability in extreme environments, therefore the flip-out feature was purposefully not introduced to the 1D X. Which pretty much confirms what I had been saying all along.

Above all other feature sets including video, the 1-series bodies are first and foremost weather-tight and able to withstand ten inches of rain per hour. Canon refuses to compromise that primary 1-series feature. Hope this helps,

[Henry Coll]

The 1DX is the perfect PJ DSLR. Actually, it's a Nikon D3s clone with a few more pixels, but that's fine for me. What I don't like is that it's €2,000 more than the D3s, I hope the street price will finally be close to the €4.5k mark.

As for video, this 1DX could have been THE game changer, if only had implemented a very simple thing.

Let's be honest, no DSLR will make a video/film camera ever: Video codecs are never good enough, no XLRs, no 48v, no good preamps, no tiltable TFT or EVFs, no SMPTE I/O, they require external audio recorder and somewhat laborious post sync, etc, etc.

But ALL of the above could have been solved with a very simple move: a clean 422 10bit HDMI out (preferably SDI due to its locking connector).

The 1DX with a clean video out would have been "disruptive technology". THE perfect PJ DSLR and THE perfect small FF film cam, all in one.


If only Canon was Apple. What a missed opportunity. Yeah, there's 3rd November with S35 videocam and all that, but still, a missed opportunity.


Hopefully Nikon understands this better with the upcoming D4. They've already set the trend in DSLR with the D3s, which Canon has finally cloned (dismissing his very own APS-H 1.3 crop and Megapixel race, and caring for high ISOs instead)

[Don Parrish]

I'm a fan if a lot of cameras, especially the old 4x5's. But I have to disagree about the D3S clone if for no other reason than an extra 6mp of space for cropping. I know there is a pixel peeper ananolgy but 12.1 in this day and age? 720 video, 5 minute limit. Not to mention we have not seen the continual increase in image quality and noise reduction. I am sure that the Nikon is excellent, but I would not consider them equal until we see what Canon has produced.

D3s
Product Highlights
12.1 Mp FX (36x23.9mm) CMOS Sensor
RAW/JPEGs & 720p HD Video @ 24fps
ISO Sensitivity Up To ISO 102,400
Built Tough, Fully Weathersealed
3" 920,000-Dot LCD with Live View
Buffers Up to 48 RAW or 130 large JPEGs
In-Camera RAW Processing
Compatible With Most Nikkor Optics
Dual CF Memory Card Slots
Up to 4200 Exposures per Battery Charge

[Henry Coll]

Well, to me and to many others, the 1Dx certifies that "Nikon was right", therefore my "D3s clone" wording.

With the 1D3 and 1D4 Canon was bleeding pros to Nikon with the D3/s. Why? Because Pro PJs found out they didn't want a strange crop that transformed all they focals, they didn't care for the MPx race but they did care very much about being able to shoot at high ISOs without any noise. To top it all, they wanted a simple to use but effective and fast AF.

ALL the above is what Canon has copied/assimilated.

Many years ago Canon redefined DSLRs and Nikon was totally lost with several dull cameras. Canon has been sleeping ever since (except for the surprising 5D2 movie-phenomenon), while Nikon truly got to work.

In the end, competition makes us the winners.

[Jon Fairhurst]

Originally Posted by Henry Coll

...Pro PJs found out they didn't want a strange crop that transformed all they focals, they didn't care for the MPx race but they did care very much about being able to shoot at high ISOs without any noise. To top it all, they wanted a simple to use but effective and fast AF.

I disagree that the 1D X is a D3/s clone.

I agree that Nikon was winning the noise reduction and AF battles and that Canon improved the 1D X in these areas. I wrote long ago (regarding the 5D3) that the only certainties about the next generation cam is better NR and AF, since those are two photo-oriented features where Canon was behind. (Nine points for the 5D2? Really?)

I don't see it as a clone, copied, or assimilated. It's a classic horsepower war. When Intel makes a faster CPU, AMD needs to respond. For some time, point and shoots fought a megapixel war. Nikon raced ahead in the AF point war and Canon has had to respond.

Hopefully, the NR and AF features aren't a mere copy but raise the bar.

And hopefully, Nikon will take the video feature battle seriously and do some leapfrogging of their own. :)