Canon EOS-1D X Mark III: A machine gun is slower
Canon presents a new camera. The Canon EOS-1D X Mark III is heavy, big and damn fast.
The longer the CES in Las Vegas lasts, the more product-centred it becomes. After all the discussions about women, sex and privacy are over, the people with the unwieldy badge in Las Vegas go into the exhibition halls and face the noise and the happy bumping into each other.
In the large main hall, the really big names from all over the world are holding hands. Samsung shows laptops next to LG, which makes an impression with a curved OLED wall. At the back, Sony is splashing around with the Vision-S car and the Ecto-1 from Ghostbusters.
Canon makes far less of an impression at first glance. Right next door, Nikon draws attention to itself with models and a fashion show, but at Canon there is a counter with cameras and lenses. In front of it is the trade press, behind it photographers from all over the world who talk about their favourite Canons.
Somewhere between the EOS-R and EOS Rebel is a lump of a camera with the awkward name Canon EOS-1D X Mark III, which you can't pronounce properly in any language.
If you're shooting or filming, take a good look at the camera. For real. The only thing we regret is that we only had a few minutes before the big keynote.
Ratatatatatata
Before the photographer from Puerto Rico realises that video producer Stephanie Tresch and I know a thing or two about cameras, he wants to show us something. "Press the AF-ON button at the back, then stay on the shutter release".
The camera gets going. It takes shot after shot without delay. Up to 20 images per second are possible. In raw and JPG. And as if that wasn't cool enough, the powerhouse, which is surprisingly heavy in the hand with the lens, takes over 1000 pictures in a row in this mode. Then, we suspect, the computer in the camera has to do some maths.
Because if you take 100 pictures for five seconds, you can view them immediately. No "Please Wait..." message on the display. This is due to the new processor that Canon has installed in the EOS-1D X III. The Digic X - which stands for "Digital Imaging Integrated Circuit" - is so powerful that Canon has rethought its concept of two processors. Instead of two CPUs, the 1D X now only has one, but it does a lot more. Canon even goes so far as to call the camera "The Ultimate EOS".
The Digic X is up to 3.1 times faster than its predecessor in single image processing and up to 380 times faster in continuous shooting.
On the video side, Canon beats the processor. There is 4k with 60fps on a 20MP sensor. Unlimited. Doesn't sound like much and a bit like "we already know", which is why I'm keeping this paragraph short. This feature needs to be tested.
Apropos: The click when releasing the shutter on a DSLR is still something that is very satisfying.
Yes, but... for whom?
At the stand, video producer Stephanie Tresch and I disagree. Who is the Canon EOS-1D X III for?
My first thought: sports photography. The continuous fire of the camera can shoot the penalty from A to Z.
Your thought: studio photography. The weight of the camera cries out for a tripod. Although the body itself is quite light, the lens adds a lot of weight to the camera.
But we all agree: the EOS-1D X III is a beast. A very impressive beast that could help Canon to new fame after the PR debacle surrounding the EOS-R. The camera will be on sale from mid-February 2020. And to pre-empt the question in the comments column: we don't know when the camera will be on sale at digitec. <p
Journalist. Author. Hacker. A storyteller searching for boundaries, secrets and taboos – putting the world to paper. Not because I can but because I can’t not.