EOS 5D Mark III vs. EOS 1D X - Differences?

[HDNitehawk]

John; it sounds like Brant gave you the compelling argument for the 1D X "Get the 1DX....you know you want it "

Now for the tough part, with the 5D III coming in late March and the 1D X pushed back to April,....or some time later. It might be a long month of April, waiting could get painful especially if we start seeing a lot of fanboi posts from people with their new 5D III.

[jrw]

It certainly looks like I missed a lot of announcements while on a road trip today. Glad someone else started this post as I am now in similar position of needing to decide whether it will be worthwhile to me to upgrade for new super teles, or rather which path to choose when upgrading. Have always felt something was missing from 5Dii and 7D, but just couldn't justify price of 1Ds to myself, let alone have chance of passing grade on WAF (wife approval factor). After reading the narrative of a hapless self-tormented soul trying to choose between two mirages of yet-to-be-delivered Canon products I have decided that I must be patient and wait until the manuals are available online so that I can dive deeply and learn what options are available in the menu options before I can really figure out whether the 1Dx price tag will be worth it to me.

One item to pass on that I have found this evening is that the BG-E6 from the 5Dii is compatible with the 5Diii according to the Canon USA site. Fewer buttons and gizmos but fewer dollars as well.

[btaylor]

Indeed. Why is running under the tripod legs such a fun game for toddlers?!?

I do that now! Mostly because I'm amazed that I can fit under my tripod (and I'm 6' tall!)

It's a pretty hard decision you have really. As mentioned by W349 - Canon has thrown a spanner in the works for those tossing up between the two by making the 5D Mark III an (apparently) top notch camera.

For me, if I were in the position where the price difference wasn't the deciding factor I would go for the 1Dx. I shoot with a grip 100% of the time as well so the size wouldn't be an issue. In fact, I would really love to have an integrated grip rather than the bolt on. I was using a friends 1D IV a few weeks back and the build quality really is a step above, everything just feels rock solid and I would expect the 1Dx to carry on that path.

The multiple exposure feature on the 5D III is one thing that would put it on top of the 1Dx. I think that has huge potential for landscape and architecture photography. I'm looking forward to seeing how it actually performs and it would potentially save a lot of leg work in post.

The winning feature of the 1Dx over the 5D III is the ability to spot meter off individual focus points. I would love to have seen that on the 5D III but I guess there needs to be some compromised to separate the two models.

In saying that, the Canon website states (with regard to metering):

iFCL Metering with 63-zone dual-layering metering sensor
The EOS 5D Mark III features Canon's multi-layer 63-zone iFCL (intelligent Focus Color Luminance) Metering System that integrates the cameras AF system into its readings. By taking into account the color and luminosity surrounding the chosen AF point(s), this new system delivers an entirely new level of accuracy, especially in situations where the light changes quickly. The metering sensor enables evaluative, center weighted, partial and spot metering, plus offers 5-step exposure compensation for perfectly exposed images, every time.

So it appears that the metering systems will kind of 'preferentially' meter based on information gathered surrounding the focus point used. Will be interesting to see some more info on this as it comes to hand.

I'm still undecided as to whether the 18MP of the 1Dx is a tad low for my taste. That should mean that noise quality will be excellent at higher ISOs but I would have thought their front line camera would be up high enough to push the resolving capabilities of the L series lenses. I do heavily crop when required and in this regard I appreciate the 22MP I have available from my 5D II files.

Look, their both amazing looking bodies. It's like putting Jessica Alba and Scalett Johansson side by side and telling you to choose between the two. One's a tight, perfectly formed machine and the other has a few more curves with some bolt on accessories. You can decide which is which

[bob williams]

Thoughts and advice from the forum?

Looks to me like you answered your own question. Seriously, when you lay it out in a side by side comparison like you did, the decision seems to be a no brainer for the overall package and versatility. I suppose the dedicated wedding or landscape photographer may choose the 5dIII for the percieved IQ benefit but othwerwise, if the price difference isn't in the decision formula, I can't imagine why someone would choose the 5dIII over the 1DX. As for me, I am hoping for some 1DX funding sometime soon.

[neuroanatomist]

Thanks for the feedback, everyone! At this point, I'm about 95% sure I'll be getting the 1D X.

Another classic dilemma this morning, heading off to shoot my older daughter's tumbling class. Indoor gymnasium, fast, erratically-moving subject - need high ISO, reliable AI Servo, and high frame rate. I'll take a noisy shot over a blurry one, so I packed the 7D - but the 1D X would solve the problem.

On another forum, someone who's played with the face tracking AF on the 1D X, and has a 5DII and a 1DIV, had a nice fishing analogy for AI Servo: the 5DII is like dipping your line in the water and getting lucky once in a while, with the 1DIV you hook the fish, but it slips off the hook sometimes and then bites again, and with the 1D X it gets hooked immediately, and stays on the hook no matter how much it twists and jumps.

The multiple exposure feature on the 5D III is one thing that would put it on top of the 1Dx. I think that has huge potential for landscape and architecture photography. I'm looking forward to seeing how it actually performs and it would potentially save a lot of leg work in post.

This seems like a point lots of folks are confused about. There are two distinct features that are getting lumped together here.

The first is multi-exposure - superimposing several frames, as was done by not advancing the film days, but with more flexibility on the merging options, similar to layers in Photoshop. Frames can simply be added, combined with weighting given to lighter or darker features, etc. Both the 1D X and the 5DIII have that capability.

The second is in-camera HDR, where images with different exposures are tone-mapped and blended to increase the dynamic range. Only the 5DIII has that capability (among Canon dSLRs, at any rate - my S100 can do it, too, but the 5DIII also aligns images and saves out RAW if desired).

[w349]

The second is in-camera HDR, where images with different exposures are tone-mapped and blended to increase the dynamic range. Only the 5DIII has that capability (among Canon dSLRs, at any rate - my S100 can do it, too, but the 5DIII also aligns images and saves out RAW if desired).

Not a feature that interests me, but I am curious why this has been omitted from the 1D X. Perhaps 'pro HDR work' is all done in post and in-camera HDR is seen as a bit gimmicky.

I am also 95% sure I am sticking with my 1D X pre-order, despite seeing the 5D III as a remarkably good value option (many seem to disagree on this) that would probably fulfill all of my needs. It's the want part of the decision that's the tipping point.

One thing I can't seem to find a clear answer to online is the warranty periods for both bodies. However, EU consumer law is likely to favour the buyer if a £5300 camera body fails after 12 months, even if it is branded with a measly 1 year warranty.

[neuroanatomist]

Not a feature that interests me, but I am curious why this has been omitted from the 1D X. Perhaps 'pro HDR work' is all done in post and in-camera HDR is seen as a bit gimmicky.

Might just be that the 5DIII is 'newer' (by announcement date). Who knows - they may add it to the 1D X before release. (A part of me hopes they fix the f/8 issue, although I doubt that's likely.)

[bigblue1ca]

Thanks for the feedback, everyone! At this point, I'm about 95% sure I'll be getting the 1D X.

On another forum, someone who's played with the face tracking AF on the 1D X, and has a 5DII and a 1DIV, had a nice fishing analogy for AI Servo: the 5DII is like dipping your line in the water and getting lucky once in a while, with the 1DIV you hook the fish, but it slips off the hook sometimes and then bites again, and with the 1D X it gets hooked immediately, and stays on the hook no matter how much it twists and jumps.

He should sell that to Canon marketing...in a world of very technical language that leads to confusion at times about how great or not so great something is (at least for me), that's very simple and easy to wrap my head around.

I'm leaning more to the 1D X, based mainly on the logic that if the 5D III wouldn't have come along, I'd have bought the 1D X, been ecstatic about it and not even thought twice. But, as w349 points out, the 5D III seems to provide excellent value for its cost so it would be foolish to not at least give it a little more thought. One point of concern with the 1D X is when production models are going to get into the hands of the average guy. I'm going to NYC in August for the first time and would love to have my new camera in hand for that trip,

[HDNitehawk]

On another forum, someone who's played with the face tracking AF on the 1D X, and has a 5DII and a 1DIV, had a nice fishing analogy for AI Servo: the 5DII is like dipping your line in the water and getting lucky once in a while, with the 1DIV you hook the fish, but it slips off the hook sometimes and then bites again, and with the 1D X it gets hooked immediately, and stays on the hook no matter how much it twists and jumps.

I sure hope the other forum wasn't "Canon Rumors". It kind of takes the credibility down a notch or two.

It does sound like a fair description, except I don't see the 1D IV loosing a target for no reason. It is usually because of environmental conditions, such as changes in the contrast in the background. If there was one thing I could see with the 1D IV AF system that could be improved is its sensitivity settings once locked on to a subject.

I wonder if the 5D III will really have the 1D X's AF system and it will be as accurate as the 1D X, or if were just reading marketing hype.

[w349]

I wonder if the 5D III will really have the 1D X's AF system and it will be as accurate as the 1D X, or if were just reading marketing hype.

I fully expect the 5D III to work equally as well as the 1D X in One Shot mode, but would expect the additional colour information and face recognition to provide better servo tracking in the 1D X. Just speculation.

"The EOS-1D X’s AF system works in tandem with the camera’s autoexposure system that deploys a 100,000-pixel RGB metering sensor and a new metering algorithm. The sensor is used to detect a subject’s brightness, colour and face and, based on this, evaluative metering or evaluative flash metering is executed. This data is communicated to the AF system to assist with subject tracking" - http://cpn.canon-europe.com/content/...m_explained.do