It’s not just about speed; it’s also about the confidence that having so much performance instils. Comparing the Canon EOS 1D X Mark III to supercars like Ferraris, Lamborghinis, and Aston Martins is simple. It’s not just about speed; it’s also about confidence.
It’s not necessary for everyone to be able to shoot in bursts at 16 frames per second, and you don’t necessarily need autofocus that’s smarter and faster than you are all the time.
And here is the problem about the Canon 1D X Mark III: it is engineered for speed, but it is just so phenomenally adept overall that its appeal stretches well beyond the target audience of sports and press photographers. It will carry out any command you give it, at any time you specify.
Simply put, it is the best interchangeable lens camera there is, regardless of whether it is a reflex or mirrorless model. It’s both reflex and mirrorless, which is an interesting combination. Even though it is not a true hybrid design, Canon has gone to great lengths to ensure that its performance in Live View – that is, with the mirror locked up – is on par with everything that is now available in the mirrorless industry.
There is still a significant market for DSLR cameras, despite the fact that everyone seems to be concentrating on mirrorless devices right now. Because it has so many outstanding features, the Canon 1DX Mark III continues to be one of the greatest cameras now available from Canon and also continues to be one of the top DSLR cameras.
Canon EOS-1D X Mark III Body
- High Image Quality with New 20. 1 Megapixel Full-frame CMOS Sensor Combined with Newly Designed low Pass Filter.
- New DIGIC X Image Processor with an ISO range of 100-102400; Expandable to 50-819200*.
- New 191-point AF System Capable of Tracking the Subjects Head and Face using Deep Learning Technology.
- High Image Quality with New 20. 1 Megapixel Full-frame CMOS Sensor Combined with Newly Designed low Pass Filter.
- New DIGIC X Image Processor with an ISO range of 100-102400; Expandable to 50-819200*.
- New 191-point AF System Capable of Tracking the Subjects Head and Face using Deep Learning Technology.
- Dual Pixel CMOS AF for Fast and Accurate Auto Focus using up to 3869 Manual AF Positions** and up to 525 Automatic Positions.
- Use the EOS Utility Webcam Beta Software (Mac and Windows) to turn your Canon camera into a high-quality webcam, or do the same using a clean HDMI output.
Focus
- Deep learning AF
- Lacks animal AF (for now)
- Supremely quick and accurate
The viewfinder AF system is based on an all-new sensor which utilises an array of tiny square pixels and differs from the typical arrangement of line pairs to permit phase-difference detection measures. In point of fact, there are 100 times more pixels on the autofocus sensor of the Mark III than there were on the autofocus sensor of the Mark II, which results in a total of 191 measurement points, 155 of which are cross-type arrays.
Despite this, there is no change to the frame coverage. Every point may be chosen by hand, and the maximum aperture of the lens it uses is f/8 in every case. Sensitivity extends down to EV -4.0 and, interestingly, up to EV 21 so the system will continue to work in highly light circumstances as well.
The area modes are the same as those that were available on the Mark II. They range in size from Spot AF and 1-Point AF all the way up to the choice of two ‘Expansion’ settings (either four or eight-point clusters) and two ‘Zone’ area settings, the larger of which comprises all of the points in three separate blocks.
This operation is obviously much quicker, enabling the sampling to take place at 16 or 20 frames per second, and the algorithm that controls continuous autofocusing has been given a new name: AI Servo AF IV. However, the most significant progress has been made in topic tracking, which has been made possible by AI-based “deep learning” for the purpose of subject recognition and detection.
Performance
- Nearly unbounded space for buffering
- autofocus that is the best in its class
- Excellent signal-to-noise ratio
The EOS-1D X Mark III, which was equipped with a ProGrade Digital CFexpress Type B 325GB memory card, was able to record a burst of 150 JPEG files in 9.394 seconds, which equates to a shooting speed of 15.96 frames per second. This is as close to the stated 16 fps as it is possible to get without actually reaching that speed.
Even more impressive is the fact that this was accomplished while the camera was continuously adjusting its AF and AE settings, and, of course, at 150 frames, the camera was only getting started. It takes only a moment or two for the data to be written into the memory card. The size of each of the test files was, on average, 9.45 megabytes, which indicates that 1.42 gigabytes were stored away in the blink of an eye.
This takes continuous high-speed photography to a whole new level, and it demonstrates very clearly why Canon chose to embrace the CFexpress card format. No matter what you’re shooting, the Canon EOS-1D X Mark III will never slow you down because it’s always processing data in the background.
The performance of autofocusing is readily comparable to that of the best systems we’ve seen in mirrorless cameras, particularly in terms of subject-based tracking. Like everyone, Canon is just getting started here, so we’re certain to see the object recognition broadened to encompass additional specialised themes.
At the moment, it’s basically only either ‘people’ or ‘others,’ which is going to be fine for many sports, press, and wedding photographers. However, obviously, animals would be handy for wildlife, and it would be nice to see somebody other than Olympus (and here, we’re specifically referring to the OM-D E-M1X) cater for motorsports, especially given the speed of the EOS-1D X Mark III.
Image Quality
- 20.1MP sensor
- Excellent reproduction of the colours Sharp and clear pictures
The 20-megapixel sensor included in the 1D X Mark III is more than capable of competing with the 24-megapixel variety found in the Sony A9 II. The only moment we could have used a little bit more resolution was when we cropped the image to get a closer look at the topic. However, the photographs that this new Canon specialist creates are also excellent, and its focusing feature ensures that the features of people’s faces are captured in pin-sharp detail.
At lower ISOs, the best-quality JPEGs appear beautifully crisp with a wide dynamic range and excellent colour fidelity across the spectrum. However, the 10-bit HIEFs go even further, and we suspect that they will become the new favourite format of JPEG shooters. This is especially true when images are being transmitted directly from the camera during an event.
Final Verdict
In spite of the fact that we are preparing for a future in interchangeable lens cameras that seems to be mirrorless, the best item that can be found on the globe right now is a DSLR camera. This may sound like an odd statement to make. Due to the fact that it is a DSLR, it is noticeably larger than, for example, Sony’s A9 II; nonetheless, the EOS 1D X Mark III manages to conceal its size quite effectively, and the reflex mirror in no way slows down its shooting speed.
And of course, it comes with an optical viewfinder, which, depending on your, ahem, point of view, may or may not be a very desirable feature. When the mirror is locked up, the EOS 1D X Mark III performs very similarly to a high-end mirrorless camera. It is capable of 20 frames per second of continuous shooting, and its autofocus is quite accurate, particularly when it comes to tracking faces.
With the new Smart Controller, you have the option of using more traditional controls or having full touchscreen operability. This results in a significant improvement in the effectiveness of the focus point selection process.
Simply said, there is nothing that this camera is incapable of doing well. It is this camera’s reliability – the certainty that you will get precisely what you want each and every time you click the shutter – that makes it desirable to photographers who do not have a special need for speed.
We are huge fans of the mirrorless design philosophy, but we never for a moment considered that Canon’s EOS 1D X Mark III would be a better camera if it had an electronic viewfinder instead of an optical viewfinder (OVF) and if it were a little bit smaller. Because there would be no improvement in the situation.
The reason why the Mark III is such a successful digital single-lens reflex camera is that it is just what it claims to be: a very powerful DSLR that performs well both with the optical viewfinder and with live view. And in each scenario, whether compared to DSLRs or mirrorless cameras, it either equals or outguns the competition.
Canon EOS 1D X Mark III Price
