Thank you Canon!

[wq9nsc]

Thank you to the leadership, engineers, and market researchers at Canon for producing the next great generation of the 1DX family. 

Holding the line at a 20 MP sensor with the 1DX 3 while pushing the low light/high ISO performance is MUCH appreciated and this will be the primary reason I will purchase one before the high school football season starts in Fall.  I will be very interested in seeing how the new low pass filter improves sharpness as more sample photos are released but it certainly sounds like a winner.  The improvements in the AF system sound like they are dead on target for sports shooters.  I doubt if I will ever really utilize the increased frame rate or bufffer depth since both have been more than adequate with my 1DX and 1DX 2 bodies but I am extremely happy that the DSLR technology with its excellent battery life and zero lag optical viewfinder continues. 

I knew that there was a reason why I just agreed to briefly come out of retirement to take on a small consulting contract and I guess it was the anticipation that Canon would introduce an excellent new photography tool 🙂  I know that the design evolution of the 1DX 3 won't be everyone's "cup of tea" but for sports photography, especially in poor light, it looks like another home run.

Rodger

[ebiggs1]

 "... smaller, lighter-weight 5D- and/or 7D-series camera, by 2021 or 2022."

My guess you will be waiting for much longer then 2022 for a new 7 series. Trickle down will almost assuredly happen but don't expect all of it soon.  Keep in mind, however, it is not the advancements in technology that is the 1 series main most attribute. It is the massive build.  It is a camera designed to be there no matter the conditions.  That alone is the difference.

Each level or model of Canon cameras get better tech, of course, but they also get better build. Better weather sealing, etc.

We used to claim, "You can beat somebody to death with a 1 series and than take the crime scene photos with it!"  They are tough, built like a tank as they say!. As expected, like a tank, they are big and heavy.

[Waddizzle]

The EOS-1D X Mark III from CanonUSA....

https://youtu.be/tWVoTTWnnm0 

[John_SD]

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@RobertTheFat wrote:

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If you buy another camera, it should be a mirrorless. I say wait for the R-2.

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I agree with you completely, Robert. If one already owns the prior version of the great 1DX, what is the point of getting the latest and greatest iteration? Now, if one has many lucrative and high end assignments lined up, or can easily afford the expense with the eager agreement of his wife, that would be different. But for a retired guy just to tinker with?

No, you have it right. Go mirrorless. It is not only the future, but increasingly the present. And despite what some would say, more and more pros are already using mirrorless. And that is a fact. 

[ebiggs1]

"It is not only the future, but increasingly the present."

Well is it?  Yeah, it probably is but not so fast.  As long as they keep coming out with another Mk, I'd say shutters are still the norm.

"...despite what some would say, more and more pros are already using mirrorless."

I know of none!  Although my circle is growing smaller as we age all seem able to resist mirrorless.  There is no pro level mirrorless camera made. Not from Sony and not from Canon. You and I may know a Mom and Pop photographer that has bought in to mirrorless but hardly the trend of the real pro business.

[John_SD]

Ernie, pros in Asia and Europe, and many here in the US, have been using the mirrorless Sonys and Nikons. While the Sony A9 series and Nikon Z series are relatively newer cameras, they are finding favor with pros worldwide. This is not news. 

I myself have never personally known anyone who has visited the North Pole, but I know it's **bleep** cold up there. 

[ebiggs1]

One of the guys I know that does the KU basketball games has and uses a Sony mirrorless but it is a backup. He uses a DSLR for the main work. I don't consider that a "pro going to mirrorless".  Perhaps you and some do. Canon must feel there is still enough market and need in the pro DSLR world because evidenced by the 1DX Mk III or they would not have spent the R&D. They nor no one males a pro level mirrorless camera.

I have no idea what the guys in Europe or Asis use, I only know my circle of friends that are still in the business.

Nor do I know if it is "bleeping" cold at either pole. 

[wq9nsc]

I am FAR from being a very good basketball photographer and I am still very much learning the tricks and techniques.  When I shot the varsity girls' game last night I think that makes a total of maybe 10 basketball games for me and I never played the sport in high school. But the power and capabilities of the 1DX and 1DX 2 allowed me to get some decent images from the game and  I can understand how well these DSLR bodies do work in the hands of a true pro.

As a learning experiment last night I shot the entire game with both bodies set to single shot mode so that I could work on my timing instead of relying upon the speed and buffer depth of the 1 series.  I guess I could get used to the time lag with an EVF but I see no reason to at this point.  It will take more than "because it is mirrorless" for me to make the switch.  The even better AF of the 1DX 3 is enough for me to select one as my next primary camera body and any improvement in high ISO noise will just be a bonus.

And if I was doing this as contract work last night, I definitely would have leaned heavily upon the speed and buffer depth of the 1DX bodies, to do otherwise would have been crazy 🙂

Rodger

[ebiggs1]

OMG, that first shot is priceless.  They are all good but I love the first one.

Here is what mirrorless is good for.  This from G15.

[wq9nsc]

Thanks Ernie!  There have been some gorgeous sunsets lately but I haven't tried to capture one in years.  Having grown up on the coast, I really love those palm fronds backlit by the setting sun!

Rodger

[RobertTheFat]

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@wq9nsc wrote:

I am FAR from being a very good basketball photographer and I am still very much learning the tricks and techniques.  When I shot the varsity girls' game last night I think that makes a total of maybe 10 basketball games for me and I never played the sport in high school. But the power and capabilities of the 1DX and 1DX 2 allowed me to get some decent images from the game and  I can understand how well these DSLR bodies do work in the hands of a true pro.

As a learning experiment last night I shot the entire game with both bodies set to single shot mode so that I could work on my timing instead of relying upon the speed and buffer depth of the 1 series.  I guess I could get used to the time lag with an EVF but I see no reason to at this point.  It will take more than "because it is mirrorless" for me to make the switch.  The even better AF of the 1DX 3 is enough for me to select one as my next primary camera body and any improvement in high ISO noise will just be a bonus.

And if I was doing this as contract work last night, I definitely would have leaned heavily upon the speed and buffer depth of the 1DX bodies, to do otherwise would have been crazy 🙂

Rodger

Rodger, if you're not a very good basketball photographer, I hope I get to see who is.

Irrelevant question: Was this an intramural game? Both of their shirts say "Spartans".