Photography News Issue 32

Photography News Issue 32 absolutephoto.com Camera test 36 Canon EOS-1DXMark II Weeks after the Nikon D5 was announced, Canon came out with news of its flagship, the EOS-1D X Mark II. Both DSLRs are tested in this issue and here it’s the turn of the Canon

ReviewbyWill Cheung

Specs

Price £5199 body only Sensor 20.2 megapixels effective with Dual DIGIC 6 processor Sensor format 35.9x23.9mm CMOS ISO range 100-51,200, expansion to ISO 50- 409,600 Shutter range 30secs-1/8000sec, flash sync at 1/250sec, B Drivemodes Single, continuous low, continuous high at 14fps with full AE/AF tracking and 16fps in live view with mirror up and AE/AF locked on first frame, silent single, silent continuous high, silent continuous low and self-timer Metering system RGB+IR sensor with 360K pixels, 216-zone metering, with Evaluative, centre-weighted, partial or spot measurement with multi-spot option Exposuremodes PASM Exposure compensation +/-5EV in 0.3, 0.5 or 1EV steps Monitor 3.2in, 1620k-dot, touch-sensitive LCD during live view and movie shooting Focusing 61 focus points with maximum of 41 cross-type and five dual cross-type at f/2.8. The number of cross-type AF points depends on the attached lens Video 4096x2160 with max duration of 29mins 59secs Full HD 1920x1080 with frame rate at 100 or 119fps Connectivity USB 3.0, HDMI type C, audio in and out, headphone socket, Ethernet Storagemedia 1xCFast 2.0 and 1xCompactFlash type 1 Dimensions (wxhxd) 158x167.2x82.6mm Weight 1340g body only Contact canon.co.uk

The original EOS-1D X had a resolution of 18.1 megapixels, could shoot at 12 frames-per-second with full auto-exposure and autofocus functionality, boasted a 61 AF point system with 41 cross-type sensors and had a top native ISO of 51,200. As you would expect, the Mark II has taken a significant step forward so resolution is up to 20.2megapixels and the top shooting rate with AE/ AF working is 14 frames-per-second (I got 15fps from our sample) with 16fps possible in live viewmode with exposure and focus fixed. Top native ISO is again 51,200 but expansion is to ISO 409,600 compared with the ISO204,800 available on theMark I. The Mark II’s AF system again features 61 AF points with 41 cross- type sensors but it is more sensitive down to –EV3 and there is much greater functionality with slower maximum aperture lenses. Shooting a long lens at f/8 (the 200-400mm f/4 with a 2x teleconverter, say) and you get all 61 points working with 21 of them cross-type.

Canon’s iTR AF (Intelligent Tracking and Recognition) system has also benefitted from the new metering sensor in the Mark II. The metering sensor is a 360,000-pixel RGB and IR design with 216 metering zones and, because this has three times more resolution than the original EOS-1D X, it achieves more accurate face and scene/subject recognition data to feed back to the intelligent AF system. In terms of feel, ergonomics and heft, the EOS-1D X Mark II is more or less the same as previous Canon pro models. There is obviously no point changing something that has proved to be very successful and widely appreciated – the large rear command dial has been spot on since its inception. The rear thumb joysticks are more textured, the pentaprism is slightly larger to accommodate the new GPS unit and if you flip open the storage card door you will see a slot for a CompactFlash card and another for a CFast 2.0 card that you’ll need to get

There is obviously no point changing something that has proved to be very successful and widely appreciated

more of the camera’s high shooting rate. For this review we used a SanDisk CFast card. With CFast cards Canon claims the camera has a continuous burst rate of 170 Raws and if shooting JPEGs you can keep your finger pressed on the shutter button until you fill the card. Certainly on this test there is no reason to doubt Canon’s veracity in this respect. If discretion is more important than outright speed theMark II’s quietmodeworks up to five frames-per-second. Shooting lots of frames is one thing but those frames need to stack up in termsofimagequalitytoo.Noworries here with Canon’s 20.2-megapixel

CMOS sensor which claims excellent high ISO performance and features gapless micro lenses for enhanced low-light performance. It is fitted with a low-pass filter and Canon’s integrated cleaning system. It is also the first full-frame sensor from Canon with the Dual Pixel CMOS sensor for touchscreen AF operation during movie shooting. Speaking of which, the Mark II allows 4K shooting to 29mins 30secs and high frame rate shooting at Full HD at 100/120p. The touchscreen functionality is excellent and works verywell in accuracy, responsiveness and sensitivity and is very much a boon for movie shooters.