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Photography News Issue 30 absolutephoto.com
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Speed demon The EOS-1D X Mark II will naturally appeal to a wide range of professionals, but there can be little doubt that sports and actions shooters are among the primary targets. The 1D series has always been about speed and the frame rate from the new model is, unsurprisingly, the fastest yet. At full tilt, it will capture 14 frames- per-second with both autofocus and autoexposure active throughout. Switch to live view shooting with themirror locked up and the AF and AE settings locked in from the first frame and this jumps to 16 frames- per-second. No matter which way you cut it, this is an astonishing performance and has to be witnessed to be believed. Perhaps even more impressive, however, is the fact that this isn’t just for a short burst. With a CFast 2.0 card in the primary card slot you can make the most of this speed for an unlimited number of JPEGs or up to 170 Raw files. The CFast card compatibility is in part responsible for this performance, helping with the buffer capacity – at 440MB/sec it offers write speeds almost three times faster than a CF card – but the inclusion of the new Dual DIGIC 6+ image processor should also take some credit as it deals with the high-speed signal read-out from the
And there’s more While at this point I’ve covered off the key aspects of the EOS-1D X Mark II’s specification, it’s only whenyou really start to delve deeply that you discover how far reaching the changes are – and how much Canon has listened to the feedback from users. The more observant among you will notice a small lump on the pentaprism, which houses the camera’s internal GPS device – another first for the EOS-1 series. Activate the GPS and it will hook up to US, Russian or Japanese GPS satellites for greater location accuracy and then add geotag information into image metadata. Steps can also be tracked, should you then wish to import that data into mapping services. While wireless capabilities aren’t integrated into the camera body, a new wireless transmitter – the WFT-E8 – will soon be available, although the existing WFT-E6 is also fully compatible. The E8 gives you two additional benefits; the faster 802.11ac standard (which is up to three times quicker than the standard 802.11n connection) and the fact that you have the ability to control most of the major functions, including for the first time the ability to start/stop movie recording, through the Canon Camera Connect app on Android and iOS devices.
system recognised when you were photographing a subject that was accelerating or decelerating. The 1D X Mark II features AI Servo III+ which uses information gathered from the gyro sensor in the lens (assuming it has one) to work out when you’re panning. From this data it uses an algorithm to ensure you get better results. But you don’t have to be panning to get improved focusing results. A new algorithm, coupled to the EOS Intelligent Tracking and Recognition system, improves tracking capabilities, especially in situations where the subject may suddenly change direction. Read Eddie Keogh’s interview (previous page) to see howwell this works in reality. While there are no additional points on the AF system, the number of cross-type points has been improved and – teleconverter users take note – 21 of them now support f/8. For the first time in a Canon full- frame DSLR, focusing is tied in with the rear LCD, which now features touchscreen capabilities when Live View mode is active for stills or during movie shooting. In both cases, you can select the focusing point simply by touching the relevant position on the 1620k rear screen. When capturing movies, the AF speed can be varied for smoother, cinematic transitions.
sensor and chunks through the data to write it to the card. While we’re heaping praise on the Dual DIGIC 6+ processor, it should be acknowledged that it also conjures up the capability to deliver 4K video at 60p for up to 29 minutes, 59 seconds and captures Full HD footage at up 120p for high- quality slow motion. Individual 8.8-megapixel frames can also be grabbed from 4Kmovies. The very process of shooting at 14 frames-per-second is a little mind-boggling when you consider that there are some mechanical processes at work to make this all happen, not least of which is the reflex mirror which has to shift out of the way at the same rate of knots. The mirror speed is also integral to AF accuracy, which is why a new rapid return mirror has been developed. Mirror ‘bounce’ has to be kept to a minimum to make this combination achievable so the 1D X Mark II uses two motors; one to drive the mirror, the other to cock the shutter. Bothmotors also feature elastic floating supports so users feel less vibration and the action is quieter. The other half of the speed equation is, of course, the focusing performance and new systems and algorithms are at work to help deliver that headline frame rate. The previous AI Servo III
The 1D series has always been about speed and the frame rate from the new model is, unsurprisingly, the fastest yet
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