Canon has taken the wraps off its EOS-1D X Mark II, the new flagship DSLR for professional photographers.
The new Canon EOS-1D X Mark II, shown fitted with the Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM lens. (Source: Canon.)
Designed to provide the required combination of image quality, resolution and speed, the EOS-1D X Mark II comes with a 20.2-megapixel, full frame CMOS sensor and new Dual ‘DIGIC 6+’ processors that provide high-speed processing of the image data. Dual CF and CFast 2.0 card slots are provided for storing image and video data. A new 61-point AF system with 41 cross-type AF points covers an expanded area and focuses in light levels down to -3EV. It also supports autofocusing at f/8 with all 61 points, giving users the freedom to choose any focus point. As well as Canon’s popular pro AF technologies, EOS iTR and six AF Case settings, the EOS-1D X Mark II also includes new AI Servo AF III+ to improve tracking sensitivity in situations where subject movements may occur suddenly.
The AF points display system. (Source: Canon.)
The exposure, focusing and metering systems in the EOS-1D X Mark II. (Source: Canon.)
Partnered with the AF system is a new 360,000-pixel RGB+IR metering sensor with improved exposure accuracy and subject detection. The Flicker Detection function introduced in the EOS 7D Mark II, has been ported across to the new camera to guarantee consistent results under artificial lights, providing improved picture quality when shooting indoor sporting events. For sports, action and wildlife photographers, the EOS-1D X Mark II can shoot 14 frames/second (fps) with full AF/AE tracking when the viewfinder is used for framing or up to 16 fps in Live View mode without AF. With the new CFast 2.0 card capability, the camera can deliver an unlimited burst of JPEGs or 170 RAW images in continuous high speed shooting. The reflex mirror utilises a new drive mechanism to facilitate high speed shooting, with minimal mirror vibration or noise.
Rear view of the EOS-1D X Mark II with the card door opened to show the dual CF/CFast 2.0 slots. (Source: Canon.)
The CFast 2.0 card also enables the camera to record 4K movies at a resolution of 4096 x 2160 pixels with a variety of frame rates up to 60 fps. Full HD (1920 x 1080p) movie shooting is also supported at rates of up to 120 fps for slow-motion movies. Single frames can be extracted from a 4K movie clip to yield an 8.8-megapixel high-resolution still image. Canon’s Dual Pixel CMOS AF technology and Movie Servo AF deliver fast and accurate focusing in movie mode and the touch panel LCD screen enables users to quickly select and change AF points when shooting movies.
Built-in GPS records shooting locations in EXIF metadata, while embedded Ethernet wired LAN and SuperSpeed USB 3.0 provide a choice of how images are shared: via FTP or direct to computers. Additionally, the new WFT-E8 wireless file transmitter also supports the high-speed standard 802.11ac (5 GHz band). Dedicated ports are provided for microphone, headphone and PC connections. Canon has developed a higher-powered battery, the 27 mAh LP-E19 for the EOS-1D X Mark II and the camera is supplied with a new LC-E19 charger. The new camera can also be used with the LP-E4 battery from the previous model.
Top view of the EOS-1D X Mark II with no lens fitted. EOS-1D X Mark II
While physically resembling the original EOS-1D X (which was launched in October, 2011, the EOS-1D X Mark II features an improved grip and refinements to the button controls to improve handling. A new Intelligent Viewfinder II covers the full field of view, with an electronic overlay of shooting information. Dust- and splash-proof sealing make it usable in challenging conditions when a weatherproof lens is fitted.
The EOS-1D X Mark II is scheduled for local release from April 2016. Prices will be set at dealer discretion but are likely to be higher than the current AU$7699 RRP for the EOS-1D X (which was discounted to AU$6999 on Canon’s online store when we checked just before posting this announcement). For more information, visit www.canon.com.au.
SPECS:
Image sensor: 35.9 x 23.9 mm CMOS sensor with 21.5 million photosites (20.2 megapixels effective), 3:2 aspect ratio, fixed low-pass filter
Image processor: Dual DIGIC 6+
A/D processing: 14-bit
Lens mount: Canon EF (excludes EF-S lenses)
Focal length crop factor: 1.0x
Image formats: Stills: JPEG (DCF Ver. 2.0, Exif Ver.2.3), CR2.RAW (M-RAW and S-RAW sizes available); Movies: MOV: 4K Motion JPEG (internal recording only); MPEG4 AVC/H.264, MP4
Image Sizes: Stills ““ JPEG: 5472 x 3648, 4368 x 2912, 2736 x 1824; RAW: 5472 x 3648, 4104 x 2736, 2736 x 1824; Movies: 4K (17:9) 4096 x 2160, [Full HD] 1920 x 1080: 100p, 50p, 25p, 24p
Image Stabilisation: Lens based
Dust removal: EOS integrated cleaning system
Shutter (speed range): Electronically-controlled focal-plane shutter (30-1/8000 second plus Bulb), soft touch electromagnet release
Exposure Compensation: +/- 5EV in 1/3EV steps
Exposure bracketing: +/- 3EV in 1/3EV steps
Other bracketing options: White balance – +/- 3 levels
Self-timer: 2 or 10 seconds delay (with or without remote triggering)
Focus system: TTL-secondary image-forming, phase-difference detection system with dedicated AF sensor; working range EV-3 to 18
AF System / Points: 61 point / max. of 41 cross-type AF points, incl. dual cross type at f/2.8 and 61 points / 21 cross-type AF points at f/8
Focus modes: One Shot, AI Servo AF III+; Auto/ including AF points selected separately for vertical and horizontal shooting; Manual focus selected on lens; AF microadjustment available
Exposure metering: Approx. 360,000-pixel RGB+IR metering sensor, 216-zone metering, EOS Intelligent Subject Analysis system; Evaluative (linked to all AF points), Centre-weighted, Partial (approx. 6.2% of viewfinder at centre) and Spot (approx. 1.5% of viewfinder at centre) metering patterns
Shooting modes: Program AE, Shutter priority AE, Aperture priority AE, Manual (stills and movie), Bulb, Custom (x3)
Picture Styles: Auto, Standard, Portrait, Landscape, Fine Detail, Neutral, Faithful, Monochrome, User Defined (x3)
Image processing modes: Highlight Tone Priority, Auto Lighting Optimiser (4 settings), Long exposure noise reduction, High ISO noise reduction (4 settings), Lens optical correction, resizing and cropping, RAW image processing
Custom Functions: 34 Custom Functions with 104 settings
Colour space options: sRGB and Adobe RGB
ISO range: Auto, ISO 100 to ISO 51200 in 1/3 or 1-stop increments; expansion to L: 50 or H1: 102400, H2: 204800, H3: 409600 available
White balance: Auto (Ambience/White priority), Daylight, Shade, Cloudy, Tungsten light, White fluorescent light, Flash, Custom (5 settings can be registered), Colour temperature setting; +/- 9 Blue/Amber, Magenta/Green bias adjustments
Flash: External flashguns only; 1/250 sec. synch, external flash control via camera menu screen
Sequence shooting: Max. 16 shots/sec in Live View with mirror locked up and exposure and focus locked on first frame; max. 14 fps with full AF/AE tracking
Buffer capacity: Unlimited JPEGs, 170 RAW files with CFast 2.0 card
Storage Media: Dual slots for CompactFlash (CF) and CFast 2.0 cards (UDMA 7 compatible)
Viewfinder: Pentaprism with approx. 100% coverage, approx 0.76x magnification, 20mm eyepoint, -3 to +1 dioptre correction, interchangeable Ec-C6 focusing screen, built-in eyepiece shutter
LCD monitor: Fixed, 3.2-inch Clear View LCD II with approx. 1,620,000 dots, 100% coverage, approx. 170-degree viewing angle, anti-reflection & anti-smudge coating, 7-level brightness adjustment, capacitative touch screen (can be disabled)
Live View: 29.97 fps Frame rate, Dual Pixel CMOS AF (Face Detection and Tracking, FlexiZone -Single) available with all EF lenses; 315-zone real-time evaluative metering with image sensor, 3 levels of display options available
Playback functions: Single image with/without info, 4/9/36/100 image index, Jump display (1, 10 or 100 images, Date, Folder, Movies, Stills, Protected Images, Rating), Movie edit, RAW processing, Rating, slide show, Histogram (brightness/RGB), highlight alert, image erase (single, selected, folder, card)
Interface terminals: USB 3.0, HDMI mini out (Type C HDMI-CEC compatible), System extension terminal for WFT-E8 and WFT-E6), external microphone In/Line In (stereo mini jack), Headphone socket (stereo mini jack), RJ-45 (gigabit Ethernet), N3-type remote control terminal
HDMI output: Full HD recording only, uncompressed YCbCr 4:2:2, 8-bit; sound output via HDMI is also possible
Power supply: LP-E19 Rechargeable Li-ion Battery Pack; CIPA rated for approx. 1210 shots/charge
Body materials: Magnesium Alloy body covers
Dimensions (wxhxd): Approx. 158 x 167.6 x 82.6 mm (body only)
Weight: Approx. 1340 grams (body only)
RRP: t.b.d.
Distributor: Canon Australia; 1800 021 167; www.canon.com.au.
SAMPLES
Canon has supplied the following sample images to give a sense of the new camera’s capabilities.
300mm focal length, ISO 200, pattern metering, no flash, 1/2000 second at f/4.
140mm focal length, ISO 1600, pattern metering, no flash, 1/4000 second at f/3.5.
255mm focal length, ISO 100, pattern metering, no flash, 1/640 second at f/5.
600mm focal length, ISO 200, pattern metering,-1EV exposure bias, no flash, 1/100 second at f/4.5.
70mm focal length, ISO 100, pattern metering, no flash, 5 seconds at f/11.
