Today Canon has announced a new flag ship camera, the EOS 1D X. Finally Canon has merged their two top models into one. Currently we have the 1Ds Mark III, which is a full frame 21 mega pixel sensor and the 1.3x crop 1D mark IV, which come is in at 16 mega pixels. This new beast is a full frame sensor, which I like, with an 18 mega pixels sensor. There is a lot more to a camera than megapixels and Canon promises us better high ISO performance and has packed this new beast with some serious processing powers, new AF system, 12 fps shooting and a bunch of other goodies, 1080p video etc.etc… See the full spec list below.

One huge question remains after reading a few sites last night. The price. This is always a clincher for me. Canon’s top model usually hovers up around $7000.00, which I find incredibly steep for any camera. You can get a decent used car for this amount or travel the word for a quite a while. I currently shoot sports with 1D Mark III, which I bought second hand for about half of the new price. This of course represent way better value although it lack in the bells and whistles department. I am also anxious to see the follow up to the 5D Mark II. I am not sure when we will see this but something tells me that it may come closer to what I may be looking for in my next camera.

Although many times over the last couple of years I have been wishing for a mix of my current 5D Mark II and 1D Mark III, I am not fully convinced that this new 1D X will grab my attention right away. I really like the flexibility the 5D II offers as it can be a very portable and light weight option. If Canon could improve it’s AF and add a few more frames per second, while continually improve on dynamic range and video options, I would be quite happy. Don’t get me wrong the 1D X looks awesome on paper and who knows. At least Canon has given us five months to save up. At my predicted cost I just have to put aside $1400 per month

The Canon EOS 1D X explained at Canon Professional Network.

Key specifications