Canon EOS 1D X - announced

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

18.1 Megapixel, Full-frame CMOS sensor

61-point AF with up to 41 cross-type AF points

Zone, Spot and AF Expansion Focusing modes

DUAL “DIGIC 5+” processors

12fps shooting with 14fps super High Speed continuous

ISO 100 to 51,200 as standard, ISO 50 to 204,800 with expansion

100,000-pixel RGB AE sensor

DIGIC 4 processor dedicated to AE functions

+/- 5 Stop Exposure Compensation

Full HD Movie shooting with ALL-I or IPB compression

29mins 59sec clip length in Full HD Movie

55ms shutter lag, 36ms via ‘Shortened Release Lag' Custom Function

Timecode setting for HD Movie shooting

Transparent LCD viewfinder with new focusing screen

8.11cm (3.2”), 1.04 million pixel Clear View II LCD Screen

Improved EOS Integrated Cleaning System (EICS)

Dual CF Card slots

Silent control touch-pad area