Canon loads EOS-1D X with new tech, hopes, and dreams

Canon loads EOS-1D X with new tech, hopes, and dreams

Canon's celebrating the 10th generation of its EOS-1 pro body with an overhaul, both of the hardware and the line itself. A consolidation of the fast, sports shooter with the high-resolution full-frame camera, the EOS-1D X replaces both the full-frame 1Ds Mark III and the APS-H 1D Mark IV with a single, double-grip full-frame model with fast continuous shooting. The price most closely resembles the 1Ds, though, at $6800.

That opens a big gap between the please-replace-it-already 5D Mark II and the new top of the line. And I suspect that when a 5D Mark III eventually surfaces (probably not until next year), it's going to be a lot more expensive--in part because of a weak dollar and the increased costs associated with the various natural disasters that have plagued production in Asia, and in part because Canon could probably get away with it. Especially if it incorporates some of the whizzy new technology (assuming it all works as advertised, of course) that's in the 1D X.

Where to begin? On the outside, you'll find an updated control layout, with some extra buttons joysticks designed to streamline shooting with the vertical grip. On the inside, there are new autofocus and autoexposure systems Importance of Sophisticated Spy Cameras in addition to the de rigueur new sensor with an enhanced dust-reduction system. It has an entirely new shutter mechanism. There are new features, including a 1000BaseT Ethernet port, 3 custom settings groups (finally!), and a 9-shot multiple-exposure mode.