EOS1Dx Initial impressions

[Mike Milton]

After a bit of a wait, I picked up my 1Dx yesterday. This was an upgrade from a mkIV.
There has not been time for much experimentation but here are some very preliminary impressions.

-I find the indication of AF points in focus in the viewfinder more difficult to see compared to the mIV.
-Selecting AF approach is *dramatically* better. No need to wander through menus. There is a dedicated button and it can all be done in the viewfinder with excellent visual feedback.
-Spot AF is new and quite impressive.
-The AF feels more responsive.
-Having AF scenarios is helpful without being constraining.

-The menu system is much improved by being more orderly and having help info available.
-Being able to both page through and jump from section to section speeds things along.
-Having a dedicated AF section is an improvement over leaving these settings in the custom functions.
-I liked the quick mode on the 5D and am glad to see it on a 1-series body.

more to come....

m

 

[Hamish Gill]

Hi Mike, long time no see!
Interesting, although I'm sure more I it will makes sence to a canon user!
How long have you had it?

 

[Mike Milton]

... we are talking hours at this point. There was quite a bit of manual reading required (a surprise) so the changes are more than expected (a good thing).

I've been off busy on my other avocation, music. Its nice to be back.

cheers, m

 

[Hamish Gill]

If you feel inclined, take a snap of the canon and add it to the opening post ...
Keep is posted diary style of your findings and it will become a nice little thread for other potential users ...
Olny if you can e bothered of course

Im hoping someone will rock up with a d4 and do something similar at some stage ... It's interesting to hear how (normal) people get on with this high end gear I think!

 

[Chris Dodkin]

Welcome back Mike - very nice camera you just picked up!

Looking forward to hearing more about your thoughts and seeing some images.

 

[Mike Milton]

Myself and a friend spent a day this week shooting with the mkIV and the X. One thing we tried was the multi-exposure and here is an example: Clematis | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

The X struck me as quieter although some fee the opposite. The sound is briefer in any event. The tracking does seem better but it really is impossible to see the focus point as it tracks.

 

[Hamish Gill]

Nice one for adding the photo!
That multi exposure is interesting, what did you do to acheive the effect?

 

[Mike Milton]

Easy
- enabled multi exposure (2 frames, averaged)
- took a sharp pic
- defocused and took another pic
- you are looking at the resulr

 

[Hamish Gill]

I thought it must be ...
Thats a really good idea that, never would have dreamed that up myself...
I might give it a go, it's a bit like a shot from some sort of extreme DC lens

 

[Mike Milton]

to do it in PS...

- create a new layer with a duplicate of the background layer
- apply gaussian blur to that layer
- decrease it's opacity to the level you like

you can, of course, use other blurs, be selective in the area selected, use other mixes

Yes the effect is much like soft focus lenses such as the EF135.

Here is a shot I did a few years ago in PS Georgian Dream 2 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

 

[Steve Dormer]

Hi Mike

It looks impressive I hope you enjoy many hours of happy shooting with it.

 

[Mike Milton]

Some followup on usability items:

Custom Setups:

There has been a way to save sets of camera setups for quite a while now. With the 1Dx, however, you can set up C1,2,3 as you like (they basically save everything) *and* they are immediately selectable as a mode. Specifically, one cycles through M, Av, Tv, P, C1, C2, C3.

The result is that you can, as just one example, set up the camera for single shot, AI focus/multishot for birds, and another setting of choice (perhaps video?) and move among them almost instantly. This is very handy in terms of being ready in an evolving setting.

The Level:

OK, I expected this would be a little used feature but find myself using it all the time. If you use your right index finger on the shutter, then there are two buttons under your middle finger as it wraps around the grip. One is DOF - now in a *much* better position. I've assigned the other to start the in viewfinder level.

The level uses the display of what it usually the center row of AF points. it turns on boxes to the left or right based on any tilt to the left or right (and up/down as well). this sounds quirky, but it is really natural in use.

My only wish list item would be to include the level info in the EXIF either for subsequent confirmation or as a correction aid.

It is quite nice to have my horizontals more readily follow levelness rather than sightlines in the scene.