Will the AF in the 5D Mark III be identical with the AF in the Canon 1DX???

haring

Will the AF in the Canon 1Dx be identical with the AF in the Canon 5D Mark III I know it will be similar 61 point AF system but will it be identical?

If yes, why would most of us buy the Canon 1Dx for twice as much? I know the canon frame rate is much higher (faster) but I don't see too much difference between the two cameras which would justify me to spend twice as much for a camera...? I am a wedding photographer and I don't use the video capabilities and I don't really need the high frame rate, either.
What I need is fast and accurate focusing... It is hard to believe that the autofocus in the Canon 5D Mark III will be identical with the one Canon builds into the Canon 1Dx...

I am hesitant to pre-order it... Should I pre-order it??? I am willing to buy only it if it is exactly the same!

Any toughs?

Matthew Saville

According to some sources, the ONLY thing that is different is the face-detection & tracking capability which only the 1DX has. However, there has been no indication as to whether or not the lack of this feature will have an affect on the 5D mk3's ability to focus equally as fast in general circumstances.

Nikon D700 users had this same dilema when it came out at $2999 compared to the $5K D3. Is the D700 autofocus ACTUALLY identical? Well, I don't think the jury ever even came back on that one, but the bottom line is that it still rocks as much as any flagship autofocus system ought to. So the bottom line here is, in my opinion, that if focus ability is all you care about, the 5D mk3 will rock your world indeed, and the 1DX is indeed overkill for a wedding photographer.

Canon already knows that they're going to hardly sell any 1DX's compared to how many 5D mk3's they'll sell. That's why it's priced a little higher than usual. But at the end of the day, they'll still find plenty of buyers for the 1DX who REALLY do need the extra capabilities it offers. Mostly, hardcore sports / action / wildlife photographers.

Anyway, suffice it to say that I htink if you're a wedding photographer, you can safely buy the 5D mk3. It will blow your mind for sure, especially if you're currently using the mk2...

=Matt=

kdog

As Ziggy pointed out in the other thread on the 5DMKII, the 1DX has three DIGIC processors, while the 5DMKII only has one. That's bound to affect the AF, but by how much is anyone's guess at this point.

Matthew Saville

kdog wrote: »

As Ziggy pointed out in the other thread on the 5DMKII, the 1DX has three DIGIC processors, while the 5DMKII only has one. That's bound to affect the AF, but by how much is anyone's guess at this point.

Aw, that's not what I wanted to hear. Sounds less like the D700 vs D3, and more like the D300 vs the D3. The D300 definitely DID have less AF performance than the D3, even though it did have pretty much the same mechanical parts, but less CPU power.

All the facts / specs aren't that fresh in my mind, though, and I'm still betting that the 5D mk3 is still mind-blowingly better than the 5D 2, and hopefully the differences between the 5D 3 and 1DX are negligible...

=Matt=

ziggy53

Matthew Saville wrote: »

... Sounds less like the D700 vs D3, and more like the D300 vs the D3. ...

??????

The Canon 1D X and 5D MKIII share a similar AF module, but little else. The qualities of the 1D X autofocus are not yet known, much less the 5D MKIII. The camera architectures are different enough that there are bound to be "some" differences in AF speed at least. The simpler, coupled AE module might even benefit the 5D MKIII autofocus. We just don't know anything at this point.

Trying to draw generalizations at this point is rather silly and non-productive.

Matthew Saville

ziggy53 wrote: »

??????

The Canon 1D X and 5D MKIII share a similar AF module, but little else. The qualities of the 1D X autofocus are not yet known, much less the 5D MKIII. The camera architectures are different enough that there are bound to be "some" differences in AF speed at least. The simpler, coupled AE module might even benefit the 5D MKIII autofocus. We just don't know anything at this point.

Trying to draw generalizations at this point is rather silly and non-productive.

The official press release simply stated that the 5D mk3 uses "the same 61-point autofocus system", which lead me to believe that from a mechanical parts standpoint, the two cameras would be identical in terms of AF. It only sounds like the 1DX will have a little bit more CPU power to drive the mechanics, which may or may not lead to any reduction in real-world performance. I'm sure the 1DX will be able to track flying gymnasts and sprinting runners better, but a bride walking down the aisle in -1 EV light? I hope, hope, HOPE that the 5D mk3 is like the 1DX as the D700 is like the D3, NOT like the D300. That's all I'm saying. Because Nikon did this exact same thing, they came out with TWO different cameras that both had the flagship autofocus but with some kind of incalculable lesser-ness, and while the D700 turned out to be nearly identical in AF performance, the D300 turned out to be slightly less capable.

So yeah, at this point it's all pure speculation. Heck for all we know we could be headed for another 1D mk3 disaster. ;-) But I'm still betting that BOTH cameras will be a huge improvement over their predecessors, one that is absolutely worth the upgrade at least for 5D mk2 users...

=Matt=

RacinRandy

Matthew Saville wrote: »

The official press release simply stated that the 5D mk3 uses "the same 61-point autofocus system", which lead me to believe that from a mechanical parts standpoint, the two cameras would be identical in terms of AF. =Matt=

From what I am reading on the specs for both there are a lot of differences.

5D Mark III Has one digic 5 processor for the whole camera,
1DX has 2 digig 5 processors for the images and a Digic 4 for the AF system

While both boast a 61 point system it would seem to me that the 1Dx is going to have some better reach, AF wise, due to that dedicated processor.

I am a 7D shooter now and am SERIOUSLY contemplating the Jump to the 1Dx. While my primary money is Action sports I'm stoked about the FF and Better low light imaging the 1Dx will offer.
Not to mention a more "tunable" AF with the accel/decel setting adjustments(Corners aren't as likely to kill me). Plus the HD Video mode doesn't hurt my feelings either, Victory Lane interviews.

Plus I would feel better about the FF and lower light to help me move further into portraiture. The 7D is a solid camera and had more than paid for itself. It just may be time to expand and grow yet maintain a solid back-up body.

But yet time will tell for sure.
JMO

divamum

It seems to me no coincidence that the multi-processor flagship has been released in an Olympics year - am I wrong in thinking the 1dx is had pro-sports and pro-press as its target market? It seems that it has all the requirements one could ever need for getting the shot under difficult conditions. While the 5dIII sounds fantastic, it looks to me like it's aimed more to the general-purpose photographer, wedding photographer etc rather than the "I live by my camera and that includes bungee-ing it to a plane wing so I can get the Formula 1/olympic swimming/shark-biting polar bear/{insert exterme shot of choice} shot that will make the front pages" kinda shooter.

In any case, speculation on how they'll perform really is pointless until they hit the streets and there are some user reports out there, but it seems that Canon has really "ticked all the boxes" with these two offerings. I'm definitely looking forward to getting my hands on a 5dIII when the price comes down and/or I have enough shoots lined up to pay for it

jmphotocraft

I agree with you, diva. The 5DIII is my perfect camera. Ok, 8fps would have been more perfect, but no big deal. I predict it will sell like crazy. The amount of hate and angst on "that other forum" towards this camera is stupid and nauseating. I certainly do not want to deal with 36mp. 21mp already makes my 9 month old 3.6 GHz dual core iMac slow enough as it is.

It his hilarious how Nikon sour-grapesists have been saying for years how 12mp vs 21mp is not a big deal (ahem, Thom Hogan). Now suddenly there is a 36mp camera out there, so Canon has laid an egg at 22mp? Bullshit.

ziggy53

While the Canon 1D X is slated to be released late next month (late April), the AF capabilities of the 5D MKIII appear to be consistently described as greatly improved over the 5D MKII. This is very good news indeed.