1DX III's fate after R5/R6?

Apologies if this is already discussed in any thread before. If so, please put a link in reply. 1D bodies have been flagship and truly tried and tested by may pros in the field. These bodies are epitome of quality, reliability, consistency and performance all at top notch levels. Not to mention the advanced features they always offered and were ahead of its time thereby future proofing them for years to come.

After you see the announcement of R5 and R6 with same Af system from 1DX III and same processor DIGIC X, it makes me feel that anyone interested in high fps and AF would naturally gravitate toward those models than buying much more expensive 1DX III. R5 / R6 also offer many other things that 1DX III doesn't including their size, form factor and articulating screen. Agreed there are a few things 1DX III still offers and that is unique to it. But however, ain't it possible that these bodies are going to eat away from 1DX III sales? Unless these bodies are crippled like Canon did with 5D Mark IV. 5D Mark IV did not have same processor and AF system was well not quite exactly same as that in 1DX II though they alluded to it being same. Could this be the same with R5 / R6 ?

Who would pay $6499 when you can get same AF and fps in R6 at $2499 and why?

I was going to reply with something helpful, but then I looked at your gear list, and I thought "I think he knows what a 1D body brings to the table compared to the 6D iteration."

So - not really sure what you hope to gain from this post.

Me personally: I can buy pretty much anything I want, and I chose the 1DX3 as my new sports camera. After using it for a while, I'm pretty happy with that decision. I did consider the Sony A92, but I still wound up picking the 1DX3.

I shoot Mirrorless and I shoot DSLRs. They are tools.

I agree with Your answer in 100%! Have a nice day!

The 1DX Mark III still offers many things that pro photographers want, including body controls, handling, long battery life, and a tried/true system. The R5/R6 does not offer any of those things as of right now, and I believe we still have yet to see the mirrorless replacement for the 1D series.

If the R5/R6 cameras work for you within those limitations, and what they bring to the table, then by all means go for it. But don't think that it will necessarily sacrifice or cannibalize the sale of the 1DX bodies.

If I could pick now before I purchased the 1DX3, I personally would still go for the 1DX3 all day long.

cjb wrote:

I was going to reply with something helpful, but then I looked at your gear list, and I thought "I think he knows what a 1D body brings to the table compared to the 6D iteration."

So - not really sure what you hope to gain from this post.

Me personally: I can buy pretty much anything I want, and I chose the 1DX3 as my new sports camera. After using it for a while, I'm pretty happy with that decision. I did consider the Sony A92, but I still wound up picking the 1DX3.

I shoot Mirrorless and I shoot DSLRs. They are tools.

Yes, I totally agree.. and also that only if you own 1D body that you can know what it can offer. the only thing different though is with R5/R6 they indeed have included same processor and in R5 in fact they have also included same filter design so has to have it outresolve even 5DSR. So all those actions seem like a bit different strategy than what they have been doing with 5D and 6D series compared to 1D series.

Also this is at the cross border / transition from DSLR to MILC for Canon so wondering if they would allow cannibalization of DX III sales here.. just a thought not  that they would. I guess more we have realistic data on R5/R6 the more clearer it will be.

I hope this explains a bit of context around my original question.

peterderousset wrote:

Only R benefit to me would be lower weight - which would be more than offset by the extra batteries required to do a full day of shooting race cars.

Downsides would be:-

Lower fps with mechanical shutter.

No OVF - though am ready to change view on this as soon as have an R5 in my hands.

Less robust and weather resistant.

Need to retrain muscle memory after 30 years of using EOS 1's. Sports photography often requires very fast changes to settings. The more instinctive this is the better. The button and wheel system was revolutionary back in 1990 and all the key picture taking buttons are still in the same locations today.

Will be interesting to see if Canon come up with a mirrorless version of the 1D?

Thanks for the input!

One thing interesting. Though small size can be advantage... I find that with super teles like 600mm f/4... I actually want the hefty body like 1DX II or even if its a9ii I want the grip on it.. the balancing makes a lot of difference. I am sure most of you 1D owners would agree.

i still doubt about r5/r6 EVF tracking ability on fast moving objects, don't think can compared with 1DX3 ovf focus system.

JackiePan wrote:

i still doubt about r5/r6 EVF tracking ability on fast moving objects, don't think can compared with 1DX3 ovf focus system.

Since you mentioned, does DX III allow sticky tracking ... the new real time head and eye tracking they added ... does it allow that in OVF as well? Or is it EVF feature?

Also you bring up interesting point about MILC 1DX III version... hmm... they could possibly create that category ... R1 😊

Andy Blanchard wrote:

cybersimba wrote:

JackiePan wrote:

i still doubt about r5/r6 EVF tracking ability on fast moving objects, don't think can compared with 1DX3 ovf focus system.

Since you mentioned, does DX III allow sticky tracking ... the new real time head and eye tracking they added ... does it allow that in OVF as well? Or is it EVF feature?

If you mean the AI-based tracking system, then yes, it does. And once it latches on it's pretty hard to shake off apart from allowing the subject to drift out of the active AF point area, even with really complex backgrounds or other objects getting between you and the subject.

The R5 (and maybe the R6 too?) adds animal tracking to that though, which seems an odd omission from the 1DX3 given the number of pro wildlife photographers that use 1-series bodies for their robustness and AF capabilities. I guess the necessary machine learning database wasn't ready in time for the 1DX3, but I'm definitely curious to see whether Canon is able and willing to add this via a firmware update or not. They claim to be committed to supporting both styles of camera as long as the demand is there, and this would be a pretty good way of demonstrating that to those who suspect they'd prefer us all to hurry up and just migrate to the R series already.

Andy

Thanks both,  i have no doubt about slow moving objects, R6 with animal recognition will be  better. I only doubt on fast moving objects in burst mode. How good the tracking system is?  As OP owns A9II, i only used A9 for a short while, but A9 can calculate AE/AF 6O times per second, which helps track fast moving object quit well. Take EOS R as example, it can give 5 FPS on AI servo, however while using EVF, it actually gives 3 FPS for moving objects in live view shooting.

Doubt is doubt, but I am quite interested in R6. Hope later it will be proved that R6  is mirrorless brother of 1dx3.

Autoxave wrote:

The 1DXM3 utilize two processors to execute various aspects of autofocus such as speed and tracking. It has a DIGIC X (like the R5/6), in addition it has a DIGIC 8 processor. The R5/6 has the DIGIC X processor only. How this may affect the autofocus performance in 1DXM3 compared to R5/6 is unknown at time being, however, I would guess that more processing power means higher potential for better performance.

Good point! Its the same with 1DX II as well.. two processors for those two functions!

cybersimba wrote:

JackiePan wrote:

i still doubt about r5/r6 EVF tracking ability on fast moving objects, don't think can compared with 1DX3 ovf focus system.

Since you mentioned, does DX III allow sticky tracking ... the new real time head and eye tracking they added ... does it allow that in OVF as well? Or is it EVF feature?

It does allow it in the viewfinder but you don’t get the benefit of full af area coverage like you do with the rear screen on the 1dx3. The af through the viewfinder is confined to a relatively small central area like on all DSLR cameras.

Colin46 wrote:

cybersimba wrote:

JackiePan wrote:

i still doubt about r5/r6 EVF tracking ability on fast moving objects, don't think can compared with 1DX3 ovf focus system.

Since you mentioned, does DX III allow sticky tracking ... the new real time head and eye tracking they added ... does it allow that in OVF as well? Or is it EVF feature?

It does allow it in the viewfinder but you don’t get the benefit of full af area coverage like you do with the rear screen on the 1dx3. The af through the viewfinder is confined to a relatively small central area like on all DSLR cameras.

oh good to know... yes that is one downside I see in my 1DX II as well. all in all perhaps a decent compromise they could achieve in this hybrid model. Wonder if they will produce OVF based model at all. Knowing that they have stopped on new EF development and also the focus seems like all on R series.