Pros
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Plenty of pro-grade features
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18.1-megapixel sensor
Cons
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Weighs more than 7 lbs
Introduction
Video Review
## Front





The Canon 1D X comes with a full suite of accessories and manuals, including a dual battery charger.

The Canon 1D X has a standard EF mount, but will only accept EF lenses, not the more compact EF-S Canon lenses that are used with the Rebel series cameras.

The Canon 1D X uses an LP-E4N battery, which slides into the portrait grip in the bottom of the camera.

The 1D X includes dual Compact Flash card slots. They aren't as fast as the XQD card found in the Nikon D4, but most pros should have plenty of CF cards already.



Video Sharpness
We found the Canon 1D X was able to produce sharpness results of approximately 700 lw/ph vertical sharpness (around 600 lw/ph horizontal) with the 24-70mm f/2.8L series lens stopped down to f/9. We found the sharpness was much worse with the lens wide open, but there is still relatively narrow depth of field with the f/9, so the image still has that "full-frame aesthetic" that so many videographers love. More on how CamcorderInfo tests video sharpness.
Low Light Sensitivity
As we saw with the Nikon D4, the Canon 1D X can practically see in the dark. We found that with auto ISO set (max of ISO 25600) the camera produced a 50 IRE image at a light level of just 6 lux. When you allow the camera to use its maximum video ISO of 204800, you get a much noisier image, but sensitivity improves dramatically. Our luxometers don't differentiate light levels between 0 and 1 lux, but both the Nikon D4 and the 1D X produced a 50 IRE image easily after the luxometer stopped registering even a single lux. Since we don't have the ability to differentiate between the two, we gave the 1D X and the D4 the same maximum score, as both were capable of easily capturing video in light conditions where our eyes could barely see.
Usability
Whether you're new to the Canon line or upgrading from the Canon 1Ds/1D Mark IV, the Canon 1D X represents a total level of control to rival any other camera on the market. With 11 controls that can be set up almost any way you like, there are options for tuning the camera to an incredible degree. For our money, though, the improvement in connectivity makes the 1D X a much more useful tool. While the built-in wired LAN isn't going to do much for wildlife photographers, the connectivity and remote shooting controls are going to be a real boon for studio, sports, and news shooters. In the end the 1D X does the very complicated things easily, and the simple everyday things in a no-nonsense manner that is rivaled only by the Nikon D4.
Automatic Features
The Canon 1D X's metering system does a great job of analyzing scenes and producing vivid images that are well-exposed. When shooting in modes that utilize it, the 252-zone, 100k-pixel RGB metering sensor does well. We found it rarely produced scenes that were too dark or too light, maintaining more highlight headroom than we usually needed. It's not the kind of camera you're going to give to a beginner or novice, but if you know what you're doing, the 1D X can take care of plenty of basics quickly and easily.
Buttons & Dials
It seems both Canon and Nikon came to the same conclusion when redesigning their respective flagship DSLRs this time around: more is better. While the D4 doesn't quite go to the same degree as the 1D X, there are many of the same touches. The 1D X now integrates a second joystick onto the back panel for portrait grip shooters, just as the D4 did. Both cameras also grabbed some popular control features from their prosumer models, integrating them into the professional bodies.
Menu
The menu in the Canon 1D X is the same as we've seen on previous Canon models: a series of tabs aligned horizontally along the top edge of the screen. The tabs are each color-coded and most have multiple pages within them. Canon uses red for the shooting and video option tabs, purple for autofocus, blue for playback, yellow for system settings, orange for custom options, and green for the customizable "my menu."
It's an intelligent menu that's easy to navigate, and the multi-controller joysticks make navigating the menu and various options a breeze. You can also use the control dials on the camera to quickly sweep through on-page lists or move between entire tabs, letting you quickly slide around the menu quickly and easily. An important addition is the autofocus menu, which lets users take much more sophisticated control over the camera's autofocus performance.
Instruction Manual
The instruction manual for the 1D X is massive, as you'd expect. The camera comes with a basic manual that stretches to 419 pages, if you include the index, various legal junk, and wasted pages. That doesn't include the supplemental manual for the wired LAN, which is a good thing to keep in your bag, as it includes some basic setup and troubleshooting tips that may come in handy. Overall we found the manual to be very good at explaining the basics, and the index was (usually) outlined intelligently. For example, where one entry was referenced on multiple pages, the manual sometimes outlined what each page pertained to, sometimes not. (i.e. "Movie" has 29 references in the manual, and each reference is called out beside corresponding page numbers; the "Q" menu has four references, and the manual just lists the pages and expects you to go hunt for what you need)
Handling
The Canon 1D X handles as well as you'd expect a top of the line professional camera body to handle. It's not plush, it doesn't have removable grips or a cute leather case. It's a workhorse. The grip is sturdy, the body is well-balanced, and the controls are placed where they can be accessed quickly and easily. That said, the camera is a joy to shoot with once you get adjusted to the control placement. If you have medium to large hands, the button placement is nearly perfect. This is obviously subjective, but most of the people on our staff who handled the camera felt it was carefully designed to accommodate a wide range of hands. It's usable by those with small hands, of course, but reaching some controls may require an extra hand for balance.

The Canon 1D x feels very comfortable to hold with the standard grip, though it is obviously quite heavy with larger lenses.
The Canon 1D X combines video and still photography controls very well, as most of the buttons and dials either work double duty or are out of the way so as to not be a bother. This is important, as the 1D X will have to live dual lives as a still and video camera in many professional organizations. It's clear that the main priority in the camera's design is still photography, but the video controls are good enough that most videographers will be satisfied.

The controls on the back of the camera are all within thumb's reach for most hands.
The biggest improvement to handling with the 1D X is certainly to the layout and design of the camera when shooting using the portrait grip. While it seemed like more of an afterthought on some previous 1D-series cameras, the portrait grip now feels almost as comfortable as the landscape grip. It now has its own multi-controller joystick for navigating the menu, AF-on, AE-lock, AF point select, and customizable multi-function button. The portrait grip feels just slightly more comfortable to use than it does on the D4, despite the similar design.
The one thing we still can't figure out is why cameras don't organize the menu so that it's usable when holding it via the portrait grip. Even though the camera can tell when it's oriented on its side, the menu displays as though you were holding the camera normally. The vertical grip also lacks an exposure compensation button, and neither the depth of field button nor the multi-function button on that side offer it as an option.

The portrait grip now features its own multi-selector joystick, as well as two customizable buttons around the lens on the front (not pictured).
Buttons & Dials
It seems both Canon and Nikon came to the same conclusion when redesigning their respective flagship DSLRs this time around: more is better. While the D4 doesn't quite go to the same degree as the 1D X, there are many of the same touches. The 1D X now integrates a second joystick onto the back panel for portrait grip shooters, just as the D4 did. Both cameras also grabbed some popular control features from their prosumer models, integrating them into the professional bodies.

The 1D X features a great deal of control, with several new buttons. The additions mostly assist video controls, save for the portrait grip joystick.
For the 1D X, our favorite addition is the camera's "Q" quick control menu. The same menu that's available on cameras like the Canon Rebel T3i is on the 1D X, offering quick and easy access to some basic control features. It's best used when shooting in live view or videos, but it does have its place for still shooters as well looking for quick access to things like color modes.
In general, however, most of our staff felt the 1D X handled extraordinarily well. The buttons and dials are all placed in appropriate places, the index finger falls naturally on the shutter releases, and the controls you'd need to reach with a single hand are within reach. There's some misses—our staff member with the smallest hands struggled to reach a few of the buttons on the camera—but for the most part the 1D X puts more control at your fingertips than previous 1D-series models, whether you're shooting stills or video.

The front of the camera now has two sets of customizable buttons, aligned to work when shooting with either the portrait or landscape grip.
Display(s)
The rear LCD has a resolution of 1.04 million dots (sub-pixels), and a diagonal measurement of 3.2 inches. That puts it among the top of the class for a standard DSLR. The monitor is fixed into the camera, so for videography you'll have to use an external monitor or deal with having to look silly to get certain shots.
Secondary Display
The secondary displays on the Canon 1D X show a bevy of useful information. Most of your shooting information—exposure values, compensation, autofocus modes, ISO speed—are contained to the top plate LCD, while the rear LCD displays information on files, image size and quality, and card information. The displays are useful for separating out information without things getting too cluttered, and both secondary displays can be lit up with a button press, though the buttons lack the backlit labels that the D4 has.
Viewfinder
The viewfinder on the 1D X is large and bright, with 100% coverage of the frame. It has a magnification of approximately 0.76x, with a 20mm eyepoint. The viewfinder is adjustable, with a removable eyecup that comes with the camera. The finder makes acquiring and confirming focus very easy, with plenty of information presented around the frame. If you're doing long exposures with the camera, there's also a lever to cover the viewfinder so that there's no extra light leaking onto the sensor.
Shooting Modes
The Canon 1D X offers just the basic PASM shooting modes, with options for bulb and custom shooting modes as well. The modes are visible on the top plate's LCD, as there's no physical mode dial on the camera.
Manual Controls
Most of the main shooting functions you might require are available on the body of the 1D X, preventing the need for most trips to the menu. The camera has dual control dials, including the rear dial as well as the one on the top plate near the index finger. You can also easily adjust ISO by holding down the ISO key (closest to your hand near the top plate's LCD) and adjusting the rear dial.
The front of the 1D X features a set of buttons, one for depth of field preview and a second customizable button, for both landscape and portrait grips. This makes it easy to transition between both grips quickly, without any real loss of control. The buttons can't assume every function under the sun, but they can be used for some pretty useful tricks, such as switching to specific autofocus functions.
Focus
We found the Canon 1D X's 61-point AF system to be quite sensitive, even in low light. We test focus at two light levels—40 lux and 10 lux—and found the camera was able to easily lock onto the high contrast subject with great accuracy and generally quickly. When using the rear LCD to focus with contrast detection autofocus the system was much slower, but that was also true in bright light as well. We also found the contrast detection autofocus had trouble locking in at the 10 lux level, as a few times it would get close, but give a red box indicating focus wasn't achieved.
The Canon 1D X offers an incredible amount of focus options for sports and news photographers. The camera puts its 61-point AF to great use, with a veritable ton of options for achieving focus. One of the big areas of improvement is the ability to fine-tune focus tracking. The 1D X offers six built-in "cases" that offer adjustable settings for tracking sensitivity, accelleration/deceleration, and autofocus point auto-switching. You can adjust all these presets to you liking, letting you fine tune performance to whatever event or sport you're photographing.
Canon also has claimed that the system intelligently figures out focus distance across the frame to better track subjects. It does this by calculating subject distance at a variety of points, so that if you're tracking a subject and the AF point you're using moves onto an obstacle in the foreground (or off the subject and onto the background), the camera will ignore the change if the focus distance change is dramatic. Similarly, the camera can also detect panning using a built-in gyroscope, letting it better follow a moving subject as you pan the camera to follow it.
Recording Options
The Canon 1D X lets you adjust image size and quality in more ways than just about any other camera. The camera has a maximum resolution of 18.1 megapixels, with options to shoot in RAW, JPEG, and RAW+JPEG. The camera lets you shoot in a reduced resolution (for both RAW and JPEG) if you want to keep file sizes down or don't need an image for more than web resolution. The Canon 1D X also lets you set compression quality for each of the four JPEG sizes, adjusting them on a 10-stop scale.
Speed and Timing
The Canon 1D X is obviously a camera that is geared to appeal to a wide variety of professional photographers. With features to benefit studio, wildlife, and news photographers, the 1D X is going to get a lot of love. Still, the camera's main base is still likely to be studio and event photographers, for which speed of capture is absolutely essential. The Canon 1D X features speed that is rivaled only by the Nikon D4, as both cameras capture upwards of 12 frames per second.
The Canon 1D X offers two continuous shooting settings—low and high—which can be adjusted from 1-12 frames per second. The camera also allows for capture of JPEG images at a listed rate of 14 frames per second, though you have to set it at that speed manually.
For our timing test, we capture a burst of shots and then figure out a frames per second rating using a five-shot average. In a five-shot burst, we found the Canon 1D X exceeded its listed FPS rate for both RAW and JPEG shooting. The RAW shooting speed came in as fast as 13.3 FPS over any five-shot burst, while the "14FPS" JPEG mode actually rang in at a max of around 15 frames per second.
These numbers put the 1D X just a hair ahead of the Nikon D4, which came in at just over 12 FPS for both RAW and JPEG. It should also be noted that if you bump the ISO up, shooting rate will begin to decline, capping at 10 FPS.
The 1D X offers just two self-timer settings, 10 seconds and 2 seconds. This doesn't give you a ton of options, and it's an area where the Nikon's customizable timer really comes in handy. The Canon also lacks any sort of built-in interval/timelapse shooting, which has become quite popular.
Focus Speed
We found the Canon 1D X's 61-point AF system to be quite sensitive, even in low light. We test focus at two light levels—40 lux and 10 lux—and found the camera was able to easily lock onto the high contrast subject with great accuracy and generally quickly. When using the rear LCD to focus with contrast detection autofocus the system was much slower, but that was also true in bright light as well. We also found the contrast detection autofocus had trouble locking in at the 10 lux level, as a few times it would get close, but give a red box indicating focus wasn't achieved.
The Canon 1D X offers an incredible amount of focus options for sports and news photographers. The camera puts its 61-point AF to great use, with a veritable ton of options for achieving focus. One of the big areas of improvement is the ability to fine-tune focus tracking. The 1D X offers six built-in "cases" that offer adjustable settings for tracking sensitivity, accelleration/deceleration, and autofocus point auto-switching. You can adjust all these presets to you liking, letting you fine tune performance to whatever event or sport you're photographing.
Canon also has claimed that the system intelligently figures out focus distance across the frame to better track subjects. It does this by calculating subject distance at a variety of points, so that if you're tracking a subject and the AF point you're using moves onto an obstacle in the foreground (or off the subject and onto the background), the camera will ignore the change if the focus distance change is dramatic. Similarly, the camera can also detect panning using a built-in gyroscope, letting it better follow a moving subject as you pan the camera to follow it.
Features
The Canon 1D X is largely a refinement of previous 1D-series Canons, increasing control while improving on the internal hardware. The 1D X does include some extras, though, that are sure to appeal to professionals wanting to speed up their workflow. The camera's video functionality and controls may be chief among these, but the addition of wired LAN for remote control and automatic image transfer also are sure to appeal to many professional photographers.
Recording Options
The Canon 1D X offers two forms of compression at the full 1080/30p resolution: ALL-I and IPB. ALL-I compressed each frame individually, which will produce larger files of a higher quality that is easier to edit. IPB compression uses keyframes to compress multiple frames of a video, resulting in smaller files that are harder to trim in post.
The 1D X can record in either of these compression methods for shooting at 1080/30p, 1080/24p, 720/60p, and 720/50p. The camera reverts to just IPB compression when shooting at 480/30p. The camera records video into .MOV files using H.264 compression, with linear PCM audio.
Video Controls
When recording video, you are able to make use of any of the camera's main PASM shooting modes. The camera lets you adjust ISO, shutter speed, and aperture while recording, depending on which shooting mode you are engaged in. The 1D X also lets you adjust audio levels on the fly, offering a truly professional level of control relative to most DSLRs.
Auto Controls
If manual control in video isn't your thing, you can simply record using program automatic. This mode will take over the exposure decisions for you, letting you adjust exposure compensation if you wish. You can also make use of the camera's picture control modes (color modes), letting you fine-tune the ultimate image quality that the camera puts out.
Zoom
When shooting video with the 1D X, you can zoom in to check focus, with a magnification of up to 10x. This will let you make slight adjustments when necessary. Unfortunately, this zoom goes away when you begin recording video, so you're unable to confirm that focus has been kept, and there's no "crop zoom" available for capturing video.
Focus
Continuous focus was quite good in live view and when shooting video with the 1D X. It doesn't have the smooth gradual focus shift that we like to see on camcorders, but it's quick and effective in establishing focus. You're still going to need to focus manually if you want to pull focus between two points, however. There's no focus peaking feature on the 1D X, but the camera does have the 10x digital zoom that you can use to check focus prior to pressing record.
Exposure Controls
Nearly the entire exposure range is available to users when shooting video with the 1D X. As you'd expect, shutter speed can only be set to speeds faster than the current frame rate you're shooting in (so 1/30th of a second and faster for 1080/30p). The full aperture range is available for adjustment both before and during recording. If you're planning on capturing low light video you'll be happy to know that the full ISO range is available for video recording, all the way up to 204800. It's certainly grainy video plague with banding, but the ability is there if you need it.
Audio Features
The Canon 1D X includes a standard 3.5mm microphone jack on the camera. This lets you capture high-quality audio, even though it lacks the 5D Mark III's headphone jack for monitoring it. You can let the camera automatically determine audio levels when recording or set audio level caps manually. If audio is set to manual control you will see the audio levels displayed on the rear LCD, with control available even while recording.
In the Box

The Canon 1D X comes with a full suite of accessories and manuals, including a dual battery charger.
In the box with the Canon 1D X you can expect to find the following accessories:
EOS-1D X Digital SLR Body
• eyecup Eg (not shown)
• battery pack LP-E4N
• battery charger LC-E4N
• wide neck strap L7
• cable protector
• stereo AV cable AVC-DC400ST
• USB interface cable IFC-200U
• EOS digital solution Disc
• software instruction manual
Conclusion
When we first saw the Canon 1D X way back in the fall of 2011, it became immediately clear that Canon was looking to produce a camera that would be right at home in the bags of world-class photographers and videographers alike.
Even amongst pure still photographers, the Canon 1D X's dove-tailing of the sports-centric 1D Mark IV and the studio-centric 1Ds Mark III lines seemed to be an ambitious move designed to capture the majority of the pro market with a single professional body. After seeing the test results and shooting with the Canon 1D X for an extended period of time, we have to say that Canon has largely succeeded in that mission.
The Canon 1D X combines the speed and autofocus improvements of the Mark IV with the full-frame image quality of the 1Ds series. Throw in a big helping of professional video features that match Canon's own 5D Mark III, a new 61-point autofocus system, and improved connectivity features like wired LAN support and you have a flagship camera that can appeal to almost the entire professional imaging community.
In truth, this camera is built more for speed than for comfort, inheriting more 1D Mark IV than 1Ds. While it does have a full-frame sensor—a feature that has become increasingly common throughout the market in 2012—this camera shoots as fast as any DSLR on the market. The 1D X captured RAW files at 13.3 frames per second (15fps for JPEG) in our tests, edging out even the mighty Nikon D4.
On top of that, the 61-point autofocus system is once again top-of-the-class. The woes of the 1D Mark III are well and truly behind Canon, thanks to an autofocus system that is as customizable as it is accurate. With six different adjustable "case" settings, the autofocus can be tuned to adjust to multiple scenarios, no matter what kind of subject you're shooting.
For news, sports, and wildlife photographers needing the highest-quality images captured with speed and accuracy, the 1D X should become the go-to body for everyone not already shooting with a Nikon D4. For studio shooters looking for full-frame resolution, the choice isn't as clear, but the Canon 1D X's extreme color accuracy, expansive dynamic range, and suite of tethered controls should make it a popular choice.
For video, we found the 1D X produced video sharper than the 5D Mark III, though the Mark III is likely the better option for professional shoots. The 1D X has basically every feature that Mark III does, but it's more expensive, less portable, and lacks the Mark III's headphone jack.
Still, it's clear that Canon has succeeded in creating a jack-of-all-trades professional DSLR. The integration of greater control across the entire body is certainly welcome, with nearly all the additions succeeding in making the camera easier to operate. Whether you shoot stills or video, studio models or wildlife, the Canon 1D X has features to make your job easier—and it produces fantastic images, too. It may have taken 10 months to get the camera to market, but it appears the 1D X was worth the wait.
Meet the tester
TJ is the Executive Editor of Reviewed.com. He is a Massachusetts native and has covered electronics, cameras, TVs, smartphones, parenting, and more for Reviewed. He is from the self-styled "Cranberry Capitol of the World," which is, in fact, a real thing.
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