5D3 versus the 1DX in a Nutshell

[Henry Domke]

On paper the 1DX and 5D3 are remarkably similar except that the 1DX is much heavier and much more expensive. Using the two cameras side-by-side for the last week has revealed more important differences.

When shooting birds in flight I had many more “keepers” with the 1DX. The key reason is that many more pictures were in focus. With the 1DX the birds seemed to instantly snap into focus. In contrast with the 5D3 seemed slow to respond; so slow that at times it never achieved focus and I lost the shot. An example is the attached image of a Sandwich Tern from this morning.

I should mention that I did all my testing using a 600 f4 II lens. When I attached the new 1.4X or 2.0X teleconverters the slowness of the 5D3 was even more dramatic.

The other issue is shutter speed. With birds in motion it’s amazing how a fraction of a second can reveal a totally different wing or head position. Sometimes that difference in position can make or break the picture. The shutter speed of the 1DX is twice that of the 5D3.

In a nutshell the 1DX is much better than the 5D3 for birds in flight because of:
1. Much faster focus
2. Much faster shutter speed

There are many other differences, but those two stood out for me.

Any other experiences that others would like to share?

5D3 600II f/10 1/3200sec ISO 2000. Handheld with manual exposure
Processed with Lightrooom 5

[arash_hazeghi]

Hi Henry,

There is no question that the 1DX is a better camera for action and BIF compared to the 5D3, it is almost 3X more expensive. AF is def. faster when it comes to super telephoto drive and the shutter lag is lower too.

However, the 5D3 is a pretty capable body when it comes to AF, the photo you posted is not very challenging for AF and I hate to say, but here it was clearly the operator's error that missed the shot, not the camera. You need to work your technique, any camera including the 1DX can lock on the BG. It is your job the center the bird properly, track it and use the bump technique to bring the AF back to the bird. Here it looks like the bird drifted off center and thus focus locked on the BG. light was quite harsh too, even if the photo was in focus it would be a delete frame.

So while I have no doubt 1DX superior to 5D3 in every measurable way, I don't believe your photo proves 5D3 is incapable of nailing a shot like the one you posted.

Best luck,

[Doug Brown]

The 1Dx is the finest body Canon has ever produced IMHO, especially for BIF. But the 5D3 is 80% as capable for half the price.

[Henry Domke]

You need to work your technique, any camera including the 1DX can lock on the BG. It is your job the center the bird properly, track it and use the bump technique to bring the AF back to the bird.

Arash - You are totally right that I need to work on my technique; I've not had much experience photographing birds in flight. However, over the past week I had many chances to take shots just like the one above. What I found was that with the 1DX the bird snapped into focus almost instantly. With the 5D3 many times the bird was gone before focus was achieved.

Even though the AF parameters were set the same I got out of focus images much more often with the 5D3.

[Daniel Cadieux]

Thanks for sharing your findings Henry. BTW, I'm sure what you meant is that the 1DX has a faster "frames per second" rate rather than faster shutter speed...

[Henry Domke]

I'm sure what you meant is that the 1DX has a faster "frames per second" rate rather than faster shutter speed...

Whoops!
Thanks for catching that.
You have a great eye for images and language!

[David Stephens]

My findings are similar to yours, when you add the 1.4x or 2.0x TC-III, the difference between the 5D3 and 1D X AF speed and accuracy goes up several orders of excellence.

[Miguel Palaviccini]

Henry, I have no doubt that the 1DX has better AF than the 5D3. That said, I've used the 5D3 with the 500 II and it's quite impressive. In the hands of an experienced photographer (not saying that you aren't) I bet that both would give similar results for 80-90% of situations.

[Henry Domke]

I bet that both would give similar results for 80-90% of situations.

Miguel - I only had 10-days to compare the 5D3 with the 1DX. During that time I concentrated on birds in flight using the 600 f/4 II.

I would guess that I got twice as many "keepers" with the 1DX.
On stationary subjects I would rate them as equal. For birds in flight I found them to be significantly different.

Note: I am not very experienced at shooting birds in flight, so user error could certainly be part of the difference.

[Robert Hardy]

I would agree with Miquel.

Rob.

[Paul Granone]

I would bet the ability of the photographer has more to do with results that the 1DX vs 5DIII argument.

I suspect Doug Brown states it accurately. 5D3 is 80% as capable for half the price

I like my 5D III , but I have been getting good results with a 400mm F5.6 & 6D. A camera that is bashed for not being an action camera.
so I think technique is the critical element for any photographer, not the hardware

[David Stephens]

Henry, I have no doubt that the 1DX has better AF than the 5D3. That said, I've used the 5D3 with the 500 II and it's quite impressive. In the hands of an experienced photographer (not saying that you aren't) I bet that both would give similar results for 80-90% of situations.

If you leave the TCs off, they're very close. Add the EF 2.0x TC-III and the 1D X will blow the 5D3 into the weeds, IME.

[David Stephens]

I would bet the ability of the photographer has more to do with results that the 1DX vs 5DIII argument.

I suspect Doug Brown states it accurately. 5D3 is 80% as capable for half the price

I like my 5D III , but I have been getting good results with a 400mm F5.6 & 6D. A camera that is bashed for not being an action camera.
so I think technique is the critical element for any photographer, not the hardware

Equipment matters IME. When I shot with a 7D/500mm I thought that my technique must suck, because my tracking of BIF was very inconsistent. When I bought my 5D MkIII, my keeper rate for BIF more than doubled, without me changing my technique at all. When I borrowed a 1D X and added my 2.0x TC-III to Canon's 500/f4-II, the ease of targeting and tracking BIF went up exponentially from the 5D3. Good photographers can get good shots with any of these cameras, but the missed shots will fall dramatically as the equipment improves.

[Steve Uffman]

Equipment matters IME. When I shot with a 7D/500mm I thought that my technique must suck, because my tracking of BIF was very inconsistent. When I bought my 5D MkIII, my keeper rate for BIF more than doubled, without me changing my technique at all. When I borrowed a 1D X and added my 2.0x TC-III to Canon's 500/f4-II, the ease of targeting and tracking BIF went up exponentially from the 5D3. Good photographers can get good shots with any of these cameras, but the missed shots will fall dramatically as the equipment improves.

My first experience with the 5dIII was shooting Bald Eagles in Alaska and used the 2x with a 70-200 f/2.8....was blown away with the AF capability....like you coming from a 7d....very few issues with focus on BIF but I do use bump focus and had lots of practice with that here in Louisiana with all our birds. In fact I have two 5dIIIS for Marian and I and it really is a wonderful camera....

Now my goto is the 1dx however. An amazing camera even though I got an early serial number before the firmware fix to make it work with TCs..very first ones had a problem with backfocusing whenever a TC was attached-lut that was when they first came out. AF issues are almost non existent if you have any contrast at all....and there is a lot of personalization you can do to really make it rock..