Canon 1DX review

As the most recent addition to Canon's professional DSLR series, the Canon EOS-1DX showcases the company's camera building capability and doesn't disappoint.

In fact, in some respects it exceeds expectations. The 18.1MP sensor and dual Digic 5+ processor combination proves itself to be very capable, delivering images that have lots of detail and little noise, even at the higher sensitivity settings.

We liked

The Canon EOS-1D X's AF system is fast and reliable in a wide range of situations, and it captures subjects sharply even in very low light.

We disliked

Although the Canon EOS-1DX control layout is designed to enable you to adjust settings quickly whether you are shooting with the camera held horizontally or upright, Canon hasn't given it some of the useful features found on the EOS 5D Mark III.

There's no rating button, for example, so images can only be rated out of five via the menu. We'd also liked to see the Canon EOS 5D Mk III's in-camera HDR system, which works with raw files as well as JPEG images and saves the three constituent images as well as the composite picture.

Final verdict

A price tag of £5,299/$6,799 brings certain expectations, and the Canon EOS-1DX's build lives up to them. This is a camera that you can expect to survive several years of heavy use. Thanks to the control layout and deep comfortable grips it is also one that you can enjoy using.

The Canon EOS-1DX's noise control and autofocus performance particularly impress, and these are key areas for professional photojournalists who need a camera that they can rely on to get decent image, whatever the conditions.

With an f/2.8 lens, the Canon EOS-1DX can focus in very low light, and even at high sensitivities it delivers images that are clean enough to turn into full-page prints.