Anyone using 1dx II in bad light?

KIPAX

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KIPAX Lancashire UK
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For Sports shooters...

Currently using Two 1dx cameras.. In soccerdome enviroment I am on ISO 25600 at f2.8 using 500 shutter which isn't ideal for kids running around..

Would the mKII be a big improvement? I know what the spec says.. just wondering if anyone using one in the real world ?
 
Co-incidentally, I was going to post in a similar vein. I dont want to hijack the thread, Tony, but the circumstances may be similar

Over the past few weeks I've had to shoot in less than perfect conditions, shooting with the 1Dx in foggy conditions at footy grounds. I have noticed that although the 1DX is a brilliant piece of kit, with the reduced contrast, the AF is taking that bit longer to lock on and hence the shot at the ideal time can be lost.

As you are, Tony, I am wondering if the sensor in the mkII is that much better and hence picks up AF quicker under foggy/poor lighting conditions
 
Not hijacking at all mate.. mine was just an example ..I have other situations where the 1dx strugles.. which is an amazing thing to say haha considering how great it is..

Not sure anything gets through fog though..
 
Not sport I know, but a lot of wildlife photography utilises similar action techniques to sport and low light capability is a must. I know quite a few people who have upgraded to the mk2, and the feedback seems to be that there is not much difference in high ISO capability. The main areas of improvement are around the AF which does seem to have (somehow) improved in the original 1dx.

That said, most serious wildlife stuff is shot in RAW, so the jpeg side doesn't get tested to the same degree.

I tend to find Arash Hazeghi's reviews spot on - not only is he an excellent action photographer, he's also very knowledgeable in the tech side of things - http://arihazeghiphotography.com/blog/eos-1d-x-mark-ii-field-review/

No idea if that's any use to you but worth a shout.

Mike
 
Hi Mike.. yes its that area I want to know about thank you..... I only use center spot and we dont track as much as you guys :) But his ISO tests only go to 6400 which I find very usable as is anyway.. its the 25600 and upwards I need... cheers :)
 
Not hijacking at all mate.. mine was just an example ..I have other situations where the 1dx strugles.. which is an amazing thing to say haha considering how great it is..

Not sure anything gets through fog though..

I was wondering about foggy conditions that are not dense enough for the game to be called off. Ive had a couple recently and during these I was looking for the mkI to perform better with AF than it actually did.

If there are real life experiences of the mkII performing significantly better in these types of conditions, I'll be thinking about flashing the plastic :eek:
 
At two matches recently (same ground a couple of weeks apart) I used the 1DX at one and the DX2 at the other, both using a 300mm 2.8 IS lens. Although it was raining at the first game and a bit murky the 1DX performed well although I missed more shots due to focusing issues. The DX2 appeared to retain focus more easily and produced some great shots albeit at a Step 4 Non-League ground, although the lighting not too bad at Rugby.

I know which camera I'll be using from now on if I was only using the one to grab a few images with the 300mm at a game in bad light.

Unprocessed (slightly cropped only) shot taken on the night DX2 & 300mm 2.8 taken at f2.8, 1/1000 at ISO 16000.
 

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Hi Mal.. resized loses a lot of noise so its hard to tell..
 
I know I sort of quickly replied on FB .. as you kindly tagged me there :)
Been a busy weekend with games and moving... etc...

You mentioned 'Soccerdome' ... would that be the one in Manchester... if so, I know exactly how 'good' the light is there, so no wonder you need to push the ISO!!

For me - I made the upgrade from 1DX to 1DX mkII (lucky to get one on the first UK release date) - and have been more than satisfied with the decision.
To my eye - there is improvement in the way the newer model handles the high ISO - as you should expect.
Less noise and the colours are more 'true/vibrant' when you start to move to the higher ISO numbers... compared to the 1DX.

Is it worth the extra £££'s you will spend on the 1DX mkII - for me, the answer is yes.
But it is not just the performance on the High ISO that sold the upgrade to me...

The AF is slightly better (not sure why it is always only 'slightly' better with each upgrade...) - the AF on the touch screen (for my video work) - the ability to grab a good quality JPEG from the video footage...
Just few of the reasons I used to justify the jump from 1DX to 1DX mkII (although - the 1DX has still stayed as my remote camera for basketball!!).

Another good, or bad, thing is the new memory card... the CF Fast is much faster than your CF card.. and on a busy basketball game.. it does make a difference on how quick I can empty my card.
I know.. a little thing... but it all helps :)
A downside of this is that now I am using both CFfast and CF cards.. so carrying two memory card readers with me...

I can see if I can find some good and bad samples that I've shot at 25600 ... and post them here for you to see.

If I were now in a position to consider again whether to upgrade.. and knowing what I now know from using the camera for the last half a year.. would I still upgrade???
Yes, definitely!!
 
If I were now in a position to consider again whether to upgrade.. and knowing what I now know from using the camera for the last half a year.. would I still upgrade???
Yes, definitely!!


Cheers mate. your one of the few people I know gone from 1dx to 1dxII who might have shot in bad light..

most of the styuff you enjoy from the upgrade isnt going to make much difference to me

Soccerdome in blackburn iso 25600 f2.8 with 500 shutter... would like to up the shutter speed and get same or better results at iso 25600... thats the ONLY consideration I ahve for the upgrade... would that be doable and if so how much difference ?
 
Cheers mate. your one of the few people I know gone from 1dx to 1dxII who might have shot in bad light..

most of the styuff you enjoy from the upgrade isnt going to make much difference to me

Soccerdome in blackburn iso 25600 f2.8 with 500 shutter... would like to up the shutter speed and get same or better results at iso 25600... thats the ONLY consideration I ahve for the upgrade... would that be doable and if so how much difference ?

The 'benefits' of shooting a minor sport :) low light and struggles with it ... ;-)

I am no good in talking in technical terms ... but guess what I hear lots of reference is that there is is 1 or 2 stop difference between 1dx and 1dx mkII.

Looking at my images between the two models - on the 1DX, I rarely wanted to venture to the iso25600 .. of course it is usable and but it wasn't 'fun' to shoot at those levels of noise/grain.
With the 1DX mkII -whenever I do need to go that high, I am OK with it.
And with you selling lots of newspaper print - and then your prints sales .. I think in your shoes, I would be considering the upgrade to 1DX worthwhile (of course finances allowing).

As said, I do also think that (to my eye) the colours do stay better and more vibrant even when you push the ISO on the 1DX mkII - in comparison to the 1DX.

If I would make an estimate, to my eyes what you get on 1DX MKii at iso25600 - looks very similar to what you get on 1DX at iso16000.
That's not based on any fancy technical analysis of the image.. just to what I see when I look at the images on my screen and then when they get 'out there'.

Once our house move is complete today/tomorrow.. should have a minute to scan through my archives to see what I can find at those ISO's with the 1DX mkII.

Oh, and the AF does also keep tracking better in low light... not like I never had any complaints about the tracking on the 1DX... but it is nice to be able to track bball players even better in low light/low contrast situations!

It's never good to get advice that you should spend £4500 on a new piece of kit ;-) - but if you are in a position to do it, go for it.
 
I can buy one..... But you ahve to be sure with that much money.. I am torn.. a 2 stop increase would be fantastic... I need to try one.. contacted canon but so far no reply which is a bit dissheartening... I am 50/50 at the moment and 4.5k is a lot unless your at least 99% sure
 
Thought of hiring one for a weekend, Tony? Calumet do them, I reckon


Looked into it last week... nearly fell off my chair when i saw the prices :)
 
Looked into it last week... nearly fell off my chair when i saw the prices :)

If I would be around your neck of the woods.. would be happy to let you have a go for an evening with one of mine...
When are you looking to take the plunge and buy it??

And it is always good to have a test when torn in these situations... and somehow you need to justify that spending that money on new gear is worth it in your business.
 
If I would be around your neck of the woods.. would be happy to let you have a go for an evening with one of mine...
When are you looking to take the plunge and buy it??4

Whenever i like really.. if i was convinced then i would buy one tomorrow... just not convinced yet....
 
Canon are sending my a trial body.... luvley jubley :)
 
Canon are sending my a trial body.... luvley jubley :)

You are one of the BIG guys now.. with Canon sending you trial copies... ;-)
Hope the trial with it will clear up whether you see the improvement big enough to splash the cash to buy one!
 
Just looking at cfast cards and cfast readers......... sigh :(
 
Just looking at cfast cards and cfast readers......... sigh :(

Oh yes... does Canon still give one for free when purchasing one.

But you can use it with a CF card... as the 1DX mkII has both CF and cfast card slots... so you don't need to get one just for your test-drive of one.
Works fine with just CF card...
 
Oh yes... does Canon still give one for free when purchasing one.

But you can use it with a CF card... as the 1DX mkII has both CF and cfast card slots... so you don't need to get one just for your test-drive of one.
Works fine with just CF card...


Yeagh I know.. but once you start using 2 card backup system you get paranoid.... for testing OK but if i do a paid job i would need 2 cards haha.... i went years using one card.. but like i say.. its gets to you once you start :)
 
Canon made a mistake haveing two different slots.Nikon realised it was a mistake and rectified it with the D5.
 
1DxII arrives wed from canon for a two week trial.... ooer :)
 
I would be really interested to know your thoughts, opinions and experiences after the trial, Tony


The places I need it for I can post pics. so i will.... probably friday night under very poor school floodlight... 25600 upwards iso...
 
The places I need it for I can post pics. so i will.... probably friday night under very poor school floodlight... 25600 upwards iso...

Good stuff - looking fwd to hearing what you think... and recently I've been only having to use mine at ISO6400 ... that's basically day-light ;-)
 
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