TBA
Canon: 5D Mark III and 1D X
Third of the recent series of Canon Live Learning events held in Hollywood. First was on the EOS 1D C with Shane Hulbert and Po Chan (very cool, not super technical but a great deal about technique), second was on the EOS C500 with Dante Ariola, Jeff Cronenweth, and Peter Simonite, plus Fotokem representatives. Much more technical as far as equipment and procedures-- crazy.
This third event was much more product-discussion focused and included some hands-on time, describing the differences and upgrades on the new 5D Mark III and 1D X, particular in the areas of image sensor performance, the completely new autofocus system, and the metering upgrades (moreso in the 1D X than in the 5D III). Part of it felt almost too sales-pitch as the rep they had running the presentation was clearly very polished and very experienced at it, but in the Q&A they were very good about answering questions honestly and to the best of their knowledge (which was about 90% complete-- really not bad given how technical much of this crowd was).
Hands-on time was a bit random and not directed, but it was still pretty good with two of each body, plus a few different lenses. Going back to Q&A, most questions were properly answered including my question about f/8 autofocus on the 1D X (been bumped back to Canon Japan to see if it's possible), but a few ("is ISO bracketing available") weren't really answered ("set mode to manual, then set ISO to Auto"... ummmm sure that works, but it's pretty crude). They admitted they hadn't tried a few things yet, which is refreshingly honest.
The facility itself is compact yet very appropriate to the space, they have a surprisingly modest (yet extravagant) collection of lenses, cameras, and sensors on display, and the staff appear to be pretty good.
Biggest problem of the night? They had the 1D X and 5D Mark III side-by-side. The 1D X is so awesome it greatly overshadows the 5D Mark III. The image quality jump from the 5D Mark II to the 5D Mark III is very good at higher ISOs (up to ISO 1600, it seems to be very similar, which is somewhat concerning since even at ISO 1250 the Mark II and Mark III are a little more noisy than I'd like), but when you then break out the 1D X next to any 5D... holy crap, you can see the 1D X is even better. Although since I don't ever expect to be able to justify a 1D X, I suppose it's mostly a moot point til the next generation of cameras hits in a few years. *grins*