Canon EOS 1D X Digital Camera Review

Motion

Motion looked great with the Canon 1D X, as our motion test showed very little signs of signal interference or distortion due to subject movement. There were hints of moire through the image, however, and some trailing with the RGB and monochrome pinwheels in our motion rig. More on how CamcorderInfo tests motion.

The Canon 1D X's video has a subjective quality that just looks better than the Nikon D4 when capturing motion. The Nikon D4 perhaps had a little sharper video, but moire is a concern with both cameras. It's not as bad as it once was (such as with the 5D Mark II), but it's still a concern if your aim is to use the camera for high-end video production.

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.