Canon 1D X Mark II review part 1 - why superior colour means it's game over for my Sony A7S II

[hyalinejim]

There is definitely some aliasing with the 5D3 ML, even in crop mode. I've also had problems with detail in landscape shots. Have you checked that noise reduction is also disabled in the details tab? I turn everything there to zero, except for Color Noise which I leave at 20.

I've got much more detailed shots by shooting 2K+ resolutions in the classic crop mode and downsizing to HD. And in terms of getting psychologically realistic landscape colours, I've found it very useful to use the Cinelog preset for ACR and then play around with various film emulation luts.

[Ehetyz]

8 hours ago, Papiskokuji said:

I'll have to disagree with you on this one. Your statement seems a bit extreme to me. I actually find BMCC footage more cinematic, more organic. Motion rendition and highlight rolloff/dynamic range are better handled by blackmagic cameras. I also find the 5D mkIII RAW (not the C100/C300...) having a hard time with wide/large depth of field shots. Even with the detail slider all the way to the minimum, I have a feeling there's some aliasing/micro contrast going on. If you have a locked down landscape shot, the image coming from blackmagic cameras is a lot more pleasing to me (especially with the mosaic filter). The ML raw crop is actually better in that regard, but it's a crop... (wide static landscape shots are a great stress test for cameras, they are the less forgiving shots)

I'm not saying that 5D raw is bad in any way, it just feels too clean, too digital to me.

And like everybody, I'm in love with Canon colors of course, but once again, I think I like Blackmagic's more. It feels so close to Alexa's. To me, there are three key areas to look at in terms of color science : skintones, the blue of the sky and the green of foliage. Alexa and blackmagic are so close to film, it's amazing what Blackmagic has achieved in such a short amount of time.

My remarks weren't on the resolution or dynamic range. Resolution-wise BMCC wins, and dynamic range is debatable - I've said here previously that the DR of BMCC is better and I was promptly told I'm wrong. I don't care either way, both cameras have enough DR for me.

Blackmagic has "cinematic" colors, but especially the color separation is very lacking and demands heavy post work to bring out full lush tones out of the image, while 5D Raw doesn't. I've had both cameras for about 2-3 years and have been shooting ML RAW and BMCC side by side since early summer now.

Here's an example where both were used side by side in mixed light. Same lighting, same grade and Raw interpretation on both cameras. See how the warm tones pop on the 5D:

 

[dbp]

What kind of lighting was that? 

[Ehetyz]

Fluorescent tubes on the foreground, 800W Redhead with 1/2 CTO on the background.

Same phenomenon applies under all lighting conditions though, from daylight to full tungsten.

[dbp]

Gotcha. Yeah, that's a pretty telling comparison pic. Thought if it was all tungsten, that might explain it. Color seems pretty bad on BM cameras with tungsten for whatever reason. 

[Papiskokuji]

I didn't catch that you were specifically talking about colors, and was talking more of an overall image quality. My bad. Even though the pictures above show an edge for Canon, ironically I think BMCC handles mixed lighting very well, actually better than 5D ML RAW (forgot to mention it in my previous post). But I can see what to like with 5D ML raw, it has such a great image, very modern and nice colors. Just a question of personnal preference, I gave you mine  For photography though, I might prefer Canon colors.

[Vesku]

Does the Canon 1 Dx mk2 show aperture, shutter speed, iso and WB values during video shooting (Av, TV, P, M modes)?

[Oliver Daniel]

Gotta say, I'm tempted again by the 1DX II as it fits a gap in my shooting kit, but I can't quite justify it enough. 

[gt3rs]

1 hour ago, Vesku said:

Does the Canon 1 Dx mk2 show aperture, shutter speed, iso and WB values during video shooting (Av, TV, P, M modes)?

Yes all are visible on the LCD including exp compensation, the only annoying thing is that after a while if in auto iso it switches from showing the real iso value to "auto", a simple half press of the shutter will show again the current iso. If you don't use auto iso then it shows the selected iso value as expected. Maybe there is a trick to always show the value instead of auto. 

I saw this video over at dvxuser done entirely with the 1dx II that I personally found it very good:

 

 

[hempo22]

quick question: Does the live view stay on or black out when using an external monitor? I need to know if the touch screen still function for tap to focus when using HDMI out.

[alanpoiuyt]

LCD stays on and touch focus remains active when using HDMI out

[SuperSet]

On 11/28/2016 at 5:00 AM, gt3rs said:

I saw this video over at dvxuser done entirely with the 1dx II that I personally found it very good:

 

 

Pretty much, wow!  Not having used the 1DX MkII, is that what you can do with CLog or straight out of the camera?

[Oliver Daniel]

Is the Canon app any good for using auto focus on the 1DX II? 

If I got this, it would spent a lot of time on a gimbal - so having focusing away from the back LCD touchscreen would be ideal. 

[Django]

12 hours ago, SuperSet said:

Pretty much, wow!  Not having used the 1DX MkII, is that what you can do with CLog or straight out of the camera?

- Camera : Canon 1Dx mkII 4k 50p
- Lenses : Canon 24, 35, 50, 100
- Editing/Grading : Premiere Pro/Davinci Resolve

I'm going to assume those are Canon cine lens.. and if so that's approx $20,000 in lens..

Also 1Dx II doesn't have CLog

[gt3rs]

7 minutes ago, Django said:

- Camera : Canon 1Dx mkII 4k 50p
- Lenses : Canon 24, 35, 50, 100
- Editing/Grading : Premiere Pro/Davinci Resolve

I'm going to assume those are Canon cine lens.. and if so that's approx $20,000 in lens..

Also 1Dx II doesn't have CLog

IMO these are normal EF lenses especially because using Canon Prime Cine Lens you will loose AF one of the best feature of this camera.
Second there is no 100mm Cinema Prime from Canon. The 100mm is most probably the 100 L macro.

My bet is: 24 1.4, 35 1.4, 50 1.2 and 100L macro depending if version I or II of the 24 and 35 we are talking at a max $5000 new or less.

 

[DBounce]

On 11/28/2016 at 8:00 AM, gt3rs said:

Yes all are visible on the LCD including exp compensation, the only annoying thing is that after a while if in auto iso it switches from showing the real iso value to "auto", a simple half press of the shutter will show again the current iso. If you don't use auto iso then it shows the selected iso value as expected. Maybe there is a trick to always show the value instead of auto. 

I saw this video over at dvxuser done entirely with the 1dx II that I personally found it very good:

 

 

Yes, this video is pretty representative of what the 1DXMk2 does. It's not that hard to get some great stuff out of this camera. Once you have it you really can focus on producing work and forget about endlessly upgrading to the newly hyped this or that. The 1DXMk2 frees you to concentrate you efforts on the art of storytelling and take a break from the tech. 

I often look at images that I capture with this thing and marvel at their beauty. So far the 1DXMk2 is my favorite camera. I prefer it to all that I have owned or used (AJA, BM, Panie, Sony and other Canons). It is the best compromise of performance, size, form-factor, durability, versatility, low-light usability, battery life, stealthiness, weather resistance. I have not experienced a single instance of buyers remorse. Not to say that it is prefect... nothing is. But it is a good balance of features. And the DPAF is a true game-changer.

[SuperSet]

22 minutes ago, DBounce said:

Yes, this video is pretty representative of what the 1DXMk2 does. It's not that hard to get some great stuff out of this camera. Once you have it you really can focus on producing work and forget about endlessly upgrading to the newly hyped this or that. The 1DXMk2 frees you to concentrate you efforts on the art of storytelling and take a break from the tech. 

I often look at images that I capture with this thing and marvel at their beauty. So far the 1DXMk2 is my favorite camera. I prefer it to all that I have owned or used (AJA, BM, Panie, Sony and other Canons). It is the best compromise of performance, size, form-factor, durability, versatility, low-light usability, battery life, stealthiness, weather resistance. I have not experienced a single instance of buyers remorse. Not to say that it is prefect... nothing is. But it is a good balance of features. And the DPAF is a true game-changer.

A few follow-up questions since I'd really like to buy this now..

1. Since it doesn't have an articulating display, is there an App that you can use for remote control so you can at least use it for selfie mode?

2. Since it doesn't have CLOG, I assume that video was shot something close to it?  Grading pretty easy?

[Leica50mm]

Canon 1DX MKII canon 85mm 1.2 wide open with auto focus and color straight out of camera : 

Anyone want to buy a 1DC? let me know.

[Jaime Valles]

4 hours ago, Leica50mm said:

Canon 1DX MKII canon 85mm 1.2 wide open with auto focus and color straight out of camera : 

Anyone want to buy a 1DC? let me know.

Excellent image quality! I'm continually impressed by this camera (and the shooters using it).

[Django]

7 hours ago, gt3rs said:

IMO these are normal EF lenses especially because using Canon Prime Cine Lens you will loose AF one of the best feature of this camera.
Second there is no 100mm Cinema Prime from Canon. The 100mm is most probably the 100 L macro.

My bet is: 24 1.4, 35 1.4, 50 1.2 and 100L macro depending if version I or II of the 24 and 35 we are talking at a max $5000 new or less.

 

yea you're probably right although i don't think dual pixel negates the possibility of using manual glass for various reasons.

regardless that footage is definitely among the nicest i've seen from this cam.. very impressive 4K performance and the grade isn't over done.