Canon EOS-1D X Mark III: Image Quality

Good light, bad light, virtually no light… whatever the conditions the Canon EOS-1D X Mark III delivers superb image quality. From the depth of its shadow detail to the accuracy of its colour, you can be confident that the images you shoot will look nothing short of extraordinary.

Bespoke 20.1-megapixel CMOS sensor

The Canon EOS-1D X Mark III uses the next generation of our advanced CMOS imaging technology. A custom-designed full-frame sensor features 20.1-megapixel resolution – the ideal balance between image quality, performance and speed of workflow.

Compared with its predecessors, the Canon EOS-1D X Mark III delivers increased dynamic range, more advanced noise-reduction at all ISO sensitivities and faster read out of imaging data. Native ISO sensitivity now ranges from ISO 100 to ISO 102,400 and is expandable to an astonishing ISO 50-819,200, setting new standards in low-light performance.

The Canon EOS-1D X Mark III also features a Gaussian low pass filter (LPF), which reduces moiré more effectively than standard LPF designs while also delivering a sharper, more detailed image.

DIGIC X image processor

The Canon EOS-1D X Mark III features a single DIGIC X processor, which puts new levels of performance into the hands of photographers who accept no compromises. It also sets new standards in power efficiency. In fact, battery life is more than double that of the EOS-1D X Mark II.*

Expect to shoot at 20fps in Live View mode and at 16fps with the Canon EOS-1D X Mark III’s optical viewfinder, both accompanied by continuous AF and AE and a 1000+ shot image buffer. But the DIGIC X is about more than just speed.

DIGIC X also enables lower noise levels at all ISO sensitivities, improved sharpness with an all-new clarity adjustment, and extra dynamic range, thanks to an improved Auto Lighting Optimizer (ALO) and Highlight Tone Priority+ technology.

*Based on CIPA standards

The DIGIC X is also the brain behind the Canon EOS-1D X Mark III’s deep-learning AF and also powers its in-camera Digital Lens Optimizer capabilities. This image processing tackles any optical issues that are not possible to correct thorough lens design alone, such as aberrations and diffraction. Since Digital Lens Optimizer doesn’t slow down the Canon EOS-1D X Mark III at all, it can now be used by news, sports and wildlife photographers shooting at top speeds.

A choice of file formats

The Canon EOS-1D X Mark III gives you plenty of choice between image file formats, so you can choose the one that’s best suited to the job in hand.

CR3 Raw files

The CR3 Raw files format now makes its way to the EOS-1D series.

• It can be shot uncompressed – maximizing image quality with huge dynamic range and 16,384 gradations per colour channel. Idea when images are going to be heavily processed in post-production.
• Or as a compressed file, saving up to 40 per cent file size with very little noticeable drop in image quality straight out of the camera.

CR3 Raw files are fully supported by our Digital Photo Professional software, which is supplied free of charge with the Canon EOS-1D X Mark III, as well as by major third-party software developers, such as Adobe and Apple.

JPEG and HEIF files

When you need to transmit your images fast, there is no substitute for JPEG files – until now that is. The Canon EOS-1D X Mark III also lets you shoot HEIF files (high efficiency image format), which is based on the HVEC video codec.

HEIF files give improved image quality, compared with JPEG files, but with roughly the same file size. The format allows 10-bit colour for more dynamic range, allowing the capture of HDR PQ images.

The compatibility of HEIF files is growing all the time, these files can also be processed in camera to produce standard JPEG files.

Hyper-accurate exposure metering

A dedicated 400k RGB+IR metering sensor takes exposure accuracy to new heights, with 400,000 pixels grouped into 216 metering zones. When you use the camera’s optical viewfinder, brightness is assessed in each zone and exposure is calculated with deadly accuracy.

This is an exposure sensor that sees like you do – in full colour. It can detect faces and other objects and help the camera’s AF system keep them in sharp focus as they move around the frame.

The sensor detects infrared as well as visible light, which helps it to recognise highly infrared-reflecting subjects and compensate for this when calculating exposure. Infrared sensitivity also helps prevent autofocusing errors in mixed light situations and improves the precision of Auto White Balance, Picture Style Auto, Auto Lighting Optimizer and Flicker Detection technologies.

E-TTL Balance

The Canon EOS-1D X Mark III’s 400k RGB+IR metering sensor also enables accurate flash exposure metering, and a new E-TTL balance option has been added to give photographers more control over the way that flash and ambient light are mixed together.

The lighting ratio can be changed between Ambience priority (where natural light is the dominant light source and flash is the fill light) and Flash priority (where the roles are reversed). A standard mode is also available, in which flash and ambient light are given equal weighting similar to existing EOS cameras.

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