master shows C
anon’s Pro Solutions show, at the Business Design Centre in Islington, is becoming an increasingly im- portant fixture in the photogra- pher’s calendar. The 2011 event hosted the mainstream launch of the EOS 1D X and the new Pixma Pro 1 A3+ photo printer – whilst also providing a strong seminar programme and exhibi- tion space for many comple- mentary businesses, including Hasselblad and Adobe. Whilst video remains a strong theme – Canon’s con- vergence between the high-end camcorder and video DSLR mar- kets giving them an incredibly strong market presence – the balance of exhibitors, and the general buzz, was very much compatible with photography. Part of this is undoubtedly Canon’s latest body, which I had the opportunity to discuss with their Technical Support Manager Guido Krebs. The 1D X indicates a ration- alisation of their product plan. The challenging launch of the 1Ds MkIII and 1D MkIV clearly affected Canon’s perception of this sector; something firms like Hasselblad have been quick to exploit. Visible promotion of the H4D-31 system for under £9,000 is clearly aimed at tempting those full-frame pro- fessionals with something more exotic, as the 5D MkII storms ahead as a consumer-affordable system that does more than many professionals would need. Canon’s launch will un- doubtedly have caught many by surprise. The 1D X hints at a very different tactic to the split between “sports” and “studio”, losing the smaller sensor of the 1D family – though, at 18Mp, it’s lower resolution than the current 1Ds. Guido remarks that this is still a 1D, hinting that for those lusting after higher reso- lutions may yet find a model to suit.
In the meantime, however,
it’s fair to argue that the 1Ds was really providing a service
MASTER PHOTOGRAPHY 12
photography_
Richard Kilpatrick reports from the Canon Pro Solutions 2011 exhibition held in London last month
The Design Centre show, above, and our first hands-on look at the Canon 1D X, pretty on pink.
made redundant by the 5D MkII. The 18Mp sensor allows the many benefits of the 1D X to be used without a significant loss in resolution if cropping to the old 1D format, whilst delivering a rugged, pro body for the full-frame users. Twin card slots and a robust chassis are expected here; class-leading ergonomics extend to dual joysticks and dual DoF preview and function buttons for easy vertical operation. Video opera- tion is less obvious; despite the SMPTE-timecoded HD record- ing, Canon have opted to make video less overt as a function, with recording part of the Live View user-interface structure and enabled via a menu option. These were pre-production units that we had a chance to handle, so we were not sup- posed to keep the raw files. Using the display, zooming in, I can’t fault the clarity, and the colour feels more natural than the few Canons I have experienced previously, though as always, that’s a matter of taste and processing. Shooting speed is tremendous, and the AF performance indoors, with a relatively slow lens, is bang on.
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