In the Field: Canon EOS 1DX Mark III for Sports Photography

In this article, Getty photographer Richard Heathcote reviews the Canon EOS 1DX Mark III full-frame DSLR for sports photography.

With its 20-megapixel full-frame sensor, the 2020 DSLR is a great choice for sports. But how does theCanon EOS 1DX Mark III perform in action for sports photography? Let's hear from Richard Heathcote.

The Canon EOS 1DX Mark III retains the same feeling and ergonomics as the previous body, the Canon EOS 1DX Mark II. Canon work very closely with professional sports photographers to make sure the camera feels good in the hand, we need them to feel right and be strong reliable hardwearing tools, not lightweight toys. The new AF-On button with the ability to move the autofocus point around the screen — it’s a great new feature which, once you’re used to it, you’ll struggle to think how you ever did without it before.

The autofocus is improved again from the Mark II, it really seems to have got better. Especially with face detection holding onto subjects, even when other objects cross in front. The biggest jump is in the Live View AF. Face detection, eye detection is amazing, very impressive, up there with the best autofocus of any mirrorless camera on the market.

The AF-On button’s ability to move the autofocus cursor around is impressive and good once you’re used to it. The high ISO performance has really improved again. ISO 8000 is very usable, and you could go higher if required without compromising on image quality, I wouldn’t go above 4000 ISO on the Mark II. The in-built Wi-Fi is a nice addition for connecting to devices like your phone or pocket MiFi.

The Mark III is a fantastic evolution of the previous professional bodies. All the features we want and strive for as professional photographers have been enhanced. High ISO improvement, autofocus system with faster processors, move to CFExpress so you can shoot unlimited RAW files and much more video footage, faster network connectivity.

With all the talk of mirrorless being the future and better in some aspects, it’s good to know that Canon still know and understand that — for sports photography — the optical viewfinder is superior. We spend a long time looking through the viewfinder. With electronic viewfinders, you just can’t do this hour after hour. You can’t judge depth in the same way, and your eye can only see one exposure and not the latitude your eye sees through an optical viewfinder. If you shoot with both eyes open like a lot of people do, and you’ll notice this even more. And the Live View AF performance of the Canon EOS 1DX Mk III is amazing too.

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