Canon global

The recently released EOS-1D X is a flagship-model professional-use digital SLR camera, isn't it? When did the development project begin?

The EOS-1D Mark IV is a high-speed camera, while the EOS-1Ds Mark III for professional use is a high-image-quality camera. Does the 1D X combine the high speed and high image quality of the two?

Kashiyama

It does. However, it doesn't simply combine the performance of the two existing cameras. Both the frame rate and the image quality have been upgraded.

Oshima

The dynamic movements of athletes and wild animals can be captured in an instant with greater quality than in the past, and it is also possible to take beautiful photos of static landscapes and portraits. This camera alone provides the highest levels of performance for every conceivable professional shooting situation.

What was the first spec decided upon in development?

Ikeda

That would have to be the ability to perform high-speed continuous shooting at 12 frames per second with the 35mm full-frame 18.1-megapixel CMOS sensor. In previous professional models, continuous shooting was possible at 5 frames per second with full-frame CMOS sensors and 10 frames per second with smaller CMOS sensors, so you can imagine how high these specs were at the outset of development.

Sugimori

The specs established for ISO sensitivity were also incredible from the outset. The upper standard limit was set at 51200. The highest sensitivity in existing products was 12800, so some members of the development team were inwardly concerned about whether we could actually achieve this level.

Yoshida

I was one who had such concerns (laughs).

Oshima

I was too. I thought it would be impossible to make such a monster of a machine.

Yoshida

Needless to say, continuous shooting at 12 frames per second involves capturing and saving images while controlling AE and AF 12 times a second. All this is done while reducing image noise at high ISO sensitivity levels. This was an incredibly high technological obstacle. It isn't something that can be resolved by innovating a single key device, and we needed to develop new technology across the board.

Oshima

That's right. It is rare for digital camera development to make use of this much new technology. In particular, it is truly unusual not to use designs from existing models for key electrical devices.

The standard ISO sensitivity range is up to 51200, and this can be expanded to the ultrasensitive level of 204800. What kind of shooting situations do you envisage this being used in?

Sugimori

There are various possibilities. These include dark accident scenes that are barely visible with the naked eye and indoor performances where flash photography is not permitted. The camera makes possible the capture of movements and colors that otherwise could not be captured due to low light, or were not of a sufficient level of image quality for use by the news media even if images could be captured. The scope of news photography will expand significantly. I think the EOS-1D X has been able to show that news photography has even greater potential.