Canon 1D X II I.Q.C.: Going toe-to-toe with the Nikon D5 and some APS-C performance-grade heavy hitters

 

 

Heavy-duty sports and wildlife photography got big boosts this year in the gear department in the form of the flagships Canon 1D X Mark II and the Nikon D5, as well as the slimmer but still quite powerful Nikon D500. And where performance levels for autofocus and burst speeds are ultra-critical, so too is the need for top-tier image quality. Bring on our Canon 1D X II Image Quality Comparison!

In this report, our senior technical editor Zig Weidelich pits the 1D X II against not only the Nikon D5 and D500, but also the predecessor Canon 1D X as well as two additional APS-C models in the Canon 7D Mark II and the Samsung NX1. All cameras in this IQ showdown are among the top choices for performance grade sports models.

After that, we serve up our signature Print Quality Analysis, where you can find how large you can expect to achieve quality prints as the ISO gain rises. (Spoiler alert: The 1D X II can print a good 8 x 10 at ISO 25,600! Only a few cameras have yet to achieve this feat in our lab.)

 

Our lab comparison at base ISO. Click below to see how they fare as the gain rises.

Canon 1D X II Image Quality Comparison

Print Quality Analysis • Overview