Waiting for a Canon 1D X Mark II

Thanks to the donation and support of the Karate Parents who responded to my request to donate old gear that was no longer being used, I'm trading my Canon 5D Mark III for a Canon 1D X Mark II (around $1000 Used Market).

The Canon 5D Mark III (around $400 Used market) was my backup camera and the one I used for all the wide-angle shots during the 2026 season. It's a camera that was released in 2012, but it is considered a legend among photographers. The colors coming out of this camera are really nice, and for portrait photography, it is hard to find anything better. This is a DSLR; it does not have all the features that you will find in more modern mirrorless cameras, but in the hands of someone who knows that and knows how to work around its limitations, it's a formidable tool.

 

Then, why to change to the Canon 1D X Mark II?

The Canon 1D X Mark II is a camera that was released for the 2016 Olympics and is designed for sports and wildlife photography. It is fast, and its low-light performance is about the same as my main camera, the Canon R6. See above chart. I need a camera that could perform about the same as the R6 to cover the wide-angle shots. Not just for portraits, but capable of getting good action shots with a shutter speed of 1/1000 and in low-light conditions. The 5D Mark III was too "noisy" and too slow for these types of shots.

Keep in mind that Canon is not making any more DSLRs, pushing new users to buy their mirrorless cameras, which are more capable and include features such as eye tracking that make the life of photographers a lot easier. However, the price tag of the Canon R1—which is the replacement for the Canon 1D X series—is $6,000, a price that I can't afford just to have a camera that tracks the eye of the subject, something that with a little bit of effort on my end, I can do with the 1D X.

I'm using MPB for this exchange. This is a place that I have used in the past many times. They offer 6 months of warranty on any used camera that you buy from them.

So here I'm, waiting for the Canon 1D X Mark II. Getting ready for Season 2027.