How the Canon 1D X Mark II and Nikon D5 Stack Up

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With today’s unveiling of the Canon 1D X Mark II and the recent announcement of the Nikon D5, both major camera companies have now revealed their latest and greatest technologies in their flagship DSLRs.

Here’s a look at how the two top tier cameras compare to one another… at least on paper.

Sensor Format

Canon 1D X II: Full frame
Nikon D5: Full frame

Megapixels

Canon 1D X II: 21.5 megapixels (20.2MP effective)
Nikon D5: 21.33 megapixels (20.8MP effective)

Max Resolution

Canon 1D X II: 5472 x 3648
Nikon D5: 5568 x 3712

Aspect Ratios

Canon 1D X II: 3:2
Nikon D5: 3:2 and 4:5

File Formats

Canon 1D X II: JPEG, RAW for stills. MJPEG, MOV, MP4, MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 for video.
Nikon D5: JPEG, RAW, TIFF for stills. MOV, MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 for video.

Bit Depth

Canon 1D X II: 14-bit
Nikon D5: 14-bit

Memory Card

Canon 1D X II: 1 CFast and 1 CompactFlash
Nikon D5: 2 XQD or 2 CompactFlash

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Autofocus Points

Canon 1D X II: 61 phase detection points, with 41 cross-type
Nikon D5: 153 phase detection points, with 99 cross-type

Viewfinder

Canon 1D X II: 100% coverage and ~0.76x magnification
Nikon D5: 100% coverage and ~0.72x magnification

Rear Display

Canon 1D X II: 3.2-inch touchscreen with 1.62 million dots
Nikon D5: 3.2-inch touchscreen with 2.359 million dots

ISO Range

Canon 1D X II: 100-51200 (50-409600 when extended)
Nikon D5: 100-102400 (50-3280000 when extended)

Metering Methods

Canon 1D X II: Evaluative metering, partial metering, spot metering
Nikon D5: 3D Color Matrix metering, center-weighted average metering, spot metering, highlight weighted

Continuous Shooting

Canon 1D X II: 14FPS at 20.2 MP for up to 170 RAW photos (16FPS with mirror lockup)
Nikon D5: 12FPS at 20.8 MP for up to 200 RAW photos (14FPS with mirror lockup)

4K Video Recording

Canon 1D X II: 4096 x 2160p at 59.94 fps, 50 fps, 29.97 fps, 25 fps, 24 fps, 23.98 fps
Nikon D5: 3840 x 2160p at 30 fps, 25 fps, 24 fps

4K Clip Length

Canon 1D X II: 30 minutes
Nikon D5: 3 minutes

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Wi-Fi

Canon 1D X II: Yes
Nikon D5: Yes

Weight

Canon 1D X II: 3.37 lb (1530 g)
Nikon D5: 3.11 lb (1415 g)

Price

Canon 1D X II: $5,999
Nikon D5: $6,499


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