Canon EOS-1D Mark IV vs. Canon EOS-1D X Mark II

Comparison

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EOS-1D Mark IV image
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EOS-1D X Mark II image
Canon EOS-1D Mark IV Canon EOS-1D X Mark II
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Megapixels
16.10
20.20
Max. image resolution
4896 x 3264
5472 x 3648

Sensor

Sensor type
CMOS
CMOS
Sensor size
27.9 x 18.6 mm
36 x 24 mm
Sensor resolution
4914 x 3276
5505 x 3670
Diagonal
33.53 mm
43.27 mm
Sensor size comparison
Sensor size is generally a good indicator of the quality of the camera. Sensors can vary greatly in size. As a general rule, the bigger the sensor, the better the image quality.

Bigger sensors are more effective because they have more surface area to capture light. An important factor when comparing digital cameras is also camera generation. Generally, newer sensors will outperform the older.

Learn more about sensor sizes »

Actual sensor size

Note: Actual size is set to screen → change »
vs
1 : 1.66
(ratio)
Canon EOS-1D Mark IV Canon EOS-1D X Mark II
Surface area:
518.94 mm² vs 864.00 mm²
Difference: 345.06 mm² (66%)
-1D X Mark II sensor is approx. 1.66x bigger than -1D Mark IV sensor.
Note: You are comparing sensors of very different generations. There is a gap of 7 years between Canon -1D Mark IV (2009) and Canon -1D X Mark II (2016). Seven years is a lot of time in terms of technology, meaning newer sensors are overall much more efficient than the older ones.
Pixel pitch
5.68 µm
6.54 µm
Pixel pitch tells you the distance from the center of one pixel (photosite) to the center of the next. It tells you how close the pixels are to each other.

The bigger the pixel pitch, the further apart they are and the bigger each pixel is. Bigger pixels tend to have better signal to noise ratio and greater dynamic range.
Difference: 0.86 µm (15%)
Pixel pitch of -1D X Mark II is approx. 15% higher than pixel pitch of -1D Mark IV.
Pixel area
32.26 µm²
42.77 µm²
Pixel or photosite area affects how much light per pixel can be gathered. The larger it is the more light can be collected by a single pixel.

Larger pixels have the potential to collect more photons, resulting in greater dynamic range, while smaller pixels provide higher resolutions (more detail) for a given sensor size.
Relative pixel sizes:
vs
Pixel area difference: 10.51 µm² (33%)
A pixel on Canon -1D X Mark II sensor is approx. 33% bigger than a pixel on Canon -1D Mark IV.
Pixel density
3.1 MP/cm²
2.34 MP/cm²
Pixel density tells you how many million pixels fit or would fit in one square cm of the sensor.

Higher pixel density means smaller pixels and lower pixel density means larger pixels.
Difference: 0.76 µm (32%)
Canon -1D Mark IV has approx. 32% higher pixel density than Canon -1D X Mark II.
To learn about the accuracy of these numbers, click here.



Specs

Canon -1D Mark IV
Canon -1D X Mark II
Crop factor
1.29
1
Total megapixels
17.00
21.50
Effective megapixels
16.10
20.20
Optical zoom
 
Digital zoom
No
ISO sensitivity
100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200, 6400, 12800 (50, 25600, 51200 and 102400 with boost)
Auto, 100-51200 (expands to 50-409600)
RAW
Manual focus
Normal focus range
Macro focus range
Focal length (35mm equiv.)
Aperture priority
Yes
Yes
Max. aperture
Max. aperture (35mm equiv.)
n/a
n/a
Metering
63-zone Evaluative, Centre weighted, Spot
Multi, Center-weighted, Spot
Exposure compensation
±3 EV (in 1/3 EV, 1/2 EV steps)
±5 EV (in 1/3 EV, 1/2 EV steps)
Shutter priority
Yes
Yes
Min. shutter speed
30 sec
30 sec
Max. shutter speed
1/8000 sec
1/8000 sec
Built-in flash
External flash
Viewfinder
Optical (pentaprism)
Optical (pentaprism)
White balance presets
8
6
Screen size
3"
3.2"
Screen resolution
920,000 dots
1,620,000 dots
Video capture
Max. video resolution
4096x2160 (60p/50p/30p/25p/24p)
Storage types
CompactFlash type I, CompactFlash type II, SDHC, Secure Digital
CF/CFast
USB
USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
USB 3.0 (5 GBit/sec)
HDMI
Wireless
GPS
Battery
Lithium-Ion LP-E4 rechargeable battery
LP-E19 lithium-ion battery
Weight
1230 g
1530 g
Dimensions
156 x 157 x 80 mm
158 x 167.6 x 82.6 mm
Year
2009
2016




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Diagonal

Diagonal is calculated by the use of Pythagorean theorem:
Diagonal =  w² + h²
where w = sensor width and h = sensor height

Canon -1D Mark IV diagonal

w = 27.90 mm
h = 18.60 mm
Diagonal =  27.90² + 18.60²   = 33.53 mm

Canon -1D X Mark II diagonal

w = 36.00 mm
h = 24.00 mm
Diagonal =  36.00² + 24.00²   = 43.27 mm


Surface area

Surface area is calculated by multiplying the width and the height of a sensor.

-1D Mark IV sensor area

Width = 27.90 mm
Height = 18.60 mm

Surface area = 27.90 × 18.60 = 518.94 mm²

-1D X Mark II sensor area

Width = 36.00 mm
Height = 24.00 mm

Surface area = 36.00 × 24.00 = 864.00 mm²


Pixel pitch

Pixel pitch is the distance from the center of one pixel to the center of the next measured in micrometers (µm). It can be calculated with the following formula:
Pixel pitch =   sensor width in mm  × 1000
sensor resolution width in pixels

-1D Mark IV pixel pitch

Sensor width = 27.90 mm
Sensor resolution width = 4914 pixels
Pixel pitch =   27.90  × 1000  = 5.68 µm
4914

-1D X Mark II pixel pitch

Sensor width = 36.00 mm
Sensor resolution width = 5505 pixels
Pixel pitch =   36.00  × 1000  = 6.54 µm
5505


Pixel area

The area of one pixel can be calculated by simply squaring the pixel pitch:
Pixel area = pixel pitch²

You could also divide sensor surface area with effective megapixels:
Pixel area =   sensor surface area in mm²
effective megapixels

-1D Mark IV pixel area

Pixel pitch = 5.68 µm

Pixel area = 5.68² = 32.26 µm²

-1D X Mark II pixel area

Pixel pitch = 6.54 µm

Pixel area = 6.54² = 42.77 µm²


Pixel density

Pixel density can be calculated with the following formula:
Pixel density =  ( sensor resolution width in pixels )² / 1000000
sensor width in cm

One could also use this formula:
Pixel density =   effective megapixels × 1000000  / 10000
sensor surface area in mm²

-1D Mark IV pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 4914 pixels
Sensor width = 2.79 cm

Pixel density = (4914 / 2.79)² / 1000000 = 3.1 MP/cm²

-1D X Mark II pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 5505 pixels
Sensor width = 3.6 cm

Pixel density = (5505 / 3.6)² / 1000000 = 2.34 MP/cm²


Sensor resolution

Sensor resolution is calculated from sensor size and effective megapixels. It's slightly higher than maximum (not interpolated) image resolution which is usually stated on camera specifications. Sensor resolution is used in pixel pitch, pixel area, and pixel density formula. For sake of simplicity, we're going to calculate it in 3 stages.

1. First we need to find the ratio between horizontal and vertical length by dividing the former with the latter (aspect ratio). It's usually 1.33 (4:3) or 1.5 (3:2), but not always.

2. With the ratio (r) known we can calculate the X from the formula below, where X is a vertical number of pixels:
(X × r) × X = effective megapixels × 1000000    →   
X =  effective megapixels × 1000000
r
3. To get sensor resolution we then multiply X with the corresponding ratio:

Resolution horizontal: X × r
Resolution vertical: X

-1D Mark IV sensor resolution

Sensor width = 27.90 mm
Sensor height = 18.60 mm
Effective megapixels = 16.10
r = 27.90/18.60 = 1.5
X =  16.10 × 1000000  = 3276
1.5
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 3276 × 1.5 = 4914
Resolution vertical: X = 3276

Sensor resolution = 4914 x 3276

-1D X Mark II sensor resolution

Sensor width = 36.00 mm
Sensor height = 24.00 mm
Effective megapixels = 20.20
r = 36.00/24.00 = 1.5
X =  20.20 × 1000000  = 3670
1.5
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 3670 × 1.5 = 5505
Resolution vertical: X = 3670

Sensor resolution = 5505 x 3670


Crop factor

Crop factor or focal length multiplier is calculated by dividing the diagonal of 35 mm film (43.27 mm) with the diagonal of the sensor.
Crop factor =   43.27 mm
sensor diagonal in mm


-1D Mark IV crop factor

Sensor diagonal in mm = 33.53 mm
Crop factor =   43.27  = 1.29
33.53

-1D X Mark II crop factor

Sensor diagonal in mm = 43.27 mm
Crop factor =   43.27  = 1
43.27

35 mm equivalent aperture

Equivalent aperture (in 135 film terms) is calculated by multiplying lens aperture with crop factor (a.k.a. focal length multiplier).

-1D Mark IV equivalent aperture

Aperture is a lens characteristic, so it's calculated only for fixed lens cameras. If you want to know the equivalent aperture for Canon -1D Mark IV, take the aperture of the lens you're using and multiply it with crop factor.

Crop factor for Canon -1D Mark IV is 1.29

-1D X Mark II equivalent aperture

Aperture is a lens characteristic, so it's calculated only for fixed lens cameras. If you want to know the equivalent aperture for Canon -1D X Mark II, take the aperture of the lens you're using and multiply it with crop factor.

Since crop factor for Canon -1D X Mark II is 1, the equivalent aperture is aperture.

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