📷 Cameras 🔭 Lenses 🎒 Accessories 🏷 Brands

EOS-1D X Mark IIIvs Hero 12 Black

GearFrame · Updated March 2026

Canon EOS-1D X Mark III Canon EOS-1D X Mark III (2020) Starting from £3500 new Best for Professional Sports, Wildlife & Press Photography View EOS-1D X Mark III
VS
GoPro Hero 12 Black GoPro Hero 12 Black (2023) Starting from £300 new Best for Adventure, sports & travel video View Hero 12 Black

GearScore™ Verdict — Which should you buy?

Professional Sports, Wildlife & Press Photography — EOS-1D X Mark III (2020): Canon's DSLR masterpiece — 20fps live view, 5.5K RAW, 191 cross-type AF points, and dual CFexpress. Almost certainly the finest optical viewfinder camera ever made.

Adventure, Sports & Travel Video — Hero 12 Black (2023): GoPro's best all-round action camera — better battery, 10-bit colour, and HyperSmooth 6.0 make it a genuine step forward.

↓ Full specifications below

EOS-1D X Mark III (2020)

  • Sports and wildlife photographers with a Canon EF lens collection
  • Professionals who prefer the optical viewfinder experience
  • Press photographers who need 20fps, weather sealing, and Ethernet
  • Canon historians who want to mark the end of the EOS-1D DSLR era

Hero 12 Black (2023)

  • Action and sports photographers who want the best stabilisation available
  • Travellers who need a rugged waterproof camera for any conditions
  • Cyclists, surfers, and skiers wanting helmet or handlebar footage
  • Hero 11 owners considering an upgrade — notably better battery life

Quick take: The hero 12 black has the highest resolution at 27mp; the hero 12 black is the most affordable. Scroll down for the full spec breakdown.

Full specifications

Specification EOS-1D X Mark III (2020)Hero 12 Black (2023)
Price £3,500 £300
Sensor 20.1MP full-frame CMOS 1/1.9-inch CMOS
Resolution 20.1MP 27.0MP
Video 5.5K RAW, 4K 60fps (crop), 4K 60fps (full-frame via firmware) 5.3K/60p, 4K/120p, 2.7K/240p slow-mo
Autofocus 191-point all cross-type OVF AF; 525-point Dual Pixel CMOS AF (Live View) Fixed focus (wide)
Stabilisation HyperSmooth 6.0 (in-camera EIS)
Burst Rate 16fps mechanical, 20fps live view 27MP RAW burst
Battery Life ~2850 shots (CIPA) ~70 min at 5.3K/30p (Enduro battery)
Weight 1250g (body only) 154g
Dimensions 158 × 167.6 × 82.6mm 71.8 × 50.8 × 33.6mm
Weather Sealed Yes Yes
Viewfinder OVF 0.76× magnification, 100% coverage 2.27" rear touchscreen + 1.4" front display
Screen 3.2" fully articulating touchscreen, 4.15M dots 2.27" rear touchscreen; 1.4" front colour display
Mount Canon EF GoPro mounting ecosystem (fingers, adhesive, magnetic)
Memory Cards Dual CFexpress Type B slots microSD up to 1TB (V30 minimum)
Connectivity Wi-Fi 5GHz, Bluetooth 4.2, USB-C 3.1 Gen 2, Ethernet USB-C, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, GPS
Genre EOS-1D X Mark IIIHero 12 Black
Sports & Action
10.0
Wildlife
9.0
Wedding & Events
9.0
Portrait
8.0
Vlogging & Video
7.0
9.0
Street
7.0
Landscape
7.0
Adventure & Sports
9.0
Travel
9.0
Underwater
9.0
Cycling & Hiking
9.0
Everyday
7.0

GearScore™ suitability scores are based on aggregated purchaser reviews weighted by photography genre. See how scores are calculated →

⚡ Compare specs side by side EOS-1D X Mark III prices → Hero 12 Black prices →

More comparisons with EOS-1D X Mark III

Camera family history