EOS-1D X Mark IIIvs Pentax 17
Canon
EOS-1D X Mark III (2020)
Starting from £3500 new
Best for Professional Sports, Wildlife & Press Photography
View EOS-1D X Mark III
Pentax
Pentax 17 (2024)
Starting from £400 new
Best for Film photography enthusiasts & diptych storytelling
View Pentax 17
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.
Film Photography Enthusiasts & Diptych Storytelling — Pentax 17 (2024): The best new film camera of the decade — manual controls, a sharp lens, and a half-frame format that doubles your roll and forces a new way of seeing.
Who should buy what
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
Quick take: The pentax 17 is the most affordable; only the eos-1d x mark iii is weather sealed. Scroll down for the full spec breakdown.
Full specifications
| Specification | EOS-1D X Mark III (2020) | Pentax 17 (2024) |
|---|---|---|
| Price | £3,500 | £400 |
| Sensor | 20.1MP full-frame CMOS | 35mm half-frame (18 × 24mm) |
| Resolution | 20.1MP | — |
| Video | 5.5K RAW, 4K 60fps (crop), 4K 60fps (full-frame via firmware) | N/A — film camera |
| Autofocus | 191-point all cross-type OVF AF; 525-point Dual Pixel CMOS AF (Live View) | Zone focus (0.35m / 1m / 3m / ∞) |
| Stabilisation | — | N/A — film camera |
| Burst Rate | 16fps mechanical, 20fps live view | Manual wind-on |
| Battery Life | ~2850 shots (CIPA) | 2× CR2 lithium batteries |
| Weight | 1250g (body only) | ~165g (without batteries) |
| Dimensions | 158 × 167.6 × 82.6mm | 113 × 66 × 44mm |
| Weather Sealed | Yes | No |
| Viewfinder | OVF 0.76× magnification, 100% coverage | Optical viewfinder with half-frame framelines |
| Screen | 3.2" fully articulating touchscreen, 4.15M dots | N/A |
| Mount | Canon EF | 35mm film (ISO 25–3200 via DX coding + manual dial) |
| Memory Cards | Dual CFexpress Type B slots | 35mm 135-format film cartridge |
| Connectivity | Wi-Fi 5GHz, Bluetooth 4.2, USB-C 3.1 Gen 2, Ethernet | N/A |
Suitability by genre
| Genre | EOS-1D X Mark III | Pentax 17 |
|---|---|---|
| Sports & Action | — | |
| Wildlife | — | |
| Wedding & Events | — | |
| Portrait | ||
| Vlogging & Video | — | |
| Street | ||
| Landscape | ||
| Travel | — | |
| Everyday | — | |
| Low Light | — |
GearScore™ suitability scores are based on aggregated purchaser reviews weighted by photography genre. See how scores are calculated →
More comparisons with EOS-1D X Mark III
Camera family history