EOS-1D X Mark IIIvs A7C
Canon
EOS-1D X Mark III (2020)
Starting from £3500 new
Best for Professional Sports, Wildlife & Press Photography
View EOS-1D X Mark III
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.
Compact Travel & Content Creation — A7C (2020): The A7C proves full-frame doesn't have to be bulky. Excellent battery life, reliable Eye AF and a vari-angle screen in a pocketable body is a compelling combination for travel and content creators. The A7C II improved on it, but the original remains a strong value buy.
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
A7C (2020)
- Travel photographers who want full-frame in the smallest possible body
- Content creators who need a flip screen and reliable Eye AF
- Photographers upgrading from APS-C who want to keep a compact kit
- Vloggers who need 4K and great battery life on the road
Quick take: The a7c has the highest resolution at 24mp; the a7c 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) | A7C (2020) |
|---|---|---|
| Price | £3,500 | £1,299 |
| Sensor | 20.1MP full-frame CMOS | 24.2MP Full-Frame Exmor R BSI CMOS |
| Resolution | 20.1MP | 24.2MP |
| Video | 5.5K RAW, 4K 60fps (crop), 4K 60fps (full-frame via firmware) | 4K/30p (oversampled), 1080p/120p slow-motion, S-Log2/S-Log3 |
| Autofocus | 191-point all cross-type OVF AF; 525-point Dual Pixel CMOS AF (Live View) | Phase-detect, 693 points, real-time Eye AF & animal AF |
| Stabilisation | — | 5-axis IBIS, 5 stops |
| Burst Rate | 16fps mechanical, 20fps live view | 10fps with AF/AE tracking |
| Battery Life | ~2850 shots (CIPA) | ~740 shots (CIPA) — outstanding for a Sony mirrorless |
| Weight | 1250g (body only) | 509g (body, battery, card) |
| Dimensions | 158 × 167.6 × 82.6mm | 124.0 × 71.1 × 59.7mm |
| Weather Sealed | Yes | No |
| Viewfinder | OVF 0.76× magnification, 100% coverage | None built-in — use rear screen or accessory EVF |
| Screen | 3.2" fully articulating touchscreen, 4.15M dots | 3.0" vari-angle touchscreen, 921k dots |
| Mount | Canon EF | Sony E-mount |
| Memory Cards | Dual CFexpress Type B slots | Single SD UHS-II |
| Connectivity | Wi-Fi 5GHz, Bluetooth 4.2, USB-C 3.1 Gen 2, Ethernet | USB-C (USB 3.2 Gen 2), Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, NFC |
Suitability by genre
| Genre | EOS-1D X Mark III | A7C |
|---|---|---|
| Sports & Action | — | |
| Wildlife | ||
| Wedding & Events | — | |
| Portrait | ||
| Vlogging & Video | — | |
| Street | ||
| Landscape | — | |
| Travel | — | |
| Video | — |
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