The EOS-1D X Mark II is Canon’s latest flagship DSLR for sports and photojournalism. Take a look at our first look, hands-on review.

The camera features 20.2-million-pixel full frame CMOS sensor, with a sensitivity range of ISO 100-51,200 (50-409,600 extended), 61-point autofocus, 14 frames per second continuous shooting and internal 4K 60fps video recording. In this regard it replaces not only the EOS-1D X, launched back in 2011, but also the 4K video-focused EOS-1D C of 2012, improving on both cameras in the process.

The EOS-1D X Mark II shoots high-resolution 4096 x 2160 pixel Cinema 4K to DCI standard, and also does so at 60fps. In this mode the central section of the sensor is used, giving an approximately 1.3x crop. It allows for 8.8MP stills to be extracted from its 4K footage, which greatly expands the options of sports photographers who can’t afford to miss the crucial frame. The camera is capable of recording for just under 30 mins, and can output at a bit rate of 800MBps with 4:2:2 chroma subsampling and using BT.601 broadcast standard colour. A CFast card is required for shooting 4K video at high bit rates.

Canon’s Dual Pixel autofocus is on board, allowing on-chip phase detection autofocus across 80% of the image area. It works with all Canon lenses released after 2009, and can be used in combination with the camera’s touchscreen for smoothly pulling focus from one subject to another during video recording. For this the transition speed can even be adjusted by the user.

The Canon EOS-1D X Mark II also includes mic and headphone sockets, and so for photojournalists and videographers especially it is a powerful tool.

Watch our video with Canon’s David Parry above to hear him talk about the video feature on the Canon EOS-1D X Mark II.