iam curious if u have tried the AF in low light between 1Dx and D4 with similar lens/lenses and the ISO performance? Thanks.
To be honest, I only ever use prime lenses.. So using the 1Dx w/50L or 85L II leaves something to be desired AF wise (and those are the lenses I used mainly [actually the 50L was the most used lens]). I'm sure if I used the 1Dx w/70-200 IS II (or 135L or one of there fast focusing 300mm+ primes) I'd probably have gotten better results from the 1Dx then I did. Not to say that the 1Dx isn't good, it's just to say that for the focal length I was shooting (lenses I was using), there really wasn't much of an advantage to the camera over the D4 (although it still had its advantages).
My above opinion also has a lot to do with button ergonomics, and how the camera feels in the hand. I feel that's probably one of the most important aspects when shooting 10 - 15 hour days. Especially when you need to change settings on the fly, and really need a camera you can be comfortable with (and I was shooting with Canon for 10 years before switching to Nikon, and Nikon has always felt natural in the hand, despite my long history with Canon). I think the keeper rate would have be ever higher with the 1Dx, given the right lenses (and it was already slightly higher, but nothing that defines the camera as die die better).
A LITTIE BIT OF A RANT (but useful information if you don't already know):
You also have to understand something about ISO and Canon. Canon is a very sneaky company. First the ISO ratings of Canon aren't exactly standard. As in, they're about 1/3 a stop behind in brightness on some of there camera bodies. Also, (and the 50L is the worst for this) even though lenses will say 1.2 and 1.4 etc, Canon actually uses physics to there advantage here.. What I mean is, they create a lens with a 1.2 f-stop, by the mathematical laws of physics, thus the lens is by right a 1.2 lens (bokeh/DOF). BUT, the lens isn't actually letting the light in of a 1.2 lens.. It's actually losing a lot of light from transmission, so the lens is really a 1.4-1.8 as far as light gathering is concern (T-stops). So what canon does, is internally they raise the ISO without telling anyone when certain lenses that are connected to there camera (for instance, if the 50L is connected to the camera, Canon tells you, you're shooting on 1.2 @ iso 800, but really you're running on iso 1250, and the difference is split between iso and shutter speed). They do this to try and keep shutter speeds more in line with other prime lenses of similar speeds.
I've done extensive testing on this, and it's really easy to do if you don't believe me.. Get yourself a sony NEX with multiple adapters, tripod it. Then get yourself a bunch of 50mm lenses, ranging from f/0.95 (if you have a noct) to f/2. Put your lens on max aperture, and switch you NEX to a fixed ISO, point at a bunch of random stuff (keeping the camera the same on tripod) and mount and dismount every lens, and check the shutter speed. You'll start to notice that just because a lens is 1 stop faster then another, doesn't mean that there's one full stop of shutter speed difference between them. (T-stops, are light, F-stops are just physics numbers.. Thats one of the reasons why you pay through the nose for cinema lenses).
I don't know what is it, maybe the coatings Canon uses, but I've noticed that almost all there lenses rate 1/3 of a stop or more slower then Zeiss, Leica, and Nikon lenses.
Anyway, at the end of the day, all flagship cameras are great.. They're the best you can get for a given system, hence the price tag. And just because the D800 is slightly newer, doesn't make it better.. It just makes it a part of a different product line.. Nikon knew it was making a D800 well before the D4 came out, it wasn't like they made the D4 then magically were like WOW we can make something better for half the price.
I don't mind the D800's high MP for some applications (not events/weddings/corporate portraits, no need for such high MP), but I had one twice, once it lasted two weeks and I sold it off... The other time it lasted a week and was gone.. I just don't like the sensor in the D800, it doesn't jive with me. I'm wondering if sony will make better use of it in there A7r.
Hope this helps Turbonetics