Well it was a gorgeous full moon last night, so strong that it looked a little too strong. The one thing I have learned about shooting in moonlight over the last few years is that just like lunchtime sunshine, the light can be rather ‘hard’.

Half moon, moon rise or moonset can be far more flattering on the lunar landscape, but last night I learned a few more things: doing the torch dance in the early hours with new moonlight cadet, Rob.

The biggest issue when shooting under a full moon is retaining the sense of night. The light levels are surprisingly high, which means a well exposed image is going to look like daylight, which is somewhat uninspiring.

Underexpose the sky and the ground becomes less than interesting, so last night at Spinsters Rock, the challenge was very apparent.

After a straight shot with the remarkable 1Dx at ISO800, shooting f2.8 looked like a summer afternoon. Bold greens, cyan sky and a rather dubious looking white sun.

Rather than drop the ISO, I increased the aperture to let less light into the camera, which darkened the sky and gave far greater depth of field. Nice.

This rendered the cairn looking somewhat lacklustre, so out with the torches – lets create our own light.

I have been using a fabulous new torch, a SpotON 1150 High Performance Lamp. It’s pocketable, comes with a separate power pack that lasts hours, and can burn you’re your retinas out in a single glance.

In fact it’s so powerful, it can be used to paint entire cliffs from 1000m away! What I love about this in particular is that it’s the same white balance as the moon itself, which means a complimentary white light, instead of the usual yellowy beams. The latter can create complicated post processing issues with multiple white balances.

Setting up the shot
So, how was this shot assembled? After a few attempts at some side lighting things were looking good, but not good enough. The stones were in alignment with Orion and the moon on high (druid moment), but there was just not enough drama going on.

So with the cameras lined up, Rob got me into position behind the stones and I span the torch in my hands. This gave fabulous shadows extending outwards, whilst Rob did the honours, skillfully painting the stones, without biasing the one at the front.

So, here’s the spec - Canon EOS-1D X, 14-24mm, 30secs at f/8, ISO 800, with 20secs from Rob on the ‘side’ torch and 30secs from me in the centre.

After 15 takes, until just gone midnight, we had it in the bag. I have no idea what the farm over the road thought was going on – two grown men doing ballet in a field of sheep.

But then moonlight does funny things to people.

READ MORE

6 tips to improve your Mars landscape photos
David Clapp’s battle for autumn colours in the Lake District
Black and white photography: what every photographer should know
The 10 Commandments of Landscape Photography (and how to break them)

Canon caused a bit of a stir when it announced the 18.1 million pixel EOS-1DX because, rather unusually, it opted to use a sensor with a lower pixel count than the 21 megapixel Canon EOS 1Ds Mark III.

The new camera also has a full-frame sensor rather than an APS-H sized unit, with a 1.3x crop factor, like the Canon EOS 1D Mark IV.

As a result, some Canon EOS-1 series camera users were left scratching their heads and wondering about the benefits of upgrading.

Canon EOS 1D Mk IV photographers stand to gain an extra 2 million pixels, but lose the extra reach that the 1.3x focal length magnification brings them, while Canon EOS 1Ds Mk III users suffer a drop of 3 million pixels.

However, as is often the case with DSLR upgrades, what you lose on the swings you gain on the roundabouts.

The Canon EOS-1D X offers improved handling – particularly for those who regularly shoot in upright (portrait) orientation – and has a maximum continuous shooting rate of 12fps.

Let’s take a closer look at what else the Canon EOS-1D X – priced at £5,299 in the UK and $6,799 in the US – has to offer. Below is a short video we made testing out some of its key features.

NEXT PAGE: Read about more of the Canon EOS 1DX’s features

READ MORE

Canon Picture Styles: how to use in-camera effects on your EOS DSLR
Canon Lenses: what you need to know

Canon says a delay to the start of mass production is the reason for the revised EOS-1D X release date.

Canon also said the EF 24-70mm f/2.8 L II USM lens will also be subject to a delay in production and will now be available from early July.

Previously it was announced that the Canon EOS-1D X release date would be the end of April 2012.

Canon says it apologises for any inconvenience.

Canon has revealed that its new flagship DSLR, the Canon EOS-1D X will be available for purchase from the end of April 2012.

The Canon announcement ends months of speculation of a Canon EOS-1D X release date following its unveiling late last year. The Canon announcement also comes a week after it posted Canon EOS-1D X sample photos showing off the new camera’s low-light capability.

The EOS-1D X is Canon’s most advanced EOS DSLR ever produced, Canon says, and is the first to use dual DIGIC 5+ processors. These are designed to handle huge levels of image data while at the same time reducing image noise.

The new Canon camera also comes equipped with an 18.1-megapixel CMOS sensor and a staggering ISO range stretching from ISO 100 up to ISO 51,200 (expandable to ISO 204,800).

For more details on this new Canon DSLR, read the hands-on Canon EOS-1D X review at our sister website TechRadar.

1/8000sec at f/4, ISO 800, Auto White Balance

Canon has posted a series of sample EOS-1D X photos in a special gallery on its website, which are available for download.

The six images include four sports photos and two portraits, shot at ISO 800 or higher to show off the EOS-1D X’s low-light capability. We’ve downloaded a selection of the Canon 1D X photos and provided 100% crops below to give you an indication of how the new Canon DSLR performs at higher ISOs.

1/6400sec at f/4, ISO 800, Auto White Balance

The photo above shown at 100%.

1/640sec at f/5.6, ISO 1600, Auto White Balance

The image above at 100%.

1/8000sec at f/4, ISO 800, Auto White Balance

The image above at 100%.

Canon has also provided a sample EOS-1D X movie called ‘Heart Beat’ which shows off the new Canon DSLR’s video recording capability.

To view all the images, visit the Canon EOS-1D X website.

Or you can read the Canon EOS-1D X hands-on review at our sister website, TechRadar.