Canon EOS 1D Mark III 10.1MP Digital SLR Camera (Body Only)
by Canon
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Canon EOS 1D Mark III 10.1MP Digital SLR Camera (Body Only)
Customer Review: The AF finally works
Summary: 5 Stars
This camera should be on a league of it's own. Although Nikon D3 is it's competitor, in my opinon it does not compare. There have been numerous of test stating that 1dMk3 is better than the D3 and vice versa, but the real reason I think this camera really shines are Canon's Lenses, especially the L-series lens. Canon has had years of making their own cmos sensors for their digital camera line compaired to other camera compines. However, taking great pictures does not matter which camera a person has, but on the photographer it's self.
Ok, it's time for me to stop promoting Canon, and start explaining why this camera is great. I had this camera for almost half a year now. At first the autofocus wasn't it's best, but I was able to live with it. I don't really do sports photography, nor am I a pro photographer, and that's probably the main reasons why the autofocus didn't really bother me. However, after I took the camera to the shop (I was lucky because the Irvine Canon factory isn't far from me) and got my 1dMk3 fixed for the autofocus problem and other problems, I have noticed a big difference in performance when I received my camera back. My camera focuses faster and the majority of the shot I've took were useable, comparied to before.
This camera does live up to it's hype and expectations. The picture quality is great even if you're using a non L-series lens. If you use a regular Canon lens compaired to a L-series Canon lens, it's like compairing 720p vs. 1080p on your HD Tv. It's not really noticeable, unless you have a great eye for detail.
I was dissappointed at first that the camera had one cf and one sd drive, instead of two cf drives. Since the sd drive does take sdhc and it's cheaper. I have no problems having one cf drive and sd drive.
Anther great thing is it's new battery. The battery does last longer. I still have one of Canon's old camera and I needed to have at least 2 back up batteries. So far I only need one with this camera, but my plan is to buy a second one soon.
To top off everything, if you do live close by the Canon factory, they do clean the cmos sensor for free if you don't mind waiting. Well the Irvine factory does clean it for free. Also, the people at the Canon factory did state that it will take about 3 weeks to get my camera back after all the repairs are done, but instead I had received my camera back in about 1 1/2 weeks. So far I've been getting great service from the people at Canon.
Customer Review: Camera is now Great ! after 3rd time in for repair.
Summary: 5 Stars
I have been using this camera for about a year now. It has been sent back to Canon twice for the " Fixes ". The Camera takes really awesome pictures but only in single shot and on occasion moving subjects. The problem is that you never know what the camera is going to focus on. I have tried many many settings and followed all of Canons suggestions for the AI servo and my keeper rate is very low. It just cannot seem to keep focus when following sports figures - namely football. It seems to focus in front of or jump behind at any given moment - I only use the center focus point to try to alleviate some of this. The AI servo in my opinion is broken for most of what I use it for and that is why I purchased the camera - I could have spent much less money or just kept my 40d which worked better for moving subjects, at least what I take pics of. My still pics are beautiful - but why do I need a 10 fps camera that only gets half of them in focus. I am not entirely satisfied with the camera due to this and wish I purchased something else. The AI servo settings are overly complex and are not intuitive at all - even Canon had to send out supplements to explain how they are supposed to work - the big word is " supposed ". If yours works fine - great - mine doesn't, Canon does not have a fix for my problem yet. Canon pay attention - I am waiting along with others who have pretty much given up that you will get it fixed.
Update: 11/08/09
Just got the camera back after the 3rd time in for repair. Had to be persisitent to get Canon to take it back again. This time they replaced the mirror box and washers and repaired the rubber that was coming off of the back ( no charge ) - not sure why this wasnt done earlier ! Camera now works great.
I purchased a 7d as a backup and now I see just what I have in the 1D, the 1D takes better pictures than the 7d period, pics are sharper and cleaner. Also the 2 memory card slots are a god send. I tend to tilt the 7D when taking some of my sports shots - dont do it with the 1D, I guess because of the size. But what I like the most is the file size, 18mp file sizes are just too big for me to work with. My computer is much slower to respond while working with these files - also my memory cards are now too small I have to buy new ones, the 10mp size is great and the pics are great. I am sending my 7D back. I love some of the features of the 7D but it doesnt compare to the 1D for pics or convenience of file size.
Customer Review: It's phenomenal - except I didn't like the factory settings
Summary: 5 Stars
The first two weekends with this camera (I'm on my 5th weekend now) yielded garbage photos and I needed help from the 1D3 forum people at DPReview. Look up "1D3 can't focus on a bug's nose" for the discussion. I was shooting bugs and couldn't get clear sharp pictures. My other camera is a 5D which shot great closeups of bugs with my EF 300 F/2.8 and EF 500 F/4 (but with a very high focus failure rate). It was finally decided that I needed to locate the custom function to turn off the assist points on the center focus sensor. That made all the difference.
Also, even before that, just plain old normal pictures produced truly awful jpegs. When I reset jpeg compression to level 10 (instead of 8) that improved picture quality a great deal.
Finally, I suspected level 4 sharpening (Landscape picture style) was not very sharp, so I shot a church bell tower from about 650 yards away using my 500mm and my 5D and this 1D3. Results: the 5D landscape style (factory settings) out-shot the 1D3 landscape style (factory settings), but my custom settings of 5 for sharpening, +1 for contrast, beat the 5D and yielded an incredible picture with detail that the 5D had only hinted at, and the 1D3 Landscape setting didn't reveal at all. Amazing what a difference a small adjustment can make.
Now it is a fabulous camera and takes fabulous jpegs. Focus is very fast, much faster than the 5D, and much more accurate. Which is all I was hoping for. I now have a much higher percentage of well focused, beautifully detailed images that don't need any raw processing to make them look good (and I now delete plenty of pictures for composition reasons alone).
If you shoot jpegs and hate messing with raw files, and you have a 5D or other high end camera that takes great shots, better do a comparison and set up the 1D3 accordingly. Then you'll have a very remarkable camera in the 1D3.
A final note, if you want sharp pictures of bugs that don't stay put, or birds in flight, I recommend using the f/2.8 lenses over the f/4 because the auto focus sensors need it (I shoot most of my pictures in bright sunlight at f/7.1, but it's the auto focus that needs the extra light from an f/2.8 lens, not the depth of field that needs a big aperture).
I haven't tried live view (I'm always outside and really don't care about live view anyway).
Customer Review: Great camera, but not in the beginning
Summary: 5 Stars
I have owned the Mark III for a little over a year. Not long after receiving it, it quit. I sent it in for a "mirror magnet" problem. After I got it back I would get an Err99 almost daily. I documented it with Canon. It would happen most often when I turned it on for the first time. After several conversations with Canon, I sent it in and they replaced the mirror box. It has not had an Err 99 since then.
The camera was purchased as a "Blue Dot", meaning it had been fixed for the original focus issues some people were reporting. Since the second repair it has functioned flawlessly and now focuses to meet anyone's reasonable expectations. I get 80% to 90% in-focus. In most of the out of focus photos there was a legitimate reason. I can see this when I check my photos in Canon's Zoom Browser. I can see where the camera was focused at the time of shutter release. It is easy to miss a shot on a fast moving object by missing the subject or hitting a different part of the subject. Often times it would be the focus changing from head to hip (on a running dog), not the camera's fault but mine.
There are many settings on this camera to fine tune it to your way of shooting and the shooting situation. I have gotten some awesome action shots from this camera and am very pleased with it.
Canon clearly brought this camera to market too soon. It was not tested properly or either production standards were not watched. I would bet that the parts they were producing were not meeting the standards of their research and development, plus the conditions that caused a problem may not have been reproduced in test. This clearly threw Canon for a loop and they did a poor job managing public relations. I am surprised there has not been a class action lawsuit since so many pros use this camera. Some have toughed it out; those who had a lot of money went to Nikon, which is currently hitting it with some good cameras, something Canon normally is known for.
If you are buying a Mark III now, you are more than likely going to be blown-away by such a great camera that focuses and gives you shots you never imagined. I love shooting it and learning to fine-tune it for particular shooting circumstance.
Working as it works now, I would purchase it again.
Customer Review: The Mark 3, is not the perfect Camera, but Darn close!
Summary: 5 Stars
This Camera is brand new, and like most new electronics will have a few bugs, and I figure most can be fixed by firmware updates or Canon, will do any minor adjustments needed when its sent in for Service.
I sold off my 5D to step up to this one. For shooting in non perfect weather, like my Alaskan winters, or even some summer days, this camera does perform great. The Battery life is great. I am use to long life, as all my cameras have the battery grips on them, but I was shocked by how long the battery lasted with the new Mark, and even better it telling you when to recondition it! WOW!!
The NOISE on the Mark 3 is FANTASTIC!! Compared to the 5d, its almost 2 stops better, and thats with the cameras noise reduction mode turned off. The noise/grain at 3200 is very useable, and even 6400 is not too bad, granted I would not print a 20x30 but at iso 1600 I can. The Highlight preservation feature is great, esp for wedding photographers. You can now shoot the wedding dress in sunlight and have the detail! I know several pros that are moving from their nikon d2x to the Mark 3 because of that and the very low noise!!!
I shoot Automotive (hot rods and high end sports cars, and make custom photographic art for the owner), as well as the wonderous Alaskan wilderness, landscapes and wildlife. This Camera is a dream to use. It is not as heavy as the older Marks, and personally I think it is about the same weight as the 5D was with the battery grip, but has a better fell in my hand.
The 10MP is fine and I can still take images to 20x30 and larger with no problems! The 1.3 crop factor still gives me the prospective I like on my extreme wide angle lenses, like my 14mm or the fisheye. If you are one of the lucky ones to get one of these wonderful cameras, you are lucky, if you want one, get on a list fast.
Mine is even used a lot around and for photos of the guests at my folks B&B in Soldtona Alaska, the Kenai River Hideaway, and even the guests love to see it, and are impressed by the quality images even at low light! I have some images on my website, as well as the B&B site if you want to check them out. Enjoy! Its a great CAMERA!!!!
Kevin