Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III Misalignment Problem

Does anybody else have this problem? I take a horizontally straight picture but it comes out more than one degree tilted to the right.

Here are some pictures I took

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I've remember reading some folks who have this problem as well. Not sure if it is a widespread problem though. I think the mkIII with the problems it has had, Canon might just take it in and fix it. Does yours have the AF problems?

This problem seems to be pretty widespread, several people have experienced it. I've heard of one guy testing no less than 4 bodies, all with the same problem. I tested one at my local Canon dealer and the images were 1.4 degrees tilted (huge misalignment and totally unacceptable). I didn't buy the unit.

Canon knows about this problem and it can be fixed quite quickly at their service centers. Your camera definitely needs alignment. Korean warranty is not valid in the US but this is such an obvious manufacturing process defect that you should get a free adjustment no matter where you bought it.

There shouldn't be any AF problems with the 1Ds Mark III (at least none detected so far). 1D Mark III is a different matter...

Petri

pretty widely reported on Naturescapes.com if memory serves correct. Canon REALLY needs to get it's act together.

Its not really a Mark III problem, my old 20D was doing this too, I just lived with it. But I think if it was my Mark III I'd get it done with the updates when you send it in.

Anke wrote in post #4901703
Its not really a Mark III problem, my old 20D was doing this too, I just lived with it. But I think if it was my Mark III I'd get it done with the updates when you send it in.

Yes, this is nothing new in the world of DSLRs but it seems that this problem has been unsusually common with the 1Ds Mark III. I've read somewhere that the 1Ds Mark III has a new pentaprism design and apparently Canon is facing some alignment challenges with this new component. My 30D has a tilt of 0.3 degrees and that's acceptable but anything over 0.5 degrees is way too much in my opinion - especially on a pro camera body.

There are no known updates for 1Ds Mark III at this point except for one firmware upgrade.

Petri

haha, maybe this is why my shots are never perfectly level.

nope... i just suck. darn..

hope it gets sorted out.

Are you using the AF points in the viewfinder to judge whether or not you have the photo properly aligned and that it is "straight in the viewfinder"? I have seen many posts on the Net indicating that the AF points themselves may not be perfectly horizontal, and therefore one cannot use them to judge if the picture is straight.

Bob N.

robnich wrote in post #4904646
Are you using the AF points in the viewfinder to judge whether or not you have the photo properly aligned and that it is "straight in the viewfinder"? I have seen many posts on the Net indicating that the AF points themselves may not be perfectly horizontal, and therefore one cannot use them to judge if the picture is straight.

Bob N.

No... for the library picture I just aligned horizontally not really in reference to anything but the frame of the viewfinder. Same goes for the last picture - the black metal bar was supposed to be in line with the edge of the viewfinder when I took the picture.

tempography wrote in post #4904790
No... for the library picture I just aligned horizontally not really in reference to anything but the frame of the viewfinder. Same goes for the last picture - the black metal bar was supposed to be in line with the edge of the viewfinder when I took the picture.

I see. That really is completely unacceptable in an $8000 (gasp) camera. I do hope you get a satisfactory resolution to the problem.

(By the way, I used to be on the faculty at the UCSD School of Medicine and still do some volunteer teaching there in the Fall)

Bob N.

robnich wrote in post #4904900
(By the way, I used to be on the faculty at the UCSD School of Medicine and still do some volunteer teaching there in the Fall)

Bob N.

You're my hero! I'm a lowly undergraduate student pursuing a major in Physiology and Neurosciences - I'm only a sophomore though

tempography wrote in post #4901022
Does anybody else have this problem? I take a horizontally straight picture but it comes out more than one degree tilted to the right.

Here are some pictures I took





Anyway the real problem was that I bought the 1DsMkIII in Korea when I went over there for winter break so the warranty is only valid in Korea. If I want it repaired (or possibly exchanged? I heard that a lot of people got exchanges rather than repairs) I would have to ship it back to Korea which means a lot of nerve-wracking if this thing got lost in the mail.

Today I took it to the Canon service center in Irvine to at least get a confirmation that yes, there was something definitely wrong with my camera. They didn't really care that the camera was purchased in Korea and just took it - I'll be getting it back in 7-10 business days so I really don't know what will happen. I hope I can get an exchange here but it seems unlikely.

Please don't tell me that I am taking pictures wrong. These pictures were all taken on different dates and I swear on my life that they were straight on the viewfinder. I've done a lot of tests in hopes to prove myself wrong but I've failed.

Lastly, I apologize in advance if there is already a topic on this

all my cameras do that so i figure it's me. set you camera on a level surface and take a picture and see what you get .

ed rader

The 1Ds Mark III is a really crap camera, I have also the alignment problem, with the firmware 1.06 installed from the factory camera will give randomly color casts mostly to wards magenta, where my 30 D have no problems focusing the 1Ds is hunting big time, with the wireless transmitter on camera crashed 3 times in 20 minutes, everything simply frozen, the only remedy was to remove the battery 30 seconds and restart the camera.
The wireless transmitter will work only on G mode I did not test B, but in specifications is written is supporting B+G .
This are just few flaws discovered in 2 weeks, not counting the autofocus what looks a bit funny, however if I put the microajustment on -1 seems is getting better.
Really sorry I bought it just for the pixel count, some of the stock agencies will accept me this days only a minimum of 16 MP.
If you bought it in Korea, what about me what I bought it in US and I am in Botswana .
Happy shooting guys,
Lucian