-Official- 1D MK III AF Thread.

CyberDyneSystems wrote in post #5179575
JBF,. seriously, if I was not able to compare my MkIII with the MkII, It would have been very difficult to be as confident in my displeasure with the MkIII's AF,

...but the MkII af is so much better, it makes it very easy to spot the short comings.

Since I haven't owned/used a Mk II, I'm curious as to whether there might be a benchmark as to the Mk III AF performance that we could come up with.

I know that my Mk III performs better than my 5D. I don't have a 40D so I can't compare the two of them. I do know that my Mk III can search in low light more than I'd like although I still get shots. I also know that the Mk III can stumble in AI Servo, again more than I'd like, but I don't have a standard to go by.

Does anyone have some idea of how to test these units to evaluate, other than comparing real-world results with a Mk II?

How disappointing. I have been away for quite a while. My back problems, my Mom is in chemo-hell after double mastectomy plus, and all around not much fun. I haven't had the M3 out in a while. I have the Fed-Ex return thing on my counter for several months but decided to wait to see if there would be beta fix 1, beta fix2, etc, ad nauseam . Unfortunately I enter this thread and see progress is very slow. I'll hang onto mine for a while longer just in case Canon has an epiphany on the subject. My first pro-level camera and I thought it would be the end of all ends I would ever need, since it is more camera than I can handle anyway.

Palm springs is still my dream location Belmondo. wife gave me a nice budget and I almost dropped don there a few weeks ago. Specifically I have been looking at condos near the Arnold Palmer private course. Prices seem to be coming down to my range and if I could get n there, where it rents out also at times, I'd be a happy clam.

My best to all of you.

Joe

joegolf68 wrote in post #5185368
How disappointing. I have been away for quite a while. My back problems, my Mom is in chemo-hell after double mastectomy plus, and all around not much fun. I haven't had the M3 out in a while. I have the Fed-Ex return thing on my counter for several months but decided to wait to see if there would be beta fix 1, beta fix2, etc, ad nauseam . Unfortunately I enter this thread and see progress is very slow. I'll hand onto mine for a while longer just in case Canon has an epiphany on the subject. My first pro-level camera and I thought it would be the end of all ends I wold ever need, since it is more camera than I can handle anyway.

Palm springs is still my dream location Belmondo. wife gave me a nice budget and I almost dropped don there a few weeks ago. Specifically I have been looking at condos near the Arnold Palmer private course. Prices seem to be coming down to my range and if I could get n there, where it rents out also at times, I'd be a happy clam.

My best to all of you.

Joe

Really sorry to hear all that. Hope everything sorts itself out.

If you do get down here, drop me a PM.

Things don't appear to have changed much on the Mk III scene, but it seems like that is far from being your most pressing concern. Stay strong.

tonylong wrote in post #5184983
Since I haven't owned/used a Mk II, I'm curious as to whether there might be a benchmark as to the Mk III AF performance that we could come up with.

I know that my Mk III performs better than my 5D. I don't have a 40D so I can't compare the two of them. I do know that my Mk III can search in low light more than I'd like although I still get shots. I also know that the Mk III can stumble in AI Servo, again more than I'd like, but I don't have a standard to go by.

Does anyone have some idea of how to test these units to evaluate, other than comparing real-world results with a Mk II?

Pro Photo has some AI Servo tests for quite a few cameras.
The best performers in order are:

1. 1D MK3
2. 1D MK2/MK2N
3. D300/D3
4. 40D

tonylong wrote in post #5184983
Since I haven't owned/used a Mk II, I'm curious as to whether there might be a benchmark as to the Mk III AF performance that we could come up with.

I know that my Mk III performs better than my 5D. I don't have a 40D so I can't compare the two of them. I do know that my Mk III can search in low light more than I'd like although I still get shots. I also know that the Mk III can stumble in AI Servo, again more than I'd like, but I don't have a standard to go by.

Does anyone have some idea of how to test these units to evaluate, other than comparing real-world results with a Mk II?

drisley wrote in post #5185870
Pro Photo has some AI Servo tests for quite a few cameras.
The best performers in order are:

1. 1D MK3
2. 1D MK2/MK2N
3. D300/D3
4. 40D

I know that the 1D Mk III is potentially the top-of-the-line. What I'd like to know is how we who own it can evaluate the particular performance of our body -- is there a benchmark test that we can come up with, short of a real-world comparison to a 1D Mk II which many of us don't have?

All Pro Photo did was had a man run toward the camera, and fire away in burst/servo mode and measured the % of keepers.

Well - my call to Canon assured me of one thing - they want it back to sit on the bench before they send it back "fixed". They also want 300-400 photos to evaluate it's performance. I wish they would have asked for that the first time - i have plenty!

So off it goes again - fix number 2...

and when asked if I needed anything else, i said a new camera would be nice... Patrick said that decision was above his pay grade. Nice work!

jBear, the first time I sent in my MkIII in August '07, I sent it with DVD of RAW files,.

Good luck

Hi folks, since my mk3 undergone its submirror fix and firm upgrade to 1.1.3, I am still wondering about my low in focus picture rates when in AI servo + burst mode. Is there a good static test anyone can suggest? ie a static test on a fixed object that would still be sufficiently representative that the camera is indeed operating as it should. At this point, I am attributing the low in focus rates to my skills. I have tried firing mutlitple sets of 10 rapid shots (on tripod, remote trigger cable, AI servo mode on, burst mode) and it yields at least 90 percent sharp in focus pictures. Is that a good sign that AI prob is fixed? I know I am sounding paranoid...but thanks in advance for any inputs. Joe.

well 90% in a1servo on a static subject sounds about right to me im sure the other 10% are almost sharp too .
A1servo is not really for static shots .
Rob.

GyRob wrote in post #5209446
well 90% in a1servo on a static subject sounds about right to me im sure the other 10% are almost sharp too .
A1servo is not really for static shots .
Rob.

Rob,

I've embarked on some testing, using a moving train! You can see my first results here.

There's a discussion thread here, if you'd like to chip in!

One thing's for sure, prior to the fix, the static tests were a sad 30 percent. But good point, AI is not for stationary use. Thanks for the link too. Will take a look. Cheers.

tonylong wrote in post #5209467
Rob,

I've embarked on some testing, using a moving train! You can see my first results here.

There's a discussion thread here, if you'd like to chip in!

iv already chiped in on your train shots
Rob.

I just looked at the train shots as I have some interest in trains in general as well. To be bluntly honest - none of the shots look tack sharp. All of them are a bit soft -whether by technique or camera. The sharpest of them is still soft. Nothing quite like something from a well working Mark IIn or 1Ds Mark II.

I'm not saying this to put you down - or anything like it - as I am experiencing the same kinds of shot with my Mark III.

In my experience - trains move too slowly too. I love shooting them - but a real test is shooting race cars or fast airplanes. Especially prop planes where you must shoot with a fixed shutter of 1/100 or slower to get a full prop disc and still have good panning technique to blur the background.

Try that with a 300 2.8 hand held! Or even a 100-400 hand held. No monopods or tripods - as they don't really help the situation and confine you too much anyway.
I've posted these before i think - but the average shot the Mark III can do is something like this:

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My 1DMK3 beats my old MK2 and MK2N hands down for both AF and IQ, and tests show it also slaughters the D300 for servo AF. The train pics look fine to me btw.