Got a great offer on a 1D Mark III

I just saw an *amazing* offer on a used 1D Mark III nearby, and I immediately called and reserved it. Going there tonight to inspect it, but I was just wondering if anybody had some tips at what to look for?

The seller did not know the shutter count, but I was planning to bring my own laptop with the shutter-counter program (it at least worked on my 5D Mark II). Anything else to be particularly aware of? I guess the 1D shutter is rated to 300,000 actuations, but what would be an 'acceptable' value?

I'm sure someone else more knowledgeable can chime in, but as I understand it, the 300,000 is more of an average than a "rating". Which would mean that many are bound to die long before 300k and many long after.

Think of it like mileage on a car. You can see how many miles you can get on average off of a 2005 ford v8, but that says nothing about how long your enginge will last.

Just food for thought though...

Actually, for the shutter itself I`m not so worried. I`m mostly looking for other 'defects' or signs of wear. In fact, the seller is also giving me a 2 yr guarantee, which I guess will cover most of my worries.

How much is the offer (if you don't mind telling us)?

1250 euro

it is a great camera, let us know how it works out,

You won't be able to get shutter count, so forget bringing the laptop, unless you want to pixel peep your images.

Pixel peeping is bad for your eyes, so I try to avoid that I'll just put my trust in the guarantee then to fix a broken shutter, if that were to happen. Thanks for the input; I`ll keep you posted on the nightly dealings.

Good price, I've got my eye on one with apparently less than 6000 on the clock for £1300, its on ebay though so can't inspect it.
Amazon are still selling them for £3300 new, that a huge saving.

Wasn't there a recall for 1d iii''s regarding focussing?

toffiloff wrote in post #12068733
Actually, for the shutter itself I`m not so worried. I`m mostly looking for other 'defects' or signs of wear. In fact, the seller is also giving me a 2 yr guarantee, which I guess will cover most of my worries.

Is the 2 year guarantee legally binding or just a verbal thing?

Replacing a shutter would probably cost $250, at least here in the USA, so not really a big deal, if the price is right.

Does he have any paperwork regarding all the recalls and fixes? What's the serial number? Does it come with all the accessories? Are you sure it's not stolen?

As far as I know the shutter count software won't work with the 1D3.

The only consideration to be aware of is that the early models had a problem with AF and required a "fix" of the AF sensor and then a firmware release. Canon provides those updates for free. You can get the serial number of the camera and run it through Canon to see if it needs the updates.

There were actually 2 fixes, one was a submirror fix, and I haven't a clue on what they changed the first time they requested my camera. In any case, one trip should be able to fix both, since at the time, Canon identified one change, and then several months later identified yet another change.

I didn't notice anything the first time, but the submirror fix, I definitely did. I had to micro-adjust my lenses again, and they were better (ie. less MFA values needed).

IIRC, Sub mirror fix, mirror box assembly replacement, and then a final AF adjustment of some kind.

Hey guys,

the mirror fixes had been already carried out on this 1D, and it was pretty much in pristine condition except for a minor scratch on the battery itself (!). The battery info showed 3/3 recharge performance as well, which was unexpected. It also looks cleaner and newer than my 5D2, so I was very happy. I purchased it and I'm currently digging through tons of interesting menus finding out how to customize it Thanks for the input! I'm going to enjoy this one a lot!

It was a store by the way, and not just a random guy selling this. I got an invoice, paid taxes, and the paperwork seems to be in order.