1DmkIII...too old?

I have a 50d and ended up buying a MKII once I got the MKII it became my main body I shot with. I recently upgraded and got the MKIII and love this camera. Yes its an older body but it still captures great images. You can't go wrong getting a 1d series

It's not too old, it's just not a very good camera

The biggest gripe with it is the LCD/DIGIC III preview thumbnails which makes image reviewing tough and really jars your confidence everytime you chimp.

The second biggest gripe is the AF. I thought it was my user error. But then I got a 5D3 and realised, no, it's just that the 1D3 sucked.

The third biggest gripe is the colours and exposure consistency, it seems a bit over the place on the M3.

One good thing is it's low ISO shadow noise performance is in an entirely different class to the 5 series. You can eaily push a ISO 100 file 3 stops without nasty shadow banding etc.

smorter wrote in post #14715775
It's not too old, it's just not a very good camera

The biggest gripe with it is the LCD/DIGIC III preview thumbnails which makes image reviewing tough and really jars your confidence everytime you chimp.

The second biggest gripe is the AF. I thought it was my user error. But then I got a 5D3 and realised, no, it's just that the 1D3 sucked.

The third biggest gripe is the colours and exposure consistency, it seems a bit over the place on the M3.

One good thing is it's low ISO shadow noise performance is in an entirely different class to the 5 series. You can eaily push a ISO 100 file 3 stops without nasty shadow banding etc.

Isn't 5D3 using the same AF as 1Dx? One would expect it to be better than 5 year old system on 1D3. I still wouldn't say 1D3 sucks in AF. It easily holds it's own against 7D...
I agree that the LCD and preview files aren't great though. Oh well, makes me chimp less. I actually only check histogram now and very rarely zoom in to check focus..
Bottom line, I'd never say 1D3 is "not a very good camera", despite it's age it's still fantastic piece of equipment. Are there better options? Yes, but they cost 2x + of 1D3's price

Looks like the positives win. I'll do it! Thanks everyone.

i shot weddings exclusively w/ 1d iii for a year or two and was very pleased. I picked up a 5d ii to replace it and eventually went back to 1d iii. why? 1d iii has great ISO, 1d iii has great AF, dual memory cards and it's built like a tank.

I think if you work the 1d iii as it's meant to be, it may become your main camera.

Jon_Doh wrote in post #14715101
Ryan, focus assist with the Speedlight is very helpful. I was referring to the setting where you use the focusing points that surround the chosen focus point to hold focus. I thought that was supposed to help with fast moving objects from articles I had read, but I discovered it was causing me to get a lot of out of focus shots. There's also a focus tracking mode selection that allows you to adjust how long the camera will stay focused on an object before it switches to another object - useful for tracking a flock of birds. You just have to play around with the settings to find what works for you. Sorry if I caused confusion in my earlier post. I'm not near my camera and can't recall what function numbers change these settings.

I like how Canon has simplified the autofocus settings in their new cameras.

Ah yes, focus point expansion - that's something I could shut off for most uses, and only turn it on when I'm shooting birds. BIF is the one thing I found that useful for.

smorter wrote in post #14715775
It's not too old, it's just not a very good camera

Sounds like you had a bad copy, or didn't know what you were doing.

porkphoto wrote in post #14719229
Looks like the positives win. I'll do it! Thanks everyone.

Congrats in advance! I had my 2nd session with mine today, and it was incredible.

Stickman wrote in post #14719678
Sounds like you had a bad copy, or didn't know what you were doing.

That would be my guess because my camera rocks!!!

Just finished an environmental portrait shoot out on the street where I wanted to get the shop lights and street lights adding color to the backgrounds and had a late overcast sky
at the end of the day for the key light on her. I shot about half of it at 1600 ISO and was using my MKIII with the 85 1.2 set at an f2.5.
I can't stop loving that camera, I do mostly headshots now and table top, I was working for a company a year ago doing product shots,
all with that camera for both print and website, and there was a full frame IDsMKIII available but we just didn't need it, although I'd love to own one of those too. I really love this camera also because of the 1.3 is just wonderful with my two favorite lenses, the 24-70 which I also use a lot with a 12mm extension tube for extra detail work on products and the glorious 85II 1.2 which is ideal for perspective with the 1.3 crop when doing head shots. The autofocus is really wonderful on the 1D cameras, I always put the focus spot on the eye closest to camera and it just plain works really well. I know all the reasons for going back to full frame and have thought a lot about the new IDX until I read today about them no longer using the red focus point and the first thing I thought was oh good, an excuse to keep my MKIII- did I
mention that I love this camera LOL.

Stickman wrote in post #14719678
Sounds like you had a bad copy, or didn't know what you were doing.

Would have agreed with you, but if:

me+5D3 = win
me+1d3 = fail

Then logic dictates that:

1d3 = fail

smorter wrote in post #14722798
Would have agreed with you, but if:

me+5D3 = win
me+1d3 = fail

Then logic dictates that:

1d3 = fail

IOW, you got a bad copy...

Unfortunately Canon deemed it "in spec"

smorter wrote in post #14723044
Unfortunately Canon deemed it "in spec"

The 5D is a very different camera than the 1D3, but I'm glad you found something which is working well for you and that you like.

I lost control of my senses this morning and purchased the 1d mkIII. Expected delivery date of 7-30-2012. I'm looking forward to that date. Thanks everyone for your responses. Every reply was just absolutely valuable in making my decision.