cosworth wrote in post #3309554
Your post (if I read correctly) is the sort that causes this internet confusion. The AF issues Rob was talking about was on a prototype camera where the AF system was not finished. Canon simply would not release a camera as such. Any tweaking or fine tuning will certainly have been tested before release.
He had a prototype. Not a camera that you or I would buy.
I'll quote the article itself:
Finishing the autofocus In our
first look article on the EOS-1D Mark III, we described both the joys and frustrations of using a preproduction body to shoot sports. We also said that at the time the preproduction camera was issued to us we were told the autofocus wasn't finished. In Japan, we learned what Canon's AF engineers had yet to complete prior to shipping, and it's not likely to impact the camera's overall autofocus behaviour. For us, this means the jury is still out on EOS-1D Mark III autofocus until we've used a production camera for a little while. Look for an article in June on this very subject.
Note that he says "In Japan...means the jury is still out...Look for an article in June..." (snips mine to get the to heart of the relevant comments by Rob). I suspect Rob will be in a MUCH better position than us to know of interesting information and tidbits. Furthermore, I'm simply re-iterating what Rob has said. Note that in my post I said "If what Rob has said can be believed". Note the usage of the word "if". It denotes a uncertainty. I suspect that there probably isn't a problem with final release units, and if there is, it's minor, and will be fixed ASAP with a firmware update.
Remember how many people were unhappy with the AF performance of the 1D Mark II??? Many people, including respected pros felt that there was something wrong with the AF. Canon never admitted to it, but did release a stop gap 1D Mark IIn, which did seem to fix the AF issues. I can't believe how some people go on about Canon - it's a company, made of humans, and they can, and do make mistakes. And like with many large manufacturers, they do (from my experience) release products to the public with known flaws. They typically keep these known flaws "unknown to the public" and ONLY fix them when forced with class action lawsuits. I expect Canon is no different in this than other large manaufacturers.
Dave
