-= 1D MkIII Owners discuss =- and Post Your Pics

Quick question - i'm seeing more and more shots with missed focus. I was doing an event the other night using the 1D III, 35L and 580 EX II. AF assist would help get focus quickly, but many of the shots were slightly missed. Adjusting the microadjust would help in some cases, make it worse in others. My mirror is kinda "hazy" looking - would cleaning the mirror help make AF more accurate? Any other suggestions?

I know the 35L is notorious, as is the 1D III...

Erik_L wrote in post #13636021
Quick question - i'm seeing more and more shots with missed focus. I was doing an event the other night using the 1D III, 35L and 580 EX II. AF assist would help get focus quickly, but many of the shots were slightly missed. Adjusting the microadjust would help in some cases, make it worse in others. My mirror is kinda "hazy" looking - would cleaning the mirror help make AF more accurate? Any other suggestions?

I know the 35L is notorious, as is the 1D III...

Probably user error. Most likely reason.

gh patriot wrote in post #13636382
Probably user error. Most likely reason.

Perhaps, but i've been getting great results from this combo under other conditions.

I don't think that canon's AF is randomly focusing correctly, my own experience tends me to think that most of people don't know how to point and track subjects.
I use a 1DMKIII, 5DMKII and 24L+85L+135L+300L2.8 .. and all of these can focus perfectly. There is no major speed and accuracy difference between lenses or bodies.
Only 5DMKII is limited to central focus point for sport (other points can't track a subject accurately)

With 85L, due to thin DOF on 1DMKIII and ultra thin DOF on 5DMKII, it's much more a user challenge to focus and keep tracking on pilots helmets or subjects eyes. I use it with 1DMKIII for much faster subjects than any human running or jumping on the earth, and I get more than 90% perfectly focused pictures.

In short, people are mostly not trained enough to predict subjects movements to point and track eyes. Probably, they even don't know the correct setting of the 1DMKIII for their sport.

Mark III has not been getting a ton of use since it's big brother arrived but going back
through some pics I found this one which has to be one of my best and at ISO 6400
to boot.

Joemt.

HOSTED PHOTO
please log in to view hosted photos in full size.

new Wii toy...wheeeeee!

Hi everyone,
First time posted here. Last weekend, I went to Imperial Sand Dunes, CA and took some photo to share. (using 70-200mm IS MK I) AF, Tracking and AI Servo working out beautiful.

HTTP response: NOT FOUND | MIME changed to 'image/gif' | Redirected to error image by FLICKR

HTTP response: NOT FOUND | MIME changed to 'image/gif' | Redirected to error image by FLICKR

Link broken!

Our Buddy. Playing around with a second 580 flash.

17mm, f8, 1/100th, iso100

newworld666 wrote in post #13637859
I don't think that canon's AF is randomly focusing correctly, my own experience tends me to think that most of people don't know how to point and track subjects.
I use a 1DMKIII, 5DMKII and 24L+85L+135L+300L2.8 .. and all of these can focus perfectly. There is no major speed and accuracy difference between lenses or bodies.
Only 5DMKII is limited to central focus point for sport (other points can't track a subject accurately)

With 85L, due to thin DOF on 1DMKIII and ultra thin DOF on 5DMKII, it's much more a user challenge to focus and keep tracking on pilots helmets or subjects eyes. I use it with 1DMKIII for much faster subjects than any human running or jumping on the earth, and I get more than 90% perfectly focused pictures.

In short, people are mostly not trained enough to predict subjects movements to point and track eyes. Probably, they even don't know the correct setting of the 1DMKIII for their sport.

That's the thing - I have excellent success in tracking things with the 1D III, even in crappy lighting

http://www.flickr.com …5/sets/72157628​466130955/

it's one-shot with lenses, particularly the 35L, that give me trouble. Seems to be usually good in sunlight.

Erik_L wrote in post #13646525
That's the thing - I have excellent success in tracking things with the 1D III, even in crappy lighting

http://www.flickr.com …5/sets/72157628​466130955/

it's one-shot with lenses, particularly the 35L, that give me trouble. Seems to be usually good in sunlight.

Do you have any "missed" shots you can crop around the missed area and post?

And, are there points around the missed area that are in focus?

No kidding that low-light shooting can be challenging -- camera focus points are bigger than the little red squares and can latch on to areas that have more contrast than what you are trying to get. Keeping your eye glued to the viewfinder, and learning to spot the little shifts of focus are valuable skills! Also, shooting wide open can let even little shifts turn things out of focus.

tonylong wrote in post #13646595
Do you have any "missed" shots you can crop around the missed area and post?

And, are there points around the missed area that are in focus?

No kidding that low-light shooting can be challenging -- camera focus points are bigger than the little red squares and can latch on to areas that have more contrast than what you are trying to get. Keeping your eye glued to the viewfinder, and learning to spot the little shifts of focus are valuable skills! Also, shooting wide open can let even little shifts turn things out of focus.

I was having the biggest problem at a recent event - I was tasked with doing "stand and repeat" for about an hour doing pictures of people in front of a sponsor backdrop - I can't post any of the pics.... Even at f/2 and a pretty good distance, it would consistently miss focus - I manually put the point over someone's face, would not recompose, and still had problems. AF assist from my 580 was enabled but didn't seem to help. the light was tungsten lights in the room. I was getting good and pissed.

^^All with the 35L

As for spotting focus shifts - the Ec-S screen is in the mail With the current screen, I can't see a 3" focus shift in the viewfinder.

Here's another great example of my "poor technique"

http://www.flickr.com …5/sets/72157627​679630804/

of the maybe 600 photos I took, I think 3 had missed focus. 35L and Sigma 85 f/1.4 all day. I'm pretty picky about what's "sharp" I've seen a lot of "professional" photos I would have thrown out for being not well enough in-focus.

my 1D mkIII is weird, some games i feel it doesn't focus accurately for 60% of the game, another game it will focus for 80-90% accurately, another game 50 50, so i am not sure what's going on, i am happy with the results that produced by this camera when properly accurately in focus, i hope this camera will do the job for what i need it for about 95% or higher, or if it will keep 80% for many times i will be happy, 1D markIIn is not better from what i experience, and i can't be sure that 1D mk4 will be better than both either.

Tareq wrote in post #13646730
my 1D mkIII is weird, some games i feel it doesn't focus accurately for 60% of the game, another game it will focus for 80-90% accurately, another game 50 50, so i am not sure what's going on, i am happy with the results that produced by this camera when properly accurately in focus, i hope this camera will do the job for what i need it for about 95% or higher, or if it will keep 80% for many times i will be happy, 1D markIIn is not better from what i experience, and i can't be sure that 1D mk4 will be better than both either.

My 1D IIn seemed to nail focus more consistently than my 1D III, by a pretty wide margin.