-Official- 1D MK III AF Thread. Hardware Fix Is IN!!!

DwightMcCann wrote in post #4345794
You know, I have a bad 1DMIII, too, and likely have spent just as much money on Canon equipment as most here and am just as interested in knowing what is going on as anyone but this constant whining and complaining, over and over and over and over from that same three or four guys is making this thread a PITA to follow. Can't you guys just do what the Mods keep asking over and over and sit on your hands if you don't have something constructive to contribute. WE KNOW YOU ARE UNHAPPY ALL TOO WELL but don't spoil getting information for the rest of us! If you just have to whine and dump then please start your own thread for that.

Well said

As another data point, I did a fair amount of testing with my new "blue dot" Mk III over the weekend, and focus has been spot on. One of the more extreme tests was in an indoor amusement park with poor lighting and my son on a roller coaster ride that was flying around in a loop. To get a shutter speed of 1/400 at f4, I had to shoot at ISO 6400. I shot in continuous-shooting with AI servo and center focus point. I got more keepers than I was expecting and focus was perfect in most of them. I also tried a test in good lighting outside, with a kid running towards me. Every frame was in focus. So far, so good!

what CF settings are you using? default?, Canon Recommended ones? and what tracking speed is it set to Slow?? cannot remember the Cf number

GBRandy wrote in post #4345821
Great idea! That's what I am doing. I have a repaired and approved MKIII and want to know what would be a reasonable test shoot to determine if things have improved or not....any suggestions folks?

How about going down to main street/high street, place the camera on a tripod with a shutter release, and take on coming traffic... That should check the AI predictability...

sdipirro wrote in post #4345891
As another data point, I did a fair amount of testing with my new "blue dot" Mk III over the weekend, and focus has been spot on. One of the more extreme tests was in an indoor amusement park with poor lighting and my son on a roller coaster ride that was flying around in a loop. To get a shutter speed of 1/400 at f4, I had to shoot at ISO 6400. I shot in continuous-shooting with AI servo and center focus point. I got more keepers than I was expecting and focus was perfect in most of them. I also tried a test in good lighting outside, with a kid running towards me. Every frame was in focus. So far, so good!

Very good!

KAC

MaDProFF wrote in post #4345921
what CF settings are you using? default?, Canon Recommended ones? and what tracking speed is it set to Slow?? cannot remember the Cf number

I'm not using the default settings. For C.Fn III-2, AI Servo tracking sensitibility, I moved one notch towards slow. For C.Fn III-3, I left it at the default for AF/tracking priority. For C.Fn III-4, I also left that at default 0 for main focus point priority (and I was using the center AF point to track my subject). I have C.Fn III-8 set to 2, to enable surrounding AF assist points. I changed C.Fn III-9 to 2, to make only the outer 9 AF points selectable, but that shouldn't affect the behavior here. I used the default continuous shooting speeds, but I'm shooting in RAW+L, which slows it down a bit anyway. When shooting my son on this roller coaster ride, I used the default low continuous shooting (3 fps) speed. Are there any related parameters that I'm forgetting?

GBRandy wrote in post #4345821
Great idea! That's what I am doing. I have a repaired and approved MKIII and want to know what would be a reasonable test shoot to determine if things have improved or not....any suggestions folks?

Moving vehicles, perhaps on a highway. Careful, though. You might look a bit suspicious standing on an overpass taking pictures of people as they approach!

There's always tracking birds in flight, local sports, and auto racing also.

Just got off the phone with Canon. I was told last week, when Canon called me about my request for a refund credit, that I was at the top of the recall list. Today, they stated they have no idea about the list order and when the recall would actually begin. I said it was scheduled for the end of November and he said it might be quite a while still, but he had no info as to a date it would begin. Didn't some already get a recall notice? He also stated that the turn around time was two to three weeks. Seems like since they control the incoming lists, they could set it up for a shorter time frame. Maybe they are just giving themselves leeway? As with each time I speak with Canon's CS, I find I have more questions than answers. I told him I would be willing to hand carry the camera to Irvine if I could get a 24 or 48 hour turnaround and he said that was not possible. I asked if there was a test now e could use to determine if the problem was fixed. Not to his knowledge.

As for those whining about the whining, I hope I kept this pretty objective. Sorry, no fanboy here!

joegolf68 wrote in post #4347895
Just got off the phone with Canon. I was told last week, when Canon called me about my request for a refund credit, that I was at the top of the recall list. Today, they stated they have no idea about the list order and when the recall would actually begin. I said it was scheduled for the end of November and he said it might be quite a while still, but he had no info as to a date it would begin. Didn't some already get a recall notice? He also stated that the turn around time was two to three weeks. Seems like since they control the incoming lists, they could set it up for a shorter time frame. Maybe they are just giving themselves leeway? As with each time I speak with Canon's CS, I find I have more questions than answers. I told him I would be willing to hand carry the camera to Irvine if I could get a 24 or 48 hour turnaround and he said that was not possible. I asked if there was a test now e could use to determine if the problem was fixed. Not to his knowledge.

As for those whining about the whining, I hope I kept this pretty objective. Sorry, no fanboy here!

Thanks for the info Joe.

KAC

I could have had a NIB MkIII for $3.4k the other day. (FM B&S Forum).
However, decided not to. I'll just continue to wait for the MkIIIN....naturally, after RG tests it first.

PetKal wrote in post #4348330
I could have had a NIB MkIII for $3.4k the other day. (FM B&S Forum).
However, decided not to. I'll just continue to wait for the MkIIIN....naturally, after RG tests it first.

Heh Heh - all this sounds promising, but I'm holding out for the 5D Mk II.

Really, I think Canon has finally gotten this under control but I do think they could have handled the whole situation a lot better.

Tom W wrote in post #4348727
Really, I think Canon has finally gotten this under control but I do think they could have handled the whole situation a lot better.

we can only hope Tom because i for one am already sick and tired of the BS. i want this mass to be over so people can finally get back to shooting and enjoying their cameras.

Tom W wrote in post #4348727
Heh Heh - all this sounds promising, but I'm holding out for the 5D Mk II.

Really, I think Canon has finally gotten this under control but I do think they could have handled the whole situation a lot better.

You have more faith in Canon than I do, Tommy. And it's not just me. You probably know that Lidesun had that camera for sale on FM for a day or so before it finally went. There are still people out there who just don't wanna get entangled in this whole MkIII mess, regardless of how good the camera price might be.

Kennymc wrote in post #4346313
How about going down to main street/high street, place the camera on a tripod with a shutter release, and take on coming traffic... That should check the AI predictability...

I did that, sort of, with mine, except no tripod. I've shot oncoming traffic a few times, including cars turning into the camera at an angle. I've shot it single shot after single shot, along with bursts. The license plates come out sharp over 90 percent of the time, with traffic moving at about 30 to 40 mph.

That said, I am still convinced mine is faulty.

mark

blonde wrote in post #4348891
we can only hope Tom because i for one am already sick and tired of the BS. i want this mass to be over so people can finally get back to shooting and enjoying their cameras.

Indeed! As I've said before, I was never strongly in the market for a 1D3 (that's not to say that I won't get one eventually), but I do know that it's success does have an effect on future Canon bodies. If Canon got "lazy" on this model, then it's best that it's laziness backfired so that a strong lesson is learned.

I've seen companies start cutting corners in the past. A previous employer, after my departure, cut corners to the point that they initiated the northeast blackout in 2003. I was very happy to have been working elsewhere that day!! Bottom line is that when too many inexperienced, clueless people attain positions of authority, common sense quickly departs. In many ways, it's the cumulative effect of the peter principal.