1D Mark III: first impressions + mini-review

I agree on your review on the Mark III having moved up from the IIN. Now you got me wanting a 85L more than I should!!

Agree with all in the review. I've had mine for a couple of months now, and finally seem to have got my head around it all.

And yes, easily the best allround camera I've ever used. Love it. Gotta sell the 40D now.

Man you just poisoned me. I'm currently saving up for a 1DmkII or IIN.. and now I want a mkIII.. argh.

Grats on the camera!

Nice stuff Perry. I am jealous.

perryge wrote in post #7180024
It's the little things too, that make it obvious that they put a lot of thought into this camera. For example, on the previous 1D models, the eyepiece cover came off really easily. On the Mark3, you have to squeeze the sides to remove it, and the diopter adjustment is hidden under the cover so you can't accidentally change it.

In all the time I've owned my 1DMKII, I never had an issue with the eye piece cover. Maybe I just got one that was tighter than most. I really have to squeeze down to pull it out.

ed rader wrote in post #7181073
do you think the next generation will be 1.3 crop?

ed rader

I think so. The crop is useful for sports/action shooters. Yes you can crop in with a higher resolution camera, but filling the frame before you take the photo helps lock a subject in motion, compared to a small piece that you are chasing in the view finder. They already have two full frame cameras.

grego wrote in post #7182117
I think so. The crop is useful for sports/action shooters. Yes you can crop in with a higher resolution camera, but filling the frame before you take the photo helps lock a subject in motion, compared to a small piece that you are chasing in the view finder. They already have two full frame cameras.

I am going to stick my neck out here, and say the next 1D MK3 upgrade, maybe a FF and a 1.3, something like 18 MP FF, 15 MP crop, EF lenses only, I do feel Canon need to compete with the D700 and D3, it is purely speculative, with some calculated guessing, and a few rumours, hence why I am waiting for the next 1 series upgrades and not bought a 5D MK2

jft158 wrote in post #7181472
I agree on your review on the Mark III having moved up from the IIN. Now you got me wanting a 85L more than I should!!

Dude try it . So worth it.

Headshotzx wrote in post #7181753
Man you just poisoned me. I'm currently saving up for a 1DmkII or IIN.. and now I want a mkIII.. argh.

Grats on the camera!

Well considering I ended up getting mine for about the price of a used 1D Mark IIN in some parts, it was worth it.

grego wrote in post #7182117
Nice stuff Perry. I am jealous.

In all the time I've owned my 1DMKII, I never had an issue with the eye piece cover. Maybe I just got one that was tighter than most. I really have to squeeze down to pull it out.

Interesting! My 1D and 1DIIN both had eyepiece covers that were easily removed. The 1DIII's side squeeze design is something in the white paper that I didn't notice with the previous models.

Oh, I wanted to add another note.

On my 40D, I rarely ventured into ISO 800; only doing so if I absolutely HAD to with no other options. With the MKIII I find myself going ISO 1600 wo hesitiation, knowing that ISO 3200 wil aslo work pretty darn well.

It's amazing what this camera lets us do. The 40D has been relegated to doing mundane work.

perryge wrote in post #7183265
Interesting! My 1D and 1DIIN both had eyepiece covers that were easily removed. The 1DIII's side squeeze design is something in the white paper that I didn't notice with the previous models.

Perhaps I'm just lucky, but its stuck on there pretty well, even if if i lift with the eye piece area, when taking my camera out of the bag.

Anyway i am looking forward to seeing photos from this camera soon.

MaDProFF wrote in post #7182146
I am going to stick my neck out here, and say the next 1D MK3 upgrade, maybe a FF and a 1.3, something like 18 MP FF, 15 MP crop, EF lenses only, I do feel Canon need to compete with the D700 and D3, it is purely speculative, with some calculated guessing, and a few rumours, hence why I am waiting for the next 1 series upgrades and not bought a 5D MK2

The MKIII took a hit with it's early AF issues. Even if Canon continued the 1.3 crop, as long as everything worked coming out of the gate, it would push the 1D back to the top of best bang for the buck for professionals.

Canon likes to keep their features exclusive to the level and particular camera. This is why many of the pro features never make it to their other cameras. There's no way they would make the 1D series (which is closest to the Ds series) full frame. Otherwise it would just be full frame versus full frame (with a few more megapixels). Now, Nikon does it, but Canon has yet to do it.

Heck the 5D would have been the perfect camera to do that on by just adding the 1 series AF.

Congrat..when 1D Mark IV comes...I'll pair it with my 5D Mark II...sweettttt hehehehehe...

george m w wrote in post #7180853
Perry,
....get your hands on a 1D3S....and do a comparo to your 1D3 ! I'd like to hear your take on the FF. Having had the 1DS for a few weeks now....I gotta say that I do love using this thing.....I think I can see a 1D3S in my future....

regards, george w

I shoot with both bodies (1dsm3 and 1d3) during gymnastics events. The focus on the 1ds3 isn't as "twitchy" as the 1d3 as every once in a while there are some flaky frames, even on dead centered objects with the 1d3. I usually use single point, center sensor, AI servo. Doesn't matter what the sensitivity is on - it could be on very slow or ultra fast.

ISO goes to the 1d3. That extra stop makes a huge difference. I'm shooting with the legendary 200 1.8L EF lens, wide open, and I still need every bit of speed during these shoots. This isn't the little high school gymnastics - it's the hard core college ones. You thought football was fast moving? Think again. And in low light.

Frame rate is obvious - and the 10fps of the 1d3 helps immensely. I'm not the type that "spray and pray", and the burst rate is rather calculated for me. And it makes a HUGE difference, despite the people that frown on fast frame rates. While most people with slow frame rates are trying to time the "decisive moment", I'm getting MANY "decisive moments" with the rate.

But you know what? The 5fps of the 1ds3 is still VERY respectable. 14 bit info, 21 megapixels and very very good image quality even at the "H" setting. Try that with a Noink D3x. OOPS---1.8 frames per second at 14 bit. Just fine for those that frown on fast frame rates. But I wouldn't consider the Noink D3x at 14 bit to be any type of sports shooter. With the 1Dsm3, you can at least stay in the field with fast moving athletes.

Focus in low lighting - both the 1dsm3 and the 1d3 do very very well.

Build quality - if you're used to a "tank like" build, then that's what you'll get with the 1ds3 and the 1d3. Both are superb cameras.

Battery life - the 1ds3 gets about 2000 to 3000 shots. I currently have the one I'm using at about 2300 shots and the battery is still more than 1/2 full. The 1d3, the most I've gotten is around 7000 shots on a single battery charge. Amazing. There are a couple of guys here on the board that have gotten over 10,000 shots on the 1d3, single battery charge!!!

And as for my dual camera setup - the 200 1.8L EF goes onto the 1ds3. My 85 1.2L EF II goes on the 1d3. At times they switch bodies (or lenses) and they're very good performers. I haven't switched over to the 200 f/2.0L EF IS, but I do plan on getting one. The 1.8 IS NOT for sale. That extra 1/3rd of a stop will make or break your shots, especially with bad lighting and fast moving objects. Even with the ISO cranked to "H", the 2.0 seems slightly lacking in some instances. As the fighter pilots say "Speed is life". In this case, frame rate and shutter speed.

Full frame vs 1.3 - geez, the amount of detail that the 200 1.8 is capable of really shows on the full frame. Yikes! I get slightly more sharpness with the 200 f/2.0L EF IS that I use (borrowed) but I'd rather put up with the extra heft and extra light / shutter speed that the 1.8 gives you.

1/500th of a second isn't fast enough for gymnasts. I would consider that to be an absolute minimum when they're doing fast moving runs, flips or some ultra fast twisting in mid air.

Meh. Whatever. Wake me up when the Mark IV is ready.

Hater!

Double Negative wrote in post #7191847
Meh. Whatever. Wake me up when the Mark IV is ready.

PM01 - good analysis. I've noticed the twitchy nature of the MKIII AF too, it's different, but still performs very well.

PM01,
What is the trick to making the battery last that long?
I can barely reach 2000 shots on my 1DMKIII.
Do you leave your camera on all the time?

Regardless, the batter life is just sick, sick, sick!!!

Have you calibrated the battery yet? I have yet to exhaust mine, I'm still at about 65% haha. But then, what do I know about batteries...