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Of the seven digital single lens reflex (DSLR) cameras Canon currently offers the public, the EOS-1D Mark III at 10.1 megapixels is second only to its big brother the 21.1 megapixel EOS-1Ds Mark III in Canon?s lineup. This pair of otherwise identical Canons are placed to service the demands of professional photographers the world over, to give outstanding performance under the best and worst of conditions. In this review I'll be dealing with a few features that I think stand out, like its speed and versatility, as well as my overall impressions of the camera and what comes with it.
I've become pretty jaded with camera gear so be forewarned. Over the course of a week with the Canon EOS-1D Mark III, I managed to shoot more than 2000 images with it. Along with the camera body Canon sent a EF70-200mm f/4L IS USM lens, EF 14mm f/2.8L II USM ultra-wide angle lens, TS-E 45mm f/2.8 (tilt/shift lens), and Speedlite 580EX II for review. I'll be reviewing those lenses and flash later so keep tuned.
My impressions -- I've fallen in love with the 14mm and the 70~200 is my new mistress. Still learning the ins and outs of the 1DMkIII but it blows everything else I've shot with out of the water for speed, focus, exposure, everything. It?s lighter than I thought it would be and very comfortable to handhold for long periods. Heck, even the battery charger is well thought out!
There are two card slots in the camera; one for Compact Flash (CF) and one for SD or SDHC memory cards. You can set the camera to switch automatically to the second card when the first is full or set it to have each image backed up automatically on the second card. Another option let?s you record to a different sized image to the second card.
When changing lenses outdoors or in a dusty environment, crud will eventually find its way onto your image sensor and leave spots on all your shots. This Canon has an automatic sensor cleaning function that activates whenever the camera is turned on or off. This takes one or two seconds to do. If you don't like waiting you can disable the feature and do it manually when you have time.
Now that we have power for the camera and a card installed I'm ready to start shooting! Hang the instruction book, I want to see how intuitive the controls are. Most of the buttons around the body are clearly labeled. A couple aren't, like the depth of field button which is well placed near where your hand holds the camera, and the joystick-like Multi Controller just right of the large 3-inch display on the rear of the camera. Still, playing with them soon lets me discover their purpose.
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| Back of the Canon EOS 1D Mark III |
Looking through the viewfinder you'll see a number of AF points arrayed in a roughly semi-circular shape covering a large section of the view. There are 45 AF points to be exact, and the good part is that 19 of them are cross-type, which lock onto focus better when shooting with a lens f2.8 or faster. Those 19 AF points are arranged in roughly two rings around the center of the viewfinder. When slightly pressing the shutter release, the area surrounding the viewfinder lights up to show a multitude of information. With AI-Servo focus turned on I was able to keep up with a train rushing by me at a very high speed.
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| I had to see how well the Ai Servo autofocus worked on a train passing by at high speed, VERY WELL INDEED! Click for full resolution view |
One idea I liked was that the flash output setting is shown. With a Canon 580 EX II attached I was able to tell with a glance if I had the flash output set to normal, over or under exposure and by how much. The display shows in 1/3 (or 1/2) stop steps to three stops over and under. You don't have to constantly look away from the viewfinder to check your flash's exposure setting. You can also control many of the flash's settings through the camera's menu system. There are six standard and 14 custom settings you control.
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