I came within a keystroke of buying a Mark III when it was first announced. Then the focusing issues cropped up. Since then I've been passively watching the seemingly never-ending debate, waiting for a resolution. So, how about it? Is it safe now to buy one?
From my reading, I say yes. I'd buy one tomorrow if my business needs could justify the expense.
But wait a minute. On the other thread on the General Discussion board you're debating which Nikon supertele to buy and on this one you're pondering buying the Canon 1Dmk3. Can one photographer use both systems? My God, that would mean there's no dark side at all.
Yeah, I use both systems for now -- I'm firmly in the grey area. I have a bunch of older Nikon stuff left over from my misspent youth, and I bought a D300 and 14-24 when they came out to see if they were as cool as the early reports indicated. Well, they most certainly are the real deal, so now I'm using Nikon for everything under 300mm, Canon for above.
There's been TONS of discussion on the 1D MkIII over at NatureScapes. A bunch of people are still having problems, but many people are very happy - seems to be pretty hit or miss. Rob Galbraith, who's been working with Canon to some extent on the problem, hasn't released his latest report, but it's supposed to be out this month - you might want to wait for that. Here are some links to the info :
Posted by Peter Conway on July 28, 2008 at 12:30 AM
I think the last firmware update helped a great deal. Either they fixed it or I have grown accustomed to it...
Peter
Posted by Peter Conway on July 28, 2008 at 12:35 AM
I just read the discussion on NatureScapes. I do not have the problem they describe. The issue that I used to have was getting it to find the focus on birds in flight. I have done less of that kind of photography lately but that too has not been an issue since the fix.
Peter
Posted by Joyce Dumas on August 16, 2008 at 8:51 AM
John, I too was waiting it out and finally took the plunge last month. I've had my 1D3 about 3 weeks and have used it extensively to make sure if there were any problems they would show up immediately. I also tried to recreate the conditions in which the focusing problems occurred for some. I am happy to report that I have not had the first problem and am very satisfied with the camera's performance (thrilled, actually). If you have any specific questions, feel free to email me.
Posted by David Bostedo on August 16, 2008 at 9:54 AM
If anyone's interested, Rob Galbraith posted his final update a couple weeks ago.
Summarizing :
-- The autofocus still has something wrong and isn't as good as the MkII
-- Canon cut off the work they were doing with him
-- The 1Ds has the same problem
-- The IQ is so good and the autofocus failing small enough that for most people it's a fantastic camera
(Note that Galbraith is a sports shooter, and primarily concerned with fast autofocus tracking of action - so that part of the performance is much more important to him than it would be to most on here, unless you're a BIF shooter.)
Discussion
7 repliesBut wait a minute. On the other thread on the General Discussion board you're debating which Nikon supertele to buy and on this one you're pondering buying the Canon 1Dmk3. Can one photographer use both systems? My God, that would mean there's no dark side at all.
Rob Galbraith's Mk III Page
Most recent MkIII discussion at NatureScapes
Peter
Peter
Summarizing :
-- The autofocus still has something wrong and isn't as good as the MkII
-- Canon cut off the work they were doing with him
-- The 1Ds has the same problem
-- The IQ is so good and the autofocus failing small enough that for most people it's a fantastic camera
(Note that Galbraith is a sports shooter, and primarily concerned with fast autofocus tracking of action - so that part of the performance is much more important to him than it would be to most on here, unless you're a BIF shooter.)