Canon EOS-1D Mark III Digital Camera Review

by Patrick Singleton
Published on October 03, 2007

Navigation
Intro	Testing / Performance
Components	Design / Layout
Modes	Control Options
Image Parameters	Connectivity / Extras
Overall Impressions	Conclusion
Sample Photos	Photo Gallery
Specs / Ratings

The Canon EOS-1D Mark III looked fantastic at the Photo Marketing Association trade show last spring. Its 10 frame-per-second (fps) speed tops the industry, the 3-inch LCD looks like a movie screen, and its live preview puts Olympus and Fujifilm to shame. On the technical side, the Mark III's electronics amount to a dual-processor computer. Unfortunately, the 10-megapixel Mark III's autofocus system malfunctions in certain situations, though a firmware patch clearly improves its performance and may have fixed the problem. Still, it's a kick in the teeth for Canon – shooters who would have jumped for the Mark III are waiting to see if the firmware fix is real, or if the next batch of bodies is better.

Physical Tour

Front (8.0)
The Canon EOS-1D Mark III shares the design strategy of the previous 1D's – the number of dials and buttons is limited, and everything is prominently placed. The depth-of-field preview is a small button at 7 o'clock on the lens mount, and the lens release button is big and placed at 3 o'clock. There are two slanted planes for shutter releases on the grip. The top is for shooting horizontals, the bottom for verticals. Both are set in front of the control dials, so the user's right index finger controls the same buttons with the same motions in either position.

Canon kept the slope-shouldered, curving design of previous 1D's, avoiding seams, corners, and edges from the sides up to the top of the viewfinder hump, which barely bulges over the lens mount. The Canon logo sits on that gentle rise. The EOS-1 and D labels are at the upper right, and “Mark III” is tucked modestly below and to the right of the lens mount.

The left side of the body bulges to form a comfortable grip, with an indentation below the shutter release for the ring finger. The lower end of the right side bulges even further to form the platform for the vertical release. There's a bulge along the bottom edge, which forms the vertical grip, houses the battery, and makes the Mark III a little more stable when it's set on a flat surface.

Back (9.25)
Canon finally put a four-way controller on the back of a 1D. It's tucked in to the right of the 3-inch LCD, above the Quick Control dial. The 3-inch LCD looks big, even on the mammoth back of the Mark III. Like other Canons, the Mark III's power switch is a big lever set below the Quick Control dial. The media door latch is to the right. It must be swung out and turned to reveal the card slots. There is a “SET” button in the middle of the Quick Control.

The buttons for the right thumb appear at the upper right for horizontal shooting and lower right for vertical, and include Auto Focus on, AE lock, and AF point selection. AE lock and AF point double as Reduce/Magnify controls for reviewing images.

The menu and info buttons are in the upper left portion, which is a logical spot for controls that aren't used during shooting. At the LCD's lower left corner is the Playback mode button. A small monochrome LCD sits to the right of it, and shows media card status, folder and file number, white balance, and image quality. The three buttons below it are erase, function, and picture style.

The viewfinder is large, and surrounded by an even larger soft rubber eyecup. The diopter control is on the right side of the assembly, nearly hidden by the eyecup.

Left Side (9.0)
A swarm of electronic contacts fill the left side of the Mark III. All of them are well-sealed against dust and moisture. Rubber flaps cover ports for flash sync, remote controls, USB, and analog video. A disk screws off the multi-pin port for wireless equipment. A small disk high on the side accommodates an alignment pin for the wireless gear. The battery assembly is secured by a large latch at the bottom of the side.

The USB connection allows for tethered mode shooting, not just data transfer, so Canon provides a bracket that holds the USB cable in place. Since accidentally pulling the USB cable out could damage the port in addition to messing up the shot, the bracket is a great idea. It screws into the wireless port.

Right Side (9.0)
The Canon EOS-1D Mark III accepts both SD and CF cards, and both slots are under the large door that takes up a chunk of the right side. The vertical shooting controls – shutter release, control dial, and flash exposure lock – are visible, as well as a large switch to activate them.

Top (8.25)
Canon put three small, dome-shaped buttons on the left shoulder of the Mark III, and they are similar to the buttons found on earlier 1D cameras. They control, from front to back: Exposure mode, Auto Focus and Drive, and Metering pattern and Flash Exposure Compensation. Pressing the mode and AF/drive buttons simultaneously activates the Auto-Bracket system. Older 1D models have more two-button combinations, but the Mark III has switched to more dedicated buttons.

The hot shoe is on top of the viewfinder hump, and accepts Canon's EX flashes, which offer dedicated exposure and multi-flash wireless control. The latest 580EX fits on the Mark III with a rubbery cuff to keep splashed water from getting into the connection.

The mechanical link between the camera and flash is all metal, which should mean fewer broken flashes, but could mean more damage to cameras dropped with flashes on them. The weakest link is bound to get the most damage in any fall, and beefing up the bottom of the flash makes the camera's hot shoe a bit more vulnerable.

A second monochrome LCD graces the right shoulder of the Mark III. It shows exposure data, a frame counter, frames remaining, metering pattern, Burst mode, Exposure mode, battery status, Exposure Compensation for flash and ambient light, bracketing, Auto Focus mode and AF Point Selection mode, Drive mode, mirror lockup, and the self-timer.

Near the viewfinder hump is a button for the monochrome LCD backlight. The exposure compensation/aperture button is centered, and the ISO control is to the right. The control dial is in front of those, and the Flash Exposure Lock is forward and to the left of that. The shutter release sits just beyond the control dial, at the farthest point of the top.

Bottom (8.5)
The bottom of the Canon EOS-1D Mark III is flat and plain. The metal tripod bushing is centered on the optical axis, which eases alignment with many tripods. There is a flush-mounted lug for a wrist strap. The bottom has a rugged surface, and the Mark III is designed to be set on a table without getting scuffed too badly. The area around the tripod bushing will show gouges, however, if the user is careless when mounting the camera.