Canon EOS-1D Mark III

Auto Mode (7.0)
The Canon EOS-1D Mark III's Program mode sets both aperture and shutter speed, and white balance and focus can be set automatically. The ISO is in the hands of the user, though the camera can be set to override the user's setting if the exposure goes out of range. All that doesn't amount to a "Simple" or "Easy" mode, as found on consumer cameras, but it's comparable to other pro-level cameras, and suits the needs of the target market.

Custom Image Presets (0.0)
Unlike lower-end digital cameras, the Canon EOS-1D Mark III does not have a dozen or more custom image presets for pets, the beach, fireworks, and eBay. It does, however, let the user create presets and save them on CF or SD cards. The presets cover exposure mode, metering, white balance, ISO, autofocus, and everything else the typical user might reset in moving from one shooting situation to another. Users will determine for themselves whether it's practical to keep the settings on removable media, rather than in internal memory. It's likely that more than a few of the custom settings files will be lost to ill-advised formatting, or that a user will bring the wrong card, the one without the settings, to a shoot where they would be useful.

Drive/Burst Mode (10.5)
What photographer’s heart doesn't swell at the sound of a Burst mode clacking like a runaway freight train, much faster than anyone else's Burst mode? The Canon EOS-1D Mark III's industry-topping 10 fps speed is plenty fast for sports and photojournalism, and it handles bursts of more than 100 images in JPEG, and about 30 in RAW. If the high-speed burst is too fast, the High-speed Continuous and Low-speed Continuous can be set to slower increments.

High can be set to shoot at 2 to 10 fps, while Low can be set to shoot at 1 to 9 fps. The High mode's default is the maximum 10 fps, while Low is set to 3 fps when pulled from the box. Single Frame mode is also available, as well as Silent mode, which keeps the mirror up until the user releases the shutter. Silent mode is notably quieter than the other modes, in part because the mirror moves slower as it falls back into place. The Mark III's self-timer is adjustable to either 2 or 10 seconds.

The older Canon EOS-1D Mark II n could shoot 8.5 frames per second, and the Nikon D2Hs could snap 8 fps. Both capture less resolution at a slower pace.

Playback Mode (7.5)
With a 3-inch LCD, the Canon EOS-1D Mark III ought to have a bang-up Playback mode, but it has a surprising limitation: the Thumbnail mode shows a maximum of nine images at a time, rather than the 16 or 25 available on large-screen compacts. It magnifies images up to 10x, which gives an indication of how sharp an image is, though we found many images that seemed soft on the LCD were actually solidly sharp. The Mark III displays shooting data on four screens of data, and shows readable luminance and RGB histograms. The user can skip through images 10 or 100 at a time, or by date or folder. It has a highlight warning and a voice memo function.

The Mark III can mark images for printing or copying to a computer via USB. It can also copy images between memory cards. Single, multiple, or whole cards of images can be deleted. There is also an image protect function.

Movie Mode (0.0)
The Canon EOS-1D Mark III's Live Preview mode works at 30 fps, fast enough for smooth video, but the camera has no provision to save the display on digital media. Its analog output could be recorded, though, providing a route for a kludged Movie mode. Purchasing a camcorder, however, would be a far more efficient way of recording motion.