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Canon EOS-1D Mark III

First Impressions Review

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Physical Tour

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Design/Layout
March 09, 2007 By Patrick Singleton
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Canon EOS-1D Mark III
Page 3

 
 
Viewfinder
The EOS-1D Mark III's viewfinder is bright and contrasty. Canon promises that it shows 100 percent of the final image, a claim we couldn't test for this First Impressions review. We found the display comfortable and easy to see, even with glasses. One of the advantages of the Mark III's speed is that its viewfinder blackout time is very short, even in single-shot mode.
 
The display shows an ellipse around its 45 autofocus points, a circle showing the central metering spot, and, when the camera acquires focus, or when a single AF point is selected, the active site. Outside the image, there are displays for shutter speed, aperture, exposure lock, exposure compensation for ambient light and flash, metering mode, AF point selection mode, white balance correction, shots remaining in memory, shots remaining in a burst, RAW or JPEG format, Highlight mode, flash ready, flash exposure lock, improper flash exposure lock, battery capacity, and a "busy" indicator, that lights up while the Mark III clears its buffer. In use, this welter of data was not particularly distracting, though we'll need to spend more time with the camera to say more.
 
LCD Screen
The EOS-1D Mark III's 3-inch, 230,000 pixel LCD looked very good in the low light of the Canon booth at the trade show. Color looked good, and the screen has a wide viewing angle. A 3-inch screen looks really big, even on a big-as-they-come DSLR. We found it very useful for checking focus, and the text for menus are bold and readable. The display does not have a higher-resolution than many 2.5-inch LCDs. At 230,000 pixels, it has the same resolution as the unit on the 1D Mark II N, but it's enlarged a bit.
 
The Mark III's live preview mode shows that the big screen has an advantage over its 2.5-inch competitors. We guess that the live preview on the LCD will be used with the camera on a tripod, probably for studio shooting. When a team collaborates on a shot, the large size and wide viewing angle will be easier for a group to look at the images together.
 
 
Flash
The EOS-1D Mark III has no built-in flash, but it accepts dedicated Canon EX flashes. The 580 EX II has a new metal shoe, for durable metal-to-metal contact, and a rubber boot that seals when the flash is attached, making the junction weather resistant. The Mark III also has a PC sync terminal. Standard maximum flash sync is 1/250 of a second, but with the new flash, the Mark III syncs up to 1/300.
 
The Canon EX flash system features excellent backward-compatibility. Recent flashes offer wireless TTL control in a range of configurations. One unit must be attached to the Mark III to act as a commander, controlling the others. The 580 EX II's controls can be operated from the camera interface or the flash's. The 580 EX II also offers non-TTL automation.
 

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Canon EOS-1D Mark III
First Impressions Review
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Previous: Page 2

Physical Tour

Previous: Page 4

Design/Layout