Canon EOS-1D Mark III

Connectivity
Software
The EOS-1D Mark III will ship with The EOS DIGITAL Solution Disk, and it bundles an image browser, editing software, a panorama maker, a RAW file converter and software for remote camera control, which will include remote live view. The software wasn't available at PMA, but our full review will discuss it in detail.

Jacks, Ports, Plugs
The EOS-1D Mark III features USB 2.0 connectivity, analog video output, wired remote control, a port for network connectivity (wired or wireless), dedicated flash connection, and straight flash sync.

Direct Print Options
The EOS-1D Mark III is DPOF and PictBridge compatible. The Mark III drops support for Canon's proprietary Bubblejet Direct and CP Direct protocols. It offers PictBridge printing of its own RAW and sRAW files, as well as page layout options and printing effects.

Battery
With the EOS-1D Mark III, Canon jumped to lithium-ion cells for its pro camera. Lithium batteries are lighter, smaller, and more powerful than comparable NiMH batteries, the chemistry Canon had been using. Canon has made the battery smart. It displays a more accurate charge status than previous batteries, records the number of shots that have been taken with it, records the number of times it has been charged, and indicates when it should be "conditioned" for optimal capacity.

Memory
The EOS-1D Mark III accepts the latest standards for both Compact Flash and SD memory media, so it accepts the highest-capacity cards available. CF and SD are the most common memory formats available. They are proven, relatively inexpensive, and the typical Mark III buyer already has a pile of them.

The Mark III can be configured to write to media in a number of ways. If both CF and SD (or SDHC) cards are in the camera, it can write images to both, creating a backup. It can write RAW files to one and JPEG to the other. Or, it can write to one until it's full, then switch to the other.

Other Features
Dust Reduction - The EOS-1D Mark III uses two piezo motors to shake dust from its infrared cutoff filter. The IR filter is separate from the low pass filters, which makes the component that's shaken lighter. The dust removal routine takes about 4 seconds. While the filter shakes, the shutter cycles 3 times, to shake off any dust that it might carry. Tapping the shutter release ends the routine if the user can't wait to take a shot.

More efficient chip layout – The EOS-1D Mark III's CMOS chip devotes more of its surface to light-sensitive photo-receptors. The design packs more receptors in the same area, but because it wastes less space, the receptors are still as large as the ones on the 1Ds.

Excellent Environmental Seals -- Canon put gaskets between the components of the EOS-1D Mark III's surface and sealed its jacks and ports well, too. A rubber cowling around the new flash's shoe completes the barrier.

Optional WFT-E2 Wireless Adaptor - The optional wireless module WFT-E2 will allow live downloads of images as they are shot, and remote control of the camera with live view. We're excited to see this feature, and to see how the live view looks on a computer screen. How much bandwidth the live view uses will be a key issue, because it will compete with file transfers for throughput.

Highlight preservation – We haven't tested it, so we really don't know if it works, but the EOS-1D Mark III has a mode to retain highlight detail as part of image processing.