Canon EOS-1D Mark III Digital Camera Review

Canon EOS-1D Mark III

First Impressions Review

Mar 09, 2007 - By Patrick Singleton
4.3 The Canon EOS-1D Mark III introduces several leaps in technology, including something for nearly every kind of professional photographer. The most striking is its combination of speed and file size – it shoots 10.1-megapixel images at 10 frames per second – a clear advantage in sports and photojournalism. It adds live preview on a 3-inch LCD for studio photographers and a reduced-size RAW file for wedding photographers. Canon reps at the Photo Marketing Association trade show said the price hasn't been set, but they emphasized that the camera it replaces – the 1D Mark II N – goes for $4000.
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Canon EOS-1D Mark III


Auto Mode
The EOS-1D Mark III offers a Program mode that sets both aperture and shutter speed. In Program mode, it has a shift function to change the aperture/shutter speed combination without altering the exposure value. It also has a custom function to adjust ISO automatically when a proper exposure isn't possible at the manually-set value. The Mark III automates focus and white balance as well. Unlike many entry-level and prosumer models, it does not have a simple mode.

Movie Mode
The EOS-1D Mark III does not have a movie mode, but its live preview feature indicates that it could. The live preview refreshes 30 times per second, about the frame rate of standard video. The live preview can be fed over a network link for computer control, so it's likely that someone will kludge a system to record the live feed. It wouldn't have sound, and would be manual focus, but some people have a lot of time on their hands.

Drive / Burst Mode
It sure seemed as though the EOS-1D Mark III hit its designated 10 frames per second and took more than 100 JPEGs. The Mark III can be set for slower burst rates, single-frame shooting and a “silent” mode, which significantly lowers the camera's volume. In silent mode, the mirror stays up until the user lets go of the shutter release. When the mirror flops back down, it moves more slowly, and that's the change that cuts down the noise. The Mark III also has an adjustable self-timer.

Playback Mode
The EOS-1D Mark III displays images singly, or in 4-up or 9-up thumbnail mode. It magnifies images up to 10x, which is enough to judge sharpness for most uses. The Mark III has 4 information display screens in playback, showing shooting data and RGB and luminance histograms. The image skip function jumps 1, 10 or 100 images at a time, and can also be set to jump between shooting dates and folders. It can also show highlight warnings and record memos to associate with images.

The Mark III will also copy and back up images in playback mode. Single images, groups and whole cards can be deleted, and there is an image protect feature. 

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