27.01.09
Canon EOS-1D MkIII Review
The Canon EOS-1D Mark III can shoot at 10 frames-per-second. That means that by the time you finish reading this sentence it can take 20 pictures. By the time you reach the end of this paragraph, it has the capability to take over 100. It is the world’s fastest DSLR and, regardless of what else you might think about it, you can’t fail to be impressed by its technological prowess.
As an EOS-1D Mark II owner, I was keen to get to grips with the Mark III and it’s safe to say that on first acquaintance the new model seems very similar to the old, despite Canon’s claims that it’s a ground-up rebuild. Like its predecessor, the MkIII is a real brute – well over 1kg with the battery pack on board. The weather-sealed magnesium alloy body is probably strong enough to knock nails in. If you’re considering an upgrade from a MkII then you’ll be used to this weight, but if you’re moving up from something like an EOS 30D you’ll need to get your wrists and neck in training to handle the increase.
Despite its bulk, the MkIII feels wonderful in the hand. The two rubberised, contoured grips – one each for horizontal and vertical shooting – give you bags of purchase and it simply feels ‘right’; there’s no better word for it. Viewfinder quality is great as well – large, bright, informative, all you really need.
Start fiddling with the multitude of controls and changes over the MkII become very apparent. There’s some obvious stuff, like the three-inch LCD on the back, as opposed to the MkII’s rather paltry 1.8in offering, but equally useful is the way in which the switchgear has been simplified. Take ISO setting, for example. On the MkII this involves simultaneously pressing two buttons on the left of the top-plate while turning the input dial on the right.
On the MkIII you press the ISO button once, then turn the dial to the desired sensitivity. It’s a small but significant change that has been repeated on the majority of buttons around the camera. The same applies to the menu system on the rear LCD – it’s all just one button pressing.
Functions-wise, there are far too many to go into here, although if you come seeking exposure modes, you’re likely to feel short-changed. There’s the big four – program, aperture-priority, shutter-priority and manual – and that’s it.
Comically, you can even use one of the 57 (that’s right 57) custom functions to turn all bar one of the exposure modes off. The same applies with the four metering options so, in theory, you can turn this £3000 slice of über-technology into a 1970s 35mm SLR with just manual exposure and centre-weighted metering.
On all other fronts, the MkIII is pleasingly well endowed, rather like Pamela Anderson, I suppose. It’s good to see that the sensor cleaning function from the EOS 400D has made its way across the Canon factory floor and into the MkIII, plus there is a whole host of other goodies to get your teeth into. See the specification list left for the full low-down.
The aforementioned custom functions offer an incredible amount of user-defined control and really enable you to set the camera up to your precise photographic requirements, whether it’s choosing what a particular button does or how long the delay is on the self-timer.
The fact that the 57 custom functions offer 156 different options may sound daunting, but the menu system is excellent, providing a brief description of each function and the options available to you. The same applies to the other, more regularly used functions that are accessed through the same rear LCD menu.
So let’s get down to the nitty-gritty and how the camera performs. Being honest, the quality of images from the EOS-1D MkIII sparked much debate in the PM office. Feedback from retailers and professionals suggested that early examples of the camera were failing to live up to expectations, most notably around the sharpness of images. Given this, we chose to return our sample to Canon for calibration, prior to doing our tests, to ensure that it was absolutely as it should be.
In my experience as a MkII user, I found the MkIII to deliver similar results in terms of sharpness. Raw and JPEG files plucked straight from the CompactFlash card do tend to have an inherent softness to them. Canon, it appears, errs towards smoothness of tones and accuracy of colours rather than ultimate definition. Sharpness can, of course, be bumped up if that’s what you prefer either in-camera through the Picture Styles menu or post production using the bundled Digital Photo Professional (see panel on page 111), Photoshop or another image-editing program. There’s little doubt, however, that MkIII images do not have the biting clarity that you get from Nikon DSLRs.
In most other aspects, the MkIII performs admirably. The ability to shoot at 10 frames-per-second is astonishing, not to mention extremely addictive. Very little seems to faze the AF system, which can be as bespoke as most other functions on the camera. The 19 focusing points – each one of which can be individually selected – and 26 AF assist points work hard to deliver a rapid and accurate performance. A quick glance at our sequence of shots taken with the camera firing at full tilt confirms that the AF can keep with a slow moving object. But in another test, when I photographed my dog running straight towards me, less than 50 per cent of the images were sharp.
Metering wise, the 63-zone evaluative system is virtually flawless. Few situations that I presented the MkIII with caused any significant problems, but with both partial (12.5 per cent) and spot metering (3.8 per cent) options also available, you have the tools to cope with anything. As with most DSLRs, you shouldn’t rely too heavily on the rear LCD to assess exposure accuracy. In the MkIII’s case, the LCD suggested images were consistently underexposing, although this wasn’t the case once the shots were on a computer.
More impressive still are the levels of noise. Check out our comparison shots above to see for yourself. They cover the standard range from ISO 100 to 3200, but the Mark III also offers an H setting (again accessed through a custom function) to deliver the equivalent of ISO 6400.
While noise is unavoidable at such sensitivities, in the Mark III it certainly isn’t invasive, making this the first camera that I’d be happy to rely on at the highest ISO setting.
VERDICT
There’s much to like about the EOS-1D Mark III. The handling, for example, is sublime. The complex button pressing of the 1D MkII has completely disappeared, replaced instead with a simplified layout that’s really easy to navigate through the MkIII’s multitude of features. Metering accuracy and noise suppression are also virtually peerless, I can’t think of another DSLR that’s as consistently accurate and grain-free with its results.
That said, there’s no getting away from the fact that some aspects of its performance are disappointing, especially when you consider the £3000 price tag. Image sharpness and autofocus performance on really fast moving objects are somewhat less than impressive. The former can be sorted to some extent in post production, the latter cannot. You could argue that at this price point you shouldn’t expect to worry about either.
So, the Mark III may be the world’s fastest DSLR in terms of image capture – this fact cannot be denied – but this is not backed up by the world’s fastest autofocusing system.
Pros: Handling, impressive noise control at high ISO sensitivities, metering accuracy, wide (if a little daunting) range of custom functions, good bundled software
Cons: AF accuracy on fast-moving objects, slight softness to unprocessed images, price tag
SPECIFICATION
Street price: £3000 body only
Distributor: www.canon.co.uk
Resolution: 10.1 effective megapixels
Lens mount: Canon EF
Focal length: magnification: 1.3x
Sensor: 28.1x18.7mm CMOS with self-cleaning system
Autofocus: 19 cross-type AF points, 26 assist AF points
Exposure system: 63 zone evaluative (linked to any AF point), partial (13.5%), spot metering (3.8%), centre-weighted
Exposure modes: Program, shutter-priority, aperture-priority, manual; compensation +/-3 stops in 1/2 and 1/3 EV steps, auto exposure bracketing
ISO range: 100-3200 in 1/3 EV steps, expandable to ISO 50 and 6400 through custom functions
Shutter: 30-1/8000sec, plus B. Flash sync at 1/300sec
White-balance settings: Auto, daylight, shade, cloudy, tungsten, fluorescent, flash, custom (5 settings), colour temperature, personal WB. White-balance bracketing
Monitor: 3in TFT with Live View and selectable grid and aspect ratio markings
Image file formats: JPEG (L, M1, M2 and S), Canon Raw and sRaw
Image sizes: 3888x2592 (L), 3456x2304 (M1), 2816x1880 (M2), 1936x1288 (S)
Storage media: CompactFlash Type I/II, SDHC, SD (up to 2GB), external media (with optional Wireless File Transmitter WFT-E2)
Shooting speeds: Up to 10 frames-per-second for up to 110 JPEG or 30 Raw images
Other features: 57 custom functions with 156 settings
Interface: USB 2.0
Battery: LP-E4 rechargeable Li-ion delivering approximately 2200 shots at 23°C and 1700 shots at 0°C
Dimensions (wxhxd): 156x156.6x79.9mm
Weight: 1335g including body and battery
ADDITITONAL SOFTWARE
Canon has always been generous on the bundled software front, and so it proves with the EOS-1D Mark III. For simple browsing and printing of images, the ZoomBrowser EX and ImageBrowser programs will serve you well. They’re fairly basic, but do the job. In addition, you get PhotoStitch panoramic software and EOS Utility, which includes a remote shooting facility.
Raw processing is taken care of by Digital Photo Professional (DPP), which is probably the best software of its kind that doesn’t involve any additional outlay. Both PC and Apple Macintosh compatible, DPP is no Photoshop replacement, but it allows you to quickly view and batch process a large quantity of Raw files thanks to a simple, user-friendly interface.
At the time of writing, DPP is also the only method of converting the MkIII’s new sRaw format, which enables you to get more Raw files on a card. Don’t get too excited, though, it does this by creating a smaller file size – approximately 7MB as opposed to a full-sized 29MB file. The benefit is more likely to be for press photographers, rather than those seeking high-image quality.
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