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overview canon eos 1d mark III

Pros: --

Cons: --

Posted: February 25, 2007

At a glance, you really can't tell the difference between the Canon EOS 1D Mark II N and the Canon EOS 1D Mark III. They're both large, cut an imposing profile, and look like high quality instruments. Even the name looks similar. But look more closely and there are different design accents and, new buttons, new button arrangements, and a nice big three-inch LCD.

But the exterior is more similar to the Mark II N than the interior. Canon says the Mark III was redesigned from the ground up; and I believe it. There are so many changes in the Mark III that it's a little tough to know where to start. Writing about a camera like the 1D Mark III after only a day is a little like writing a report on a textbook on the first day of class. So I haven't delved into every custom function, or its potential impact on each of the settings I'll comment on. That will come, but later. Also, note that this is a prototype camera, and anything is subject to change as they finalize the camera before its release
Quoting the bare specs says a lot: 10 frames per second, 10 megapixels, 110 JPEG buffer, three inch LCD, Live View mode, dual DIGIC III processors, automatic sensor cleaning. These are all impressive, but the Mark II N was pretty darn impressive, too. What I'm more excited about is the radical interface improvements that make all this impressive power more accessible to the photographer. If I have to think too much about how to set the camera while I'm shooting, I lose connection with my subject, and the creative process is stifled.

As it was, going out to shoot our usual Gallery shots left me feeling a little frustrated. The 1D Mark III is far more sophisticated than any of my snapshots of inanimate objects could convey, and my limited time wouldn't allow me to get truly creative and explore the vast possibilities with a camera of this caliber. But the Galleries aren't intended to show any artistic ability; they're taken to give you a sample shot of something textured and colorful with the camera in the daylight. Let's just say I was wishing I had a week in the Sierras, four days with models in a studio, three days with the same models on a beach, 36 hours photographing bears in Alaska, and a weekend at the racetrack. Just me and the Mark III.

But I did the next best thing, and closer to my heart: I took some pictures of my kids in my makeshift studio in the basement. Righteous. ...