Canon EOS 1D Mark III Review

In May 2009, Canon USA was kind enough to lend me a Canon EOS 1D Mark III to review and test for this site.

When first unpacking the 1D III, the first thing that one notices is the outstanding build quality and feel of this camera in your hands. The rubber textures feel very substantial, unmatched by any other EOS body I have held. The camera also has the battery grip built in, so you have smooth lines without any gaps. Here is a comparison of the 5D with battery grip and the 1D III

and another photo of the Canon 1D III vs 50D

As you can see the camera is substantially larger than the 50D, however smaller than the 5D + battery grip.

The Canon 1D III was released in May 2007, two years ago. How does the camera hold up after two years? I’d say there are some mixed results. While the cameras fit and finish can’t be beat, the screen and resolution are starting to show their age.

When comparing the 50D or 5D II screen to the 1D, its very obvious what a benefit the higher resolution screen provides. Being brighter, more detailed, and having great color allows the photographer to review shots with better accuracy in determining whether they’re satisfied with the shot.

Shooting Performance
When using the 1D III for sports, you have some decisions to make. When looking in the view finder, you have 19 Focus points. This is where the camera starts to get complicated. You have to choose a variety of settings, figuring out if you want all the focus points, just one, one with surrounding points and if so how many surrounding points for assist. I tend to use the center focus point and usually 4 assist points around that center point.

There are a variety of other settings to choose from, such as the tracking speed and how easily the focus will shift from one subject to another. These options were above and beyond what I could use in my daily shooting, these are very specific settings meant for professional photographers to really dial in their settings for any given event. Its overkill for a standard user, and likely would not be used due to its complexity.

How accurate was the focus?
It took me a couple tries to get used to the focus system on the camera, after all its capable of taking 10 photos a second, and keeping a focus point on a fast moving subject can be difficult no matter what camera.

My first series had great accuracy, although due to photographer error, I often wound up with focus on the back of my subject.

However, I was quickly able to adapt to this high rate of speed and keep up with my subject. I was able to capture very accurate photos, and had an extremely high keeper rate. I was using the EF 70-200 2.8 non IS for most of these shots.

I found the focus to be incredibly fast, you press the focus button and the lens snaps accurately in AI Servo or one shot focus mode.

In proper light, this camera will have every shot in focus, with almost a 100% keeper rate.

One Shot Focus
Which brings me to the next point… One shot focus mode on this camera is unbeatable. No matter which lens I used, this focus system is extremely accurate in all but the darkest of environments. Even at night, with very little ambient light, I was able to get incredibly well focused shots. These shots would have been impossible without a speedlite focus assist lamp on any other body.

This shot was taken without a focus assist, and was taken only with ambient light. The exif info is:
amera: Canon EOS-1D Mark III
Exposure: 0.013 sec (1/80)
Aperture: f/2.8
Focal Length: 51 mm
ISO Speed: 6400

The ISO 6400 shot is still very clean and usable, and the accuracy of the focus even in a low light situation is certainly something to write home about. If you shoot a lot of natural light portraits this camera will certainly be of use to you.

ISO settings
When the 1D III came out, ISO 6400 was a pretty impressive specification. Given the results that can now be obtained with the 5D II at 25,600 ISO, the 6400 ISO is dated on this camera. The ISO performance on the 1D III however is superior in terms of IQ when compared to the 50D. The 50D’s noise is substantially greater than the 1D III.

Resolution
at 10 Megapixels, the resolution isn’t mind blowing but its not terrible either. The camera shows very little noise at any ISO. I don’t think you could use this camera to make massive landscape prints though. The added megapixels from the 5D II or 50D help add a lot of extra resolution to fill up those large prints. I’m sure Canon has a substantial resolution upgrade in store for the 1D IV.

Performance
The first time you press the 1D III’s shutter and have ten photos taken in one second will have you in awe. Yes this camera is ridiculously fast, it can take so many photos that people think you’re either using a machine gun or filming a scene.

The burst speed inundates the photographer with so many photos it becomes difficult to wade through them all to find the best ones. If I go shoot a friend playing tennis (see above) I end up with 500 shots of various motions in a swing. Taking 10 photos a second lets you get shots you would not otherwise be able to get, but this is also using the “spray and prey” technique. Theres a time and place for it, and I think that shooting scenes like NFL players etc.. would be quite handy to shoot 10 fps. You might be able to capture split second expressions lost on a slower camera.

While the 1D III takes 40% more photos per second than a 50D, I didn’t find that I captured so many more photos that were worthy of paying a huge price premium for the 10 FPS vs 6.3 FPS of the 50D.

Battery life
The battery is a very large battery that basically can take 1,000′s of photos without needing a recharge. Its performance was unique, and certainly made the 1D III a breeze to just grab and go without worrying about charged batteries. In the last six months, I’ve had the 50D battery run out on me a few times and had to stop taking photos as a result. With the 1D III, you can fill a memory card before you’d run out of battery power.

APS-H v APS-C v Full Frame
The Canon 1D III is a 1.3x Crop APS-H sensor, less crop than the 50D but more then a full frame 5D.
A comparison at the same focal length of these views are below:

Conclusion:
The 1D III certainly is a nice camera, as I said earlier the build can’t be beat. When you’re using it, you know you are getting great exposures and accurate focus. The 1.3x crop doesn’t ruin the wide end of your wide angle lenses. The sound the shutter makes, is undeniably unique, quiet, and professional – especially compared to a rebel.

Is the 1D III for an amateur? Not really. The camera is a technology tour de force, however, there are just too many options and features that would likely never be used. A camera such as the 5D II provides a lot more resolution, ISO performance, and the ability to really go wide on your wide angle lenses. Extra resolution , iso, and lens performance at a much lower price.

The 1D III is for low light shooters, people who need to capture as many frames of a scene as possible, and who need to be able to track specific sports conditions by fine tuning their focus. The camera is great, but its showing its age now after two years. I think the camera sums up as, 1) top build quality, 2) excellent focus performance even in low light, 3) ability to capture 10 photos per second in high speed situations. Anything else such as tethered shooting can be performed by using a Rebel, 50D or 5D II.

I prefer to use my 5D over the 1D, but I prefer the 1D over the 50D. The sound of the shutter is very addicting, and I certainly can appreciate the quality of the components used in the 1D III. I just don’t think its a necessary camera for amateur photographers.

If you want greater one shot auto focus on your rebel, xx, or 5D then just use a 580ex II’s focus assist. If your looking for sports photography, use a 50D, and if you’re doing landscapes the 5D beats the 1D III hands down.

I want to thank Canon again for providing me with a 1D III to test and use in writing this review.