Does your MkIII have AF issues?

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Desert_Watcher
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p.7 #1 · Does your MkIII have AF issues?

Desert_Watcher wrote:
Guys this is URGENT, i've found that some people had other ISSUEs beside the focusing problems, is that true

http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=00LW22
this the link
please could some one check it?

i'm so frustrated, and because i'm waiting for mine

thanks jeff for your response, to be honest we have to be sensitive, if we are spending 4500$ to me jeff i'm a wildlife photographer, and i'm originating from a very hot area, the temprature rises in my country to 55C. this why i went to the 1D line because it should tolerate our harsh weather conditions. eventully i will jump on it, because i've already sold my old MK IIN. and waiting in the long row, i'm just wondering, should i cancel my back order

Edited on Jul 01, 2007 at 10:08 AM

Jun 25, 2007 at 04:57 PM

mill4570
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p.7 #2 · Does your MkIII have AF issues?

Does anyone know for sure if Canon has stopped shipping the camera?

Richard K.

Edited on Jul 01, 2007 at 10:08 AM

Jun 25, 2007 at 05:29 PM

Jim Turner
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p.7 #3 · Does your MkIII have AF issues?

Richard K.

My dealer, Canoga Camera, received some last Friday. Mine is "in the mail".

Jim

Edited on Jul 01, 2007 at 10:08 AM

Jun 25, 2007 at 05:36 PM

susi
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p.7 #4 · Does your MkIII have AF issues?

JIm , try not to look only for the flaws and let that dampen your experience, as this camera is really incredible! ENJOY !!!

Edited on Jul 01, 2007 at 10:08 AM

Jun 25, 2007 at 05:47 PM

jcameron
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p.7 #5 · Does your MkIII have AF issues?

I've shot a few thousand frames, with some "mild" weather Al Servo stuff. Have not seen the problem. And it doesn't work like my previous 1 series. Have seen fantastic improvement from the MkII. I'm a pig in sh*t at this point. The problem may well exist, but I haven't seen it yet.
-jc

Edited on Jul 01, 2007 at 10:08 AM

Jun 25, 2007 at 05:50 PM

Tim Larson
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p.7 #6 · Does your MkIII have AF issues?

I'll try to keep this short.
I shoot paintball tournaments and shot a pro event in Chicago this weekend. Two weekends previous, I shot in lakeland FL in 98 degree (in the sun) weather.
I got the camera about three weeks ago, sat down and set all custom settings as I wanted, took a few test shots and went to the first tournament. Not good. IQ was sweet, in terms of dynamic range and such but the focus problem was evident. I use AI servo since there is so much fast action and it comes right at me.
Experimented between tournaments with lenses, settings, etc. Shot the first day in Chicago with my adjusted settings and, same problem. So much so, that I went back to the 20D for day two and considered the possibility of a problem with the 70-200L IS. Evening of day two, saved my settings in User 2 and RESET all custom settings. I don't have the camera with me now, but I know I set the AI speed one click toward slow and used center point with assist. BOOM. Sweet. Back to 90%+ publishable images. Okay, maybe not that high, but up there.
Suggestion: Don't give up. Start from scratch.
My hypothesis is that something is conflicting in the firmware. One parameter is fighting another and the processor isn't doing its job quickly enough. Keep it simple and go from there. There is still no excuse for this, but we have to do something until they figure it out.
I'll come back with settings tomorrow. Sorry, four hour nap last night and then off to my real job.

Tim

Edited on Jul 01, 2007 at 10:08 AM

Jun 25, 2007 at 06:56 PM

mill4570
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p.7 #7 · Does your MkIII have AF issues?

Jim,
I'm guessing, if Canon believes the problems are hardware related, they would stop shipments because a recall would be in order. If they feel like this problem can be fixed in firmware and may only apply to a percentage of shooting styles, they would continue to ship. As I said, just guessing.

Richard K.

Edited on Jul 01, 2007 at 10:08 AM

Jun 25, 2007 at 06:59 PM

deedee4re
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p.7 #8 · Does your MkIII have AF issues?

Hi Jeff,

Thank you for doing this poll. I ordered a 1D Mark III from Dell 5/4 and, as you can imagine, the ship date continues to be pushed back due to "Production Delays" is what Dell is telling me. My next ship date is 6/29, but I'm not holding my breath.

I was at the Canon repair facility last week getting my 30D sensor cleaned and asked the two reception people if they had many 1D Mark III's in for service. They actually told me - only two and neither were for focusing issues - one was for someone on vacation in Europe dropping the camera (ouch!).

I'm wondering how many posters here with issues have shipped their 1D Mark III's into the Canon Irvine, California facility for focusing and other issues? Can it be they really have only received a couple of cameras?

TIA,

DeeDee G.

Edited on Jul 01, 2007 at 10:08 AM

Jun 25, 2007 at 08:23 PM

rd4tile
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p.7 #9 · Does your MkIII have AF issues?

deedee4re wrote:

I'm wondering how many posters here with issues have shipped their 1D Mark III's into the Canon Irvine, California facility for focusing and other issues? Can it be they really have only received a couple of cameras?

TIA,

DeeDee G.

I'm not sending mine in until Canon says they've identified the issue or Canon makes a blanket statement that nothing is wrong. Otherwise how do you know it will come back fixed. I've yet to see anyone post that they've sent their body in to fix specific tracking issues and that the body has come back fixed. It's too early to assume Canon knows what's wrong.

Edited on Jul 01, 2007 at 10:08 AM

Jun 25, 2007 at 08:51 PM

mlee
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p.7 #10 · Does your MkIII have AF issues?

deedee4re wrote:

I'm wondering how many posters here with issues have shipped their 1D Mark III's into the Canon Irvine, California facility for focusing and other issues? Can it be they really have only received a couple of cameras?

TIA,

DeeDee G.

My 1D3 was in Irvine the week before last for the ERR99 issue.

I'd have to say that they didn't do a very good job taking it apart and/or putting it back together. The heads on several of the screws that hold the the case together are all stripped out now. I let them know of my dis-satisfaction and they said I could ship it back for them to take a look again. I think I'll wait until my second body arrives before I ship the first one back again.

And yes, my unit does have the focusing issue.

Mike

Edited on Jul 01, 2007 at 10:08 AM

Jun 25, 2007 at 08:53 PM

mark1958
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p.7 #11 · Does your MkIII have AF issues?

In regards to focusing problems only (not the ERROR messages), reading all the threads it almost sounds like some people have real camera problems while others just need to tweak the custom functions to optimize for their level of shooting. There are a new couple of posts on the naturescapes.net forum that indicate that Canon may have stopped shipments because of concern of cameras coming from one particular plant having some defects. I am not sure how accurate this information is but starts to make sense.

Edited on Jul 01, 2007 at 10:08 AM

Jun 25, 2007 at 09:43 PM

charles354
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p.7 #12 · Does your MkIII have AF issues?

I know that 2 shops just got some in because they both called me to say my camera was in.
Thanks charles354

Edited on Jul 01, 2007 at 10:08 AM

Jun 25, 2007 at 10:24 PM

deedee4re
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p.7 #13 · Does your MkIII have AF issues?

Geez Mike!

I can't believe they would strip out the screws! That's horrible on this expensive a camera.

I can see how no one would want to send it in yet.

I think I have a 30 day return policy through Dell. I had better check. I just e-mailed my rep. I don't want to have to pay a restocking fee if there is a problem with the camera. I don't think I'd want to bring it in to Canon and have it come back like that!

Thanks for posting,

DeeDee

Edited on Jul 01, 2007 at 10:08 AM

Jun 25, 2007 at 10:46 PM

blackdog714
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p.7 #14 · Does your MkIII have AF issues?

Should I not buy one? I have a 30D now and have owned a Mk II N. Should I wait or just take the plunge?

I was so ready for the Mk III until I heard all of this negative press

Edited on Jul 01, 2007 at 10:08 AM

Jun 26, 2007 at 03:51 AM

nikonafs
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p.7 #15 · Does your MkIII have AF issues?

rscheffler wrote:

That's interesting. Back during the era of the 1D Mark II, over on SportsShooter member Thomas Witte complained of the same thing - softness without any plane of focus anywhere....
I should clarify that his images, when viewed small looked OK, but once enlarged it was clear that where there should be a shallow, crisp plane of focus, there wasn't, resulting in sports photos that looked a bit mushy and would never sharpen with USM to reveal any real detail. It's not that the photos were totally OOF.

Hrm...I'd say this may actually be something like what I'm experiencing. We'll see when Canon NJ returns my camera....

Edited on Jul 01, 2007 at 10:08 AM

Jun 26, 2007 at 03:58 AM

rwalkernm
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p.7 #16 · Does your MkIII have AF issues?

nikonafs wrote:

Hrm...I'd say this may actually be something like what I'm experiencing. We'll see when Canon NJ returns my camera....

I have also been testing my MkIII and I also find some frames (but only rarely) that are out of focus everywhere. Usually, when there is a focus problem, a frame is either front or back-focused, but occasionally it is nowhere-focused. I have convinced myself that the nowhere-focused frames occur when the focus is (sluggishly) shifting from back to front (on objects approaching directly toward me) as the AI servo tries to catch up with the object. Usually, the frame before "nowhere" is back-focused and the frame after it is front-focused.

It is as if the plane of focus is stair-stepping its way towards me, following the object but not very smoothly. The nowhere focused pictures occur as the focus plane is shifting during the time the picture is being taken.

My "test" was the now-popular one: car driving toward me (about 15mph), 135mm lens at f2.0.

I have my CFn III-2 set to moderately slow. I should set it back to normal or even "fast" to see if that's what's happening -- maybe the cause of the stair-stepping sluggishness.

Bob Walker

Edited on Jul 01, 2007 at 10:08 AM

Jun 26, 2007 at 04:35 AM

khurram1
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p.7 #17 · Does your MkIII have AF issues?

I took the attached file (the attached file is a much smaller file then the orignal) to get a 24x36 made from my new Canon 1DIII camera. THe shot was shot at ISO 400, taken at F11 and a shutterspeed of 6secs, with the 70-200 F2.8L IS lens.

When the lab showed me the test strips they told me that there was a lot of pixalation, particularly in the shadow areas and that they would not recommend me printing it larger then 16x24 unless i printed on canvass.

I have had many shots taken with my 1DIIN (shot at ISO 100 and 200), that i have had 20x30 and 24x36 size prints that still looked very sharp.

I had actually thought it was just noise and could have been taken care of with noise reducation software, but was told that they have cleaned it up as much as possible (I wish I kept the test strip so that i could have scanned it).

After making the switch to digital from slides, i still have a lot to learn about digital processing, so i'd appreicate if someone could explain to me possible causes of pixaltion and why i haven't seen this much on any of my previous shots - despite having shot at both high ISO and long shutter speeds for the past year since my switch to digital. i have shot hockey at ISO 1600 with the 1DIIN and horse jumping at ISO 400 and 800 without any issues. I have also taken night shots atISO 400 and 1600 and at 400, i have never seen this much pixelation/noise.

Is the lab right and there is not much i can do

Can it be cleaned up with noise reduction software

Can this be avoided in the future. Is this entirely a result of user error, or could there be an issue with my camera

I'm also finding that shots taken with my 1DIII and the 70-200 f2.8L IS seem a little soft. This does not seem like the same AF issues discussed by Rob Galbraith, as these were not shot using AF Servo mode (all shot using one shot AF). I did not expereince any issues when shooting with the 24-105L and don't know yet if there are any issues with the 16-35L II, as that lens has pretty much attached to my 5D.

Note, i have not experienced any of the other errors or issues that other users have reported. I have not had a chance to shoot any sports yet, so i don't know if there are any issues with the AF servo tracking.

Edited on Jul 01, 2007 at 10:08 AM

Jun 26, 2007 at 04:37 AM

tonyfield
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p.7 #18 · Does your MkIII have AF issues?

It would be interesting to see a 100% crop of the pixelation portion of this excellent image. It might be associated with the blue channel when the blue value is close to zero. It migt be difficult to fix.

Edited on Jul 01, 2007 at 10:08 AM

Jun 26, 2007 at 05:14 AM

khurram1
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p.7 #19 · Does your MkIII have AF issues?

tonyfield wrote:
It would be interesting to see a 100% crop of the pixelation portion of this excellent image. It might be associated with the blue channel when the blue value is close to zero. It migt be difficult to fix.
Tony,
What is the best way to post a 100% crop. Please note that as far as post-processing goes, I have very little experience (something i'm learning i need to remedy), as the only software i have used is Canon' DPP and have been getting my lab to do everything else. The only adjustment i have made to any of my shots is setting the WB, exposure and sharpening in DPP and then converting to a 8bit TIFF file for the lab and they have done everything else for me.

That is why i don't want to attribute the pixalation to the camera at this point (despite not experienced this issue with the 1DIIN, xti or 5D).

Edited on Jul 01, 2007 at 10:08 AM

Jun 26, 2007 at 05:39 AM

rscheffler
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p.7 #20 · Does your MkIII have AF issues?

rwalkernm wrote:

It is as if the plane of focus is stair-stepping its way towards me, following the object but not very smoothly. The nowhere focused pictures occur as the focus plane is shifting during the time the picture is being taken.

Bob, it's interesting you state the situation in this way as I've wondered if perhaps the camera was still driving focus during exposure (though not sure if this is exactly what you mean). My understanding of how AI Servo and predictive AF works is that focus drive is stopped during the moment of exposure then continues again between exposures. In effect the process is always in a state of catch up and overshoot, but if working properly is timed so that the moment of exposure occurs precisely when the subject is entering the plane of focus.

I've been getting mixed results. I'd say on average my results are quite good, but I also get images that while not quite "nowhere" focused, are definitely not as sharp as the lens is capable of rendering.

Ron

Edited on Jul 01, 2007 at 10:08 AM

Jun 26, 2007 at 05:59 AM

Pixel Perfect
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p.7 #21 · Does your MkIII have AF issues?

As long as you can freely take the camera back and exchange it I would buy it if you really want it. Many have had no issues what so ever. Personally I'm in no rush and will wait until October, by which point the 1Ds III or 40D or 5D II may be announced.

Edited on Jul 01, 2007 at 10:08 AM

Jun 26, 2007 at 06:08 AM

rscheffler
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p.7 #22 · Does your MkIII have AF issues?

khurram1 wrote:
I took the attached file (the attached file is a much smaller file then the orignal) to get a 24x36 made from my new Canon 1DIII camera. THe shot was shot at ISO 400, taken at F11 and a shutterspeed of 6secs, with the 70-200 F2.8L IS lens.

Just curious, but did you have long exposure noise reduction set? The Mark III out of the box has that feature disabled, I believe. I tried a 30 second ISO 800 night exposure of the house illuminated with just street lights (sodium vapor), with long exposure noise reduction off and also with Highlight Tone Priority turned on (forgot to turn it off) and found the results, once WB adjusted in DPP to be quite noisy, especially in the darker tones (but perhaps not such a surprise since Canon warns of possible noise issues with HTP enabled).

Edited on Jul 01, 2007 at 10:08 AM

Jun 26, 2007 at 06:12 AM

Yakim Peled
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p.7 #23 · Does your MkIII have AF issues?

I have a question for all those who got nothing in focus. Did you set C.Fn III - 3 to 0? According to the manual it's suppose to prevent this phenomena.

Happy shooting,
Yakim.

Edited on Jul 01, 2007 at 10:08 AM

Jun 26, 2007 at 06:59 AM

Alistair Watson
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p.7 #24 · Does your MkIII have AF issues?

Yakim Peled wrote:
I have a question for all those who got nothing in focus. Did you set C.Fn III - 3 to 0? According to the manual it's suppose to prevent this phenomena.

I never felt like this worked for me. Yes the first shot in a burst was always very sharp but the remainder were hit and miss, usually miss - not by much but enough to make the images useless. Changing cfn III 3 from 0 to 1 and back, made very little difference.

Edited on Jul 01, 2007 at 10:08 AM

Jun 26, 2007 at 08:47 AM

Yakim Peled
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p.7 #25 · Does your MkIII have AF issues?

Alistair101 wrote:
Yakim Peled wrote:
I have a question for all those who got nothing in focus. Did you set C.Fn III - 3 to 0? According to the manual it's suppose to prevent this phenomena.

I never felt like this worked for me. Yes the first shot in a burst was always very sharp but the remainder were hit and miss, usually miss - not by much but enough to make the images useless. Changing cfn III 3 from 0 to 1 and back, made very little difference.

Then it seems that this C.Fn is not working properly. IMHO this is unacceptable in such an expensive piece of equipment.

Happy shooting,
Yakim.

Edited on Jul 01, 2007 at 10:08 AM

Jun 26, 2007 at 09:07 AM


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