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1D MkIII Poll #3: Does yours have AF issues?
<#505xxx: YES, it has AF issues		27	2%
#505xxx - 509xxx: YES, it has AF issues		9	1%
#510xxx - 514xxx: YES, it has AF issues		20	1%
#515xxx - 519xxx: YES, it has AF issues		15	1%
#520xxx - 524xxx: YES, it has AF issues		22	2%
#525xxx - 529xxx: YES, it has AF issues		16	1%
>#530xxx: YES, it has AF issues -------------------------		10	1%
<#505xxx: NO, it works as advertised		20	1%
#505xxx - 509xxx: NO, it works as advertised		18	1%
#510xxx - 514xxx: NO, it works as advertised		23	2%
#515xxx - 519xxx: NO, it works as advertised		25	2%
#520xxx - 524xxx: NO, it works as advertised		34	2%
#525xxx - 529xxx: NO, it works as advertised		20	1%
>#530xxx: NO, it works as advertised		23	2%
[I don't plan on owning a MkIII; show me the results.]		1104	80%
Total Votes		1386	100%

Archive 2007 · •Poll v3.1: MkIII have AF issues?

Kier
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p.29 #1 · •Poll v3.1: MkIII have AF issues?

Monique wrote:
lidesun wrote:
Jeff wrote:
Normcar21 wrote:
I have never seen a shot like the one posted above where there is absolutely no position of focus, either front or rear, where it is camera error.

I never had either until I got my MkIII...

SOOOOOO absolutely correct !

I ditto that!
Same here - this kind of picture exemplifies the MkIII experience.

Sep 16, 2007 at 01:35 PM

Garylv
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p.29 #2 · •Poll v3.1: MkIII have AF issues?

Jeff wrote:
I never had either until I got my MkIII...

I see those too, Jeff. Saw it again this weekend. There was another thread over at dpr where someone posted the same thing with an example. People were trying to figure it out. Fortunately it doesn't happen very often.

If they can fix the darn servo focusing, I'll live with those bizarre total OOF shots once in a while, because when the Mark III works good the photos are great.

It must not be all cameras otherwise everyone would have seen it by now. Unless they're just disgarding it as a typical OOF shot from user error. Don't know.

Sep 16, 2007 at 02:33 PM

Lars Johnsson
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p.29 #3 · •Poll v3.1: MkIII have AF issues?

I don't get it !!!!!
You can see a shot where everything is OOF and a lot of people say that this is proof that something i wrong with the MKIII camera ?

I have got shots like this with every camera that I have owned or used since I started with photography.

(I'm not saying the camera is good because I have never owned one, so I don't know)

Sep 16, 2007 at 02:44 PM

Garylv
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p.29 #4 · •Poll v3.1: MkIII have AF issues?

Lars Johnsson wrote:
But why not replace it when it's under warranty and maybe get one that is 100% good

80-90% isn't good enough for an expensive camera.
And if no fix is coming, will you still keep a camera that only works good 80-90% of the time

Is Canon replacing these with no hassle? I was under the impression you had to send it in to a service center, let them monkey around with it trying to fix the focusing issues (which they haven't solved yet), and when they finally give up they'll replace the camera. But how many trips to the service center will that take? And how long is that without the camera?

While I'm waiting for Canon to come up with a focus issue fix, I can continue to use the camera in the conditions where it excels (lower light). I used it for two night-time Football games this weekend, having ISO 3200 that clean is awesome.

I think many of us are waiting on this next firmware upgrade. This is the one that's in direct response to all Rob Galbraith's work on the Servo focus issue. At least that's the impression he's giving us. And it sounds like that from all the other reports (Osaka etc).

If this one doesn't fix it, then I'll seek to get a refund or some kind of replacement. Although I'm not convinced a replacement MarkIII is going to be any better. And the Mark II's are not available new anymore. What a mess......

Make that.... what a FREAKIN' mess!!!

Edited by Garylv on Sep 16, 2007 at 02:49 PM GMT

Edited by Garylv on Sep 16, 2007 at 02:52 PM GMT

Sep 16, 2007 at 02:46 PM

Garylv
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p.29 #5 · •Poll v3.1: MkIII have AF issues?

Lars Johnsson wrote:
I have got shots like this with every camera that I have owned or used since I started with photography.

I wasn't exactly sure but I suspected that might be happening with other cameras too. I just hadn't seen it before.

Also Lars, this is not the issue everyone is complaining about with the Mark III. (you probably already know)

Sep 16, 2007 at 02:47 PM

Lars Johnsson
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p.29 #6 · •Poll v3.1: MkIII have AF issues?

Garylv wrote:
Lars Johnsson wrote:
But why not replace it when it's under warranty and maybe get one that is 100% good

80-90% isn't good enough for an expensive camera.
And if no fix is coming, will you still keep a camera that only works good 80-90% of the time

Is Canon replacing these with no hassle? I was under the impression you had to send it in to a service center, let them monkey around with it trying to fix the focusing issues (which they haven't solved yet), and when they finally give up they'll replace the camera. But how many trips to the service center will that take? And how long is that without the camera?

While I'm waiting for Canon to come up with a focus issue fix, I can continue to use the camera in the conditions where it excels (lower light). I used it for two night-time Football games this weekend, having ISO 3200 that clean is awesome.

I think many of us are waiting on this next firmware upgrade. This is the one that's in direct response to all Rob Galbraith's work on the Servo focus issue. At least that's the impression he's giving us. And it sounds like that from all the other reports (Osaka etc).

If this one doesn't fix it, then I'll seek to get a refund or some kind of replacement. Although I'm not convinced a replacement MarkIII is going to be any better. And the Mark II's are not available new anymore. What a mess......

Make that.... what a FREAKIN' mess!!!

Edited by Garylv on Sep 16, 2007 at 02:49 PM GMT

Edited by Garylv on Sep 16, 2007 at 02:52 PM GMT

I don't know if it's easy to get these cameras repaired or replaced. And neither will you if you never try.

And you have already got new firmware and it didn't help.

Sep 16, 2007 at 02:58 PM

Garylv
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p.29 #7 · •Poll v3.1: MkIII have AF issues?

Lars Johnsson wrote:
And you have already got new firmware and it didn't help.

But Lars, remember now, the firmware upgrade so far was not in response to all the servo focusing complaints and Rob Galbraith's information sent to Canon Japan. Chuck Westfall made that clear with the previous firmware.

This next one is. So this is the one most people are waiting for. We don't know, but it could be just a few days away. RG has it and is testing it also.

Sep 16, 2007 at 03:04 PM

Lars Johnsson
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p.29 #8 · •Poll v3.1: MkIII have AF issues?

And Canon will never make a statement that a new firmware is released because of Rob G. info or AI servo problems.

Sep 16, 2007 at 03:10 PM

Lars Johnsson
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p.29 #9 · •Poll v3.1: MkIII have AF issues?

But Canon did say this and include this text with the new firmware.

""Reduces the tendency to autofocus on the background instead of the main subject when shooting in AI Servo AF under certain conditions""

Sep 16, 2007 at 03:13 PM

Garylv
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p.29 #10 · •Poll v3.1: MkIII have AF issues?

Lars Johnsson wrote:
But Canon did say this and include this text with the new firmware.

""Reduces the tendency to autofocus on the background instead of the main subject when shooting in AI Servo AF under certain conditions""

That's not the issue we're all waiting for. That was a problem Canon said they identified themselves, and there have been users reporting a little improvement in that one specific area. That's not what all the fuss is about though.

And you are correct, Canon will not actually admit the problem unless they decide a recall is necessary. (I hope that's not the case).

Lars, this will get you up to speed on the issue, it's the most detailed and well written article about the Mark III's focusing trouble.
http://www.robgalbraith.com/bins/multi_page.asp?cid=7-8740-9068

Be sure to read the latest update, August 29th. You can jump right to it from the main page if you wish.

Sep 16, 2007 at 03:20 PM

Lars Johnsson
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p.29 #11 · •Poll v3.1: MkIII have AF issues?

Jeff wrote:
Actually, the first 75 pages of this thread would help, too...

Maybe replacing the camera or repairing it would help also

Instead of writing about the problems every day for months

Sep 16, 2007 at 05:32 PM

Garylv
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p.29 #12 · •Poll v3.1: MkIII have AF issues?

Lars Johnsson wrote:

Maybe replacing the camera or repairing it would help also

Instead of writing about the problems every day for months

I know it probably appears that way to some other people too, and they're probably wondering the same thing. But honest, Canon doesn't have a fix yet. Some people have reported sending their cameras in and it comes back with the same trouble.

Needless to say it's probably pretty frustrating when people receive it back with no real improvement on this particular issue.

There have been a couple people who sent theirs in for other types of general focus issues, such has having trouble in all lighting conditions, One Shot and Servo, and reported improvement there. But that's not the same as the reported Servo focusing issue many people are experiencing.

As you say, we could try, but until I hear they have actually fixed at least one camera with the specific bright sun Servo focus issue, I think it's an exercise in futility.

I'm glad I had the camera on hand this weekend, low light performance is great. ISO 3200 is very usable even without noise reduction (or very little), provided the exposure level was correct.

As mentioned, there is a new firmware upgrade most likely just days away, or hopefully within a couple of weeks. Then we'll see.

Sep 16, 2007 at 06:20 PM

Monique
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p.29 #13 · •Poll v3.1: MkIII have AF issues?

Lars Johnsson wrote:
I don't get it !!!!!
You can see a shot where everything is OOF and a lot of people say that this is proof that something i wrong with the MKIII camera ?

I have got shots like this with every camera that I have owned or used since I started with photography.

(I'm not saying the camera is good because I have never owned one, so I don't know)

If you have a bad copy, you will get it, believe me, you will

Sep 16, 2007 at 06:21 PM

Lars Johnsson
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p.29 #14 · •Poll v3.1: MkIII have AF issues?

So why don't you return the camera to the shop and get a refund. Like you do at B&H and a lot of other shops even if it don't have any fault that you can show them. And if you can show any fault, every shop will take it back of course.
Why do everyone here like to keep their faulty cameras

Or do you say that every camera has this fault

Sep 16, 2007 at 06:25 PM

Garylv
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p.29 #15 · •Poll v3.1: MkIII have AF issues?

I'd like to follow up a bit on that strange total OOF occurrence some of us have seen. I don't have my examples because I usually pick the selection of photos I'm going to keep and delete the rest. And I've already done that for those sessions.

But I don't believe it's actually caused by the camera adjusting the focal plane via the lens. If it is, then the 300 f2.8 has a secret Macro mode that everybody has overlooked all these years.

The reason I say that is because the scene is so out of focus, that the lens would have to be focused about 1 foot in front of me to produce those results. And that also means the lens is going outside the range of the focus distance limiter switch.

If the lens is racking the focus out that much, there's no way you won't see it through the viewfinder. I've seen it in a burst where the photo before it and after it were fine. There's no way the lens moved that much on one photo without seeing it.

So I think it's some other kind of camera malfunction in the way the image is recorded or processed. Next time I'll keep the burst to demonstrate it. This is not your usual out of focus image where the focus grabbed the background or something like that. Very different. Fortunately it doesn't happen very often.

Edited by Garylv on Sep 16, 2007 at 08:42 PM GMT

Sep 16, 2007 at 06:41 PM

Lars Johnsson
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p.29 #16 · •Poll v3.1: MkIII have AF issues?

The lens can not have focus 1 foot in front of you, so that didn't happen of course. A few meters yes, a foot no.

But you didn't answer. Why don't you replace your camera ? Or get a refund and buy a new ? Do you belive every camera has the same fault or ?

Sep 16, 2007 at 06:49 PM

Garylv
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p.29 #17 · •Poll v3.1: MkIII have AF issues?

Lars, I was way past the return period by the time I figured out what was going on.

Remember, this is an issue that is difficult to figure out at first, because it goes against what most photographers would expect. Nobody expects a camera to have certain focusing trouble in only good lighting. So who suspected the camera?

You have great results in some sessions, poor results in others. Who would expect good lighting to be the trouble? That's why most people couldn't figure out what was going on at first. It makes you think maybe you just need to tweak the settings or get used to the camera.

That's when RG finally helped everyone see when the trouble most occurs. Once you know what to look for, then you can see the trouble easily. What we should have done, is heeded RG's warning about the preproduction model. I won't be an early adopter of new cameras anymore.

Sep 16, 2007 at 06:50 PM

Lars Johnsson
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p.29 #18 · •Poll v3.1: MkIII have AF issues?

The return period is one year if the camera has any fault. Good luck with your camera or the replacement.

Sep 16, 2007 at 06:55 PM

Garylv
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p.29 #19 · •Poll v3.1: MkIII have AF issues?

Lars Johnsson wrote:
The return period is one year if the camera has any fault. Good luck with your camera or the replacement.

But isn't that Canon's return period? Not the vendor's.

I have quite a bit of confidence Canon will figure this out and correct it. If a replacement will correct the problem, then I'm sure we'll all know about it. And then I'll seek a replacement. The most recent production cameras appear to still have this Servo focus issue. That would be the replacement at this point in time.

Sep 16, 2007 at 07:02 PM

Lars Johnsson
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p.29 #20 · •Poll v3.1: MkIII have AF issues?

But you leave it to the vendor if you like to do that.

According to this poll and every other poll I have seen most cameras don't have this issue. And this poll say a lot more of the recent cameras don't have it

Sep 16, 2007 at 07:09 PM

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