Due to all the rampant speculation that is rapidly flowing about the internet, I thought a simple poll was in order to evaluate the extent of the autofocus problems with the new 1D MkIII. The previous poll led to rather ambiguous suppositions about what is currently going on out there. Whether someone is returning their MkIII does not necessarily indicate that there is a problem. I'd hate to see a whole slew of people return perfectly good cameras if they don't have problems.
It's very simple, if you own it, you can respond above. I would avoid using the "I'm not sure" option if you have NOT tested it, or cannot completely verify if your body has problems (for example, if you are new to the 1-Series, and don't have prior experience with its 45-point AI Servo). If anything, wait to vote until you have tested your body and are fairly sure. Having 80% "I'm not sure yet" replies won't help too much.
Regards,
Jeff
FM.com Moderator
Edited by Fred Miranda on Jun 21, 2007 at 02:17 PM GMT
Edited by Jeff on Jun 22, 2007 at 09:56 PM GMT (Reason: typo)
My experience is identical to RG's: great acquisition in almost zero light; not that hot in servo mode outdoors. Tried with the 135L and 70-200/2.8LIS, with same results: my 1Ds2 tracks better.
Unlike some, I am not getting an ulcer because of it I am sure it will be all good.
Nill Toulme wrote:
How about giving us periodic updates on the voting? Mine hasn't come in yet, so I don't want to squander my vote on "just the results." ;-)
Nill
Mine *absolutely* has focusing problems, though I don't think they're the same as the ones RG described, and won't know if they hold any weight for me until the body comes back focusing properly even in One Shot with *any* lens.
A professional pollster would say, "as of 11:00 PM EST, things are not looking good for the new kid on the block." Even though the sample is small, those are some bad numbers.
I have been shooting the1D-III for show jumping and dance without problems. However Rob Galbraith's excellent observations cause me to re-evaluate the performance of the 1d-III. Tomorrow I will shoot another show jumping competition in motor drive mode at high frame rate and will shoot another dance production "with more care" for problems.
The show jumping I did a couple of weeks ago were shot in single shot mode - AF-Servo but only shooting one shot (unless there is a fall then I keep my finger down). I do NOT shoot in spray and pray mode. So far, I have excellent results (as predicted by Rob). Others at the same competition at Spruce Meadows were shooting 3-4 frame bursts and did report problems.
Shooting a Polish traditional dance production yielded excellent images. The relatively low light provided no problems for the 1D-III - as suggested by Rob Galbraith's observations. Any softness in the full size images seem to be associated with motion blur - not focus issues. Here are a few samples (for what you can tell from small images :-)
I am having problems with objects coming directly at me and when shooting pitchers from behind the backstop with them coming at me. It is worse if the subject is backlit. Also most all of my shots are a little soft, Not bad but not what I would expect form this camera. My IIn is much better.
I don't know how the sports market works, but I assume that the main culling from the 10fps from multiple cameras through hours of shooting is done by photo editors at games and not the photographers themselves. Ergo if there is an issue they will be noticing it and I very much doubt that they will be ignoring it. If several big agencies pull the plug on the camera then Canon will have to react and fast. Canon built it's pro reputation on the back of sports photographers, they cannot afford to screw up with this camera, especially as the 1Ds mkIII will no doubt have the same AF module...
Nill Toulme wrote:
How about giving us periodic updates on the voting? Mine hasn't come in yet, so I don't want to squander my vote on "just the results." ;-)
Nill
~~
www.toulme.net
Good idea...
Yes, it absolutely has a focusing problem = 31 12%
No, it seems to work fine = 15 6%
I'm not sure yet = 16 6%
[I just want to see the results...] = 195 76%
Total Votes = 257 100%
Is it just unrealistic expectations of 100% success rate from otherwise a perfect camera? I mean, when I had a 1MkIIN it was the same thing - I would get one misfocused shot out of a series of AF-Servo shots. So what, big deal...But I don't recall a mass hysteria of this scale.
gfiksel wrote:
Is it just unrealistic expectations of 100% success rate from otherwise a perfect camera? I mean, when I had a 1MkIIN it was the same thing - I would get one misfocused shot out of a series of AF-Servo shots. So what, big deal...But I don't recall a mass hysteria of this scale.
That's a reasonable question in response to all the concerns, but Rob is indicating the Mk III really struggles to match the performance of the Mk II N in certain conditions.
Here's a quote from his article when comparing the two:
"In all cases, the EOS-1D Mark II N performed as it always does. Which means it has a bit of trouble predicting focus when the runner is accelerating, but after that it gets most frames in focus. By comparison, the EOS-1D Mark III under warm, bright conditions struggles to get more than a handful of frames properly focused."
Garylv wrote:
"In all cases, the EOS-1D Mark II N performed as it always does. Which means it has a bit of trouble predicting focus when the runner is accelerating, but after that it gets most frames in focus. By comparison, the EOS-1D Mark III under warm, bright conditions struggles to get more than a handful of frames properly focused."
You know, they should compare the two cameras under DARK conditions. I think the 1D-III will be better there.
I really think this boils down to a "color temperature" issue. I've always maintained that previous Canon bodies had an issue with front-focusing under lighting that was below 3000K. Canon denies this. BUT, notice that they DO realize that the focus for infrared photos needs to be adjusted. Why is that?
I maintain that the focus IS a function of the wavelength of the light. And we all know that 2500K light has a different wavelength than 5500K light.
It's not going to surprise me if it turns out that the 1D-III was "tuned" under 3000K, while previous bodies were "tuned" under 6000K, and THAT'S a large part of the reason for the issue we're seeing.
So far the IQ i have gotten from my markIII is extraordinary....lens forcus speed is faster than my 5d and my old markII....low light performance is exemplary.....the little servo shooting i have done has been fine but I have yet to test it out in all kinds of harsh conditions as described by others....the combination of the new layout...the better battery life.....and all of the new features makes this for me a dream camera.....if the servo problem is dealt with or of it turns out to be user error or a firmware fix or just random bad cameras then this is the best camera out there bar none...
for what it is worth this thread points out that a lot of people are seeing no problems with the camera
Current state: Of the 23% Mk III owners which posted (77% just want to see the results), half (11%) chose the "Yes, it absolutely has a focusing problem" option. I think this is alarming.
