stuuke wrote:
I didn't say anything about what the expected performance of the camera should be. I just can't believe that there are still people insisting that the issues are made up.
Yes, you did. You question was a blanket dismissal of the possibility of user error.
I've never doubted that some people have genuine issues, no product is perfect. Even if there are no general problems within a product family there will always be "lemons" that simply don't work correctly.
My 1DMk3 seems to work well most of the time, I can't speak with any credibility about someone else's unless they post images.
I've had a couple of Err99's and shots that were OOF for no explainable reason, but the vast majority of the time the camera works as well as (or better) than expected. If Canon can reduce the error rate even further I'm all for it.
Mine is going back. It works wonderful when using the center point and paying attention. Using the other points though wasn't very reliable and I pretty much stopped using them for AF all together. With the quality of the image and the lens the focusing has to be spot on for me to be happy.
As others have mentioned in the past it is really a great camera except this one flaw. For the most part I have forgotten it had AF. If I was starting over would be hard to ignore Nikon.
I "track" my subject in dim light (AI servo and top sensor) and AF seems to work fine. But, especially for such an expensive camera, I will have to have the repair paperwork to get the best resale.
mbellot wrote:
Yes, you did. You question was a blanket dismissal of the possibility of user error.
Not really. Throughout the first several months when the Mark III was introduced there were several stubborn people that believed that there was absolutely no issue with the cameras and that it was all user error. My question refers to those that still believe that because their Mark III works fine that all other Mark III's work fine.
jamesf99 wrote:
New Canon press release dated 03/03/09:
Canon announced today a new AF manual for ALL Canon EOS cameras manufactured within the last 4 years. Instructions are as follows:
1) use center point AF only (in bright light with lots of contrast)
2) when 1 (above) fails, use manual focus
We sincerely apologize for making customers read lengthy manuals in the past. We at canon are pleased to help our customers get the most from our products.
New Nikon press release dated 03/03/09:
Yippee!!!
uh-oh that service manual has an error
addendum:
item 1 does not apply to 40D and perhaps 50D these fail to focus in intense high-contrat lighting and we prefer you use them after 3PM or in more northern sun conditons....
skibum5 wrote:
only support in Irvine and Jamesburg handle DSLR stuff like this, forget about contacting Virginia they don't knwo anything about this sortof thing
I believe the Virginia service center was the one that did the original sub mirror fix on the 1D3s.
For those that doubt. Its the same thing we have been getting from Canon themselves and its downright insulting. I've used every iteration of the 1D series. I know how to use the camera. I know how to shoot the subjects I shoot. I know what works and what doesnt. I know when I use an older body on the same corner the same time of day and it gets a higher keeper rate than the MkIII that its NOT ME. I know that when I pick up a D3 and instantly have 99% of my burst shots in focus and I'm lucky to get 33% of them in focus with a MkIII that its NOT ME.
But if you still need photos to prove it.
Here is an example of it working properly. These are fabulous images and the focus always worked great in low light and early morning and evening contrasty light. Perfect focus every time.
Now move into mid day shooting, same types of shots, same focus settings same camera and lens. Now it all gets to become a crapshoot.
Bursts with NOTHING in focus:
Bursts with something in focus, problem is, no rhyme or reason as to which frame, so its just spray and pray:
Those arent my imagination. Those are out of focus shots and unusable images. These are all shot the same way, allowing camera to gain tracking and then shooting a burst of images.
What also was not an imagination is shooting a D3 with the same lens on the same corner at the same time as the Canon and finding that it grabbed virtually every shot of every burst in focus. Five minutes of a comparison, combined with how I've been treated by Canon and the deal was done.
A friend of mine that has made a very good living off Canon bodies for some time and has recently switched summed it up best when he heard about the new recall:
Their new company slogan should be "Better Never Than Late." Why even bother. The have ruined countless images with their complete inability to address a problem. And hundreds if not thousands of pro shooters worldwide. Idiots.
skibum5 wrote:
only support in Irvine and Jamesburg handle DSLR stuff like this, forget about contacting Virginia they don't knwo anything about this sortof thing
I was told I would be receiving a UPS label for Newport News Virginia, so you are wrong.
And yes they did the sub-mirror fix as well. I guess this is their recall center for the US.
I talked with Canon Service on the phone this afternoon, and the advice I got was that if my camera was not showing any symptoms of either the non-center focus point problem or the mirror error problem, don't worry about getting it "fixed." (Please don't flame at this; I'm just mentioning it.)
I'm one of the guys who has had zero problems with the 1D3. (Knock wood.) The mirror error problem would be obvious and I don't have that. I shoot almost everything on center focus point and might not have noticed an intermittent problem with outer points. I plan to experiment with that and see what I see. If I can't provoke a problem I'll probably just keep shooting with it as-is. The resale value argument may be important to some but it's not a big deal for me; I never seem to sell anything.
Just my two bits, and now I will duck into a hole.
The bigger question is....are we going to be flooded with thousands of burst images trying to convince everyone that a problem really exists.
This fixes for this problem are costing Canon a LOT of money and who knows how much in lost future sales. Companies don't do that unless there is really a problem. Please spare us the pictures you have taken that "prove" there is a problem.
nathanlake wrote:
The bigger question is....are we going to be flooded with thousands of burst images trying to convince everyone that a problem really exists.
This fixes for this problem are costing Canon a LOT of money and who knows how much in lost future sales. Companies don't do that unless there is really a problem. Please spare us the pictures you have taken that "prove" there is a problem.
I don't think posts of the spray and pray focus mishaps are hurting anyone on here. I say keep them coming but hey, its not either of our decisions now is it?
skibum5 wrote:
uh-oh that service manual has an error
addendum:
item 1 does not apply to 40D and perhaps 50D these fail to focus in intense high-contrat lighting and we prefer you use them after 3PM or in more northern sun conditons....
Duly noted. Canon will issue a new press release talking about the error in their previous press release that talks about errors that were previously believed to be fixed after the error was not fixed by the erroneous sub-mirror error fix.
nathanlake wrote:
The bigger question is....are we going to be flooded with thousands of burst images trying to convince everyone that a problem really exists.
This fixes for this problem are costing Canon a LOT of money and who knows how much in lost future sales. Companies don't do that unless there is really a problem. Please spare us the pictures you have taken that "prove" there is a problem.
I always see the opposite where we get all sorts of "focused" image shot with the camera proving the camera has no problems and that it must be the shooter who does not know what they are doing.
Mike Farren wrote:
Yeah Canon must be desperately trying to avoid selling any cameras in the UK right now. Persistant QC problem rumours and horrendous price gouging... gg Canon.
Doesn't really affect me, being at the used and consumer end of the market as I am but if I were a pro or wealthy amateur I'd be all over Nikon.
See they are doing the customer a service. Raise the prices and then announce the camera still can't focus properly - brilliant.
+1...wasn't there a thread on here that was trying to prove with images that the 5D's autofocus isn't as crappy as people say it is?
chez wrote:
I always see the opposite where we get all sorts of "focused" image shot with the camera proving the camera has no problems and that it must be the shooter who does not know what they are doing.
Paul Yi wrote:
Does this make 1dsMkII as the SAFEST top of the line camera in Canon now?
I suppose it all depends on what type of photography one does.
There is probably a large number of 1DsIII and 1DIII owners whose needs are being met perfectly by those cameras. Like landscape guys ?
If one leans more towards sports and other type of fast action, I believe that for them the 1DMkII(N)'s are the most dependable top-of-the-line EOS options at present.
If I was not doing pijuns &ducks in flight as much, I'd be perfectly happy with the 1DsMkII. A great camera which is well priced finally.
cineski wrote:
So THIS is Canon's big PMA announcement! Looks like I'll be waiting a while to send my gear in for their yearly calibration.
Yeah, and everyone thought Canon didn't have anything special up their sleeves. Two unaffordable lenses, a firmware update and an AF recall - hallelujah.
Well at least the Sigma 10-20 f/3.5 looks interesting
The resale value argument may be important to some but it's not a big deal for me; I never seem to sell anything.