Well just like last week when I got my MKIII back on Thurs I'll be getting the 1DsMKIII back on Thursday
Jeff you may as well send it in while they are still cranking them out, if you wait longer then they may not have as many people working on them and it will take longer.
Just got my 1DIII back today and have just shot my 10 y.o. son running toward me at full speed in AI servo with the 135 F2 wide open (from about 50 feet to close to MFD). Definite improvements with centre point AI servo - 15/20 or so pin sharp, another 2/20 accepably so, even the 3 softer frames are obvious failures of the AF to quite keep up close to MFD rather than the unpredictable wildly OOF frames I'd occasionally get before. I've repeated this test several times with very similar results. Less hunting when focusing on static subjects in AI servo too.
The whole AF system seems 'tighter' and I thought mine was good before the fix (80% success or so at f2.8 previously but f2 was pushing it with rapidly moving targets). This was with default settings and no MA, straight after the adjustments by canon (calibration only-no mechanical fixes).
I tried this sort of testing a lot before sending it in and there is a noticeable difference in performance and the 'feel' of the AF in AI servo. Haven't tried the outer point accuracy yet as I hadn't used them extensively before to be able to compare but I'm sure what Canon have done has improved servo tracking.
Got my 1Ds3 back today. Total of 12 days round trip. AF seems slightly more consistent, but then I never really noticed any significant problems before. Viewfinder dust is gone and the LCD now has a protective cover. I'm happy.
Almost embarrased to ask this one ... but here goes: has anyone noticed anything different about the LCD? Like sharper resolution? Maybe my eyesight has improved .... definitely not new glasses or anything like that.
Well now I don't know. Today was the first time using my MKIII in bright sun at a softball game and I'm not liking what I'm seeing. I'll go through all the shots and there's another game tomorrow and I will go to that but I'm seeing some oof shots. I just want to make sure it's not me and I was using HTP and think that I'll turn it off tomorrow to see. I really hope it's my problem but there seems to be quite a few oof shots of batters.
John P Mulgrew wrote:
Well just like last week when I got my MKIII back on Thurs I'll be getting the 1DsMKIII back on Thursday
Jeff you may as well send it in while they are still cranking them out, if you wait longer then they may not have as many people working on them and it will take longer.
I called them today to see if they have a status on mine yet, since the UPS tracking info said they received it Monday morning. I was told It was sent back out to me yesterday (Tuesday) via FedEx 2nd day air. I never received any email or anything... so I hope the guy on the phone was correct.
Got the camera back yesterday. Which is misleading, I got it back from New Jersey where it was determined that the noise my camera made during sensor auto-cleaning was completely normal . . . which is fine.
but it went straight to NJ after the AF fix, so here's my first full day with it back.
Testing AI servo with rocket-fast objects flying waaaay too fast
300 f/4 IS, borrowed for this use. First time using the lens. Ring o' Fire!
since mine came back it's got a whine noise when the sensor clean comes on. I'm having a hard time telling if it's fixed or not, i'm gonna shoot some softball to double check mine tomorrow
I climbed through the ranks of canon tech persons until I finally reached the top, literally. And the kind gentlemen reassured me that some noise is normal, but that they have pretty much total control over the frequency of the sensor cleaner and they could 'tune' it out if I really wanted them to.
He double confirmed that it's not a symptom of a larger problem of any kind, and that's all I really cared about.
The support reps at the 1800 number thought it was abnormal and that's why I sent it in, but there's no more of a final word than the opinions of the guy I talked to so that's who I'm going to trust.
Time to dig up this thread again. Lost somewhere in the pages of it is my history with my 1D III. To recoup: it was bought just after the sub-mirror fix, sent in last August with quite some AF problems to no avail, sent in again two weeks ago for the latest fix (incl. the Err99 one which had been rearing its ugly had more and more often) which only deteriorated the problem (and introduced new Error codes) and so it went straight back again. No need to tell you I was p'd off big time.
So this afternoon I receive a phone call that it was fixed and to please come and collect it. Just before closing time I walk in and the guy behind the counter smiles and says: "Good afternoon Mr. Gregoire, have I got a surprise for you" and hands me over a new 1D III (complete in its box with the works including a fresh battery - man I can set up a battery store!)
Flabbergasted has always been one of my favorite English words and describes accurately how I felt. I've just come in and haven't tested my new machine. Thought a little celebration with an icy cold beer was in order first. Here I was already preparing the battlegrounds with Canon's corporate machine...
Anyway, they did find problems and with its history in mind decided that it was better to just hand over a new one instead of trying to fix it yet again. Hey, is this service or what? I'm guessing it's from stock they probably yanked back from dealers to be serviced; it's a 579*** serial. Think I read somewhere someone had a 580*** serial. Just the confirmation that I wasn't mad but the camera was, makes me smile as I type this.
So this weekend's for testing, Monday and Tuesday it'll see its first action on two events. Didn't come a moment too soon!
Have a jolly weekend & thank you Canon!
signed: one happy camper
I've put aside the beer and just tried it. At first I didn't want to: what if it behaved in exactly the same way...
But, man, what a difference. Night and day! I tried the worst offender: my 24-70L at 24mm. With my previous body, only center point would focus accurately (90% of the time with this particular lens) and all other points would front-focus severely, especially the outer points (severely as in: point it at a building 100 meters away and it would focus at 3 meters). This body however just works at all points!
And so, Lex, only now it's time to open the Lagavullin
one off my 2 body's had constant error 99, 10+ times a day, after the fix.
today I send it back to cps.
I got crazy about it .
before the fix I never had 1 error. this is my oldest body. it is the first in may 2007 50xxxx
Emile, from the moment I read about your 1D3 problems I knew Canon couldn't solve them by repairs or calibration... The problems were too similair to the ones I had with my 1Ds3. Canon swapped my 1Ds3, I am glad to hear that they did the same for you... No angry e-mails for you, heh? Congrats
Daan B wrote:
Emile, from the moment I read about your 1D3 problems I knew Canon couldn't solve them by repairs or calibration... The problems were too similair to the ones I had with my 1Ds3. Canon swapped my 1Ds3, I am glad to hear that they did the same for you... No angry e-mails for you, heh? Congrats
Thanks for not discouraging me beforehand, but I had kind of the same feeling as you had after reading about your problems. They were just too similar. Hey, it did work out for both of us in the end
Great news Emile - glad they took care of for you. I think Canon is saving a lot of their reputation right now, even though they let it get pretty low over the last 2 years. To their credit, the main issue with the MKIIIs (autofocus) would have been very difficult to figure out. Now that they finally admitted there was a problem, and learned how to fix it, they are being very responsive.
UPS collected my 1d MK3, serial 579xxx purchased in Jan, on Wednesday 25th March and it was back with me on Tuesday 31st. The covering letter made no mention of any parts being replaced or added, just recalibration.
Tested yesterday on cars moving directly towards and away at about 30mph using 70-200 f4 L, centre point and max frame rate. 95% were spot on, and the rest varied between being slightly soft and front focused by about 6 feet at a range of about 50ft. This compares to a pre-fix total failure rate of at least 50% in similar circumstances.
Single shot focusing seems snappier even with my 400mm f5.6 L plus 1.4x converter.
So "well done" to Canon UK for a fast service and what looks like an effective fix, although 100% perfection would have been nice!!! javascript:void(0);
I used my 300 2.8 for a softball game today and it was almost perfect, only oof shots were because of me so I'm thinking it was my fault with the 70-200 2.8 on the MKIII the other day. Bright sun today and I'll test it again tomorrow at a rugby game.
I wonder why Canon has not trumpeted this calibration as 'THE FIX' for the 1DIII AF system. My camera was pretty good before but has been transformed, particularly the AI servo performance. I can't understand why Canon hasn't been more upfront about this and why it only talks of improved outer point accuracy.
The difference is so obvious and all previous fixes have shown only marginal improvements (except for the early submirror assembly issue). I'm now getting 28-29 out of 30 pin sharp at 10fps. Perhaps even they can't believe they've got it right at last.
