Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III review

Posted on April 15, 2008 - Filed Under Cameras, Reviews | Leave a Comment | 111 views

Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III digital SLR review : Since Kodak’s disappearance from the market, Canon held the luxurious position of being the only manufacturer with a full-frame digital SLR in their program for a long time. The large amount of pixels in a firm professional housing made the 1Ds the perfect replacement for an analogue middle format camera for many professional photographers. After the introduction of the EOS-1D Mark III everybody eagerly awaited the successor to the 1DS Mark II. And that’s when the Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III appeared.

Prism house of the Canon 1Ds Mark III
As we expected, the Canon 1Ds Mark III is based on its predecessor; the Canon EOS-1D Mark III. It was redesigned from scratch. It might take some time for Mark II users to get acquainted with the new lad, but I am positive that it will happen flawless. Besides the type tag on the front, the 1Ds is furthermore distinguishable from its faster brother by the lump on the prism house. To enable correct reproduction of the AF points in the viewfinder, the Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III uses a second prism. And of course that takes up more space than the mirrors inside the 1D camera.

3-inch LCD monitor with Live View
Naturally the Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III has been equipped with a large 3 inch LCD monitor on the back of the camera. This size has become standard for these cameras nowadays and to be honest, there is no turning back; 3 inch and more please! The large monitor also enables Live View. A feature that is starting to become normality on a D-SLR. And until recently it wasn’t even an issue but at present the availability of Live View or the lack of it is almost reason for a camera to be a success or a failure. Whether or not this is also the case for the professional segment, remains unknown for now. Live View does have its advantages. For example when you mount the camera on a tripod and place it on a high level. Action photography with Live View is still not perfect, but that will undoubtedly change too in the near future.

Full-frame 21 Megapixel image sensor
Besides upgrading to the concept of the 1D Mark II, naturally the image sensor is the main improvement of the 1Ds Mark III. It’s a full-frame sensor again but this time it offers the impressive amount of 21 Megapixels. Canon tiptoed into the resolution class where currently middle format cameras rule. Therefore Canon is still leader in the 35mm D-SLR cameras. But not for long since Sony announced a 24 Megapixel full-frame sensor. And Nikon will definitely not stay behind….

Canon EOS 1Ds Mark 3 review
The signals of the CMOS sensor are being processed by two DIGIC III processors. In total some five pictures per second can be taken in the highest resolution. The two processors are capable of processing a 100 Megapixels per second, which fits with the 10 fps with 10 Megapixels of the EOS 1D Mark III. The specifications are impressive and to get the assignment to use this camera in practice is very appealing to a photographer like me. We have used the Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III once before on the EOS Safari in Kenya but now it’s time for a full Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III review.

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