Any current owners of Canon 1D Mk III here...how does it stack up now?

tarmac_chaser

tarmac_chaser

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I own a Canon 1D Mk IV and have owned all the sports variants from original 1D onwards.

My Mk IV images are not as sharp as I would like despite using some of Canon's best lenses for sports photography but maybe the Mk III set my expectations too high.

I can't afford a replacement body right now nor do I think a service would make any difference, so I've been considering a cheap 1D III to tide me over until I can afford a 1DX.

I was amazed by that camera when I used to have one, the image quality was amazing.

Would be interested to know if anyone uses one now for sports, wildlife or aviation and if they feel limited by it compared to the newer cameras.

Thanks
 
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The 1D3 had one of Canon's best sensors (along with the 1Ds3 and 40D) IMHO and you're not neccessarily going backwards for sport and aviation although cropability for wildlife (birds) might not quite match the 1D4.
 
Over the years I had either 3 or 4 of them , still my favourite all time camera . Coupled with the right lens it was unbeatable . I also had the mkiv but preferred the older one for some reason the files from it were always a pleasure to process . The last of canons greats before adding video functions seemed to spoil things
 
I sampled both before going for the IV. The low res screen on the III always meant I was wondering if focus had been nailed until I saw it on computer, whereas on the IV you could tell better. I should not have worried, the III always delivered the goods if you need 8mp.
 
andrewc said:
I sampled both before going for the IV. The low res screen on the III always meant I was wondering if focus had been nailed until I saw it on computer, whereas on the IV you could tell better. I should not have worried, the III always delivered the goods if you need 8mp.
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Surely 10mp
 
A great body, as long as you don't require too high an ISO (limit 3200 for me) and don't have to crop too much.

Surprised with your comments on the mark IV though as that's even better that the 3 in my experience

Mike
 
Ok so going on the general consensus here I decided to order a used 1D Mk III from Camera Jungle yesterday.

It has arrived today and I have checked the serial number, it happens to be one of the ones affected by the infamous autofocus recall.

Info online suggest that if it had been fixed there would be a blue spot on the box, or white spot in the battery compartment.

There is a blue spot on the box, but it appears to be on a label that Camera Jungle have stuck on....what do you guys think? (I greyed out one of the serial number digits)
 

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tarmac_chaser said:
.....It has arrived today and I have checked the serial number, it happens to be one of the ones affected by the infamous autofocus recall.
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It's worth mentioning that not all the bodies in the recall batch had problems but simply that the problem bodies were all from within that batch. Mine was recalled but I hadn't experienced any issues. I think that 11 years down the line it's a reasonable assumption that it's been performing OK.
 
I'm with bob on this don't think there's much to worry about .. and a if it lasts the year out then it was worth buying (warranty )
 
I think that's very true Bob, and yes it would have 12 months warranty.

However I think I am going to return it.

I forgot how low res the screen is, it's almost comical compared to newer cameras.

I also did some indoor moving tests last night at iso 3200 and the focussing was no better than my Mk IV, and the noise is considerably worse. I would say sharpness was better on my IV too.

I'm sure it would be great as a second body for sports, but I'm pretty sure I'll be sticking with my IV (pending some further tests).
 
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