14 DAY TRIAL // When the 1D Mark III was first announced it dropped a lot of photographer jaws. Even Nikon users were stunned to see Canon launch one of the most feature-packed professional DSLRs with record performances.
However, as with most good products, there have to be some minor glitches that ruin the initial excitement. You might argue that there can't be a product that fully satisfies everybody's needs, but when you're paying $4,500 it'd better do what was advertised by the manufacturer.
In the case of the 1D Mark III, the problems affect one of the key components of the camera and the main reason why this DSLR is a sports shooter's dream: the autofocus module.
Initially, it had been believed that the issue affected only the pre-production models that were available to reviewers, but after the production versions were available, it became clear that Canon had a problem.
According to a very thorough analysis by Rob Galbraith's site, "the autofocus problems of the preproduction unit are mirrored in production EOS-1D Mark IIIs". The analysis examines the autofocus issues and demonstrates them with photographs.
Apparently, there are four major problems with the autofocus module: initial acquirement of focus in a multi-frame burst, subject tracking, focus shifting when the subject isn't moving and extremely quick focus shifting with a moving subject.
What's intriguing is that the 1D Mark III is affected by these problems on warm, sunny days and not in dim-lit place. Normally, autofocus has difficulty acquiring and tracking when there's less light, but in the 1D Mark III's case it's the opposite.
For more detailed explanations, you'll have to visit Rob Galbraith's site and decide for yourself if this issue affects your daily shooting activities.
As a quick reminder, the EOS 1D Mark III was announced in late February as a replacement for the EOS 1D Mark II N. The new model offers a 10.1MP CMOS sensor, a whopping 10fps burst speed, 2 DIGIC III processors, a Live View feature, Canon's new cleaning system and a new autofocus system with micro-adjustment and adjustable focus-tracking sensitivity.
