i don't think you will find many users of this one. Maybe you can find some infos on the Istock forum, I already see threads on the 1ds MarkIII there.

Also if you want to see how the sensor perform at different iso settings and comparing with other cameras follow this link http://www.imaging-resource.com/IMCOMP/COMPS01.HTM

Exactly. After 16mpx the advantages are too small for that much money in a way

I'm thinking about buying this camera on September,

would be the ultimate upgrade for me

from the gear i have only a 70-200 sigma 2.8 the rest is not for mention

anyway i would like to hear user's opinion about the camera and maybe

a couple of lenses

thanx

Vangelis

Why wouldn't you not mention your other lenses?

And does anyone else not read this and feel like they are reading a haiku?

Well , If you are ready to spend all that money , my honest opinion is that you consider to replace those lenses that are not worth mentioning , and back that up with the reasonable price camera cause 1 Ds MKIII great no doubt, but the question is , do you really need that one for your work or whatever.

I dont know what camera are you using now, but lenses are long term investment , and they hold their price much longer than any camera ever will , lenses will be useful to you years from now , and most cameras will loose their price quite much in short period.

I remember when I was dreaming about 5D , it was way out of my budget , and recently I bough it for more than half of the price I had to pay for it a year and a half ago.

If you are crafty, you can get ISO 1600 images accepted too with a 30D.  I know I have been able to.  I can't even begin to imagine how amazing it would be to do that with every picture

BTW, is there any RAW-files (.CR2) from this camera available anywhere? I need to test how fast they open on my old computer.

Upgrading both camera and computer would be very, very expensive...

Quote from: Perry on July 25, 2008, 02:45

Upgrading both camera and computer would be very, very expensive...

Speaking from experience, you can't do one without the other. If you significantly upgrade your camera, you'll need to do the same with your computer.

Correct.  And if your computer isn't super amazing, you are going to be disappointed.  When working with a file thats that big, you will not be able to get away with any speed.  Its one of the reasons I upgraded my computer.  Built it myself, saved a bunch of money but got a really good system that is really good so far

Well, it still would be easiest to get a .CR2 file to try it out...

And yes, my Power Mac with 4GB and twin processors were super amazing in 2005

Too bad my calendar tells me that was 3 years ago

Quote from: Perry on July 25, 2008, 08:58

Well, it still would be easiest to get a .CR2 file to try it out...

And yes, my Power Mac with 4GB and twin processors were super amazing in 2005

Too bad my calendar tells me that was 3 years ago

Yes, but it still crunches 5D files with good speed, and 1Ds mark III files aren't even double size.

I considered both the 1Ds MkIII, as well as the regular 1D MkIII, for purchase.  As my avatar shows, I like to shoot sports and the 1D's are the ultimate sports cameras.

Unfortunately the MkIII line is quite controversial.  Go on any pro message forum, especially sports related, and you will read some colorful debates about the merits of the new autofocus system.  The first release was considered a disaster, as the 1D MkIII failed to track even simple subjects against anything but a clear sky. 

The firmware has been updated, and more people sing the praises of the MkIII.  But there are still plenty who feel the AF tracking is poor.  For a sports shooter, this is absolutely critical.

It is for this reason that the prices of the 1D MkII and 1Ds MkII have held pretty high.  The MkII's are in high demand from shooters who simply do not trust the MkIII.

So do you need a camera from the 1D line?  Probably not, if you are shooting landscape or general stock.  The 1D is a specialty camera, although for general usage it can hold its own against any other body.  It's also built to last and can take an amazing amount of abuse and extreme weather.

As has already been mentioned, the 5D is probably the ultimate microstock camera.  12.8mp gets you the very high resolution credit sales, and it is a full format camera.  That means great sharpness, wonderful color differential and saturation, and some great wide angle shots if you have the right lens.  It does have a slightly improved AF tracking system over the 30D, so it can survive in the sports field (though it is no 1D).  I bought a 5D this month, and I am thrilled.  Should I have waited for the next iteration?  Nah.  With the recent Canon $300 rebate, I got the 5D for $1900.  The new version will probably run over $3000.  When you are selling images for $1, you need to think about your net income.

I love my 1 Ds MKIII. I upgraded from the 1 Ds about 2 months ago. I got about $1300 for it on Ebay.

One thing I didn't know was that you must use CS3 to open those .CR2 files although you can get an upgrade, I believe, for CS2.  My good MAC toys are in AZ and no problem with power to work the big file sizes. But in IL all I have is an old Mac G4 laptop that won't swallow CS3 Photoshop, although it will take CS3 Dreamweaver. So while here in IL I have to make due with using one of the memory cards in the Mark III as a L size jpg.

Greatest feature -- or one of the greatest -- is the dust management technology that "shakes" the dust off or some such thing. It is fantastic. I just did a series of shots with huge expanses of light blue sky. Even though I switch lenses a lot I could not find one speck of dust on that image to clone away.

 I also second the comments about using the best possible lenses. You will see a vast difference when working with these size files. Batteries are unbelievably better also. Did I mention that having 2 memory cards is a nice feature?

At iso 100 pixel for pixel noise,  the 1Ds is about the same as 5d possibly slightly better than 5d. If you downsized 1d file to 12.9mp it would not even be close. The autofocus is better on 1ds. The color transitions in blue polarized skies are smoother with less banding.
16 bit tiff files are a 120mb so a fast computer is important. Dust removal is working perfectly so far. The available focus points are a little more centered than I would like, other than that its an awesome camera.

Battery life is insane!! I think I went like 3 days without a charge. Not sure at this point why I bought an extra battery.

Here is a fantastic analysis of the AF concerns by Rob Galbraith:

http://www.robgalbraith.com/bins/multi_page.asp?cid=7-8740-9068


Under certain conditions, the camera is unable to properly track a moving subject. We've shot numerous sequences of 20+ frames where no more than five or six frames are in focus, even when the AF point has been on the subject throughout.


Many claim the problems have been rectified with the firmware upgrades.  Others aren't so sure.  Very interesting reading.

FYI I was able to acquire a used Mark IIn from a reliable sports shooter on the Fred Miranda boards.  I cannot wait for football season!

As I understand it, the 1ds and 1d AF mechanisms are identical.  So the problem exists across both models.  There are a lot of sports shooters who refuse to touch either of the Mark III models, and have bought Mark II's instead.

It's a very controversial topic.  There are posters on the FM boards who suggest it is almost like getting an unlucky lemon as a new car.  If you get a model with no AF issues, you are golden, no worries.  If your model has problems with the AF, good luck returning it.

I read the other day that everything is fixed to the point where Rob Galbraith is happy with the AI Servo with only one issue....here's what they have to say on their site (updated Aug 1)

Q. After more than a year, three firmware updates and a hardware fix, does the Canon EOS-1D Mark III now offer reliable AI Servo autofocus?  How about the EOS-1Ds Mark III?

Both of Canon's current 1-series models now deliver acceptably stable and accurate autofocus of subjects that are stationary or whose distance to the camera is changing fairly slowly. With the lenses we own, from wide angle to supertelephoto, we have no significant complaints about the EOS-1D Mark III with firmware v1.2.3 and EOS-1Ds Mark III with firmware v1.1.2 when photographing things that are static or moving slowly. Are these camera reliable for shooting things that mostly hold still? In our experience, yes.

(It should be noted that we've had a number of complaints about static focus consistency with these cameras and the new firmware from owners of the EF 50mm f/1.2L and EF 85mm f/1.2L II, but because we've not used either lens we can't confirm an autofocus problem when they're used with the Mark III models.)

When using telephoto lenses at wide apertures and subject-to-camera distance changes more rapidly (as it does often when shooting sports), autofocus performance is mixed at best. The tendency of these cameras to frontfocus when tracking in any light, combined with autofocus performance in backlit or shadowy conditions that can at times be poor, means that the EOS-1D Mark III with firmware v1.2.3 and EOS-1Ds Mark III with firmware v1.1.2 produce too many out of focus frames of subjects that are moving quickly.

Canon has put considerable effort into correcting and improving EOS-1D Mark III autofocus in the 14 months since the cameras was introduced, but they have not yet made it, or its high-resolution counterpart the EOS-1Ds Mark III, deliver reliable autofocus of subjects in motion.