Canon Mark III D day 1

First impressions of my new Canon Mark III D on day one. First let me say that I have barely scratched the surface of this complex camera.

Speed: I bought this unit because of it’s speed, promoted as the fastest camera available. This is likely true but…….at 1 / 7000 shutter with ISO 100 the image was way under exposed in full midday sunlight. I’m not sure of the lighting conditions that would be needed for proper exposure given these settings but it’s obvious that I will be unable to set the camera to these settings and photograph very much of anything.

Focus: Exceptional! Auto-focus is impressive except during extreme close up macro shots. I was trying to shoot an extreme close up with my 100mm macro which may have been the problem with the auto-focus searching. I needed my 60mm macro but see below.

Image: Exceptional, but not hugely different than my Rebel XTi. This may reflect my lens inventory short comings more so than the camera. The lowest f stop in my bag is 2.8 and my favorite 60mm macro lens is not compatible with my new Mark III D. I have ordered a 300mm f2.8 and a 50mm f1.2 from a lens rental company to try out prior to purchase. These two lenses will put the Mark III D to the test for image sharpness.

Color: With my Rebel XTi I almost always have to turn up the colors a bit in the RAW format but with the Mark III D no alteration of the colors is needed.

ISO: This is where I have been the most impressed so far! The reviews told me of the exceptional low light ability of this unit which weighed heavily in my decision to buy the Mark III D but boy, I had no idea how much difference there really would be. Shooting just past sunset I “blew out” some flowers with no flash and an ISO of only 1200. This unit goes up to 6400 ISO! I bet my dimly lit high school football fields are going to be much less troublesome this year.

Pros so far: Fast and accurate auto-focus (excluding extreme close up macro).

Exceptional colors and image quality.

Extreme improvement in low light shooting.

Cons so far: Very complex camera which will take a great deal of time before it’s full benefits will be realized.

May have an extreme close up macro auto-focus issue (more on this issue to come).

How much noise is there on the highest ISO settings?

In "regular" shoot mode there is a lot of noise. Much more than my Rebel XTi.

It has a single shot "quiet" mode also. I haven't used this fuction yet to comment on that.

I'll try it today after work and give you an answer.

under 'cons' i would have listed the price!

edit: which B&H list as 3844.95$

Agreed, but I bought from Cameta for $2,600.

Still a big bite out of the wallet but.....
The Ds is $4,500 or more used!!!!!!!!!!!!!

and congrats!!

always fun to get new gear!!

All the new digitals seem to have more features that anyone one will ever use and its almost a hazard, you have to mutle through tons of instructions to get to the simple, just take a good photo settings... to many buttons!
Its nice to have some photo buddies to help/suggest where to start.
my favorite toy.

i agree with elbert,,
as much as i dearly want a new camera,, the new ones only offer a few features i would use.
i want a faster sync speed, wireless strobe capability's, a larger LCD screen, and better 'O' rings and seals.
the rest would be useless,, to me. but i can also see where others styles may benefit also.
then theres that money thing again,,,,

For Simmon,

The "quiet" mode does produce less shutter noise but is no where near "silent".

If a silent shutter is top priority then this unit would not be for you.

Sorry, should have made myself more clear. By noise I mean grain in the picture. I know that with my digital the higher the ISO number the more digital "noise" there is in the picture. If I want a crisp picture I shoot at the lowest ISO possible.