Downloaded the new firmware for the 5DMKIII today and it works a treat.

[Chris Cooke]

Here it is a few days early.

5D 1.2.1 update

https://www.dropbox.com/s/kwe33tu3q7...121.zip?v=0rw-

WOW WOW WOW!!!!

Not does it AF at f/8 with my 1.4X Con on my 400 f/5.6 L it AFs 5 times quicker that my IDMKIII at f/8 and it flys with my 2X Con on my 500 f/4 LIS THANK YOU CANON!!!

Any thoughts of shifting to NIKON are GONE GONE!!

__________________

[David Stephens]

That's fantastic news, that I've been waiting for. Is your 1.4X a III? I received my EF 2.0X TC-III last week and can't wait to try it out. Is it fast enough, in your opinion, for BIF?

[David Stephens]

Chris, I hate to look a gift horse in the mouth, BUT this is the internet. I receive five to ten malware attachments per day, so I'm a little reluctant to download your "advance" version. Can you tell us how it is that you came to own it? You've certainly stirred my excitement, but I'm holding back right now.

[Steve Uffman]

Per canon website, new firmware will be released April 30th. Just a few more days David

[Chris Cooke]

David it was posted on Photography On The Net / Canon Digital Photography Forums/ Canon EOS Digital Cameras/ =EOS Firmware Updates. The first thread.

I ran the file through 4 seperate Malware catchers and Microsoft Security Essentials Win 7 64 Bit, No hits.

I have been out this morning with my 400 f/5.6 + 1.4 X Con Ver. II and it was great and very quick, f/8 using my IDMKIV and IDMKIII were quite a bit slower to focus.

[Chris Cooke]

I have just been using the MKIII with my 2X Kenko on my 500 f/4 LIS Ver. I and blindingly fast at f/8

[Mike Quigley]

I cant find it anywhere.

[John Chardine]

Chris, I hate to look a gift horse in the mouth, BUT this is the internet. I receive five to ten malware attachments per day, so I'm a little reluctant to download your "advance" version. Can you tell us how it is that you came to own it? You've certainly stirred my excitement, but I'm holding back right now.

You must be a Windows user David.

Sorry, couldn't resist!

[David Stephens]

iTunes is the only site that ever let my password out and customer support wouldn't answer the phone, so I had to disable the account to stop abuse. They never admitted their security breach, but I found two other people that had the same thing happen with iTunes during a two-week period back in about June of 2011.

[David Stephens]

I cant find it anywhere.

It was in a Dropbox account and seems to have been pulled down now. Someone probably received a call from Canon.

[fabiobernardino]

It is available now from Canon Australia website.
http://www.fredmiranda.com/

[David Stephens]

Canon USA has it, of course:
http://www.usa.canon.com/cusa/consum...ersAndSoftware

I was tempted to skip work today. ;-)

[David Stephens]

I loaded it yesterday and tried it with my EF 500mm f/4L IS and my new EF 2.0X TC-III. For people, cars and planes it's fantastic, switching from short distance to long distance in a flash. The AI Servo mode worked like a charm tracking cars going around 30-mph, but that's quite an easy test. I think it's going to be great for BIF, but my test of that will need to wait until Thursday, since it's snowing like crazy now...again. I'll go out in the snow later today and if I can shoot a BIF through the snow, then I'll declare the firmware a minor miracle. BIF shots in snow are incredibly hard for me to keep focused.

Notice that my 500 is a Series I. Those of you with Series IIs may enjoy even further gains. I'd be interested in seeing further reports with both Series I and II super-telephoto lens.

[David Stephens]

I got out in the snow yesterday to test my 500/f4 combined with my 2.0X TC-III on the 5D3 after the firmware update. I'm VERY pleased. Due to the snow, the light was flat and contrast was low, so the test was pretty severe.

The lens auto focused quickly and accurately, most of the time. Below is a mountain bluebird taken near the minimum focus distance with the AF limiter set for mfd to infinity. The bird was flitting around, coming very close and then flying out ten to twenty yards and then bouncing its way back to me. So long as I had prefocused anywhere near the bird, the AF system grabbed quickly and accurately on the bird. If the bird moved quickly from mfd to say 15 yards and I didn't prefocus on something contrasty, then the lens might get lost. If I switched the focus limiter out to distant to infinity, then this was unlikely to happen.

I didn't measure vs. the 1.4X TC, but it was close to the same feel as to speed and accuracy. Today is a glorious Colorado, post-snow, sunny day, so I'll be going out this p.m. to try the combo for BIF. I think it's going to be very good, but we'll see.

1000mm hand held. 1/400-sec., f/9. Focus is on shoulder rather than eye, but feather details make for good testing material. Cropped only to format square:


I'm ready for my closeup Mr. Stephens... by dcstep, on Flickr

[Ian Cassell]

Well, I was waiting to see about a 7D Mk II rather than springing for the 5DIII, but now I'm re-thinking this ...

[David Stephens]

Well, I was waiting to see about a 7D Mk II rather than springing for the 5DIII, but now I'm re-thinking this ...

Assuming that the 7D MkII gains close to a stop of high ISO performance (who knows?), then waiting on it could be a very good option. The 7D already performs very well at ISO 800, but quickly runs into problems above that. I think it's a really good bet that the 7D2 gets the AF system from the 5D3, which would eliminate my main complaint against the 7D, its inaccurate AF tracking vs. other options, like the 5D2. Of course, there's always a strong chance that Canon will play it cute with the 7D2 and not give f/8 AF right off the bat and make us wait a year or so.

If they upgrade the 7D's AF system, I'll spring for a MkII and have both the 5D3 and 7D2 in my bag. I can live with it's current ISO performance, but would really love a little improvement there.

I have the luxury of already having the current generation AF system, so the 7D2 decision is not big to me; however, if I had a body that was causing me to miss a bunch of shots, I'd probably be jumping to the 5D3 right now.

[Ian Cassell]

Yes, Dave. I love my 7D, but would love that better AF and increased ISO performance. I am basically an impatient type, but will probably just sit and wait at least until summer to see if the 7D II appears as more than rumor.

[Steve Uffman]

Great shot David.....will be trying my 5dIII with the new firmware today......

Ian, my two cents after my wife and I owning the 7d, 5dII, 5dIII and 1dx is that the 5dIII just rocks......I would be perfectly happy shooting the 5dIII all the time and now with the f/8 firmware it will be even better. My first trip with the 5dIII was shooting eagles in Alaska....the AF is simply unbelievable....I am not in the business of selling any of my images but I have agreed to sell several now that I took with that camera. And the low light is terrific.....and very intuitive to use as well.

[David Stephens]

Yes, Dave. I love my 7D, but would love that better AF and increased ISO performance. I am basically an impatient type, but will probably just sit and wait at least until summer to see if the 7D II appears as more than rumor.

I'd guess that you'll need to wait at least until fall for the 7D2, if not longer. I find it hard to believe that they'd drop it, but it's due for an update. They'll time the release with one of the big shows, I'd bet.

[David Stephens]

Great shot David.....will be trying my 5dIII with the new firmware today......
.

Please report your experience, if you would.

[Steve Uffman]

Please report your experience, if you would.

arrgh! Rain, Rain, Rain today, yesterday and tomorrow....

[David Stephens]

arrgh! Rain, Rain, Rain today, yesterday and tomorrow....

I know what you mean, we had pre-snow gloom on the 30th and snow on the 1st. I'm now looking out the office window at the bright sun and chomping at the bit. Hopefully I can report tomorrow about BIF in good conditions.

Ultimately, I was hoping to see a few more reports from others that might have different usage habits, etc.

[David Stephens]

I concentrated today on shooting BIF with very good results. The 1000mm setup is much more demanding of pre-focus, accurate placement of the AF points and tracking, but it does lock on to subjects well and track focus in AI Servo mode. Below is one of 5 out of 6 taken in one burst:


My autofocus works! by dcstep, on Flickr

The birds were slow today. When I get back from business in NYC, I'll look for gulls and ducks for a much tougher test.

[Arthur Morris]

Does the 5D Mark III now rival the 1D X as a workhorse bird and wildlife photography body? See here for the somewhat surprising answer and my thoughts on the new firmware.

[Arthur Morris]

I concentrated today on shooting BIF with very good results. The 1000mm setup is much more demanding of pre-focus, accurate placement of the AF points and tracking, but it does lock on to subjects well and track focus in AI Servo mode. Below is one of 5 out of 6 taken in one burst. The birds were slow today. When I get back from business in NYC, I'll look for gulls and ducks for a much tougher test.

For whatever reason(s), this image is not at all sharp on the eye so be careful with those tougher tests.... Any chance to see the full frame original?