Thoughts on the Mark III 1ds for Bird Photography?

[Michael Lyncheski]

Not sure if this is the proper forum for this question, but here goes ...

Has anyone used the new Canon 1Ds Mark III yet? If so, has anyone tested out the AF with it or tried flight shots?

If not, are there any 1Ds Mark II users who can talk about their experiences?

The 21MP is as very appealing but the price is a bit over the top.

Thanks,
Mike

[Fabs Forns]

Mike, Artie seems very happy with his.

[Arthur Morris]

Glad that I saw this. I used the MIII 1Ds just a bit towards the end of the recently concluded IPT. I love that camera. AF performance is superb. Actually, amazing, even 45 point AAFPS... I will be posting some images here soon and also in the next BAA Bulletin. I am gonna get off line now and load the Canon software as Breezebroswer is not set up for the camera yet.

later and love, artei

[Michael Lyncheski]

Artie & Fabs:

Thanks for the responses. I think you have me convinced. Now all I have to do is convince my better half. :)

Regards,
Mike

[Arthur Morris]

Or maybe you could sell her to pay for the camera. Only kidding.

later and love, artie

[Steve Metildi]

I'll be interested to see Artie's and others responses to the 1DsIII. I was going to wait a few months before purchasing to ensure no issues come up as with the 1DIII.

Steve

[Gyorgy Szimuly]

What I would like to read about is the photography with this ff body if a long focal length lens such as 500 or 600mm lens attached. How do you feel and what you think about the possibilities when a body has full frame sensor. Is the reach enough? Are the extenders enought or achieve target? How do you feel the lack of crop factor?
Szimi

[Andrew McCullough]

It's interesting how the "crop factor" has spoiled us. A few years ago, everyone used a "full frame" camera .

[Steve Holmes]

I recently purchased a 1Ds Mk III, and I really like it. I just returned from a trip to Florida, and it performed well. I agree with Artie, the focus on the camera is excellent, and I love the images that come from it. I absolutely love the high resolution. They give a bit more latitude with cropping, and they are great for big prints.

I also have a 40D, and previously owned a 1D Mk III, and I don't miss the crop factor on the 1Ds. If I understand it correctly, because of the high res. files, the 1Ds has the same "reach" as the 1D, while the 40D gets you a bit further. I own a 500, and find it works quite well with the 1Ds both with and without the 1.4x.

The 1Ds was great for flight shots last week in FL. I do wish the frame rate was slightly faster (10 fps on the 1D is amazing) and I frequently maxed out the buffer, but despite these short comings, I still found it did well for flight images. From my limited testing, it seems to track very well.

Overall I'm very happy with the 1Ds MKIII, and I'm looking forward to using it more for bird photography.

-Steve

[Michael Lyncheski]

Steve:

Thanks for the encouraging feedback. Where did you get yours? B&H is back-ordered.

Thanks,
Mike

[Steve Holmes]

I got lucky with a preorder. They seem to be pretty hard to find right now, but I expect that will change in a month or two.

[Steve Metildi]

Amazon.com says they have them in stock but I don't know what retailer they actually get them from.

Steve

[c.w. moynihan]

What I would like to read about is the photography with this ff body if a long focal length lens such as 500 or 600mm lens attached. How do you feel and what you think about the possibilities when a body has full frame sensor. Is the reach enough? Are the extenders enought or achieve target? How do you feel the lack of crop factor?
Szimi

If you want reach on a full frame body, you don't want to go Nikon D3 @ 10 MP. At 21MP the 1Ds3 will have more pixels on the bird when cropped to a Canon 1D3 file size, than the 1D3 will have uncropped. The Nikon D3 due to it's low pixel density will have even less pixels on the subject.

I went the 1Ds3 route last night. It will be great for both wildlife and landscape and apparently won't have the AF woes of the 1D3.

[c.w. moynihan]

Amazon.com says they have them in stock but I don't know what retailer they actually get them from.

Steve

It's Amazon stock, at least it was last night when I purchased mine, complete with their 30 Day return policy if not satisfied.

[Michael Lyncheski]

Thanks for the info on Amazon. It is out of stock now but next time I will be quicker. :)