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Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III
21.1 megapixel full frame digital camera
By Robert Jensen
I have to tell you that I have in my hands right now what I consider is the finest camera I've ever had the pleasure to use in more than 40 years of taking photographs, the Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III. With 21.1 megapixels on a full frame sensor to work with there's not much needed to add to your wish list for the perfect camera. Travel, commercial, landscape, or architectural photographers will all love the images this camera can take. The detail it resolves is incredible!
Having a full frame sensor means all the lenses act just like they did on 35mm film cameras back in the 'old' days. Canon has been making cameras for more than 70 years now and just started shipping its top-of-the-line, full frame sensored, EOS-1Ds Mark III. Photographers around the globe are scrambling to get one of their own. This is a pro level camera capable of producing an amazing 21.1 megapixel image, with its CMOS type sensor. That is in the range of output of some medium format digital cameras! You'd have to take four frames from a 6 megapixel DSLR camera, stitch them together to beat, by a very slight margin, the resolution of the Canon. Canon has produced a camera which not only has head-of-the-class resolution but is designed to withstand almost anything you can throw at it short of running it over with your car and even then I'd put the odds in favor of the Canon.
I've been lucky to get my hands on one of these exquisite cameras to write this review because demand for the first units has made them a scarce commodity. The first impression you get from this camera is one of solid construction. You can feel the ruggedness the moment you pick it up in your hands. The 1Ds Mark III is a pure picture taking machine. The outer covering has a good grip to it, like it?s locked into your hand. As you hold it up to your eye you'll see virtually 100% of what will be captured by the sensor. (Most cameras show you 95% or less.)
I've always felt the viewfinder in cameras to be one of the most important deciding factors to making a DSLR purchase. Is the viewfinder bright? Is the information well laid out? The Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III earns an 'A+' in all these areas. With 19 high-precision AF points, which are all 'cross-type' meaning they focus well on both vertical and horizontal edges, PLUS 26 additional focus assist points, chances are you will lock onto focus immediately with hardly a chance the camera might have to hunt before it can lock on. Most cameras in the past have had only one cross-type AF point in the center of the finder. Unfortunately for most subjects what you want to be in focus isn't smack in the center of the picture - so having 19 cross-type focusing points laid out over a large area is a real bonus with this camera. As with other cross type sensors, this works best on faster lenses with f2.8 maximum apertures.
Other stand out features are a burst rate of up to 5 frames-per-second for up to 12 RAW images before the very large buffer fills. Being able to work with huge 21.1 megapixel images at this kind of throughput speed is all thanks to its new dual Digic III image processor which moves data at a very high rate. Oh! In case you don't shoot RAW? The 1Ds Mark III can give you 56 full resolution JPEG images. Just remember to use a CF, SD or SDHC memory card that is fast enough to keep up. The EOS-1Ds Mark III also has a durable shutter that has been tested to 300,000 cycles. I've seen pro photographers burn through some cameras in a year or less because their shutters couldn't take the sheer number of images a pro has to shoot on the job.
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