Mini Canon 1D MK III review with 85L

[Kris]

I'm currently in New York and have spent a bit of time at B&H lately. The guy offered his 1DMK3 to play with for a few minutes. I thew on my 85L, a lens I brought from B&H two days ago and LOVE! So, I've got some JPGs, full size (56K beware!)

First impression, AMAZING look and feel. Its so meaty, well built and the screen is huge. I wasn't too impressed with the quality of the screen as I feel its no better than my 5D but its alot larger and helps you judge focus. The shutter is really nice, a great sound and 10fps is insane. All the controls are MUCH simpler than the 1DS MK II I also played with (no shots). You can adjust everything fast and with the use of the quick dials.

Focus was alot faster than my 5D. The 85L II is quite slow to focus using AF, but there is definitely a speed improvement with the 1D MK III - no question here. Didnt get a chance to play with anything else.

This body was apparently a GOOD copy and didnt exhibit any AF issues. Certainly the 100% crops of the shots are impressive, especially the detail in the nose on the black B&H salesmen.

Shots [url="http://members.iinet.net.au/~teamkk/1DMKIII"]HERE[/url]

[sirhc55]

Sounds great Kris - new firmware to address LCD quality & AF coming end of this month.

[Kris]

I believe the Firmware is out, but it doesnt fix the AF. Apparently Canon Germany and Canada have a hardware chip replacement to fix it.. Ill wait until they release a fully working tested model without the dramas. Its going to be a wicked camera when this is sorted out!

[sirhc55]

It is out for brand new cameras or by taking the camera to a service centre but the downloadable version will not be available until the end of this month.

The fix for AF is as follows:

Improves the consistency of AI Servo AF under certain conditions
Reduces the tendency of the camera to autofocus on high-contrast backgrounds when shooting in conditions where AF detection is difficult, such as when the main subject is not completely covered by the AF frames or if the main subject's contrast is low.

The version is 1.0.9

[Laurie]

how freaking cool is B&H!!
I visited there 3 times.
spent up big
seeing your pictures brings a massive smile to my face.
Thanks for sharing.
*very jealous* btw have you seen Rove?

[Kris]

I LOVE B&H. I spent way too much

Tamrac Pro bag, which is just awesome (my Mini Trekker AW is for sale!)
Canon 85 F1.2 II
Tele Convertor
350D for Kel with 18-55
Two mack warranties
B+W Filters
Lowepro Lens bag (used only for Hoods)

Someone has to clue me in on this Rove thing? I've not seen him. Should I? Is he staying in my hotel or something  PS: here is a B&H review I wrote on OCAU

The store is like nothing you've ever seen. Firstly, its massive. Like a entire block. There are lines in the morning before it opens.. You go inside and wait behind this line and the sales guy (one of about 4 billion) calls you up and then deals with you. All the makers of the gear basically pay for advertising in the store so Canon, Nikon, Leica and so on actually pay to have space there and then they supply ALL the demo gear not B&H. Every lens, every camera is on display and you can play with it all you like. They treat L glass like its worth 50cents. Most of the expensive gear, like the L glass and Medium format gear is behind the desk and requires a salesman. There are other sections that have cameras on cables with batterys like in the mobile phone stores and let you play around...

Once you decide on your gear, you get a receipt and then the gear is sent from behind the desk to the front of the store. There you line up (takes about 5seconds because theres about 10 cashiers) and you pay. Diff line for cash or credit. Once you pay, another 5sec line for collection. By the time you get your receipt and walk to the front of the store, your gear is ready to go in a nice B&H bag.

Nice big used gear section upstairs. Big telecope section and AV gear including stuff like Plasmas and so on.

I'd say 95% of the salesmen are Jewish. It's quite strange. They close on Saturdays too

Amazing place!

[adam]

So cool

Have fun there!!!

[jamesw]

I LOVE B&H. I spent way too much

Tamrac Pro bag, which is just awesome (my Mini Trekker AW is for sale!)
Canon 85 F1.2 II
Tele Convertor
350D for Kel with 18-55
Two mack warranties
B+W Filters
Lowepro Lens bag (used only for Hoods)

Someone has to clue me in on this Rove thing? I've not seen him. Should I? Is he staying in my hotel or something  PS: here is a B&H review I wrote on OCAU

The store is like nothing you've ever seen. Firstly, its massive. Like a entire block. There are lines in the morning before it opens.. You go inside and wait behind this line and the sales guy (one of about 4 billion) calls you up and then deals with you. All the makers of the gear basically pay for advertising in the store so Canon, Nikon, Leica and so on actually pay to have space there and then they supply ALL the demo gear not B&H. Every lens, every camera is on display and you can play with it all you like. They treat L glass like its worth 50cents. Most of the expensive gear, like the L glass and Medium format gear is behind the desk and requires a salesman. There are other sections that have cameras on cables with batterys like in the mobile phone stores and let you play around...

Once you decide on your gear, you get a receipt and then the gear is sent from behind the desk to the front of the store. There you line up (takes about 5seconds because theres about 10 cashiers) and you pay. Diff line for cash or credit. Once you pay, another 5sec line for collection. By the time you get your receipt and walk to the front of the store, your gear is ready to go in a nice B&H bag.

Nice big used gear section upstairs. Big telecope section and AV gear including stuff like Plasmas and so on.

I'd say 95% of the salesmen are Jewish. It's quite strange. They close on Saturdays too

Amazing place!

that description of B&H seriously got me so damn excited, little butterflies in my stomach kind of deal!

i wanna go i wanna go i wanna go

it'd be like being 5 years old and going to my first candy store, all over again...

[Laurie]

Rove is doing 2 shows there I think.
He is taping in the building with the Wavey Design. with "blocks" missing.
I am sure I have a photo of it somewhere. - just not at hand.

DO everything early!
where are you staying?

[Kris]

Its a HUGE candy store, I love it. Expensive candy though!

OH , SWEET! Im like 5mins walk from the ABC building in Times Square. Im on West 55th

Just a little apartment in a Hotel. Its retro, but aircon and close to the action

Wonder how I can see the Show with Rove, cant find any tickets...