THE CANON EOS 1D MARK III

Canon announced their newest digital slr, the Canon EOS 1D Mark III on Thursday, February 22, 2007 ahead of the PMA show in March. Already this camera is the hottest buzz on the digital camera circuits around the net, and with good reason.

I received my latest in-house brochure (above) from my Canon friends, and low, and behold, the 1D MKIII is in there! This camera has been in the works for a while. From reading the specs, as well as the fascinating Canon "white-paper" I have to say this camera looks like "da bomb!!!"

You can read all the specs by googling on the web. Anyway, here are some highlights from the new camera that I like: 1) A new 10.1 megapixel APS-H (1.3x) sensor 2) Live view 3) new 19 cross-type AF points 4) The ability to fine tune the AF. No more sending your camera, and lenses back to Canon for front/back focusing! 5) ISO 6400 (Yea!!!) 6) In-camera dust reduction 7) Dual Digic III processors ...And that's just the tip of the iceberg for this camera!!

Oh yeah, the camera can also do 10 frames-per-second, making it the fastest digital slr on the market when it arrives. What really impresses me even more than the specs is the fact that Canon listened to their customers. Even the ergonomics have even been tweaked to where you won't be having to rely on pressing double buttons for certain functions. This camera is not an evolution of previous 1D cameras, it is a revolution. Canon, the innovator, is back!

There are a couple of things I have noticed from early opinions on the net. First, this camera seems to have garnered universal respect for its impressive specs. Even Nikon diehards have praised the features of the 1D MKIII. Nikon will have to do quite a lot to surpass the specs on this baby.

Some folks have been trying to suggest that Live View is a gimmick. Having used an Olympus E-330, the first digital slr with Live View, I can tell you that it is an invaluable tool for composition. Live View has been the norm on point 'n shoot cameras for years. People used to say that it wasn't offered on digital slr's because they are more "serious" tools. Nonsense. The technology wasn't quite there, but it is now! And you will see more of this. Before you bypass it as a gimmick, try it. You will see that it is another tool to enhance your creativity, and a very useful tool at that. The more tools, the better. And if you don't like it, you can always turn it off. Hey, be glad your options are expanding.

The Canon EOS 1D MKIII looks to be a great all-in-one camera that can do almost anything. Some folks have wondered if the image quality will equal or surpass the EOS 5D. I'm still thinking that for very large prints, the 5D will still yield somewhat better IQ. Don't forget, it's not a 10mp vs a 12mp camera, the 5D is nearly a 13mp (12.8) camera. That little extra is the thing that gives the 5D its edge on IQ over 10mp cameras. This I have seen with the 5D vs the D200 or even Canon's own XTi. On small, and medium sized prints, maybe even up to 16x20, they should be pretty close.

So I'm in love with the specs on this camera. One problem: $3999 MSRP!!!

Something in me says most of us would do just fine with a D200 or 40D for a lot less than that, but the 1D MKIII is giving me a seriously bad case of gear lust.

Will have more to say on the revolutionary new EOS 1D Mark III, should I be lucky enough to get my dirty hands on one someway, somehow. I'm already begging my Canon guy...

Best, Sam