Product ReviewsCanon EOS 1D Mark III 10.1 MP Digital SLR Camera - Black

Fantastic camera!!!

I moved up from a 40D / 5D combo to this one camera. This camera has proven to be a great replacement for both the others. I don't mind the extra weight, and the ease of the controls is so much nicer. I like being able to change ISO, aperture, and shutter speed all without ever taking my eye away from the viewfinder, and doing so in under two seconds!!! The built-in vertical grip makes is much more comfortable to shoot in portrait mode and not have sore wrists at the end of the day. The camera has incredible IQ, even at higher ISO's like 1600. I get about 1.5 - 2 stops more out of this than my 5D. The camera only has a 1.3 crop, so I wasn't really that off from my FF camera (5D), but cannot use EF-S lenses either. The camera is built like a tank, and the weather sealing makes is soooo nice for when I go out in the field and shoot landscapes (which is mainly what I like to shoot). It makes an outstanding 'general purpose' camera, and I use it for everything, from sports (which it excels at) to indoor receptions/parties, to landscapes. In addition, due to the camera having a larger sensor and "ONLY" 10MP, the noise, especially at lower ISOs, but also at higher ones, is so much less than either of my other two cameras. I've also had ZERO focusing issues like is often reported. I DID, however, have to micro-adjust all of my lenses, but that just made shooting good shots (for me anyways), so much easier, as I know the AF for each lens is now spot on. I REALLY like that feature! Overall, I think this is an incredible camera, and I would recommend it to anyone.Read full review...

Excellent camera, still relevant even today.

Not much to say, AF is fast and very programmable. Frame rate is fast, its built like a frickin tank, weighs more than your car. But it's a fantastic camera and love it. Produces excellent pictures and you can really notice the difference in DOF and Bokeh compared to a 1.6 crop camera.

One thing I notice is it doesn't quite have the same highlight holding capability as more modern cameras. It's not bad by any means but you can't pull the exposure quite as much in post as a more modern camera.

Noise is very good, not 1Dx level but still very nice.

Bottom line for anything that requires speed this is an excellent value for the money and if you score a decent deal you can still share the bateries and charger with a 1Dx in the future and keep the body as a backup.Read full review...

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Verified purchase:  Yes | Condition: pre-owned | Sold by: n1ckmasa

Canon EOS-1D Mark III - a Great Value!

The Canon EOS-1D Mark III is a truly professional grade DSLR that you can now buy for about $500. It is truly hard to believe that this excellent camera sold for over $5000 only a few years ago. It takes excellent 10 megapixel images at up to 10 pictures per second. It has excellent autofocus capabilities and 45 zone focus in the finder. The only disadvantage is it is rather large and heavy, but it makes up for it with all of it's image quality. Some newer cameras have 24 and 36 megapixel sensors, but the hard truth is 10 megapixels is enough for any print I am likely to ever make.

I love the camera, especially when I am taking pictures of my son's soccer games.Read full review...

Verified purchase:  Yes | Condition: pre-owned | Sold by: robertscamera

Canon 1D Mark III... The best Canon DLSR ever

As a working Professional Photographer I have used many different cameras over the years, including almost all of Canon and Nikon's DSLR offerings.

Finding the right camera is tricky, with many factors coming into play. No camera is perfect for every job, but one camera comes close: the Canon 1D Mark III.

First off, don't sweat the 10 megapixel resolution. Image quality is exceptional, and the 1D Mark III is sharper per-pixel than any other camera out there. There is no difference in the total amount of deatail captured between the 1D Mark III and Nikons D3 or D300 cameras. Noise is also lower than on any camera that has come before. This is the first camera where ISO 100-800 is simply a choice, based of the needs of the photo. There is zero sacrifice in image quality at ISO 800. Of course the 1D Mark III goes from ISO 50 to 6400, and every step of the way it outperforms all cameras that came before it. Nikon's D3 and D300 also have very low noise, but details and contrast start to suffer on the Nikons for ISO 1600 and up. Not so with the 1D Mark III, everything stays sharp and crisp.

Speed is what the 1D Mark III was built for, and in that regard it is obscenely fast, in every respect. That speed is enhanced by an amazing new battery that is good for over 2000 pictures per charge (sometimes over 3000 pics).

The 1.3X crop factor is a boon most of the time, except that there is only one super-wide option that really works (Sigma's 12-24mm). However with Canons 16-35mm L lens you get 20mm equivelent field of view, which often is good enough. However the advantages of a 1.3X crop are similar to a 1.5/1.6X crop in that you use the sweet-spot of a lens, which keeps things sharp around the edges... but with a 1.3X crop you use more of the lens, and this matters because most lenses are out-resolved by 8+ megapixel sensors, which results in many 1.5/1.6X cameras producing slightly blurred images regardless of the resoltion. The 1D Mark III really takes maximum advantage of a lens, which is a decidedly good thing.

One really outstanding benefit of the 1D Mark III is the new Highlight Tone Priority mode, which expands dynamic range by one full f/stop in the highlights. This feature is now included on the Canon 40D and the 1Ds Mark III as well, but it works best on the 1D Mark III because of the incredibly low noise characteristics of this camera. There is zero penalty in image quality for using Highlight Tone Priority, something wedding photographers might consider when comparing this camera to other models.

There is so much more to say about this amazing camera, but not enough time or space to say it. The price is steep, but the performance of the 1D Mark III truly justifies the cost. Anyone who shoots sports, action, fashion, birds, wildlife or even a baby making faces will absolutely appreciate the 10 frame-per-second, 110 JPEG Buffer (or 30 RAW)... and that even at full-speed the 1D Mark III is operating at full capability (Unlike the Nikon D3 which "cheats" to achieve full speed).

Truly one of the finest cameras ever made, the Canon 1D Mark III is a definitive statement from Canon as to how good a DSLR can be.Read full review...

The New Benchmark

So far I can find no camera imposed limitations to my photographs (except I can never have enough resolution). I have full use of my wide angle lenses again. I love this camera.

Some notes: unlike my 10D, the speed of compact flash cards make a huge difference with the 1DsMk III, I recommend at least a 120X or faster, don't use a standard CF card with this camera there is a noticeable speed difference (can you say turtle). My Lexar 120x card seems to do a decent job keeping up with the camera given my normal shooting style, but is still not fast enough to truly keep up with the camera in full continuous mode.

This is not a light camera and the controls take some getting used to coming from the D60/10D realm, but they seem better laid out for my use. Although the manual and autofocus on the camera is noticeably better then my older camera, I upgraded the focus screen (to Ec-b) because my eyes tend to adjust to the lens and I can now manually focus. Upgrading the focus screen was not something I could do with my D60 or 10D and I had problems with manual focus because of this.

This camera takes fantastic pictures. It is near-IR sensitive (although not as much as my 10D), so some near-infrared pictures are possible. For a multi-purpose camera this is THE 35mm camera for all but some sports and photojournalist photographers. In the studio, I am of the opinion, it can replace many medium format film systems as well. Although a bit pricey, it is well worth the money. I highly recommend this camera for the serious photographer.Read full review...

Outstanding camera -- easier to use than I expected

I previously used a Canon EOS 1V HS 35mm film camera, and it has been difficult to remember which of the many settings buttons to use for customized settings if you are just an occasional photographer like I am. The Canon EOS 1D Mark III became fully functional for me after just a couple of hours reading Canon's excellent manual. The menu-driven choices on the 3" LCD are intuitive and easy to set and change. The resulting photo images are well-exposed and of good resolution.

You still need to use the LCD to review your image after each shot, though, because your choice of white balance, and to a lesser extent "picture styles", will make a huge difference in the resulting image. That's my favorite advantage of digital over film == you can always be sure you have several "keepers" before you end your photography session.Read full review...

Great Camera!

The Canon 1D Mark III is an excellent camera. 1 series quality, so of course well built and weather sealed. Fast Autofocus, amazing frames per second, and the ability to save to multiple memory cards simultaneously(or one at a time) is a very valuable feature. Excellent camera for weddings as the low light AF capability is outstanding. Very good high ISO performance, which really helps in low light situations when no flash is allowed. Also the "ISO safety shift" is a great feature, it allows you to set the maximum ISO your camera will select automatically, in case you decide you don't want to exceed a certain point. The ability to set limits of shutter speed is quite nice as well, especially for weddings or events(in my opinion) because I can assure my camera will not dip below 1/60th of a second(or selectable slower shutter speeds). I strongly recommend this camera if you can't afford the Mark IV or the 1DS Mark III, the value is there, the utility is there, I don't regret it, and with the Mark IV out you can get some great deals now...Read full review...

Simply Amazing

Im a pro portrait photographer who owns two Canon 5d's, one being the new Mark II. I decided to purchase a 1D simply based on its customizable settings and blazing speed. I am very satisfied with the camera and very suprised by its ability to adapt between fast burst rate for action and slower burst rate for large RAW files for portrait work. Even at 10 MP it does a great job in terms of image quality and tonal accuracy. Its extremely customizable to each user and has the most incredible AF system I have ever encountered, which is a HUGH leap up from the 5D 9 point AF system. The only gripe I have is with the LCD screen. It does not compare to the incredible screen on the 5D Mark II. It does not come close to really showing you what the sensor captured and seems "dull" in contrast and even the fonts (letters) in the menus seem antiquated, like old typewritter letters.
Having a 5D mark II with 21 MP and this Mark III with its amazing 10 FPS burst rate (which by the way varies depending on several factors such as card type, ISO, F stop, and even picture style) is truly the best of both worlds.Read full review...

Simply amazing!

I was really big in film photography with an Eos-1N and I just wanted to try something different so I decided to buy a digital. I was a little skeptical at first given that this camera is now over a decade old but oh my was I wrong. The image quality and color depth is amazing! Truly a great camera from Canon! Everything is great about it minus some features you have to read the manual to get familiar with them. Other than that I would 11/10 recommend for anyone who’s trying to get serious about photography!
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Verified purchase:  Yes | Condition: pre-owned | Sold by: nationalcameraexch

The camera of the future is here now

Fast auto-focus, crystal clear images, ultra sharp even when printing poster sized prints. The perfect combination of speed and quality. Easier to use and understand menu items, options for customizing the camera for just the way you shoot, with multiple ways to save your styles of shooting. This means you can, with one setting, switch the camera from settings to shoot flying birds, to baseball, to flowers, and then to portraits.

It really does look like technology has peaked with this camera and in the future they will only be able to add some items of convenience, as the pictures from this camera almost can not be improved upon. Amateur or pro will enjoy what Canon has done with this model, it puts all other cameras into the "old fashioned" class, at least until the 1DsM3 arrives someday with a price near $10,000. Enjoy today, the camera of the future.Read full review...