For months before the official announcement of what the public had dubbed the Mark III, rumors flew through Internet photography sites at unbelievable speed. Whenever anyone even thought they had a clue, the photography world lined up to read about it (FIG 3.20).
FIG 3.20
Canon did, indeed, introduce the 1D Mark III. What Canon had so cleverly hidden from the rumor mill (and who could blame them?) was that they were not just introducing another model, they had actually reinvented the concept of a digital SLR and what it should do for the person who holds it. Since introducing its first DSLR, the EOS DCS 3, a Canon/Kodak hybrid released in 1995, Canon has noted every complaint, bitch, rant, compliment, praise and suggestion, waiting for the time when technology could produce the greatest camera of its kind.
Does this mean that photographic technology has reached the end of the road? Of course not. Technology moves by leaps and bounds, traditionally doubling in speed and benefits every 18 months (Moore’s Law), so you can expect that Canon is already working on goodies that will blow your doors off again, and in the very near future. But, as far as the Mark III is concerned, Canon has produced a machine that does more, and does it faster, than any other camera out there (at the time of this writing).
To do this camera justice, and to provide practical advice for every feature, would require an entire book by itself, and, unfortunately, time and space will not allow me to do that. So let’s take a look at some of my favorite features of the Mark III, and how you might apply them to your work.
FIG 3.21
You’ll notice, as soon as you power up the machine, that the LCD indicates automatic sensor cleaning is taking place. Originally introduced on the Rebel XTi, this short burst of ultrasonic vibration cleans the sensor of small dust particles. While it’s possible to acquire a chunk of something on the sensor that the cleaner can’t remove, almost all of the dust problems we’ve learned to live with have been eliminated (FIG 3.21).
If you want to shoot tethered but don’t like wires (I know I don’t), the addition of a WFT-E2A dedicated Wireless File Transmitter lets you send images via three choices of wireless transfer methods, PTP, HTTP, and FTP, to a computer over a LAN. With FTP, studio photographers can send frames to the studio’s lounge area (keeping unnecessary personnel out of the shooting area); event photographers, working with an assistant, can transfer files to be chosen for immediate printing.
Those of you who’ve worked social events know the bottom-line value of having prints ready for purchase within minutes of making the image.
The Wireless File Transmitter mounts on the camera’s side and can also immediately upload to a website, using the HTTP version of the WFT-E2A. When using it, an assistant (in the next room or on another continent) could remotely browse the camera’s memory card via any standard web browser and transfer only desirable files. This is a secure operation, by the way, as it requires knowledge of the camera’s IP address as well as a password.
The PTP function can also be used to control the camera remotely! You can change settings, focus, and shoot from your computer using EOS Utility, free software that comes with the camera.
Let’s move on to the Big Buzz.
It’s true! The Mark III will shoot bursts of images at 10 frames per second onto its new 10.1 megabyte sensor and, depending on the write speed of the flashcard or SD card you’re using, it will maintain that burst rate until the card is full. Canon promises 110 frames, but tests with a very fast card like the SanDisk Extreme III indicate the camera will write more than 120 continuous frames in a single burst before the buffer fills and forces the camera to take a breath. This sequence represents a full second of the shoot; notice how smoothly the action flows from frame to frame, so close to real-time animation (FIGS 3.22-3.31).
Recently, SanDisk announced its new Extreme IV cards, with the fastest write speed on the planet (at least for now) of 40 megabytes per second. I haven’t seen any data from Canon as yet, but at such a speed you should be able to get well in excess of 120 frames in one burst.
For sports photographers, a burst rate of 10 frames per second is a blessing that means the peak of action will not be missed; an entire gymnastics exercise, many from start to finish, can be covered in one burst. For wedding and event photographers, it means fewer missed opportunities. Imagine being able to isolate the one split second that defines an intimate moment, along with frames immediately in front of and behind that image.
Unlike the 30D and 5D, traditional cameras of wedding and event photographers, the Mark III is weather sealed, so should you have to follow a bride and groom out the church into a spring rain, you can do so without fear of ruining your camera (check the manual for full details). It’s a safe bet that friends of the couple will not hold their umbrellas over you.
Speaking of wedding photographs, the Mark III addressed the problem of blown out highlights in high contrast situations by extending the dynamic range, the number of tones that can be correctly produced, through a Custom Function, C.FnII:3, Highlight Tone Priority (FIG 3.32).
FIG 3.32
FIG 3.33
When you use it the lowest available ISO will be 200. The ISO designation on the display will change to read 2oo, indicating that Highlight Tone Priority is in use. Event photographers, who do not always have the luxury of testing exposure prior to shooting the “money” shot, have had many problems balancing the bleached and blued whites of a wedding dress against the light-absorbing blacks of tuxedoed groomsmen. Highlight Tone Priority very effectively addresses this problem, as well as the problem of white-on-white tones. Obviously, this Function can be useful for any subject matter that would be improved by an expanded dynamic range FIG 3.33).
Pixels, and the borders around them, have been redesigned to be much more efficient. The borders, incredibly tiny photodiodes that separate pixels, now deliver the light more efficiently to the chip, lessening noise and allowing for an extended ISO range. The camera defaults to an ISO range of 100-3200. In the digital realm, ISO 1600 was previously noisy, because, up to now, signal amplification at each pixel site presented noise control issues. The ID Mark III carries the next generation of Canon’s on-chip noise removal circuit, and the redesigned chip and new noise circuit, working together, are responsible for the amazing reduction in noise. Using an additional Custom Function, C.FnI:3, will extend the ISO range to 50 at the low end and an amazing 6400 on the high end.
Canon’s instruction manual says that images made at ISO 6400 are “acceptable”. I say they are astounding, especially when using C.FnII:2, High ISO Speed Noise Reduction, to suppress noise! Like most of you who read the hype, I was immediately intrigued by Canon’s claim, and had to try it myself. I bounced an incandescent spotlight into a large umbrella and shot a series of portraits with the 85 mm f1.2 lens. I set the Mark III to Aperture Priority (at fl.2) so the camera would see the scene exactly the same way, regardless of the change in ISO. You can judge for yourself, but the results absolutely knocked me over, especially when looking at a 30 X 40 enlargement of the ISO 6400 image! (FIGS 3.34-3.41).
The previous set you looked at were all jpegs, straight out of the camera and without any adjustments. When the series was shot, I made the images in both RAW and jpeg, which gave me the opportunity, through DPP, to go to the original RAW file and change it to a Monochrome. Again, without any exposure or density changes (although I did some minor skin retouching after the fact), I processed the file as it was shot and, again, I was blown away. The result reminded me of Tri-X film processed in a very controllable developer like Rodinal; tight grain, great tonal range, and terrific skin tones. If you like black and white and want a look for your imagery that your competition can’t touch (unless they read this book, of course), this could be it FIGS 3.42 and 3.43).
 FIG 3.42 |
 FIG 3.43 |
When Canon redesigned the camera’s back to accommodate the larger, 3 inch LCD, they added a new feature, Live View. If you’ve ever had trouble framing a shot because of difficulty looking through the viewfinder, like you might have if your camera is positioned quite high, you’ll immediately appreciate that Live View allows you to see through the lens. To activate it, turn it on in the Menu, and then deselect the Menu. When you’re ready, just push the Set button (the Menu must not be engaged when you do this or you will make a Menu selection) and the mirror will lock up. The LCD will act like a ground glass, letting you see exactly what the lens is seeing.
This feature is helpful if you’re not able to shoot tethered but have clients milling about, offering suggestions as to what they want to see. When you’re ready to shoot you can either push the Set button to drop the mirror or just push the shutter button, which will close Live View before taking the picture (FIG 3.45).
FIG 3.45
Pre-visualizing a crop, in-camera, can be a source of frustration, especially if you’d like to shoot square. You could get a custom screen from Canon or other source, but they can be pricey. Canon addressed this problem in the Mark III via C.FnIV:14, Add Aspect Ratio Information. When you select a preset aspect ratio, bars appear in the Playback image on the LCD, indicating immediately whether you’re framing correctly. If you use Live View, the bars appear on the LCD as you look through the lens, for more immediate adjustments and, although they won’t appear in a finished image, of course, the bars will be seen, and can be moved around (or ignored), when the image is opened in DPP (FIGS 3.46 and 3.47).
FIG 3.46 The image as seen
FIG 3.47 As seen on the LCD
There are 57 Custom Functions for the Mark III. To make it easier for you to quickly find what you need, Canon separated them into four groups and placed each relevant Custom Function in the correct folder within the redesigned Menu. As you can imagine, logical placement of these Functions will make your life a lot easier FIG 3.48).
FIG 3.48
Also new to the Menu, the My Menu window displays Functions that you choose to add to the menu such as registered Custom White Balances, Dust Delete Data, a quick jump to Highlight Tone Priority, the invaluable Battery Info window, another quick jump to Format, and your registered personal Menu Settings. Just knowing that I could access this information so quickly rapidly increased my confidence level in the short time I had to work with the machine FIG 3.49).
FIG 3.49
From the 19 high-precision, cross-type AF points to the precise Battery Info window FIGS 3.50 and 3.51, the Mark III should be considered the first of a new breed of camera and a new approach to digital photography.
 FIG 3.50 |
 FIG 3.51 |
You could also consider the Mark III a “crossover” camera, with features that appeal to photographers of most every discipline, and you can bet that every new Canon being designed today will incorporate features and technologies introduced by the Mark III.
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