9 out of 9 people found this review helpful.
Great camera for the serious professional!!
Date of Review: Oct 28, 2008
The Bottom Line: The essential tool for the professional photographer.
Purchased the Mark III in September 2007. Over one year later this camera still continues to amaze me! The controls are laid out perfectly and the camera feels like it's just the right size in my hands.
Others have complained about the price, but believe me, you get what you pay for!! I purchased this camera to take professional portraits, weddings special events. This camera was an upgrade from the Canon 20d and 30d cameras I previously owned.
Some of my favorite features are the auto - ISO feature. This mode allows you to set the camera in shutter or aperture priority, and if the camera cannot compensate for the exposure, it automatically increases the ISO. Great feature that allows the photographer more creative control of the picture while getting that perfect shot every time.
Another nice feature is the live view shooting. This mode allows you to take long pictures, or pictures in awkward angles without requirig you to look into the viewfinder. You still have to manually focus.
Another feature I like is the ability for the camera to record on multiple media targets. You can set the camera up to record raw on one card and jpeg on another. Or, you can set the camera up to jump to the other card when one is full. This is very convenient for me since I shoot in RAW.
Another feature is the limits, configuration, and file handling settings. You can set the minimum and maximum ISO, shutter, aperture settings, fast shutter speed, slow shutter speed, and the camera will compensate within your set parameters and deliver results.
One last feature worth noting is the microadjustment. This camera allows you to micro adjust for each of your lenses. This is especially useful if you have a front focusing lens that appears to be just a little off. You can adjust the camera so when you attach that lens, the camera automatically adjusts for that particular lens.
Sure, this camera costs a few dollars more, but the payback in the pictures is nothing short of amazing.. This is a TRUE professional camera and as such requires the photographer to have a significant knowledge of photography.
The battery life is phenomenal! Not only does the camera provide you with a battery meter, it has a menu setting that actually tells you what percentage of battery life you have left and the number of shutter actuations since the last charge. I routinely manage over 2000 (and once over 3000) actuations on a single charge. This is something that NO other digital camera can do! Significant upgrade over the 1dMarkII series cameras where the battery was larger, heavier, and lasted for at most 700 actuations. I thought of purchasing a backup battery, but haven't brought myself to do so because of the longevity of this battery.
This camera has been a very important compliment to my existing L series lenses.
Overall, I would recommend this camera for the professional photographer that is SERIOUS about the business of photography and needs proven professional equipment to deliver results to the customer. I have been considering purchasing a second Mark III as a backup to the one I own. My 5d is currently my backup camera (great, but not at the same level as the EOS-1 series).
You can check out some of my pictures at www.eubankphoto.com
