Canon EOS-1D Mark III Mountain Bike Action Tests

[Photo-John]

As you guys know, I've been testing a Canon EOS-1D Mark III for a few weeks now. Last week I finally got out to test it in its element - action photography. One night I shot some mountain bike dirt jumping and yesterday I shot a cyclocross race. For the dirt jumps I pretty much shot as I normally would, without messing much with the custom functions - and there are a lot of them. Yesterday I started playing with the custom functions to see if I could fine-tune the auto focus the camera to better capture racers in motion.

The EOS 1D Mark III offers a huge number of customization options. The most compelling to me are changing the frame rate, fine tuning the auto focus speed and accuracy, and changing the auto focus button and activation options. When I shot the dirt jumpers I played with the capture rate a bit. The high speed is 10 frames-per-second. That's really, really fast - too fast to be practical for most of my purposes. Since you can customize the frame rate in the custom functions menus, I changed the slow speed rate to 6 frames-per-second (default is 3 FPS). I was also curious about how well 6 FPS would be since I've got an original 8 FPS EOS-1D, and I want to see how practical the upcoming EOS 40D's 6.5 FPS frame rate will be.

Since I did get missed shots due to the auto focus not keeping up, yesterday I used the EOS-1D Mark III's AF Maicroadjustment custom function. This was actually one of the most exciting features for me when the camera was introduced. I used it to adjust the AF forward a bit so that the camera would naturally lead my subject. I have't used a camera yet that didn't focus behind a racer when they['re moving fast, close, and towards me. I don't really think this is a camera failure, and there are techniques to compensate for it. But the ability to adjust the AI Servo AF so that the camera compensates for me is great. And it did seem to help. At the beginning of the day I had a lot of shots that were soft when I used AI Servo. After I made the adjustment, I had a lot more keepers. It's possible that I was warming up and getting more accurate. But I think the AF Microadjustment really helped.

So far so good with the EOS-1D Mark III. I do think it's got a lot of improvements and performs very well. I upgraded the firmware to the 1.1.0 version to make sure I had Canon's latest auto focus updates. So far I haven't seen any behavior that I would consider failure. I'm very pleased. And I'm getting close to wrapping up the review. I'll be sorry to have to send the camera back to Canon

[jorgemonkey]

You got spoiled on the lighting in the cyclocross shots! That camera puts out some impressive images. I would love to try out the AF compensation for cycling, since my longest lens is a 200, I get a fair amount of images with the camera focusing on the rider behind.

[JSPhoto]

Nice PJ, wish I could have used one of those again today at the air show. As you mention the AF Adjustments are probably one of the neatest things about the new body, that would be great for any type of fast moving action. The high ISO I think would also be the greatest asset to hockey shooters as the arenas are not the best lit joints.

Just curious as to what lenses you were using with these though.

JS

[Photo-John]

Just curious as to what lenses you were using with these though.

I was using my ancient 70-200 f/2.8L and a brand new 16-35mm f/2.8L II that Canon lent me. It is possible, and even likely, that my 70-200 needs a tuneup. But I didn't see any performance problems that made me think there was a problem with the lens or the camera.

I should seek out some sort of indoor sports to shoot. I'm not sure how to go about that, though.

[JSPhoto]

I was using my ancient 70-200 f/2.8L and a brand new 16-35mm f/2.8L II that Canon lent me. It is possible, and even likely, that my 70-200 needs a tuneup. But I didn't see any performance problems that made me think there was a problem with the lens or the camera.

I should seek out some sort of indoor sports to shoot. I'm not sure how to go about that, though.

I wasn't inferring a problem with a lens, but I was kind of thinking at least one of these was with the 16-35 lens and thats what had me curious....it's a great lens! :thumbsup: It's also the one I used at the Brickyard 400 for the shot through the fence.....I'm seriously thinking of getting one, the only issue at the moment is the $$ as it isn't cheap.

JS

[Old Timer]

That second shot is totally awesome. When ever I see the stuff you pros turn out it really puts me in my place. Great shots PJ. That new Canon seem to be the cat's meow. Now lets see how many can scrape up enough scratch to add it to there litter.

[JETA]

I kinda feel like OT. Put in my place.

I'm very grateful for your review. My III seems to be performing well, so I'm going to hold off to update my firmware. Saturday we play in Seahawk Stadium and it would be to true form for me to screw up my camera b4 such an event.

[Photo-John]

I just wanted to add one thing. I don't want anyone to think that every frame was in focus. far from it. While the 1D Mark III does seem to be better at focusing than any camera I've used, it still misses shots. But the success ratio is higher. The trick is to know when and how to use AI Servo. It's not fool proof and you still have to use good technique. A better camera makes a difference. But it's not necessarily the answer. Like I said, I have the frame rate set for 6 FPS so I can pre-evaluate how well the EOS 40D speed will work for me. Personally, as much as I like this camera, I don't think I can justify the cost. We'll see if I make any money on the cyclocross photos, though

[JSPhoto]

PJ,

I doubt we'll ever find a camera thats got perfect AF for sports shooting, there are just too many variables such as the lighting, lenses and of course the speed of the action. But being able to change how the AF operates to suit your needs is a great addition to the system. With out that though I change the AF point to lead cars at races or whatever. If I'm at Indy I'll set the single AF point to the left as the cars go towards my left . I'll normally just set it one step left off center.It just depends on how many points I have selected, sometimes it's all the way to the left of the viewfinder.

JS

[Old Timer]

I kinda feel like OT. Put in my place.

I'm very grateful for your review. My III seems to be performing well, so I'm going to hold off to update my firmware. Saturday we play in Seahawk Stadium and it would be to true form for me to screw up my camera b4 such an event.

It is humbling sometimes isn't JETA.

Can't wait to see what you get at Seahawk Stadium. Any way you cut it, it's going to be a great experience for the kids and for you.