Vancouver CPS Expo – 1Ds Mk.III hands on!

The 1Ds Mk.III:

It was awesome to say the least. The rumours of no shipments to have a fancier display are unfounded. They are shipping in November. Production is underway of sub assemblies etc and price will not be any different from the Mk.II it appears.

The camera design is locked down. No changes. AF is a little odd for a Cf4 shooter. The option of two registered AF point with a 1Ds Mk.II is nice, I just need to dig deeper into the menu to customize it to my liking. If I buy one.

The menu system with the “20D” joystick is welcome. I like. The ISO button is not. I like it where it is on my 1Ds Mk.II where I can be looking through the viewfinder and dial in ISO. Since the ISO button is dedicated now and on the wheel side of he body it’s a little awkward. It’s the same as the 1D Mk.III and I’m amazed more didn’t complain. You get used to it I guess. The display is great. I’m not much of a chimper and I only ever use the histogram or the delete function. With this display, I would proudly chimp away. These guys on the forums saying that the Mk.III will be delayed since they are going to upgrade the screen to compete with Nikon are on glue. This camera or any camera show plenty with a screen this big. It’s the viewfinder that matters!

The viewfinder. Slightly brighter than the Mk.II it appears. It was dark where I was so hey, nothing really quantifiable there. All the goodies are there. The 85L and the 50L were STUNNING on it. Using a Canon TS-E 24mm 3.5L on it was certainly a wow moment for me. A lens I’d like to rent perhaps.

Weight is significantly reduced. The battery alone is more pocket or vest friendly. The finish is typical Canon quality. Outstanding. Now to the shutter… I can’t put into words how amazing this sounds. It has a distinct 1.3 crop sound but it’s full frame – that tight, quick sound. Maybe a NEW shutter sounds like that but it was just so different with my Mk.II there to compare.

Interesting note. My whiz friend Jason R had the Canon boys scratching there heads when he successfully took a picture with the 1Ds Mk.III with a third party lens on it in mind. He did some “hold the pin in” thing in live view to get the lens off without the mirror dropping and seeing if it would shoot and not interfere with a lens that would protrude into the mirror box.. It was weird. I’m going to have to ask him what he did. The guy thinks too much.

Large Format printers:

I can’t even begin to name all the model numbers. Suffice to say they were all there. The 6100 proved to be the darling of the show for me since it was actually affordable compared to some other large format printers. the price with the CPS Expo coupon was under $4000 CDN. A couple of us looked at each other and contemplated splitting the price. But who would house it…. bah, pipe dream. The best part of the printer was the auto calibration and the true 16bit printing. Yes, true 16it. No one else does this. Canon’s CS3 plug in bypasses the Operating System (mac + pc) and prints in 16bit. It has exportable settings to burn to DVD for the print job too. That was an excellent idea. The printing prefs history window kept a long, long list of print jobs. Quite stellar work on Canon’s part.

The Seminars:

Vincent LaForet.

Wow? Is that word good enough. You’ve seen his work if you don’t know his name. Trust me, this guy has it down. I would have loved to have 30 minutes with him and a couple cameras. If he ever puts on a paid workshop remotely near you, you need to go. He showcased work from the Olympics, Hurricane Katrina, NYC, US Open etc. You may be familiar with his tilt/shift work that has been making the rounds of the forums recently. You know the ones that look like little models of the Superbowl, Us Open etc. Yeah, that’s right – he’s the man.

http://www.laforetvisuals.com/

Denis Reggie.

This guy has so much energy. You better if you want to shoot the weddings of the Kennedy’s, the Schwarzenegger, the granddaughter of Gallow Wines etc. For all the photographer you see covering celebrity weddings, he is the guy that covers everyone else. He makes $50,000 per day. He does 52 weddings a year. He pays for two assistant shooters. Yes, people – 2.6 million per year. His overhead is mostly airfare, two shooters and a good suit. The guy shoots with about 5 Canon lenses (24-70, 70-200 2.8 IS, 50L etc.), a couple 580 EX II flashes and a 1D Mk.III which he said is the best wedding camera on the planet, bar none. His technique is a page right out of Canon’s rulebook. High ISO, wide open to a max of 3.5 and bounce ETTL flash to replicate natural light and shadows. He doesn’t like to pose but to capture. I could go on for pages about the stuff he said. Basically, the way I’ve been trying to shoot is what he does masterfully. Travel light, shoot high ISO, fast lenses and watch the DOF. Canon has this written on their wall somewhere I swear. The DOF part is what he has mastered and NEVER taking your eye off the viewfinder. He doesn’t appear to miss shots.

In the end they both admit that they never shoot above f/4. 2.2,2.8, 3.5 etc. This is the domain of the well paid professional who has mastered DOF control with a delicate balance of focal length and aperture.
http://www.denisreggie.net

The Vancouver CSP Expo of September 2007 was one I wish I had more time for, to be at every seminar, every event. The Lightroom and CS3 seminars were a little light on advanced stuff, but excellent for pointing out the little simple things you never use.

*Club EOS linky for their review*
A sample image from the 1Ds Mk.III. No flash, dimly lit and I was super stealth in sneaking in my CF card into the camera as they were NOT cool with that when others asked. Exif says camera model is K215. Hehe.
Shot from the 1Ds Mk.III

Here are some other shots from the expo.

These next three are of me with the 1Ds Mk.III in my hands. As a fellow member of POTN asked this morning “Are you going to get one?” -I’m still on the fence. My 1Ds Mk.II is a LOT of camera already. I am also interested in the 1D Mk.III. Fence sitter I am.