Canon EOS 1Ds Mark III by Phil Holland

I came across Phil Holland site and realized that he has just got his Canon EOS 1Ds Mark III too, one of the first few people in California to get the Canon EOS 1Ds Mark III.

 

Specs of the camera aside and lets proceed with what Phil has to say about his new tool, a replacement for his 1D Mark II which have served him few years.

Phil’s review mentioned some real world and not so real world shooting conditions. Phil was also kind enough to include 100% crops, a couple of CR2 Raw files, and links to larger images. All images have been processed through Adobe Camera Raw.

Phil’s view on the 1Ds Mark III ISO performance

ISO 50
ISO 50 shows a lighter black area. This is expected though because ISO 50 is there to really to increase dynamic range, or at least increase the “workable” dynamic range. The gradient is nice and smooth.

ISO 50-400
ISO 50-400 is pretty much noiseless. There is a slight amount of noise at ISO 400, but it’s barely noticeable. The gradient is still nice and smooth.

ISO 800
The noise is just starting the show up, but again in the real world this is barely visible. The gradient is still very nice.

ISO 1600-3200
The noise is visible now. However, it’s pretty low. The color noise is fairly minimal and the files could be worked to print very large. The noise pattern seems to have a very velvety and film-like quality to it, which I enjoy. Detail is also nicely retained. In my experience with the 1Ds Mark III you can push an ISO 3200 image to ISO 12800 and still has a very workable, printable image.

For more photos reference of Phil’s ISO test proceed to his
website.

Keep an eye on Phil’s website for an updated testing of Canon EOS 1Ds Mark III with 24-70 F2.8L and 70-200 F2.8L IS.