July 22nd, 2024
Ben Funk
It is one of my dreams to collect as many fun and unique cameras as possible, so when I learned of the Canon 1Ds mark iii I immediately went to eBay to see if I could find one and what price it would be. At the time of writing, you could find a decent-quality one for about $500. That price might seem like a lot for a camera from 2007, but it can somewhat hold its own even in today's mirrorless landscape. I won't go over all of the specs as they can be found with a simple Google search, but I will dive into what makes the 1Ds iii a good camera even today.
I have had the 1Ds for over a year now and have done a few shoots with it. The first thing I want to point out is that the sensor is 21.1 megapixels. That resolution was basically unheard of in 2007 and even holds it own in 2024, having a higher pixel count than the original R6.
1Ds mark iii 1/250s f/6.3 ISO 200 at 400mm with sigma 100-400 Contemporary: Camera auto white balance
1Ds mark iii 1/250s f/6.3 ISO 200 at 400mm with sigma 100-400 Contemporary: adjusted white balance
I took this camera up to the summit of Mt. Blue Sky and was lucky enough to see some baby bighorn sheep. The first photo on the left shows the original photo using the camera's in-body auto white balance. I was sort of surprised to see the photo this blue as that is a characteristic I'd expect from Sony. Canon typically has much warmer, brighter colors thanks to their color science from this time.
Once the white balance was adjusted to compensate for the cloudy day, the results became much more in line with what I'd expected to see. I think both photos are fantastic, especially for the budget lens I used to get the reach for the photos.
If you do go ahead and pixel peep you might see some blurriness, that is because I was at 1/250s for the shutter speed and not the fault of the camera. To prove this I put on my trusty Sigma 70-200mm f/2.8 and was able to get some photos during a brief sunny period.
1Ds iii ISO: 200 1/2500 sec at f/2.8
This was a lot closer to what I was expecting from the 1Ds right out of the camera. the whole photo has nice warm tones to it. I underexposed by about 1/3 stop just to make sure the highlights weren't blown out in post.
When pixel peeping this image the person in the middle is much sharper and retains most detail, even when cropped to 100%
Having the closer crop, the image still looks really good! Now, would I print this out onto a 20" x 30" poster, probably not, but that would be the same for pretty much any camera when cropped in this much, save an R5 or one of the Sony a7r cameras with a ridiculous sensor size. I would be extremely happy to post this or use it for some photoshoots.
Looking at everything here it is clear the 1Ds can hold its own with its outstanding image quality. This would be a fantastic camera for slower-moving things like portraits or bigger wildlife, things that don't require the rapid autofocus of today's mirrorless cameras. More than that, the Canon 1Ds Mark III is just a fun camera to shoot with.
I find myself wanting to take it with me for any photoshoot I can, but I just don't have enough hands to balance my two professional bodies with that camera. There are definitely better cameras out there for everyday use, but when it comes to selecting a camera for the practice session I do, I reach for the 1Ds just as much as my R6 mark II.