1DX Mark III

[Kayaker72]

I remember back when I upgraded from the 7D (my first DSLR) to the 5DIII. There were a couple of others made the similar upgrade at about the same time and I remember all of us being similarly impressed, the better AF changed the way we took photos. With the 7D, with BIF, I was taking many pictures just hoping to get one in focus. With the 5DIII, I just needed a couple, but having nice focus, really started being more common. So, we were not longer taking the extra images.

The 5DIV is a bit better than the 5DIII was.

The 1DX III....it is just ridiculous. I mean, just nuts. I am scrolling through sets of 30-50 images (you know, 3 second burst ) and they are all to almost all in focus. I've never experienced this. The 1DX III is a phenomenal machine. The through the OVF PDAF is simply the best I have experienced. Even with the 5DIV, I'll toss out half my photos of the birds on my bird perch for being out of focus. I still have not looked at all the pictures I took, but say I've looked at ~1,500 images so far, I've probably thrown out 10-15 for being out of focus (this is not including moving HBs where I was struggling, but more perched birds). The second caveat is any of you end up scrutinizing my images is that I did not AFMA my lens to the 1DX III I borrowed. My guess is that it needed a very slight adjustment. But, getting back to the good stuff, it AF through leaves/branches (deep learning?) that would have otherwise distracted my other cameras.

So, my take aways:

• AF is very fast and very accurate. I am not saying perfect, as now and again it would not spring into action, but generally, I pushed that rear AF On button and before it was all the way depressed, I was in focus.
• It can power the 2x TC much better than the 5DIV.
• I would need more practice with the sensor on the back of the AF On button, but that is a nice feature.
• I was at 3,900 images with 11% batter remaining.
• It was a bit big for my hand, but I adjusted. I did not care much for the vertical orientation feel. For those that shoot that way a lot, I get it, but it was a bit off to my feel.
• The entire set up felt heavier. I tend to hand hold everything, and it was noticeably heavier.

Overall, amazing camera and I am very much considering buying one when I get to the point where I could make better use of it, but there is one big catch that very much caught my attention. The reviewers were generally correct. As much as I would call this the best PDAF system I have ever used, when I switched to DPAF via liveview, it was "better" in that it was as fast if not maybe a bit faster, but had the distinct advantage in that if I locked an AF point on a HB (for example) at the feeder, it would stick on that HB as it moved throughout the frame allowing me to just take photos. This is an amazing feature for moving subjects and it impressed me quite a bit. Of course, the next generation of this is already out with DPAF II and animal eye AF on the R5/6. I will test one of those out before making my next purchase.

Ok, enough superlatives....I have many pictures that you'll likely see over time (working through Yellowstone and 1DX III set simultaneously)....but, I picked these as I have cardinal pics with the 5DIV and M6 II from this exact same set up. So, my bird set up, all taken from my office window. But, you can see, I am picking up better action with the faster AF and fps than before.....

10.4 MP
AC8I2711-Edit by kayaker72, on Flickr

13.2 MP
AC8I4375 by kayaker72, on Flickr

14.1 MP
AC8I4376 by kayaker72, on Flickr

5.5 MP
AC8I4633 by kayaker72, on Flickr

5.5 MP (500 mm, no tc)
AC8I5484 by kayaker72, on Flickr

[Jonathan Huyer]

The 1DX III....it is just ridiculous. I mean, just nuts.

Ha ha yes that pretty much sums it up! So much fun. I do agree with you, that as good as the OVF focus system is, the new system on the R5/R6 is almost certainly even better. But it's probably like going from 99% hit rate to 99.5% hit rate.

In other happy news I just found out that I'm able to join a bear viewing trip next month in central BC, so my 1DX3 will finally get the workout it desperately needs. Stay tuned!