There is a wildfire on the net about all the malfunctions of the AF system on the MKIII. If you do a search it seems that it all stems from one very reputable camera operator who writes reviews and even posted several samples that illustrate the backfocus problems in sunny conditions.

People are rushing to cancel their preorders and returning their cameras to the dealers...on another photoboard, a poll showed that 55 out of 80 people who own the camera confirmed the focus malfuntion.

I was wondering if anyone here (who owns and has used one several times) could verify these claims, or if this is just hysteria.

Thanks in advance, as any info would be appreciated,
Shawn

The sky is falling!





.... haven't heard that but who knows. If it's really that bad I'm sure it'll be fixed soon.

Here's an interesting article on it from Rob Galbraith.

He published the artilce about the autofocus on the 19th (of June) and two days later had over 200 e-mails from people saying they had the same problem. I'm glad I'm deciding to hold off for a while.

He is a sports shooter though.... it'd be interesting to hear what people in the wedding industry are finding.

Yes.

I'm not liking it. It's AWB is not very good either. I'm really sad that I sold my 2nd 5D.

I'm deep in love & hate with my Mark III.

I've encountered the same AF issues as in that article, especially while shooting my son's soccer game today.

I'm not sure what to do.... maybe return it & work with two 5D's. ... maybe wait & see what Canon does.

I did have the AF wig out at a bright sunny beach session last week. It could NOT get focus (in ONE SHOT mode) on a toddler on the beach, standing still, w/my 70-200 lens. I eventually got it to lock focus on something, but it was frustrating.

I'm gonna go by the shop where I bought it next week to see what the owner says. I just don't know what to do.... sometimes I love the images, sometimes I feel like I MUST suck BAD to get images as badly focused as some that I'm seeing, sometimes I think it MUST be the camera because I'm trying so hard to do everything right in-camera!

I had the first batch of Mark II's and on that camera autofocus wasn't the issue - FOCUS was! - They fixed it quickly in a firmware update and all was good.

The Mark III is amazing and I just shot my first wedding with it today and it rocked!

Just wait till you see the slideshow tomorrow!

Also, most of the reports are dealing with problems with tracking which I rarely do as a wedding photographer so I'm not too worried about it. I had a phenominal experience shooting with it today and yesterday.

...hoping & praying for a fast firmware update, then!...
I can handle it now, because the sports stuff I do now is just for recreation, son's soccer games, etc, but the club is asking me to shoot some action stuff for them, and I need good tracking capability for that.
The $$$ stuff I've been doing for Barefoot Memories is turning out well with the Mark III -- especially w/the highlight retention custom feature!

I'm still jumping between DPP & ACR (CS3) for RAW processing... each day I like one better for different reasons, so I can't make up my mind on that one.

in this case, i'm glad i'm waiting until the fall to buy one. it's too bad, but i'm sure canon will get these issues resolved with some firmware updates. it's a new camera... all new cameras have issues... but i do understand how much that must suck!

Thanks for taking the time to share this info everybody!

Robs article was the one i was referring to, and it does seem to be an issue with the servo mode which as a wedding guy i hardly ever use anyway....although i do constantly shoot into the bright background on warm days with the long lens.

The preorder should be here next week, and now i'm a bit worried...I have enough OOF shots by my own errors;) The last thing i need is the camera doing it too! Lets keep our fingers crossed its just a firmware glitch that will soon be resolved.

I'll look forward to checking out the new slideshow too DJ,
Shawn

I'm not sure, but I think Rob was referring to long lenses in the context of sports (i.e. 300, 400, 500). You might be OK with a 70-200!

Good luck regardless!

My 70-200 has done a few real (not user error) wig-outs over the past week on bright sunny days. It was always at 200mm, and knocking that down, even just a bit, made it stop.
The tracking at sporting events is what I want to perform well, though. Especially since this was built with sports photographers in mind (10 fps) as well as portraits/PJ/wedding.

I emailed the owner of the store that got me my Mark III, and this was his response:


I didn't think I should put some guy's phone number on a forum, so I left that part out
But I'll call on Monday and let you know what he says.

I'm not all that thrilled about the "user error" excuse. I know I'm not a professional sports shooter, so I probably do need to be doing a better job with this equipment. But, the AF wig out in sunny skies is a real problem, and I think the tracking is not 100% my error, either.

We'll see what he says! I'll keep you posted....

(posted by Mike)

Not to hijack, but Shawn Dude, post up some of your awesome work here every once in a while!!! Glad to see you checking back in with OSP! Im sure if Canon has an issue, they will fix it ASAP! From what Ive read, it has some awesome features, and cant wait to see DJ's images from yesterday!