1D MkIII - request for info.

DemiLion

DemiLion

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I may be lucky enough to have someone give me 1D as a late Christmas present.

The one that I'm currently looking at is immaculate, having had one owner from birth and no visible harsh treatment; however...........

The serial number falls into the early bracket of the problem batch (51****)and was bought new in 2007.

I've phoned Elstree and they have confirmed that:

The previous owner was an individual.
The Submirror was replaced in 12/07.
The camera was returned to them in 04/09 for the AF issues fix and that all relevant work (as per the AF issue) was carried out at the time.
The camera has had no further work done according to their records.

The price is reasonable and comes with a 6 month warranty.

Does anyone have any experience of a fixed 1D, and if so did the work carried out by Canon solve all the issues?

In other words am I looking at a very pretty pup, or a viable camera? The fact that the owner had it from new and only exchanged it for a MkIV leads me to think that it's OK, but I'd rather listen to some experienced views as well.

Many thanks in advance.
 
If I where looking for a mKIII I would either buy off a mate or buy the one you just described... sounds perfect.
 
If it's been back to Canon, it's more than sorted. Grab it!
 
Thanks Tony. I was after confirmation that the so called dodgy batch weren't terminally diseased. If they had been, I suspect that we'd have seen the MkIV released one hell of a lot earlier!

Obviously the MkIV would be the preferred option, but I can't justify it at the moment, and I'm not loaded like you Pro type folks! ;)

Edit: Cheers Gary - my thoughts as well! :)
 
I've got a 1Dmk3 and it's fantastic, I went from a 5D.

It's ultra fast and excellent quailty. I've had mine out in the rain with no problems!
 
Thanks guys. It's just down to some domestic negotiation now! :)
 
tirc83 said:
If it's been back to Canon, it's more than sorted. Grab it!
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I'd strongly disagree with that. Mine was fine to start with but once it had been in for the fix I never had the same confidence in it for some reason. It went back again and although it was okay it was never seemed as good as it was originally. I'd be wanting to test this one thoroughly before agreeing to buy.

The MkIII is the reason I ended up going to Nikon. :confused:
 
dod said:
I'd strongly disagree with that. Mine was fine to start with but once it had been in for the fix I never had the same confidence in it for some reason. It went back again and although it was okay it was never seemed as good as it was originally. I'd be wanting to test this one thoroughly before agreeing to buy.

The MkIII is the reason I ended up going to Nikon. :confused:
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Much the same here, i had 3 different MKIII's and all had the sub mirror fix and none were ever sorted, thats why i went to a Nikon D3 and the 1D MKIV is why i went to a D3S, i personally wouldnt touch one of those in the affected range with a barge pole, even if it were free.

On the plus side the MK11N was a stunning camera
 
OK. I can see both of your points of view, especially given the number range.

It looks as though I might need to check the warranty, or at least get a fair use trial agreement if I go ahead.

Out of interest Gary what was it about the MkIV that made you go to a D3S if you'd already moved to Nikon? I'm not trying to pick holes, just understand the thought process and assessment.
 
It's like anything else, if someone has a bad experience with a product they are likely to make it known whereas you probably won't hear from a 1000 other satisfied customers. In the end it's down to you .. but I know a bloke who had a dog of a D3S ;-)
 
DemiLion said:
OK. I can see both of your points of view, especially given the number range.

It looks as though I might need to check the warranty, or at least get a fair use trial agreement if I go ahead.

Out of interest Gary what was it about the MkIV that made you go to a D3S if you'd already moved to Nikon? I'm not trying to pick holes, just understand the thought process and assessment.
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Without wishing this to derail into a Nikon/Canon debate i missed the crop factor of the Canon and thought when they introduced the MK4 everything would be good to go back, how wrong was i, the MK4 was as much a dog as the MKIII, canon just over complicated the AF system and theres apparently some 102,000 different combinations to choose from, i put it down to a combination of a bad camera and user error but it didnt sit comfortably with me only getting a very poor keeper rate so i made the switch back and upgraded to the D3S, the D3S only has 2 settings for the AF system, On and working or camear switched off :LOL:

Seriously, ive never ever had to fiddle with the AF or the stupid camera/lens calibration settings with Nikon, it does just work.
 
Thanks for that. I agree that I'd rather this didn't turn into a Canon v Nikon issue; it's pointless and it's been done to death.

I'm already committed to Canon so changing systems isn't an issue, but I was interested in your thoughts.

Every little helps, and there's always an App for something etc! :D
 
I would seriously think twice about one of the affected ones though, there are way too many documented cases of "fixed" ones still not working correctly and there are loads of good MKIII's out there so why take the risk.
 
Not as simple as that Neil, if it has problems it will just keep getting sent to Canon and you could be without a camera for a long time, better to avoid the affected ones to save the hassle, then again theres the increased risk of not being able to re sell it, or at least more difficult to do so.
 
My Mk3 was in the affected serial number range, it never suffered with the problems described, i sent it off for all the fixes as i didnt want to be left with an unsaleable camera because somebody said it hadnt had the fixes done, it always worked fine for me. As does the MK4, which i have never had to tweak the AF settings on either. It just works !
 
I bought one from the affected but rejuvenated range around a year ago. It works fine as does the 1D4. I still use it especially when I need to shoot with both my 1D bodies and doubt if I would give it up for quite a while yet. It's true that you have to configure your unit which may on one hand be seen as being part of the fun of ownership. Whilst I must admit to preferring one that works straight out of the box I wouldn't give up my 1Ds for anything else out there. The system works for me as I'm sure it will for you.


Enjoy your photography


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I may be wrong but neither of you seem to shoot sports in bright sunlight which is where all the documented AF problems of the MKIII stem from.
 
I have two mk3's and both have been returned to Canon for both fixes. Never had any issues with them since. Just my experience others may dissagree.
 
snapzz said:
I have two mk3's and both have been returned to Canon for both fixes. Never had any issues with them since. Just my experience others may dissagree.
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I think it was luck of the draw, the affected range even by Canons own admission didnt mean that all the cameras in that range were affected, just some of them, i once lent mine to a fellow tog who reset it back to factory default settings clearing all the custom functions and he then set it exactly as his own was set up, he was amazed at how mine didn't focus, i shot his camera sat beside him and we both shot everything exactly the same but the results were so far apart it was unbeleiveable and this was after the sub mirror fix and all the firmware updates.

Never really understood why on earth they mucked about with a new AF system when they got it spot on with the MKIIN (Stunning camera)
 
Gary Coyle said:
Not as simple as that Neil, if it has problems it will just keep getting sent to Canon and you could be without a camera for a long time, better to avoid the affected ones to save the hassle, then again theres the increased risk of not being able to re sell it, or at least more difficult to do so.
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the guys at MPB seem on top of their game from my dealing with them (where my mk3 came from).. im sure they wouldnt let things drag on like that.

edit - i might be assuming its from MPB but the mention of 6 month warranty sounds like them.
 
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Just had a peek and Matt has a very low mileage MK11N for £799 in stock, a yummy camera for anyone on a limited budget.
 
Apologies for the lack of response. It was in Park rather than MPB (so just up the road).

There were a couple of minor hiccoughs with the ancillaries going missing, but in the end I got a rather good deal.

It's getting its first run in at a falconry display on Saturday, so that should give the tracking a reasonable work out!

Many thanks for everyone's input.
 
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