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Canon's latest professional digital SLR offers speed, stealth and precision.
After my first week of testing Canon's EOS-1D Mark III digital SLR, it finally dawned on me what seemed so different about this camera from its predecessor, the 1D Mark IIn. It's the sound it makes after you press the shutter. Not really distinct when firing off a single frame, the noise is more noticeable in high-speed continuous mode when the Mark III can tear through an industry-leading (as of this writing) 10 frames per second.
"Wah-wah-wah-wah-wah-wah-wah-wah-wah-wah," goes the Mark III.
Now there are those out there who might argue that I'm only falling victim to an over-hyped spec. That the Mark Ill's 10 fps speed isn't really any more useful than the Mark IIn's already blazing fast 8.5 frames per second rate.
While that may be true, brother, it's not the speed so much, as it is the sound. You dig?
But before you think I've gone all mystical on you like Dennis Hopper's crazed photojournalist in Apocalypse Now and run off into the jungle with a Mark III around my neck, go shoot a couple of sporting events with the Mark III, like I did, and then switch to the Mark IIn and compare. A fantastic camera in its own right, the Mark IIn's shutter sound is higher pitched than the Mark III, more like a "scree-scree-scree" than the warmer, quieter "wah-wah-wah" of the new model.
And this is not just my imagination. To prevent the Mark III's mirror from breaking as it's repeatedly smacked down during rapid-fire bursts, Canon's added a new hook mechanism inside the camera that snares the mirror for a soft, quieter landing after each shot. Swift and stealthy.
Other changes between the two models have been well-publicized but I'll go through the significant upgrades and explain how they affected the assignments I tested the Mark III on and why I think this camera is a breakthrough tool for photojournalists everywhere.
IMAGING SENSOR-MORE RESOLUTION, EXTRA SENSITIVITY
The 1D Mark III uses a 10.1 megapixel sensor which is a bump up from the Mark IIn's 8.2 megapixel sensor. While this is another case where the upgrade might not seem that significant, I found out how important those extra couple of...