Canon Announces A Fix For EOS-1D Mark III AF Problem
After months of online complaints, speculation, and at least one firmware upgrade that was supposed to fix the problem, Canon appears to have finally identified the cause of the focus problems with the EOS-1D Mark III. There has been information circulating on the Web for a few days now, as well as a public recall of the EOS-1D Mark III in the UK. Canon actually gave me the specifics on the problem a couple of weeks ago, when I met with them at PhotoPlus. But the official announcement wasn’t made until yesterday. I admit to being somewhat skeptical about the problem since I shoot sports and didn’t identify any problems with the EOS-1D Mark III that Canon loaned me for review. However, Rob Galbraith, arguably one of the best camera testers out there, did some very controlled testing and identified four specific problems, which you can read about in his article on the EOS-1D Mark III’s AF performance.
It turns out that the problem is a mechanical one that couldn’t be solved with a firmware upgrade. At least some of the EOS-1D Mark IIIs have faulty auto focus mirror assemblies which cause problems with focus tracking and continuous auto focus in the AI Servo mode. Canon suggests that the problem only affects some cameras. Their official statement says: “EOS-1D Mark III cameras that could have this problem can be identified by serial number: If the serial number on the bottom of the camera is between 501001 and 546561, the camera might require an adjustment of its AF mirror mechanism.”
Official Canon Service Notice: EOS-1D Mark III: AF Mirror Adjustment Problem
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