Canon EOS 1Ds Mark III

The new flagship of the Canon line, the 1Ds III provides a 21 Megapixel, full-frame image with resolution that competes with medium format cameras. Other improvements include a 3 inch LCD with Live View, dual Digic 3 image processors, automated self-cleaning system, 45 point autofocus system with 19 high precision cross-type sensors.

It costs nearly twice what other top-of-the-line digital SLRs cost, and provides nearly twice the resolution. But compared to a $20,000 medium format digital back, the 1Ds III is a bargain. Please note: the files from this camera are huge— be sure you have appropriate computing power to handle them.

All of our cameras ship with one fully charged battery and the battery charger.

PLEASE NOTE: The Canon software included with a new camera is copyrighted and we cannot send it with rental cameras. You will need Photoshop or some type of image editing software to download and view your images.

Roger’s take: Do you know the difference between a Northern zoo and a Southern zoo? Well a Northern zoo has a description of each animal outside the cage. A Southern zoo’s description goes further, it also includes a ‘recipe’. The 1DsIII goes a little further too— 22 megapixels further. Obviously you don’t need that if you don’t need that, but for absolute detail in a shot, what it can do is staggering. Do most of us need that kind of resolution most of the time? No, of course not. But there are times when its necessary, or at least really desirable.

Like its predecessor, this is the ultimate 35mm SLR for landscapes, architectural detail shots, high resolution macros, or for any shot where you want to make an ultra large print. There’s also value to be had when you need to crop an image down, you can crop these 50% and still make great 11×14 prints. (For the person who’s inevitably going to email me and tell me they make great 11×14 prints from 50% crops on their XTi – you and I probably have different definitions of great.)