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01-11-2010, 08:41 PM   #1
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Fast and Sharp 1DmkIII plus 300mm/2.8

As I have said before here - I shoot the mkIII. I don't mean to sound like a broken record but its worth identifying the model when describing a situation.

I have been shooting that camera for about a year now and it is just like it should be with amazingly fast and accurate focus. I use it primarily for sports and I shoot the 70-200F2.8 as my main go-to lens.

But I swapped my Pentax 300 F2.8 for a Canon 300 F2.8 (non-IS) a few months ago to shoot primarily for surfing with a 2x TC - and it performed very well as expected. Last weekend I took this combo out to a mountain bike race for the first time and I was blown away. Out of 408 photos only 7 were not amazingly sharp and at least 3 of those were user error. I shot the lens exclusively between F2.8 - F3.5 with most of the shots at F2.8.

To further explain - these can be very difficult shots to get because the changing trajectory can fool the servo motor. I used to find that on some bermed corners the success rate with 70-200 would drop dramatically. I don't know why my success rate was so high and perhaps as I get to use this gear I will find weaknesses but for now I am officially impressed.

These images were all shot as JPG

ISO 500; F2.8; 1/1600


ISO 400; F3.5; 1/6400


01-11-2010, 09:32 PM   #2
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I've gotten to play with this combo a few times (my friend John is a sports photojournalist) and I have to say that the vast superiority of the focus system in both speed and tracking ability over any other camera I've ever used (K20D, 40D, K-x) was pretty obvious. I suppose you get what you pay for. ;-)

Nice shots.
01-11-2010, 09:46 PM   #3
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That's the least you should expect from a 5000+€ pro gear in the hands of a good photograph. I once had one in hands, it's quite a beast! Superb pictures!
01-12-2010, 07:53 AM   #4
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Nice work. Gotta love the 1-series -- the small LCD on my 1Ds2 bothered me at first until I realized that it virtually never missed focus so I really didn't need to worry about checking it...

01-12-2010, 06:13 PM   #5
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wow that's sharp ... nice pix
01-13-2010, 12:26 AM   #6
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Very nice! I know what you mean about amazing accuracy.

My friend has a Nikon d2XS with a 70-200mm for sports photography and it blows the pants off of anything I've ever touched by a WIDE margin...almost threw away my k20d when I got home, which isn't impressive even WITH a nice lens!
01-13-2010, 09:33 AM   #7
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This is why i hate reading these forums, i get these sudden urges that will have me in the store

Nice post!

01-16-2010, 06:19 PM   #8
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More great stuff from this combo today...

Both of these are at F3.2



01-17-2010, 10:09 AM   #9
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kunik, these are all fantastic action shots. The Canon fast telephoto formula seems to be super sharp point of focus at the expense of a smooth transition to the completely out of focus. I shot a dog show with my Nikon gear once and quickly noticed the challenges presented by backgrounds. And dog show folks sure like their folding camping chairs and patio umbrellas so you see a lot of sharply defined high contrast background objects.

It's difficult to say it but most of the pro shots taken with the pro-grade Canon gear end up on a printed page or web site so I wouldn't mind seeing Canon trade a little sharpness for more smoothness.
01-18-2010, 01:09 PM   #10
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very, very impressive mate. thank you for sharing these.
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