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| The Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III will be available in November 2007 for $7999 (list, body only). Click photo for more views of the camera. |
Canon has announced a new version of its flagship full-frame professional digital SLR. The EOS-1Ds Mark III offers 21-megapixel resolution in a full-frame 36x24mm CMOS sensor, increased from the 16.7-megapixel resolution offered by its predecessor, the 1Ds Mark II. It offers a native light-sensitivity range of ISO 100 to 1600, which can be expanded to ISO 50 to 3200 via custom settings.
The new camera also adopts some features from the EOS 1D Mark III, introduced earlier this year, including dual DIGIC III processors, an integrated sensor cleaning system, and live LCD viewing. The 1Ds Mark III takes EF lenses and EOS system accessories.
The Mark III's magnesium alloy body is nearly identical to that of its predecessor, with the notable exception of a slightly larger viewfinder protrusion on top. The bigger hump is due to the use of an improved pentaprism viewfinder, which Canon says offers the finest optical quality ever in a Canon SLR viewfinder. Its 0.76x magnification improves on the 1Ds Mark II's 0.70x. The 1Ds Mark III's live-view function works in a similar way to that of Canon's 1D Mark III, with the ability to both display a live image on the camera's LCD and output it to a monitor.
With the dual DIGIC III image processors, the Mark III's drive mode can capture full-resolution bursts of 56 JPEGs or 12 RAW files at 5 frames per second. The processors also allow 14-bit-per-channel analog-to-digital conversion instead of 12-bit, resulting in 16,384 levels per channel of tonal gradation in RAW images instead of 4,096.
Other notable components of the Mark III include the same 45-point autofocus sensor with 19 cross-type AF points and 26 assist points that is used in the 1D Mark III, and support for fast UDMA CompactFlash cards. According to Canon, the 1Ds Mark III offers the fastest write speeds in a Canon camera to date.
The Mark III will be sold with Canon's Digital Photo Professional software. The camera will be available in November 2007 for $7999 (list, body only).
Not to be outdone by Canon, on Thursday Nikon announced two new DSLRs, the D3 and D300.
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