EOS-1D Mark III: Andy Mettler (part 1)
Andy Mettler has been using the EOS-1D Mark III since its release for a wide range of his event photography assignments. These are his first comments on how it’s performing.
© Andy Mettler
Andy’s real passion is remote editing and speed of image delivery to the client. He firmly believes that photographers should take pictures, and let editors get on with selecting the most appropriate ones for the client. Ideally, this should happen remotely. In fact, he says, the system will have come full circle: in the days of film, the photographer would hand rolls of film over to the darkroom technicians and the selection would be made by the picture editor. As remote editing becomes even easier, editors will have more control.
Assignment background
Andy’s first job with the EOS-1D Mark III took place in June at an event to mark the one-year countdown to the start of Euro 2008. It was held on Aletsch glacier on Mount Jungfraujoch in Switzerland where a match was played on a small pitch.
He was shooting pictures of the event for the organisers and wanted to make sure the images were available before the other agencies could get theirs online. Using an HTC Advantage pocket PC to handle the remote editing, gave him the option of either shooting tethered and letting the editor browse the images directly in the camera, or putting the card into the pocket PC and having them viewed from there. He preferred the latter option as it negated driver issues and didn’t run the risk of slowing the camera down.
© Andy Mettler
Favourite features
1) The stronger USB connection. The screw thread attachment means it’s not likely to break the connection at the camera so it’s more secure and usable outside in rough environments where knocks and bangs are common.
2) The Live View mode. Andy said he was initially sceptical of this for his needs, but with a bit of practice he found it very useful for both high and low shooting – no more ‘shoot and hope’ since you can see where the camera is pointing.
3) The high ISO performance. “In some situations you have to use a high ISO,” he says. “With the EOS-1D Mark III, even 3200 can be used if you need too – and it still produces good results.
4) Vibrating filters. They help to prevent dust on the images. “Cleaning is no longer a daily job like it used to be,” says Andy.
© Andy Mettler
Downsides
1) “Shooting with the EOS-1D Mark III presents a problem: I can’t just go back to using older cameras. It is so intuitive and offers so many new and useful features, that I now find it a struggle to use an EOS-1D Mark IIN or an EOS-1Ds Mark II,” he says.
2) Resolution. “With an EOS-1Ds Mark II, you get used to having enough pixels to crop some off if you need to, and the results are still great. “Swiss Image was the first agency in central Europe to choose 4096 pixels [on the longest edge] as a standard size and we will change to 5000 pixels when the next Ds series camera appears,” he says.
3) Andy also thinks that all the new features and in-built flexibility might be seen as a problem by some photographers.“ There are so many features and functions that it might mean some photographers need extra training to get the best out of the camera,” he says.
