Ok, to finish my August blog off nicely and smoothly slither into September, I have just one thing to say...especially if you are a Canon fan as you may find this quite disturbing!
If you visit your local camera retailer any time soon and just happen to see a Canon EOS 1D Mark III...keep walking, in fact, run! At the very least, carefully hand your wallet and credit cards over to your wife and slowly leave the building...and don't look back!
I went out to buy a Canon 580EX II this morning for a spate of weddings in September and bumped into a retail chap that knows me well and loves me purely because every time he sees me, he relieves me of my hard-earned cash.
Anyway, I asked if they had any 580īs in stock, which they hadn't, but I did notice that they had the Canon EOS 1D Mark III in...in fact it had pride of place in their window. I asked how much and when he told me his "special price" for me I think I just looked at the pavement, gibbered something nondescript, stumbled a bit and shot off to the nearest magazine shop...
Yep! After checking a few RRPīs, he had definitely given me a discount of around Ģ500 ($950)! I asked if I could have a "quick look" and BAM...that was it.
I own the 1D Mark II and didn't flinch at the upgrade that was the "N" version, although still a nice camera in its own right it didn't have enough new features to justify the upgrade for me.
This 1D Mark III thing has had the full makeover.
- The buttons
- The screen...Oh...the Live Screen...
- The resolution
- The quality at high ISO
- The weight
- The speed
- The...the everything!
I know he saw my reaction as I fired a few shots and checked for dust etc (sad, I know) and unbeknown to me, he had already asked his assistant to start preparing for the sale...he knows me so well.
Anyway, at that price I didn't even have to make the choice, my wallet (who also knows me very well but has lost a lot of weight recently), quietly slipped out of my pocket and gently wandered over to my retail friendsī lap and purred like a kitten for him.
"Ka-Ching!" went his register..."Sigh!" went my wallet..."WTF!" went my wife!
Yes, I bought it, at that price I would be mad not to as I was actually planning on buying it at the end of September anyhow...maybe.
I won't go into too much detail here but rest assured I will be using it at tomorrows wedding and the others throughout September so will obviously be adding to the review I wrote not so long ago...this will be pure "hands on" from a wedding and stock photographers point of view...this is a camera no longer reserved for sports and wildlife!
Thanks and if anyone is looking to buy a second hand 1D Mark II (great condition and used as backup to 5D with about 20-30,000 actuations), all sensible offers considered!
See you soon,
Nick
All Things Photography
Well, the wedding season is coming to an end and I can see light at the end of the tunnel, which means in a few weeks I will finally have more time to devote to ATP.
I will be adding to the already extensive wedding photography section with additional tips, examples and sample images. I also hope to emphasize the need for certain equipment, not so much as necessary but extremely helpful.
Some things I have been pondering over are whether to add a wedding photography forum breaking down each section of the day, start an online wedding photography tutorial system or to organise hands on and extensive wedding photography tutorial courses in the UK and Spain.
Any comments would be more than welcome.
One thing is for sure, over the next few weeks you will be able to comment on certain parts of the website and maybe even upload your own photos and videos for public critique so stay tuned. If you havenīt already, please visit and enjoy our free wedding photography tips section
Wedding Photography Tips
All the best,
Nick
All Things Photography
