In our April 22, 2007 first look at the Canon EOS-1D Mark III, we described the camera's autofocus as being blazingly fast at acquiring initial focus. So fast that covering women's volleyball over several days was pure joy, thanks to an incredibly responsive autofocus system in the preproduction body on loan from Canon. We also found its autofocus to be quicker off the line in dim light than any camera we'd used before.

But that wasn't the end of the autofocus story. We went on to say:

Q. Is the autofocus better in the production EOS-1D Mark III than it was in the preproduction unit?

Q. What are the camera's autofocus problems?

Q. You say the camera's autofocus difficulties occur or are worse "under certain conditions" - what does that mean?

Q. You described the EOS-1D Mark III as being incredibly fast at acquiring focus initially, but you also describe the camera's ability to focus initially as being a problem. Can you explain the contradiction?

Q. Doesn't the EOS-1D Mark III have a feature that allows you to adjust the autofocus so that the camera doesn't shoot out of focus pictures?

Q. How does the EOS-1D Mark III's autofocus compare to the EOS-1D Mark II N?

Q. Will Canon fix the problems? Can Canon fix the problems?

Q. Should I return my EOS-1D Mark III or keep it while I wait for Canon to fix the autofocus?

Q. I'd like to test my own EOS-1D Mark III. Any suggestions?

Full article by Rob Galbraith

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• Full Lab Test: Canon EOS 1D Mark III -17/07/2007

• Camera Test: Sigma SD14 -01/07/2007
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• 200 Megapixel Camera or 2 Megapixel? -13/06/2007
• Nikon to debut D3? (Photos) -10/06/2007
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