Most of pro photographers admit that Canon 1D mark III autofocus is disaster. A couple months ago, Canon launched Canon 1d mark IV, the state of the art Canon pro camera for action photography three years after mark III. In almost the same time, Nikon D3s is also launched with some improvements from Nikon D3.
Canon 1d mark IV now has new improved AF module, but how it compares with Nikon D3s in the field?
Rob Galbraith, a pro sport photographers tests both and find out it is not as good as Nikon D3s. After testing both cameras in several games including: speedskating, track and field, soccer and basketball. Rob concludes that Nikon D3s AF is more dependable.
Rob is also generous enough to share the full size photos for comparison. Check them out.
A few days after that, Canon issues a press release quoting four pro photographers praising 1DMk4’s autofocus performance at Superbowl XLIV sporting event.
UPDATE:
Recently, Neutral Day posted in-depth review of Canon 1d Mark IV and have interesting comment about this issue:
Note that above I said, “close to the Nikon D3s”. The reason for saying this is that the Mark IV seems much more reliant on getting custom functions right than the D3/D3s. Set properly the two cameras produce similar results, but the D3s makes it easier out of the box in my opinion. So perhaps the Mark IV is a “smarter” camera, either way I got nearly identical focusing results from the two cameras, which is saying a lot given the D3s’ capabilities. In the end I’d be comfortable with either camera on the sidelines of the “big game”, but I’ll confess that if my life depended on getting “the shot” I’d probably pick up the Nikon D3s.
To sum up, Canon 1d mark IV has more complicated AF system. If set properly, it might best Nikon D3s in speed and accuracy. However, Nikon D3s’ autofocus is easier to use and more versatile.
Related: Canon 1d mark IV vs Nikon D3s
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