Canon 1D MKIII Autofocus Hardware Problems

November 1, 2007

Canon is apparently stopping shipment of all 1D MKIII units in the UK (and perhaps global) and recalling all existing supplies from store shelves.

Prophotohome.com has reported that…
1) The autofocus problems are not caused by sun or heat.
2) They are not caused by operator error. Although, many, many reports out there are obviously operator error.
3) It is not endemic to the new autofocus system design
4) The autofocus of the Canon MKIII is not “Broken.”
5) It is not a function of bad lenses. Two of the 4 runs listed above were shot with the same lens as the one used on the old MKIII.
Canon has since confirmed that they have found just such a manufacturing defect in some of the camera bodies produced during a certain time period.
This defect is reported to involve the sub-mirror assembly. Apparently, only some bodies are affected. Within the pool of affected bodies only some have defective parts, while others may simply need to be adjusted.

The affected time period should be announced soon. If you have a Canon 1D MKIII during the affected time period you should be able to contact Canon service to inquire about repair return procedures.