Body & Ergonomics
True to the Canon EOS 1 series ethos, the body is a solidly-built combination of magnesium alloy and steel with weather seals all around. It's on the “very heavy” side of things, but it's nothing a little effort can't handle. The EOS 1 series' legendary toughness continues with a solid camera that doesn't feel weak in the hands. The single-piece outer body gives the camera a really rigid structure and the internal metal skeleton further reinforces it. The only plastic part of the body is the cap end of the battery which is itself superbly-built. Even the memory card slot cover is built with the very same stuff the body is made from.
The ergonomics of the camera is flawless. It fitted my hands snugly with ample area for a good grip. The faux leather helps improve the amount of grip on the body, which is far better than the light-matte finish of Canon's lower-end cameras. This is very useful in wet conditions as I've dropped cameras with poorer finishes on many occasions. Canon should actually consider changing the position of the Depth of Field (DoF) Preview button to its lower-end cameras as it is currently awkward to press, especially with longer telephoto lenses.
The body comes with the basic jet-black matte paint finish that is standard with most Canon cameras. However, I did notice during my travels that it is more scratch-resistant and takes beatings a lot more better than the paint job on the Canon 5D. It's not a significant feature in the traditional sense, but even little details like this goes a long way into making a great camera. The paint job actually extends into the camera itself, with the memory card and battery compartments covered with a coat of the rough paint. It's good to know that Canon paid a lot of attention to detail in this camera and that corrosion won't leach its way into the camera's internals.
The weather seals on the camera extend over every facet of the camera. Even the LP-E4 battery has rubber weather seals along its side to make sure the environmental protection is complete. The memory card bay was even better protected with little noticeable baffles lined with rubber seals. That was a really nice touch.
Survivability
On the trip to the Sunshine Coast, I found myself setting up my tripod in near-knee-deep salt water to get decent shots. As expected, the two great enemies of beach shooting came along - salt water spray and sand.
Even my Canon 70-200mm 2.8L IS lens didn't do too well here after sand infiltrated the focusing mechanism, giving a scratchy feeling as it turned (I hope Canon cleans it for free!). However, the body held up like a champ, even when it was wet and had sand on it. After a good 2 hours of shooting, I just walked up the beach trying to figure out how to clean the damned thing. Then I saw a tap meant for washing sandy feet. Being the lazy arse I was, I turned on the tap and put the 1Ds Mark III underneath it for a good rinse.
Note that the cap for the WT-E4 transmitter pins was lost earlier so the pins (on the left side of the camera) were also exposed to the washing. I actually didn't notice it was missing until after I rinsed the camera. Frankly speaking, I didn't expect the camera to start up again after the pins were shorted by the water, but it did! And it kept on shooting as happily as it did before I rinsed it. Cool! Now I can take baths with my camera and not worry.
When I was at the Bunya Mountains, the camera was subjected to cold temperatures and generally a lot of rain. It was even left standing guard outside my tent for the night. Don't worry. There was no one around the place to actually steal anything, aside from bread-stealing possums and Currawongs. Turning it on in the morning, all it got was a case of the battery shivers with the camera reporting only a 5% charge.
So being the regular genius I was, heating the battery over a gas stove was the logical solution. I popped the hot battery back into the camera, and that actually gave me enough charge to shoot for the rest of the trip! Nice to know that something as unstable as lithium didn't blow up after getting roasted on a hot stove!
The Canon 1Ds Mark III is also not adverse to being thrown into a trunk and driven for long distances while getting bounced around and roasted in the trunk-turned-oven. I haven't tested it in extreme heat and under the mid-day solar roast, but I'll be sure to test that when I get back to hot and sunny KL in December. Should be more fun than a barrel of monkeys!
I'm also glad to report that the 1Ds Mark III was also the perfect child-whacking camera. I discovered this inadvertently while getting off the pier at Hervey Bay. I was walking around and suddenly this kid that was running around bumped into me. I instinctively swung around to take a look (the camera swinging in unison, of course!) and KAPOW, the kid gets a Canon 1 series right in the kisser and starts crying. It seems that the 1Ds Mark III can double as a child-beating device if it need be. What will those quirky Japanese think off next? LOL!
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