The competition
Image: Nikon D3S
The only direct competition for the Canon EOS-1D Mark IV is the Nikon D3S, which can be found for around £3,580. As well as a very effective 51-point AF system, the D3S has superb low-light capability and excellent noise control, but at 12.1 million its effective pixel count is around four million fewer than that of the Canon camera.
It would take a head-to-head test to be certain, but the D3S appears to produce better results at the higher sensitivity settings.
The D3S’s maximum continuous shooting rate is 1fps lower than that of the Canon camera, but this is unlikely to be a major deciding factor for many professional photographers.
Despite the issues surrounding it, there are many satisfied EOS-1D Mark III users and it is an affordable alternative to the Mark IV.
New bodies can still be found at around £3,000, while mint-condition second-hand examples fetch around £1,900. It has only ten million pixels, but that is enough for A3 prints and the image quality is very high.
Image: Canon EOS-1D Mark III
