Focusing...

Three shots taken with the new Mark III that came in the mail the day before my brother-in-law's wedding reception, showing the power of what the new camera can do.

The group shot was taken on fully automatic focusing mode, with the camera set to "machine gun." Every single shot taken (more than 30 over the course of a few seconds) is in focus. The camera was able to intelligently decide the subject, figure out how fast it was moving toward the camera, and keep up with the focus every step they took. Unbelievable.

The second shot was taken with the 85mm 1.8 lens - a lens that usually sits in my closet. With every other DSLR I've had, the thing was way too erratic, simply because at 1.8 the focus is so shallow that I would almost never focus on what I wanted it to... but with the Mark III, almost all of the 100 or so shots I took with the thing are focused... and that includes some really low-light, tough situations.

Finally, the last shot is of Ira, my father-in-law. It's taken at ISO 3200, and hasn't had any post-processing done to reduce noise. The noise level in the shot is simply stunning and now allows me to shoot at ISO 3200 at a wedding when I'd only go to 1600 before.

Nearly every shot was in focus the entire night. Every one. Even when it was extremely dark and muddy (indoors with artificial light) I was getting shots I wouldn't have thought I'd get before without taking dozens of photos and hoping for the best.

The night was a blast, and the Mark III helped me capture the moments. I think that makes it worth the money...