So which one of you guys here are/is the lucky SOB getting one of these? Not I!

Looks like stores in the US are finally going to receive them soon and shortly here in Toronto.

<i>Canon EOS-1D Mark III to ship today in the USA, tomorrow in Canada

Wednesday, May 23, 2007 | by Rob Galbraith

Canon will begin distribution of the EOS-1D Mark III today in the U.S., with the first bodies expected to land on dealer loading docks as early as tomorrow in some U.S. locations, says Chuck Westfall, Director of Media and Customer Relationship at Canon USA. Shipments of the camera are expected to be steady from here on in, says Westfall, though a significant number of pre-orders means it will take some time before supply catches up to demand in the U.S. market.

The new digital SLR model joins the EF 16-35mm f/2.8L II and Speedlite 580EX II on the list of released products; the new lens came available in late-April 2007 while the flash began to appear on store shelves earlier this month.

Wireless File Transmitter WFT-E2A has not yet been released, and while it's expected out soon, Canon USA has not set a firm date for shipments to commence, says Westfall.

In Canada, the EOS-1D Mark III is expected to ship from the company's facility in Mississauga to dealers starting tomorrow, May 24, 2007.

Earlier this month, Amateur Photographer magazine reported that the camera would ship around the middle of May in the UK.</i><ul><li><a href="http://robgalbraith.com/bins/content_page.asp?cid=7-8739-8982">http://robgalbraith.com/bins/content_page.asp?cid=7-8739-8982</a</li></ul>

especially not at $4500.

If I were looking to get a 1-series camera today, I'd go for Mark II or Mark IIn.

One thing I particularly don't like about the Mark III is that the X (assist button) is replaced with AF On button.

I use the X button set to center focusing point 90% of the time - without it I'll have to seriously change my style

As for the new technologies implemented in the Mark III - those are simply great, but I don't need them. When I was returning to 1-series in digital from the D30, I was looking for speed, larger/better sensor and overall better camera, plus the interface I was used to. My Mark IIn offers all that - heck, my original 1D offered all that :)

If I get the itch to spend some money (or, more realistically, if my wife lets me), I'll get the Leica M8. I've always hated rangefinders, but then I've always hated the Mac OS, and look at me now with an iMac and Macbook Pro, unwilling to touch a PC LOL.

So who knows - maybe I'll soon be another balding Leica fondler :)

Besides, how can you live with the 1D MarkII noise, it's intolerable ;-)

You can select the center focusing point by pressing the joystick. It's also quite easy to use the joystick to select different focusing points or groups while you are looking through the viewfinder.

I attended a 3-hour Mark III training by Canon Finland last week. Pretty good stuff, especially the live view and wireless transmission demos were impressive. First units should arrive in Finland this week but I'm not too optimistic about getting one from the first batch.

The problem with the joystick is that I suspect it's not easily accessible in portrait mode. Plus I'm lazy and don't want to learn new things :)

I know you are kidding about the noise, but I actually like noise. Old habits die hard ;)

BTW, don't take me wrong - I'm not at all suggesting that the Mk III isn't worth its price in any way. Just that for me the upgrade makes no sense.

That said, I'm sure you'll love yours - whether or not you'll find all the new features useful, it is a great camera nevertheless.

Yeah, I got your point and I agree. I also agree about the joystick and portrait mode. It can be used but it's located just a bit too far from the right thumb. I personally found the Mark III UI to be very nice and easy to adopt because it's similar to the 30D in many respects.

Yep, just kidding about the noise. Mark III will have less noise but I don't think the difference is as monumental as the hype wants you to believe. I'm certainly expecting improvement but there will still be noise, I'm sure.

Something from 2004 talking about the 1DMrkII. Complaints - lots of buttons and weight. And the price tag was $4500USD at the time.

I'm just waiting for the guy here to get his MrkIII this week hopefully and test it this weekend then I'm taking his 1DMrkIIN for a not-so-bad price :)

because button layout and function remained virtually unchanged on 1-series Canons from EOS-1 to Mark IIn.

The weight is about the same as the EOS-1 with the PB-E1 booster, so that hasn't changed either.

BTW, seems that with Mark III Canon is stepping away from its standard for 1-series (and EOS 3) "push button (or two buttons), turn the wheel", and adopting the non-1-series interface.

It will be interesting to see if there are complaints about settings being accidentally changed because of this

Sure to be a bad dog! Guess Nik is working on the D3X?

Well that's what we were hoping that Nikon would answer back at the last camera show, nope.

Darn it, I want some competition in that class vs Canon having it all for themselves.

And for Canada, probably a fraction of that, guessing &lt; 25. Canon probably didn't expect this much of a demand right off the start. I'm guessing a lot of camera hobbyists/enthusiasts today have a wad of cash to blow on a MrkIII compared to the days of the MrkII.