Rob Galbraith has posted an article devoted to the Canon EOS-1D Mark III autofocus capabilities which is an interesting read. Or, if you’re not big on reading, you can at least look at the pretty — and sometimes blurry and out of focus — pictures that go along with the article.

He initially posted that back in June, but posted a new update just a few days ago that goes into custom function settings related to autofocus and how those don’t fix the issues, and also posted some full resolution sample pictures illustrating the problems (caution, those are some big zip files to download if you want to examine the high resolution pictures for yourself).

It also sounds like Canon is agreeing that there is an issue with the 1DMkIII autofocus, but there aren’t any promised fixed yet:

We’ve been in touch with our Canon contacts fairly constantly, both before and after we first published this article. So far, nothing in this communication would qualify as a statement from Canon. We’ve seen copies of the emails that Canon customer service staff are sending out in both the U.S. and Canada to EOS-1D Mark III customers who complain about the camera’s autofocus performance. These emails acknowledge the reports of problems but don’t say what Canon will do in response.

Meanwhile, Canon spokesman Chuck Westfall has addressed a 1DMkIII autofocus question in his July Tech Tips column, and promises more Mark III autofocus discussion to come — does that mean addressing this issue? Who knows, all he says is “By the way, I’ll have more on EOS-1D Mark III autofocusing in the next edition of Tech Tips.” That seems relatively vague to me, but CNet news seems to think that means addressing the concerns and complaints head on:

Chuck Westfall, Canon’s spokesman and all-knowing camera tech expert, has promised to address questions about how well his employer’s new high-end EOS-1D Mark III digital SLR handles autofocus–but you’ll have to wait until next month.

I guess we’ll see what Chuck actually talks about in August. By the way, if anyone wants to send me a 1D Mark III for, you know, extensive autofocus testing, I’d be more than happy to accept your shipment and play with the camera. See the lengths I go to for you readers!