How much dynamic range does the Canon 1D Mark III offer?

According to measurements carried out by DXO Mark, the sensor in the Canon EOS-1D Mark III provides a maximum of 11.7 EV of dynamic range (DR). DR is defined as the ratio between the highest and lowest brightness a camera can capture. A value of 12 EV or above is considered excellent.

High dynamic range of a camera sensor is particularly desirable for scenes with a mix of very bright and very dark parts, such as in some landscape photography settings. It helps to avoid that highlights get washed out or that detail in shadows is lost.

Sensor specs and performance

The table below compares the sensor specs of the Canon 1D Mark III to those of several similar cameras. The reported DXO values are indicators of the sensor's imaging quality (higher is better). In addition to dynamic range (DXO Landscape), the listing also covers color depth (DXO Portrait) and high-ISO noise (DXO Sports). Larger sensor cameras tend to outperform cameras of the same generation that are equipped with a smaller imager. On the other hand, larger sensors are more expensive and require bigger and heavier lenses than smaller light receptors.

Sensor Characteristics

		Camera Model	Sensor Class	Resolution (MP)	Horiz. Pixels	Vert. Pixels	Video Format	DXO Portrait	DXO Landscape	DXO Sports	DXO Overall
1.		Canon 1D Mark III	APS-H	10.1	3888	2592	none	22.7	11.7	1078	71
2.		Canon 1D Mark II	APS-H	8.2	3504	2336	none	22.3	11.1	1003	66
3.		Canon 1D Mark II N	APS-H	8.2	3504	2336	none	22.3	11.2	975	66
4.		Canon 1D Mark IV	APS-H	16.0	4896	3264	1080/30p	22.8	12.0	1320	74
5.		Canon 1Ds	Full Frame	11.0	4064	2704	none	21.8	11.0	954	63
6.		Canon 1Ds Mark III	Full Frame	21.0	5616	3744	none	24.0	12.0	1663	80
7.		Canon 5D Mark II	Full Frame	21.0	5616	3744	1080/30p	23.7	11.9	1815	79
8.		Canon 5D Mark III	Full Frame	22.1	5760	3840	1080/30p	24.0	11.7	2293	81
9.		Canon 5DS R	Full Frame	50.3	8688	5792	1080/30p	24.6	12.4	2308	86
10.		Nikon D2Xs	APS-C	12.2	4288	2848	none	22.2	10.9	489	59
11.		Nikon D3	Full Frame	12.1	4256	2832	none	23.5	12.2	2290	81

In the United States, the 1D Mark III was initially launched in February 2007 at a price of $4,499.

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Camera to camera comparisons

In case you would like to check on the differences and similarities with other camera models, just make a corresponding selection in the search boxes below. An an alternative, you can also directly jump to any one of the listed comparisons that were previously generated by the CAM-parator tool.

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