I received the 1DMkIII before Rob G's review came out. I did wire service work shooting baseball finals, in 100 degree heat, and had great results. Others who got the camera at the same time I did spoke of how fast it was in terms of focusing and frame rate, the clean images, the great new ergo features, etc. I had a ball with the camera, and enjoyed learning the new setups and how to get the most out of the new system.

A couple of weeks later, Rob Galbraith's article came out. People who didn't even own the camera were suddenly armchair reviewers, scrutinizing every sample image posted and declaring the camera a failure. People who are weekend shooters at best are declaring this camera a dud...even though in many cases it's obviously poor technique on their part. Even experienced folks are second guessing their results - is it because I am having to be more accurate due to the high frame rate? Or is it because the AF system is flawed?

Now it seems anyone who posts anything but a "this camera sucks" comment is accused of being in denial...that the autofocus is hopelessly wrecked. They can't know what they're talking about, they're simply blinded by the folly of buying a new, untested camera.

ALL of this autofocus talk originated with one reviewer - one guy who, under very specific circumstances, couldn't get the results he wanted from the camera. Never mind the fact that several other reviewers spoke very highly of the autofocus system, and called it an amazing camera. Those reviews are hardly given a second thought. Because Rob can't seem to figure out how to shoot featureless white tee shirts jogging at him in 90 degree heat at f/2.8 with long glass, the camera is completely defective in the eyes of many.

If Rob Galbraith had not said what he said about the camera, would ANY of this be going on? If his review had not put a bug in people's head about the autofocus system, would people be perceiving this camera in such an awful light? Or would people instead be working with and figuring out how to set up this completely redesigned camera for their shooting style?

So many factors come into play when shooting in high frame rate, narrow depth of field situations. Being able to do a 40 frame burst while holding an AF point perfectly over a moving and changing target is a difficult task for even an experienced professional. If someone is having a hard time getting it done, isn't it much easier to blame the camera and not their own inexperience or lack of technique? Is it possible to be objective?

Is it possible for anyone to view this camera in a positive light at this point? Or will the camera forever have ick on it...all because of Rob G's "tests"? If Rob comes out and declares, "This camera is fixed", will that make it all better?

Wow. How'd one guy get so much power?