Canon U.K. retailers to send back EOS-1D Mark III cameras

Correction 9:00 a.m. PDT Wednesday: The original version of this article misstated the camera's megapixels. The Canon EOS-1D Mark III has 10.1 megapixels.

Canon U.K. has asked its retailers to return any unsold EOS-1D Mark III cameras for a fix, according to reports Tuesday.

Canon U.S.A. says that it has no plans to issue a formal recall, but will address the autofocus issue soon.

Canon's EOS-1D Mark III

(Credit: Canon)

"We can confirm that Canon U.S.A., Inc. has not suspended shipments of the EOS-1D Mark III camera, and we can also confirm that we have no plans to do so. We will announce the EOS-1D Mark III AF issue on the Canon U.S.A. Inc. Web site in the near future," Chuck Westfall, Canon U.S.A.'s director of media relations, said in an e-mail.

Canon has previously acknowledged that at high temperatures its $4,500 10.1-megapixel digital single-lens reflex (SLR) camera geared toward photojournalists does have issues with the autofocus function. It has said solving the autofocus problem requires the adjustment of an internal mirror that reflects light into the autofocus subsystem, and encouraged owners to send any dysfunctional cameras to Canon for the fix.

Now it seems, the company is asking its U.K. retailers to send in all EOS-1D Mark III cameras still on shelves, according to both Digital Photography Review and Gizmodo.

There is no word yet on whether Canon will offer a refund or exchange for EOS-1D Mark III owners who prefer a different camera altogether instead of trying the fix.