Hi KK, Andrew and Mike,
Well, it is early days yet.. Yes, I agree that NSW is as good a place as any to get used to the AF, etc. on this one.
First superficial impressions compared to ID MkIIn are good. (But I've never used the 1D MkIII or 7D, for example).
Twice as many pixels as the ID MkIIn, and it shows. Took a few ISO 3200 pics at Long Valley at dusk and they look okay compared to what I would have expected of the older camera.
I got a new CF card ("90MB/sec") as well, and it really writes to the buffer fast.
The quality of the review screen is very good, much better that the 1D MkIIn.
The controls (1D MkIII users would know already) are very user-friendly, no difficulty getting used to this machine.
A very informative viewfinder as well, tells you what ISO you're on, etc.
AF: some clear-looking shots but even this machine doesn't hold a flying bird in focus just because you want it to. In fact, I've found that - using all the AF points - with a silhouetted bird flying against a clear sky it can seem to be quite slow to "grab" the focus. Once focus is "grabbed" though, it holds focus pretty well, even against potentially distracting backgrounds.
Anyway, I need to go and practice with it !
Regards
John
