My Initial 5D Mark III observations

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darktiger

[H]ard|DCer of the Month - April 2007
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Apr 10, 2003
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Okay this last past weekend, I actually had sometime to really shoot with the 5D Mark III. I plan to do a write up on it and maybe compare this between the 5D Mark II and 5D Classic… (maybe even the Nikon D800).

But here are some initial observations. Now keep in mind that this is from my perspective. I am just a amateur/hobbyist “photographer”. Also I have not used the video feature yet, so I cannot comment on that.

Pros
• Huge AF improvements compared to the 5DMarkII. My 5DMII use to hunt in low light and also in strong backlight situations. I have not experienced any of these with the 5DMIII. It is very responsive and quick.
• HDR capabilities. I love HDR. Not your overcooked ones, but your natural to dramatic ones. The 5DMIII in-camera HDR is nice, and the results are good. Especially when you use a lens that has IS (such as the 24-105L). Also it does 2,3,5,7 shot AEB bracketing. This is very useful on tripods.
• Controls/buttons – It allows you to customize/remap buttons. This is very useful so you can customize your camera to the features/style you are use to.
• Build quality and feel. It feels more solid. Also the gripping/tactile feel is more pronounced than the 5DMII.
• ISO – I rarely went over ISO3200 on my 5DMII… And that is only when I had too…. I am very comfortable in going ISO6400-12800 on the 5DMIII. While I do not see a big difference between the 5DMark II in the lower ISO (100-400), it does recover a lot better. (improved dynamic range). I see about a stop or two noise improvements on in high ISOs. Also the Auto-ISO is very usable. I usually do not trust Auto-ISO on any camera (other than my Fuji X100); I do on the 5D Mark III.
• Built in levels for the viewfinder and LCD… no more bubble level for me :D
• Dual card slots. I love that I can use both a CF card and a SD card. I am using a EyeFi X2 Pro, so all jpegs that gets sent to the card, I can send it to my iPad and/or computer immediately. So I am tethering my camera to the iPad using this method.
• White Balance seems to be more accurate.
• Noise cleans up better compared to my 5DMII. High ISO, it leaves a lovely grain. More film like.
• Metering seems to be better, especially in low light.
• Love the menu system compared to the 5DMII. The 5DMII CF menus usually require you to break out the manual to make sense of it. The 5DMIII menu seems deeper and better organized.
• AF-Servo with AF tracking… Since I have a active two year old, I love that I can focus on him and the AF points follow him… even when he is running around in a irregular pattern. This would help in any type of dancing/ballot/sports shooting.

Cons
• AF point. Right now the AF points light up after it achieves focus. On the 5DMII, the AF point lights up during focusing. In a bright/regular environment there is no problem. But in a dark environment, it is hard to find your focus point/what you are trying to focus on.
• More MP would have been nice. This would help with my landscapes images. That said, that has not stopped me from selling any of my landscapes/cityscapes images. So this is not limiting, but it still would have been nice.

To me this feels like a brand new camera compared to the 5D Mark II. I cannot wait to spend more time learning/using it. Anyone who says that the 5D Mark II is not that much of an upgrade, has obviously not picked up and used a 5D Mark III.
 
Great mini-review. It's basically what I expected in this camera.

As far as I can tell the only real "up-roar" in the community is in mega-pixels. I would go as far to make the argument that the only people that are upset about the 5D3 not having enough MPs aren't pros. The 5D2 already outstrips 35mm film by at least twice the resolution, I can't see a need for much more, and 36MP comes at the cost of 74~MB raw files.

What's more telling is that both top cameras from Nikon and Canon are below 20MP. Some would argue that that is the case because they're designed for fast shooting of moving subjects, which is true. However would anyone make the argument that even if they weren't used for just Sports/Wildlife photography that they wouldn't be more than capable for the job? I'm guessing not. Most of this stuff never makes it to print, and even when it does, it's not getting blown up to poster sizes. And even still, when it does, 16MP is enough to make that favorite sport star mid-tackle look great.

Still, nothing against Nikon and the D800. Trey Ratcliff whom swore off buying another mirrored camera system after his D3s, decided to buy a D800 because of the MP increase.

It might seem like the diplomatic answer, but I think there are great cameras both sides of the fence, whether you're a Canon shooter or a Nikon shooter. I have no interest in making the switch, and I personally prefer Canon glass. I'm sure many Nikon users feel the same way. Sure there will be a group that's willing to sell of their gear and switch, but they're a small percentage and more than likely the most vocal.


Also, I didn't feel like this link deserved it's own thread, but I was curious about what you thought about it. On the Nikon side, there is a D800 version without the low pass filter (the D800e), I'm actually curious about whether or not this will become a trend, with mod kits and stores advertising removal of the low pass filter. I can certainly see a huge increase in sharpness with an acceptable increase in aliasing, without a noticeable increase in moire.
 
I admit, if I did not have or love Canon glass and shoot landscapes, I would be all over the D800E. But I shoot everything... Plus I really do not like the way the D800 feels in my hands...
 
darktiger said:
I admit, if I did not have or love Canon glass and shoot landscapes, I would be all over the D800E. But I shoot everything... Plus I really do not like the way the D800 feels in my hands...
Click to expand...

Honestly, if you wanted to, you could sell all of your gear, and buy all the Nikon equivalent glass used, and then just buy the Nikon D800e. The process is a hassle, but there wouldn't be a significant loss in capital. I personally think that's silly for reasons sighted earlier.

I rarely do prints, web stuff is all 2560 across and below. Having higher MP would only allow for more cropping and a bigger canvas to edit. Still, I must admit that medium format is tempting.... For other reasons though.
 
Great mini-review indeed. My new 5DM3 has been sitting in its box for almost a week now and unfortunately I haven't even been able to shoot with it. Hoping to try it out this weekend.

I fully agree with you. While the 22MP is certainly not a limiting factor, it would be nice to have 30MP for those large landscape images that I would love to print in a large size.
 
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