# 5D Mk III Owners - are you happy?



## GeorgeMaciver (Mar 30, 2012)

I'm planning either the Mk III or the Mk II. Getting tired of listening to all the rants from folks who don't have the camera, so thought I'd ask you owners if you're happy with it, as you're the ones who would know.


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## XanuFoto (Mar 30, 2012)

I just came back from a company lunch. I shot with totally overcast weather under a sunroof. It was a group of people and had to go f7.1 so cranked up to ISO6400 and got a great image. Thats the versatality from this camera I will love.


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## rlarsen (Mar 30, 2012)

If you visit the popular Sports Shooter website you will find similar critical rants about Nikon's new D4 and 800.
The 5D MK lll is simply a remarkable camera. The poll needs a word stronger than "delighted."


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## shizam1 (Mar 30, 2012)

Not sure yet... I definitely like the files better after ISO 1600, but I'm wondering if the shots below that are softer than I was getting on my 5DII. Just made a post about that actually, to see if anyone else has any experience with it.


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## tasteofjace (Mar 30, 2012)

Most people struggling with soft images are those who do not know how to use the advanced AF system yet. 

I was definitely one of those people, and spent a full day just learning how to use the different AF modes. It paid off.

Love the camera and how usable it is for so many different situations. Both video and photo wise.


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## shizam1 (Mar 30, 2012)

tasteofjace said:


> Most people struggling with soft images are those who do not know how to use the advanced AF system yet.



That's a strong statement, and I'm sure you polled all 5DIII users that have soft images 

I'm aware of how to use the AF, and I'm wondering if it's soft.


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## willagaroon (Mar 30, 2012)

First day really shooting with it yesterday. I have to say I'm very happy but I am coming from an original 5D so it's a pretty good leap for me.

Really impressed with the auto focus as it worked really well on my constantly moving kids. Only battle I had was with them running around and it being overcast going from bright full sun to completely obscured sun. Was able to push in post some of the underexposed shots and still like the results.

Example shot (not my favorite photo from yesterday but was surprised by the detail in the hairs on the back of his shirt):
http://www.willrphotography.com/kids/5D3_0438.jpg


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## scottcognato (Mar 30, 2012)

tasteofjace said:


> Most people struggling with soft images are those who do not know how to use the advanced AF system yet.
> 
> I was definitely one of those people, and spent a full day just learning how to use the different AF modes. It paid off.



I totally agree! I spent my day yesterday w/the camera tethered to my compy, dialing in the MFA, as well as just reading up on how to use each separate type of autofocus. Coming from 5dii, all I did was center-focus and recompose (like most). The abilities opened up to me (I shoot weddings primarily, but this also applies to walk around everyday stuff) by the new autofocus alone are worth the upgrade to me. Add in all the other perks, and I am more than "delighted." I have absolutely no complaints w/low iso performance - I am by no means an authority on the subject, but I have an epson 3880 printer, and printed some fairly large shots yesterday, and am very pleased!


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## markko (Mar 30, 2012)

Copy-paste from what I've written in another thread:

"Having used the 5Dmk3 for about a week now I have to agree with KR that the AF system is the area that I have to get used to most.

I've owned the 300D, 20D and the 1Dmk3 (used it for the last 4.5 years). I'm used to toggle between AF 'modes' (spot AF and 'auto-AF' (where the camera will pick the focus points, choosing from all available points)) just by using the little joystick on the back. Press once: go to the center point. Press twice: switch to the 'auto-AF' mode.

With the 5Dmk3 this is not longer possible to do (as far as I could figure out). First you have to press the AF button, then use the M-Fn button to toggle between the AF modes. You can disable modes that you don't want, but you still have to use another button than the joystick to switch between the AF modes. Hopefully they will fix this with a firmware update, because it's just silly to add extra steps in the selection of the AF modes.

Another thing that quite annoys me is that the focus point is black in the viewfinder. If you're shooting in a dark place it's impossible to see what AF-point you're using. Hopefully they can fix this as well with a firmware update, because now at times you're wondering why the damn thing isn't getting focus, finding out that the focus point is at another place as you're thinking. I prefer the red AF-point in the viewfinder of my 1Dmk3.

Other than that: I love the camera  And I will even be more in love when the battery grip will finally arrive!"


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## photoxication (Mar 30, 2012)

I love it! My biggest 5DIII happy feeling: color reproduction and IQ looks great to me through a wide range of ISO settings. My complaint: the AF system is a bit intimidating for me, but I'm working my way through that. 

A little added bonus for me was finding out this week that my Tokina 11-16/2.8 works pretty darn good at 15.5-16mm even if it is a crop lens at 2.8! It's a bit soft around the edges, but so am I!


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## thatguy (Mar 30, 2012)

I love this camera. I got in to photography about 20 years ago with a used A-1 for 6 years before getting my first autofocus camera (A2e). I've had a handful of bodies including the 5d mark II and I think the mark III is much more than in incremental upgrade. I have been blown away with the autofocus and how easy it is to manual change the focus point. To be honest I loved the 5d mark II but the combination of the upgraded autofocus, the quite shutter and overall build quality makes this upgrade well worth it.

While I do care about IQ, I don't feel that was a big need of improvement over the mark II. I agree with Jeff Ascough when he says, "You will lose the ability to blame the camera for any shortcomings in your own photographic ability."


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## kennykodak (Mar 30, 2012)

got my 5d 3 in this week along with a 600 flash. thrilled, cancelled 1D X pre-order.


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## Chris Geiger (Mar 30, 2012)

I purchased two of them. Love them. The 24-105 and 70-200 IS II lenses are excellent and very sharp. I shot a wedding over the weekend and the results were great. The auto ISO is a neat feature unless you turn on the flash, then it stops working. As long as you don't try and use flash and auto ISO together, the camera is a dream. The focus system is great, I like it better than the Nikons I was using.


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## shizam1 (Mar 30, 2012)

markko said:


> Another thing that quite annoys me is that the focus point is black in the viewfinder. If you're shooting in a dark place it's impossible to see what AF-point you're using. Hopefully they can fix this as well with a firmware update, because now at times you're wondering why the damn thing isn't getting focus, finding out that the focus point is at another place as you're thinking. I prefer the red AF-point in the viewfinder of my 1Dmk3.



I'm not sure if this helps you, but you can make a menu change so that it shows the AF point that is selected in bright red once it locks onto something, instead of just that circle turning red. I also changed it so the circle ALWAYS flashes red, not just in low light areas. I currently use center AF ( not spot ), with the 4 surrounding points, but I don't have them show up in the VF, only highlight red when AF is achieved.


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## nick.b (Mar 30, 2012)

Love it, it's the first DSLR I can hand over to my wife to take snap shots without a long list of instructions. Shooting at fast apertures is a breeze and stress free with this AF system. Point and click.


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## GeorgeMaciver (Mar 30, 2012)

Astonishing results from this poll, glad I asked now. I'm back on track for a Mk III and to heck with the trolls. Thanks guys


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## markko (Mar 30, 2012)

shizam1 said:


> markko said:
> 
> 
> > Another thing that quite annoys me is that the focus point is black in the viewfinder.
> ...



Thanks for the reply  I think I've tried all possible settings for the coloring/highlighting of the selected AF point, but not one of the settings will show the selected AF point bright red at all times (which I'm used to). When you're shooting in a dark place and the camera has difficulty getting focus you actually have to point at a bright area to check which AF point you have selected (or press the AF button of course).


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## shizam1 (Mar 30, 2012)

markko said:


> Thanks for the reply  I think I've tried all possible settings for the coloring/highlighting of the selected AF point, but not one of the settings will show the selected AF point bright red at all times (which I'm used to). When you're shooting in a dark place and the camera has difficulty getting focus you actually have to point at a bright area to check which AF point you have selected (or press the AF button of course).



Ok, I know what you're talking about, I was looking for that option too.

I would THINK that they can make that change with a firmware update, since they already have the ability to color the areas red.


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## JR (Mar 30, 2012)

I sent my first unit back because I was convince I had some issues with softness. However I am getting a new unit shortly as soon as I find a body only in stock!


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## ippikiokami (Mar 30, 2012)

The more I shoot with it the more I am glad I didn't

1) Switch to Nikon (it's something I've thought about for years and it was more a, I had my ducks in order than I hated the specs of the 5d III
2) Buy and wait for the 1dx. I think it will be an amazing camera but after shooting for years on a 1 series ( ds II, dIII, dIV ) and a 5d2 I have to say I need to learn more to max this camera's abilities out.

Still might eventually get a 1dx for some of the types of shooting I do. But getting less and less likely the more I used the 5d III


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## Tim Larsen (Mar 30, 2012)

The AF is amazing. As a professional wedding photog, this is exactly the camera I was looking for.

If I could change anything would be to take the megapixels down to 16-18 or so, but I'm thrilled with my new Mark III


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## awinphoto (Mar 30, 2012)

To the OP... good job, you single handedly did Canon's marketing research exit poll for them =) Now they have to sit back and soak in the overwhelming numbers hahaha. On a serious note, still waiting on my body only but from the results i'm seeing, i cant wait.


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## BobSanderson (Mar 30, 2012)

willagaroon said:


> First day really shooting with it yesterday. I have to say I'm very happy but I am coming from an original 5D so it's a pretty good leap for me.
> 
> Really impressed with the auto focus as it worked really well on my constantly moving kids. Only battle I had was with them running around and it being overcast going from bright full sun to completely obscured sun. Was able to push in post some of the underexposed shots and still like the results.
> 
> ...



very nice shot (great color, focus and composition) and your son looks really cute


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## h4ldol (Mar 30, 2012)

Reading threads like this while awaiting delivery of my 5dIII make me nervous. :-\


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## TrumpetPower! (Mar 30, 2012)

I'm positively thrilled.

My only gripe is that I've got a long slog ahead of me to get to the point where I'm using the camera to its full potential, but part of that is perfectionism on my part (like AF adjustments on all my lenses and calibrating the Sekonic and building color profiles and what-not) and the rest will be fun (like learning how to make the most of the new AF system).

I wouldn't have turned up my nose at a few more megapickles, but I'll take all the non-sensor improvements over a marginal (and, in the real world, negligible) bump in IQ. Besides, anything I'd personally really want those extra megapickles for...I can just as easily do a panorama and blow past the measly 100 megapickle range of top-end medium format. Same thing for the bitched-about "lack" of dynamic range; any situation where the native DR of the 5DIII isn't enough it'll be also be (at least) questionable enough with the D800 that you'll be doing HDR with either camera. And the 5DIII makes RAW capture for HDR trivial and even gives you a not-sucky preview JPEG to boot!

Cheers,

b&


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## dericcainphoto (Mar 30, 2012)

I LOVE IT! I LOVE IT! I LOVE IT! That about sums it up...


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## Waterdonkey (Mar 30, 2012)

Currently HAPPY  on the way to DELIGHTED ;D


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## Jamesy (Mar 30, 2012)

shizam1 said:


> markko said:
> 
> 
> > Another thing that quite annoys me is that the focus point is black in the viewfinder. If you're shooting in a dark place it's impossible to see what AF-point you're using. Hopefully they can fix this as well with a firmware update, because now at times you're wondering why the damn thing isn't getting focus, finding out that the focus point is at another place as you're thinking. I prefer the red AF-point in the viewfinder of my 1Dmk3.
> ...



I changed my modes to illuminate the VF in all lighting rather than merely low light and I changed the VF to pre and post focus verification (i can't remember the actual setting name) to have the camera closer emulate my old 40D of "Focus, red dot stays on". The only issue I have with it is it all disapperas once focus is achieved and you are left with the spot meter circle.

I count myself as happy and will be delighted once the 200 F2 business is sorted out.


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## Stephen Melvin (Mar 30, 2012)

Happily shooting in absurdly low levels of light. I've been waiting for this camera for over 20 years.


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## risc32 (Mar 30, 2012)

While i've yet to shoot more than a few dozen jpgs, that are still in the camera, I 'm happy with the mk3. I'm a bit saddened to see how complex the AF system(and all the menu options really) has become, and that it doesn't have that AF "snap" that my 1dmk2 has. I really wanted it to operate faster with that lightning response that the 1dmk2 has, but i guess i would have to get the 1dx for that.


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## BL (Mar 30, 2012)

Tim Larsen said:


> If I could change anything would be to take the megapixels down to 16-18 or so, but I'm thrilled with my new Mark III



isn't that what MRAW and SRAW are for?


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## etg9 (Mar 30, 2012)

very very happy.


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## kenraw (Mar 30, 2012)

markko said:


> shizam1 said:
> 
> 
> > markko said:
> ...


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## kenraw (Mar 30, 2012)

h4ldol said:


> Reading threads like this while awaiting delivery of my 5dIII make me nervous. :-\



What are you nervous for?
This camera is awesome, sharp as a dog and the AF is stunning, not too mention the high iso capability,
It's as near perfect camera as you can currently get in my eyes. 
Take the moaning and BS with a pinch of salt and don't let it spoil your excitement, you won't be dissapointed.
Trust me!


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## shizam1 (Mar 30, 2012)

shizam1 said:


> Not sure yet... I definitely like the files better after ISO 1600, but I'm wondering if the shots below that are softer than I was getting on my 5DII. Just made a post about that actually, to see if anyone else has any experience with it.



So I did some studio shots, and looks like the 5DIII is as sharp if not sharper than my 5DII. Also, focus was pretty much nailed on nose of teddy bear test subject, while 5DII was kind of all over the place. So looking good.

One thing to note, I had to bring down the exposure on the 5DIII shots by .25 in Lightroom, so that camera is over-exposing ( or more sensitive to light ) than the 5DII. I used the same lighting of course, and all 3 shots with the 5DIII were over-exposed as compared to the 5DII, so it's not light variance. The strobe is an Einstien BTW.


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## Lloyd50 (Mar 30, 2012)

Love it!


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## SwanSong (Mar 31, 2012)

It's still way to early for me to tell. I've only shot Macro with it so far and the differences with it and my t2i in overall IQ is subtle just after 3 0 minutes of shooting. I've lost reach, the DOF is much narrower which is good and bad for my macro shots. I shot some iso 3200 shots and they looked amazing in the viewfinder but ended up looking really flat in DPP and LR. I have everything turned off except for Chromatic aberration and illumination and currently shooting in Standard mode and have strictly shot center point AF. The below image was shot with the 100mm 2.8L Macro: Wide open at 2.8, 1/200, and iso100--sharpening and NO-NR

I am looking forward this weekend test driving with the 50mm. You can see one of my floral keepers here:


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## Janus (Mar 31, 2012)

*SwanSong*


> but ended up looking really flat in DPP and LR


still finding post about soft image and flat image and for my taste it flat too! What does it means? Bad: technology, matrix, firmware, bad RAW converter even in DPP and LR4 or not real production model and just 'beta' product to win sales start date compare D800?


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## Bosman (Mar 31, 2012)

Chris Geiger said:


> I purchased two of them. Love them. The 24-105 and 70-200 IS II lenses are excellent and very sharp. I shot a wedding over the weekend and the results were great. The auto ISO is a neat feature unless you turn on the flash, then it stops working. As long as you don't try and use flash and auto ISO together, the camera is a dream. The focus system is great, I like it better than the Nikons I was using.


The auto iso defaults to 400iso when flash is used which i think is pretty darn smart!


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## Stephen Melvin (Mar 31, 2012)

Chris Geiger said:


> I purchased two of them. Love them. The 24-105 and 70-200 IS II lenses are excellent and very sharp. I shot a wedding over the weekend and the results were great. The auto ISO is a neat feature unless you turn on the flash, then it stops working. As long as you don't try and use flash and auto ISO together, the camera is a dream. The focus system is great, I like it better than the Nikons I was using.





Bosman said:


> The auto iso defaults to 400iso when flash is used which i think is pretty darn smart!



I absolutely hate that it does that. You'd think these guys had no real world experience shooting these cameras. I'd like complete control over the ISO range, including when using flash. Apparently it goes up to 1600 if you set the flash head to bounce, which isn't nearly enough. I typically use my flash at events with the ISO set to 3200 or 6400.


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## tasteofjace (Mar 31, 2012)

I've already posted in here how happy I am with this camera. But here are 3 of my favorite shots I took today! I'm still very happy 

EDIT: The first two photos were taken with my 24-105mm Kit lens. The third shot of the moon was taken with a 100-400mm f/4.0-5.6 L Lens... and was taken Handheld. 

1.






2.





3.


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## sach100 (Mar 31, 2012)

I got mine yesterday! 
So far I'm stoked by 5d3's capabilities - this coming from a 7d user.
It's more than a camera I'll ever need. Phew!!


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## Vaz (Mar 31, 2012)

Tim Larsen said:


> The AF is amazing. As a professional wedding photog, this is exactly the camera I was looking for.
> 
> If I could change anything would be to take the megapixels down to 16-18 or so, but I'm thrilled with my new Mark III



I just don't get comments like this. Why not just switch it down to RAW medium or Raw small if you want less mp? Is there something special about the sensor itself physically having less mp? Are you looking for photo sites more spread out on the sensor? I don't get it. Personally I love my 5dmIII. I have no complaints. I tried the II and I did love it, but was a bit worried about using it in wetter conditions(rain or drizzle) and the auto-focus just wasn't what I expected for over 2g's. I think the mark III was worth the wait and although I would have loved a lower price point, not at the cost of any of the features it has. If this is what it takes to make a good well rounded camera, then it is money well spent.


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## thure1982 (Mar 31, 2012)

Stephen Melvin said:


> Chris Geiger said:
> 
> 
> > I purchased two of them. Love them. The 24-105 and 70-200 IS II lenses are excellent and very sharp. I shot a wedding over the weekend and the results were great. The auto ISO is a neat feature unless you turn on the flash, then it stops working. As long as you don't try and use flash and auto ISO together, the camera is a dream. The focus system is great, I like it better than the Nikons I was using.
> ...



Are you kidding me. You say that you whant complete controll over ISO and yet you hate that the camera set the AUTO-ISO to 400.
Why the hell do you use auto then?


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## thure1982 (Mar 31, 2012)

Vaz said:


> I just don't get comments like this.



It's called trolling...


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## Jamesy (Mar 31, 2012)

tasteofjace said:


> I've already posted in here how happy I am with this camera. But here are 3 of my favorite shots I took today! I'm still very happy
> 
> EDIT: The first two photos were taken with my 24-105mm Kit lens. The third shot of the moon was taken with a 100-400mm f/4.0-5.6 L Lens... and was taken Handheld.
> 
> ...



Nice images - well done. Glad to see you are enjoying your 5D3


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## tasteofjace (Mar 31, 2012)

Jamesy said:


> tasteofjace said:
> 
> 
> > I've already posted in here how happy I am with this camera. But here are 3 of my favorite shots I took today! I'm still very happy
> ...



Thank you very much! I suspect most owners are like me, and are out actually enjoying their camera rather than sitting at the computer getting all caught up in the nit picking! ;D


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## JR (Mar 31, 2012)

tasteofjace said:


> I've already posted in here how happy I am with this camera. But here are 3 of my favorite shots I took today! I'm still very happy
> 
> EDIT: The first two photos were taken with my 24-105mm Kit lens. The third shot of the moon was taken with a 100-400mm f/4.0-5.6 L Lens... and was taken Handheld.



Sweet pictures tasteofjace!


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## Joellll (Mar 31, 2012)

photoxication said:


> A little added bonus for me was finding out this week that my Tokina 11-16/2.8 works pretty darn good at 15.5-16mm even if it is a crop lens at 2.8! It's a bit soft around the edges, but so am I!


This is terrific news sir.


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## Viggo (Mar 31, 2012)

If the color seem flat buy a X-rite Colorchecker Passport, it will fix it always.


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## Bosman (Mar 31, 2012)

Stephen Melvin said:


> Chris Geiger said:
> 
> 
> > I purchased two of them. Love them. The 24-105 and 70-200 IS II lenses are excellent and very sharp. I shot a wedding over the weekend and the results were great. The auto ISO is a neat feature unless you turn on the flash, then it stops working. As long as you don't try and use flash and auto ISO together, the camera is a dream. The focus system is great, I like it better than the Nikons I was using.
> ...


Then why are you using auto iso if you want complete control??? One of my custom settings has auto iso which with flash brigs it to 400iso, another starts out at 2000iso when i shoot with a flash because auto is not on but iso 200 is the default. I have read the distance of the flash at high iso reaches farther so i want to try it.

Another thing i really like is min shutter speed in auto setting so when you turn a custom function on it defaults ot whatever length its safe to use at whatever focal length you are using. For example with a 50 mm it will move from 50 to 1/80 sec to keep the shutter speed about where it should be. If you are shooting at 200mm it will default ot 1/200 sec even if you have is on. Its not a bad starting point to default and you can always change the shutter speed down or up anyway.


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## drjlo (Mar 31, 2012)

SwanSong said:


> It's still way to early for me to tell. I've only shot Macro with it so far and the differences with it and my t2i in overall IQ is subtle just after 3 0 minutes of shooting. I've lost reach, the DOF is much narrower which is good and bad for my macro shots. I shot some iso 3200 shots and they looked amazing in the viewfinder but ended up looking really flat in DPP and LR. I have everything turned off except for Chromatic aberration and illumination and currently shooting in Standard mode and have strictly shot center point AF. The below image was shot with the 100mm 2.8L Macro: Wide open at 2.8, 1/200, and iso100--sharpening and NO-NR
> 
> I am looking forward this weekend test driving with the 50mm. You can see one of my floral keepers here:



I also have T2i and 5DIII, and another way to look at it is T2i is a bloody fantastic camera! After all, 7D, 60D share the same sensor as T2i. 

My biggest gripe with 5DIII so far is how the magnification button was moved from right upper to left side. This makes it much more difficult and fussier to manually focus with left hand with manual focus lens (such as TS-E or MP-E) while hitting the magnification button with right finger (no longer able.) I have to either take my left focusing hand off the lens focus ring and push the mag button or use my right grip hand to hit the button. This was a big backward step IMO. 

*EDIT* Figured out how to customize the "Set" button to function as Magnification button. While not ideal, it'll do for now and much better than left-sided button.


Another oversight was how one is no longer able to assign flash exposure compensation to a assignable button. Even T2i could do this. 

At any rate, I like the flower, but were you trying to shoot wide open instead of traditional macro f/stops for some reason? Below is my 5DIII, 100L shot at f/8.




DZ3C0245 by drjlo1, on Flickr


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## PeterR (Mar 31, 2012)

I just own my 5D two days and took just some "testshots" and some girly Portraits. I love the results. The example was taken with the Ef110/2.8 1/20 f5 at ISO 400. The CR2 file was converted with DNG Converter 6.7 rc and then just a little corrected (exposure, shadow, highlight) in Lightroom 4. 
The eye closeup is a 100% crop


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## Northstar (Mar 31, 2012)

I've read a lot of comments and about every review....here's my 2 cents. 

I've had my 5d3 for one week now...I'm luke warm on it. 50/50 that it will be sent back and I''ll stick w/ Nikon.

I decided to switch from the Nikon d7000 because I wanted to upgrade to full frame and when I placed my order I was sure that the D800's 36mp would limit it's low light capabilities....it seems I (many others) were wrong if you look at some of the reviews on the d800 it appears that it has great low light ability, ON TOP OF JAW DROPPING DETAIL....the 4 fps is my only sticking point.

The other problem for me is when I compare the performance of my new 5d3, it's just not that much better image quality than my nikon d7000....a little better, but by only a very, very small amount...maybe 3% better if I had to put a number on it. - and only when pixel peeping. ALSO...I'M SORRY TO SAY THIS BUT THE NIKON D7000 HAS AN AUTOFOCUS SYSTEM THAT IS JUST AS FAST AND ACCURATE AS THE 5D3.....and much better dynamic range....I say this in frustration, I thought that a $3500 "latest tech" PRO Canon would eat my $1100 D7000 for lunch and I would feel great about this purchase, but I don't. 

Bottom line if I'm reviewing the camera - Yes, my 5d3 takes nice pictures. Yes, the autofocus is fast and accurate Yes, I do get better low light capability than my D7000(1.5 stops better) and from what I've read about 1 stop better than the 5d2 and 2 stops better than the 7D. The 5d3 has very good quality up to 3200 and usable up to 12,800.

For me...it's $3500 for better low light and slightly better IQ.....I'm going to have to really think about this.


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## vWings (Mar 31, 2012)

Coming from a 7D, I am VERY HAPPY


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## suburbia (Mar 31, 2012)

havent felt this comfortable and confident with a camera since my EOS 3


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## GeorgeMaciver (Mar 31, 2012)

The poll results tell me all I need to know.


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## RunAndGun (Mar 31, 2012)

I'm glad I bought mine. I have two 5DMKII's and love them. The image quality has always been amazing and my only real "complaints" about the camera were that I wish it had a better focus system and a little faster frame rate for the times that I wanted/needed it. Enter the MKIII. The focus system on this camera is awesome and the drive system is great(6FPS). IF those were the only two upgrades over the MKII, they would have been worth it to me. 

I don't really get why there are so many complaints about the focus. Heck, it focuses damn near in complete darkness. I spent a little while customizing mine and it does almost everything I would want it to and how I want it to, now. Or at least in a convenient enough and logical enough manner that I like it... 8) There are one or two things that I would like to be able to change, as far as custom button assignments go for focus, but overall, it's a winner.


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## roofyroo (Apr 1, 2012)

On on the fence with Northstar trying to decide whether to send it back and stick with the 5D Mark II until the 1DX gets released.

Another post about this going but you sync maxes out at 1/160 with any Pocket Wizard devices. Gave me issues shooting an engagement session in DC during the week - I should of tested this!

Canon or Adobe, whoever is to blame, it's still a pain having to convert RAWs to DNGs to edit in Lightroom.

Yes it takes nice(r) images than my 5D Mark II, the auto focus is much better and the ISO is better. I just don't feel I'm getting that much more over Mark II, and I could add the extra towards to daddy 1DX......whenever it comes out!


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## swampler (Apr 1, 2012)

roofyroo said:


> Canon or Adobe, whoever is to blame, it's still a pain having to convert RAWs to DNGs to edit in Lightroom.


Or, yourself.  LR 4.1 RC released a couple of days ago edits 5D Mark III files without converting to DNG first.


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## risc32 (Apr 1, 2012)

northstar, so it's a stop or 2 better in iso, but you consider that a maybe 3% increase in IQ? to me ISO performance(at any setting) is a big part of IQ, and a stop or two is a pretty damn good increase. And to the guy using a flash at ISO 3200 and 6400, are you serious? I mean, really? are you lighting an arena, or something hundreds of feet away? Are you sure you know what you are doing? :-\

just spent some time with the camera shooting kids running around a baseball field. I'm VERY pleased. Still doesn't have that tactical, even violent "snap" that the 1dmk2 (and probably all 1d series models)have, but the keeper rate is very, very good.


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## Stephen Melvin (Apr 1, 2012)

Stephen Melvin said:


> Chris Geiger said:
> 
> 
> > I purchased two of them. Love them. The 24-105 and 70-200 IS II lenses are excellent and very sharp. I shot a wedding over the weekend and the results were great. The auto ISO is a neat feature unless you turn on the flash, then it stops working. As long as you don't try and use flash and auto ISO together, the camera is a dream. The focus system is great, I like it better than the Nikons I was using.
> ...





Bosman said:


> Then why are you using auto iso if you want complete control??? One of my custom settings has auto iso which with flash brigs it to 400iso, another starts out at 2000iso when i shoot with a flash because auto is not on but iso 200 is the default. I have read the distance of the flash at high iso reaches farther so i want to try it.



You're kidding, right? I'd like to be able to set the range of auto ISO, instead of it just defaulting to 400 for direct flash or maxing out at 1600 for bounce. The biggest part of the awful direct flash look is mismatched balance between the flash and the ambient light. The ability to set the range with complete control would be extremely useful, not to mention trivial for Canon to implement.


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## cMojo (Apr 1, 2012)

Received my 5D3 yesterday, and quickly fired off a few frames. In a dimly lit room, with camera on full auto. Using my existing 24-105L, which has yet to be micro adjusted to the new body.

I pointed the camera at the dog and clicked. The camera chose ISO 12800, F5.6, 1/50. OMG. There was very little light in the room but the camera focused INSTANTLY. The in camera preview looked good, but looking at the RAW file in Lr4.1 showed that 5D3 captured detail that I did not see in the room. I was reluctant to shoot over ISO 1600 with my 7D, but this camera is a game changer. 

A few hundred frames later, after shooting in a variety of settings today, I can tell anybody who is naysaying the 5DMkIII the following:

1. You haven't shot with it. If you did, you would have nothing to cry about.
2. The "not enough of a change from 5D2" crowd have definitely not shot with it.
3. The AF is so good it becomes transparent to the photographer. You forgot about it. It happens FAST. 5D3 isn't just for weddings. You can use this body for anything.
4. Exposure is dead on accurate.
5. In camera HDR really works well. Merges three exposures and keeps the originals around if you want them. Best of all worlds.
6. Ergonomics are the best Canon has ever done.
7. Quiet is good. 5D3 is QUIET.
8. Moving the old hard-to-find DOF Preview button from your left hand (thumb) to your right hand is intuitive and makes it possible to check depth of field with one hand.
9. SD cards let Mac users cut the cord!
10. 22MP is big enough to print big (I routinely print 30 x 40) while keeping file sizes manageable.


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## Tcapp (Apr 1, 2012)

cMojo said:


> Received my 5D3 yesterday, and quickly fired off a few frames. In a dimly lit room, with camera on full auto. Using my existing 24-105L, which has yet to be micro adjusted to the new body.
> 
> I pointed the camera at the dog and clicked. The camera chose ISO 12800, F5.6, 1/50. OMG. There was very little light in the room but the camera focused INSTANTLY. The in camera preview looked good, but looking at the RAW file in Lr4.1 showed that 5D3 captured detail that I did not see in the room. I was reluctant to shoot over ISO 1600 with my 7D, but this camera is a game changer.
> 
> ...



VERY well said. Especially that anyone who thinks its only a "5d2.5" has certainly not shot with it. Night and day. Love it.


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## EvilTed (Apr 1, 2012)

"SD cards let Mac users cut the cord!"

Actually, not exactly true.
The CF slot is rated to UDMA 7 while the SD slot is not compliant with the UHS standard.
So, in order to maximize speed and get 6FPS, you'd be advised to use the fastest CF card you can afford and use the SD slot as backup.
I use a Lexar 1000x 32GB.

You will then need a FW800 reader to maximize download speed, but fear not, there is a kid on the block for $50 (see my previous post in accessories).

ET


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## dmj (Apr 1, 2012)

I'm getting my 5DIII tomorrow, have been a struggle to get one if you didn't preorder.

Since I have no direct experience I can't say if I'm happy or not, however as most people I have considerred my purchase very thoroughly.

When reading forums you always need to be very filtering. When I bought my 5DII the forums were full of haters, but I have never regretted it. When I bought my 5DII it was mostly forlandscapes and weddings and boy have it been agreat match.

In the meanwhile I've become a father (I bought a 7D to keep up with the kids, but sold it because it didn't produce satisfying images compared to the 5DII). I knew new bodies were comming up, 1Dx had great specs for what I wanted. The biggest surprise was how the 5D was changed from a super high res slow camera to a fairly high res and fairly fast cam. If I was looking for the same tool as I did when buying the 5DII I would absolutely consider the D800.
However, I now want a more versatile camera and that is the 5DIII. Therefore this is my choise, and I think people should consider their needs before buying the camera for them.

For everyone calling the 5DIII a minor upgrade of the 5DII are probably people who thinks that penis size translates directly to megapixels. If you look at all other specs they have been dramatically improved, and let's see how well the IQ of the 5DIII will be once we have optimized raw converters etc.

I can't wait for my cam to show up.


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## thure1982 (Apr 1, 2012)

EvilTed said:


> "SD cards let Mac users cut the cord!"
> 
> Actually, not exactly true.
> The CF slot is rated to UDMA 7 while the SD slot is not compliant with the UHS standard.
> ...



Are you hearing your self?
Download speed is not the question.
He says, you can plug the SD card directly in to your MAC. Witch is awesome.
And your response is... 

No, the fast CF are expensive.


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## Viggo (Apr 1, 2012)

Bosman said:


> You're kidding, right? I'd like to be able to set the range of auto ISO, instead of it just defaulting to 400 for direct flash or maxing out at 1600 for bounce. The biggest part of the awful direct flash look is mismatched balance between the flash and the ambient light.



And that is in fact why we use gels for color and either ev-compensation or manual flash for light.


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## DarkKnightNine (Apr 1, 2012)

thure1982 said:


> Stephen Melvin said:
> 
> 
> > Chris Geiger said:
> ...






Yeah I don't get it either. I just tried what you said and I can set my ISO to whatever I want when using flash. You DO have complete control over your ISO setting when using a flash. Just don't set it to Auto, problem solved.


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## ramon123 (Apr 1, 2012)

waiting...


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## roofyroo (Apr 1, 2012)

Image taken today on the 5D MKIII

- AF point expansion with a single point and 4 surrounding points
- 85mm f1.2 lens
- ISO 100
- f1.6
- 1/3200
- AI Servo Case 1
- shooting full size RAW
- basic adjustments in Adobe Lightroom 4.1

I wanted to test subjects moving mainly for our wedding work. Pretty impressed with this running shot and the AF tracking.


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## Northstar (Apr 1, 2012)

risc32 said:


> northstar, so it's a stop or 2 better in iso, but you consider that a maybe 3% increase in IQ? to me ISO performance(at any setting) is a big part of IQ, and a stop or two is a pretty damn good increase.
> 
> You are right, 1.5 stops is a darn good increase.....just maybe not for $3500 when everything else for me(d7k) is about the same to very slightly better. I still might do it though. I don't dislike the camera, It IS a very good camera.


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## Stephen Melvin (Apr 1, 2012)

thure1982 said:


> Stephen Melvin said:
> 
> 
> > Chris Geiger said:
> ...





Reading comprehension fail? 

I want complete control over the range that Auto-ISO works. Canon does not allow this in the Mk III, instead arbitrarily limiting it. I do wind up using manual ISO, because Canon's Auto-ISO implementation is so very limited. 

Apparently, this is a difficult concept for some people to understand.


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## wickidwombat (Apr 1, 2012)

I had ticked it's ok
but now i'm revising that to the "Its going back category"


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## roofyroo (Apr 1, 2012)

wickidwombat said:


> I had ticked it's ok
> but now i'm revising that to the "Its going back category"



How come? Curious as to your reasons as I'm still debating...


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## wickidwombat (Apr 2, 2012)

roofyroo said:


> wickidwombat said:
> 
> 
> > I had ticked it's ok
> ...



The AF is all out of whack I have extensively tested and claibrated to all my lense (I even posted all the raws up here) and the images were so close to the 5Dmk2 after calibration i was happy. however taking it out and shooting at wider apertures it probably give 95% OOF shots. it was soft out of the box so I began testing checking and calibrating. I have never in my life spent so much time trying to get a camera to work. my others were great from day 1 and only needed the most modest of AFMA tweeks to really make them bang on.


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## JR (Apr 2, 2012)

wickidwombat said:


> roofyroo said:
> 
> 
> > wickidwombat said:
> ...



really interesting because this sounds similar to what I experience Wickidwombat. Looks like we got one from the same batch! :-[


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## KKCFamilyman (Apr 2, 2012)

Yes.

Has anyone noticed that the standard picture style seems to have changed from past Canon DSLR's like my 60d. Today I shot my son getting easter eggs and when he was at larger DOF's the grass seemed fine but when I grabbed him and the grass was starting to get blown out it was like neon green. Never seen that before. Anyone change or alter their default picture style?


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## wickidwombat (Apr 2, 2012)

KKCFamilyman said:


> Yes.
> 
> Has anyone noticed that the standard picture style seems to have changed from past Canon DSLR's like my 60d. Today I shot my son getting easter eggs and when he was at larger DOF's the grass seemed fine but when I grabbed him and the grass was starting to get blown out it was like neon green. Never seen that before. Anyone change or alter their default picture style?



i just turned off jpeg all together after day 1 and turned off all the other lens correction waffle in camera too
don't kill yourself analysing jpg files as it doesnt matter how good in camera processors get they will never match the power and flexability available to doing it in post. out of camera JPG is good for initial proof screening and thats it IMO. I found in camer aJPG mushy at best. So if you are looking at camera performance stick to looking at unedited raws


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