# I'm amazed by my 5D Mark iii



## steven kessel (Jan 11, 2013)

I've used a 7D for a while, mainly for wildlife photography, and I love the camera. A couple weeks back I took the plunge and ordered a 5D Mark iii. It arrived day before yesterday and I immediately mated it with my 100-400 FL 4.5-5.6. I've spent the last two days prowling around and photographing birds.

The differences between this camera and my 7D are simply amazing. The autofocus on the 7D is pretty good. On the Mark iii it is fantastic. I have been able to acquire subjects in lighting that would have been out of the question in the 7D. Noise reduction is far superior in the Mark iii. With my 7D my "go to" ISO is 320. I've been shooting at 640 with the Mark iii and the images are far less noisy than at 320 on my 7D. The metering seems to be superior as well. Spot metered photos with the Mark iii seem to be far less influenced by contrasty backgrounds than with the 7D. Finally, the full frame format is not an apparent disadvantage for shooting wildlife because I can crop my images with much less loss of detail than with the 7D.

This is a wonderful camera and that's based on only two days and couple hundred images' use. I'd thought I'd use my 7D as a backup for the Mark iii but I'm beginning to wonder if I'll ever put the Mark iii down.


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## steven kessel (Jan 11, 2013)

I should have included this with my post. A Greater Roadrunner. Shot at ISO 640.


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## rpt (Jan 11, 2013)

steven kessel said:


> I should have included this with my post. A Greater Roadrunner. Shot at ISO 640.


Lovely shot. Yes the 5D3 is a great camera. I went from the Digital Rebel 300D to the 5D3 so you can imagine my delight! I could not shoot above ISO 400 without the picture looking grainy...


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## East Wind Photography (Jan 11, 2013)

I shoot in RAW and post with PS CS5. With the 5diii I find I can easily shoot to ISO 1000 and process out most of the noise. Some grain is ok as long as its random and not patterned and if your not cropping down to the limits of everything. 

I also find that the full frame format makes it easier to acquire subjects at 400mm+. Cropping down doesn't hurt much as you have 21MP to work with compared to 18 on the crop sensors.

I switch back and forth and always come back to the 5diii for its ability to focus on essentially nothing and its low noise. If the 7dii is anything close to the 5diii I will likely get that too. That would be an amazing pair to have at my disposal.


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## RS2021 (Jan 11, 2013)

It is so refreshing to see a satisfied customer among all the whining we do here . Congrats on the new gear!


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## EYEONE (Jan 11, 2013)

I actually made the same jump about 4 months ago. The 5D Mark III is an incredible camera. I don't think there is one single thing about it that I don't like. I've shot a couple of weddings with it so far and the high ISO is fantastic and a far underscored feature is the silent shooting. For weddings this is priceless! I went to a wedding and the photographer (who is crazy good) was shooting with a Nikon D3s and it was stupidly loud.


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## shutterwideshut (Jan 11, 2013)

I've also upgraded from the 7D and I'm as happy as you are. Been shooting with the 5D3 for less than 2 months and I'm impressed. The 5D3 is a superb camera with superb customization controls. Makes my workflow easier.


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## squarebox (Jan 11, 2013)

I also made the jump from a 550D to the 5Dmk3, and man, I don't know how people don't get frustrated with the triple digit (e.g. 550D) dslrs.


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## tphillips63 (Jan 11, 2013)

Congrats and I am with you as well. I also have sold my 7D because I simply did not use it anymore.


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## darrellrhodesmiller (Jan 11, 2013)

i'm another 7D -> 5d mk III upgrader.. 

i was never happy with the grain or noise out of my 7D.. i took some great shots with it over the 3 yrs i had it.. but i always thought it was noisier than it should have been. 

5D mk III is a very refined and nice camera. image quality is amazing, noise levels are amazing. i think its priced a little high.. but other than that i have no complaints at all.


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## Mr Bean (Jan 11, 2013)

+1000 Steven. I made the jump a few months ago from film (EOS 3) to 5D m3 and I'm amazed how great this piece of technology is 

Doing some bird snaps over the past few weeks has really got me pushing the boundaries. If things don't work out (focus, etc), it's usually caused by the camera operator. No complaints here


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## ChilledXpress (Jan 11, 2013)

Great catch !!! Congratz on the mark3... 

So I take it you don't feel screwed over by Canon !!! ;D


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## sanj (Jan 11, 2013)

6 months ago I made a 45 days trip to South Africa, Namibia and Botswana. I took Mr. X, 5d3 and 7d with me. 
I returned without taking ANY pictures on the 7d.


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## JPAZ (Jan 11, 2013)

Let me also add my congrats. I took the plunge during that brief Adorama on Ebay sale in September and have not looked back. I had been shooting with a 50d and was frustrated with the noise levels. My photos often lacked that certain "wow" factor.

Now, when a pic does not look good it is my fault. Don't know if you felt this way moving from a 7d, but there is a bit of a learning curve that I am still working on. But the high ISO performance and the lower noise levels and, of course, the focusing are amazing. I guess my only complaint about his camera is that I don't have any alibis for a poor image.....


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## corey.kaye (Jan 11, 2013)

Great shot! Perfect focus!

How do you find the bokeh on the FF vs crop sensor?


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## deleteme (Jan 11, 2013)

When the 5Dmk3 first came out I too was one of the doubters about the value of the camera. I had a 5Dmk2 and I picked up an additional one for half the price of the mk3.
What convinced me to get the mk3 was the silent shooting mode and the AF. Both these features are enormously helpful for my work. 
Silent shooting is hugely underrated. Not only do you get near-Leica levels of quiet but also near-Leica levels of feel with the shutter release. The build is excellent and the images out of it are superb.

Yes, I do still have a mk2 but I think I will be trading it in on a mk3.


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## AudioGlenn (Jan 11, 2013)

Yes, I love my mark 3 too. I'm pretty bummed right now without my camera. (It's at Canon Service for calibration for another week).


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## Rienzphotoz (Jan 11, 2013)

Normalnorm said:


> When the 5Dmk3 first came out I too was one of the doubters about the value of the camera. I had a 5Dmk2 and I picked up an additional one for half the price of the mk3.
> What convinced me to get the mk3 was the silent shooting mode and the AF. Both these features are enormously helpful for my work.
> Silent shooting is hugely underrated. Not only do you get near-Leica levels of quiet but also near-Leica levels of feel with the shutter release. The build is excellent and the images out of it are superb.
> 
> Yes, I do still have a mk2 but I think I will be trading it in on a mk3.


Amen! It is the best camera I've ever had.


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## skinkfoot (Jan 11, 2013)

I jumped up from the 40d, I couldn't be happier, The feather detail that I'm resolving at higher iso is amazing. I do not miss the crop factor at all.


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## East Wind Photography (Jan 11, 2013)

Haha! I was one of the first people to buy a 5diii when it was released. Paid the price but was glad I did. Did I feel screwed? Not at all. In the time it took for the price to come down, I easily made up the difference with the shots I was taking. It's also not all about $$$. Had I not bought it when I did, I would have missed out on a couple of excellent eagle shoots and a 7D would not have given me the detail and sharpness that I got with the 5DIII. I have never felt screwed by Canon in any way. In fact I have had the exact opposite experience both with the quality of their products and their service dept which I used to repair the IS on a lens I took a spill with. I think a lot of people whine about Canon just to whine. I think though without the whiners Canon would not improve on their products. Not that they listen to any of us but if the numbers speak then they have to take notice.

so for the whiners out there, keep at it... Canon does listen. You can make complaints, suggestions by going to their website and opening a ticket with their service dept.

http://usa.canon.com/cusa/support/consumer/eos_slr_camera_systems/eos_digital_slr_cameras/eos_5d_mark_iii/form_display/support_by_kb_email


You may not get a response from Tier 1 that you like but the tickets do make it to their development and improvement team.



ChilledXpress said:


> Great catch !!! Congratz on the mark3...
> 
> So I take it you don't feel screwed over by Canon !!! ;D


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## Rienzphotoz (Jan 12, 2013)

ChilledXpress said:


> So I take it you don't feel screwed over by Canon !!! ;D


No, we are not poor ;D


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## jdramirez (Jan 12, 2013)

I have quite a bit of stuff to sell, then I'm waiting to find a mkiii deal that is around 21 or 2300... so I have to wait quite a while. I'm glad to hear this though because I have a 60D that really does a good job for me... so I hesitate to upgrade... but I'm glad to hear you are having such good results with the new body. It encourages me to maybe wait until it is around 22 to 2400.


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## vmk (Jan 12, 2013)

I luv my mk3, i upgraded from 7d and cant believe the stunning images that i got out frm this luvly camera

And with L combo the details of the pictures are amazing


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## Rienzphotoz (Jan 12, 2013)

Freelancer said:


> Rienzphotoz said:
> 
> 
> > ChilledXpress said:
> ...


You are? don't be so hard on yourself ;D


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## CrimsonBlue (Jan 12, 2013)

Everyone was losing their heads over the price of the 5D III when it came out (it wasn't much different than the mkII if you include inflation). The camera is a fantastic piece of machinery and the AF woes/shortcomings of the mkII are more than made up in the latest iteration. 

Congrats!


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## NetDog (Jan 12, 2013)

I also love my 5D mkiii. It's the dog's knob!


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## RLPhoto (Jan 12, 2013)

The 5D3 will never limit me. It's all I could ask from a camera.


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## distant.star (Jan 12, 2013)

.
I'm curious what motivates you to say something so thoughtless and rude. Can you explain?





Rienzphotoz said:


> ChilledXpress said:
> 
> 
> > So I take it you don't feel screwed over by Canon !!! ;D
> ...


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## V8Beast (Jan 12, 2013)

The 5D3 is currently $500 cheaper than what I paid for it last March, but I don't give a hoot. It's been such a pleasure to use over the last 10 months that the premium I paid was worth every penny. I've taken it on several high-pressure assignments during that time, and the peace of mind afforded by the 5D3's brilliant AF system, FPS, and dual card slots made my life a while lot easier. IMHO, it's about as close to perfection as you can get.


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## wickidwombat (Jan 13, 2013)

5Dmk3 cheaper?

time to buy another 

dollar cost averaging for the win!


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## AprilForever (Jan 27, 2013)

steven kessel said:


> I've used a 7D for a while, mainly for wildlife photography, and I love the camera. A couple weeks back I took the plunge and ordered a 5D Mark iii. It arrived day before yesterday and I immediately mated it with my 100-400 FL 4.5-5.6. I've spent the last two days prowling around and photographing birds.
> 
> The differences between this camera and my 7D are simply amazing. The autofocus on the 7D is pretty good. On the Mark iii it is fantastic. I have been able to acquire subjects in lighting that would have been out of the question in the 7D. Noise reduction is far superior in the Mark iii. With my 7D my "go to" ISO is 320. I've been shooting at 640 with the Mark iii and the images are far less noisy than at 320 on my 7D. The metering seems to be superior as well. Spot metered photos with the Mark iii seem to be far less influenced by contrasty backgrounds than with the 7D. Finally, the full frame format is not an apparent disadvantage for shooting wildlife because I can crop my images with much less loss of detail than with the 7D.
> 
> This is a wonderful camera and that's based on only two days and couple hundred images' use. I'd thought I'd use my 7D as a backup for the Mark iii but I'm beginning to wonder if I'll ever put the Mark iii down.



Fascinating! Hopefully the 7D MK II has even more improved AF...


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## BozillaNZ (Dec 7, 2013)

ISO 640?? Did you mean ISO 6400?


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## East Wind Photography (Dec 7, 2013)

BozillaNZ said:


> ISO 640?? Did you mean ISO 6400?



6400 is pretty good too but for it to hold up you need to get the shot nearly full frame. For most wildlife especially birds you often have to crop which magnifies the noise. I shoot the 5diii up to 1250 on a regular basis and the noise is minimal even with cropping. After that I find crops really take an iq hit.

People think high ISO is just for low light shooting. On the contrary high ISO lets you use real fast shutter speeds and higher f stops in daylight. Done right, you can over expose slightly and pull the exposure back down for even less noise. The only thing better is the 1dx and I found it to not be that much better in the iq area.


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## Rienzphotoz (Dec 9, 2013)

steven kessel said:


> I should have included this with my post. A Greater Roadrunner. Shot at ISO 640.


Lots of detail, nice pic ... I totally agree with you about being amazed by the 5D MK III ... its been over 18 months, since I've had the 5D MK III and I sometime forget how awesome it is ... just yesterday, I got the Sony a7 full frame mirrorless camera, the more I use it the more I realize how awesome the 5D MK III really is.


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