Canon EOS 5D Mark III Firmware adds HDMI & AF Upgrades

[neuroanatomist]

Politics and conspiracy theories aside ...
It is entirely possible the exclusion (at least for now) of the AI-servo AF illumination for 5D3 may be a technical one.

I trust we all understood why AF illumination was avoided in the first place -- interference with the on-board metering system. It was due to popular demand that Canon have since come up with a clever, although quirky, work around with the 1D X. Perhaps it is the lack of an RGB metering system that precluded the same work around from working reliably, if at all, on the 5D3 (and 7D too should they decide to). The red RGB channel could have provided the necessary reference feedback to actively tune out the LED illumination interference through software. This magic trickery may not be feasible with the color-blind 5D3/7D metering sensor.

Excellent point, and a very real possibility (although the 7D/5DIII metering isn't color-blind, it's a dual layer sensor with red/green and blue/green layers, but the point is there's no specificity in the red channel, and it may be that the 1D X just ignores that channel when the illumination flashes).

[fotoray]

This is awesome for many users. I didn't see anything about lighting up the AF points like the 1Dx update had but maybe it will come. But even the features included take away 2 huge selling points of the D800 over the 5D3

Yeah.  In firmware v2

[Menace]

Canon, please, just add the AI Servo red dot illumination and I'll be very happy.

[expatinasia]

Wish people would stop going on about the 1DX. The 5D III is not a pro cam and is very different from the 1D X.

I still find what Canon has done here incredibly sad, and makes me wonder whether they have lost the plot completely.

I am glad I do not own the 5D III or I may have just thrown it at the wall after reading about a firmware update Canon has planned for April 2013.

I bet Nikon and Sony are having a party now!!!

[drjlo]

I bet Nikon and Sony are having a party now!!!

That's a bit of a stretch methinks. 

April is far off, but I don't plan on getting an external video recorder, and I don't even own a f/5.6 telephoto lens that would benefit from f/8 AF with extender, so no hurry..

[jondave]

Wait what? Can someone elaborate on this? Does this mean the 5d3 doesn't spot meter exposure with points other than the center?

The reason why im concerned is because alot of my shots with the 5d3 always end up underexposed even though the on camera light meter says its spot on.

Seriously? AF-point spot metering has always been a 1 series only feature. Whoever gave you the idea the 5D3 could do this? (Hopefully not the sales guy who sold it to you)

But going back to the topic on hand, this is a good marketing move. Get the early adopters first, then entice the holdouts later. And along with the steady price drops, this keeps the sales rolling along.

[samueljay]

For those wondering about the Uncompressed HDMI out and why it's important, in the most basic sense, the video files that the 5D creates are compressed .movs with a h264 codec, in a color space of 4:2:0, what this means is that you don't have much latitude to play around with colors or video levels in post (think of it as RAW vs. JPEG) H264's also aren't immediately ready to edit with (of course you can if you want to, but they really should be transcoded to a different codec such as Apple Pro Res before editing)

What the Uncompressed Output with HDMI allows with the aid of an external recorder (such as the Atomos Samurai) is to record in the Apple Pro Res HQ codec (perfect for editing straight away and the same format the $60,0000 Arri Alexa cinema camera records in (what they shoot Mad Men on)) in a color space of 4:2:2, which gives you more latitude to grade (grading is post processing video) with. Hopefully that makes a bit of sense, and makes it a bit clearer that this feature isn't really for the average consumer shooting a bit of video on their HDSLR, it's more for the Pro's / Enthusiasts who are looking for a bit more flexibility and convenience in post production.

[distant.star]

.
So kind of them to tell us all about their winter project.

Perhaps we should all send Canon news of our winter projects.

As I've said before, trying to figure out Canon's reasoning is like staring at the sun hoping to see a hydrogen atom. You'll never see it, and you'll go blind in the process.

Well, I'm off to start my winter project!

[jon_charron]

The reason for April release is a marketing strategy.  This keeps the body selling now in anticipation of the new features, particularly to the video crowd.  The video crowd was a huge market for the 5D II, and is what kept sales strong for so long.  With so many other options for video in their line, and new models soon to be announced, as well as other competitor offerings that include uncompressed HDMI out, they have to set the hook now on all the people sitting on the 5D III fence.It also gives them 6 months to sell some of their slightly more expensive alternatives with better quality video.  It's brilliant.

[Quackator]

Don't see the need for uncompressed hdmi - (...)

Have you ever tried to pull focus manually on an external monitor?

With 480p that works much less than with 1080p.
I use a digital TV with a 22" screen for focus pulling,
and I look forward very much to this release.

[hmmm]

OK, a trip into the archives and I found this on page 50 of the EOS 3 user manual:

"(3) With the following lenses, if the maximum aperture is
anywhere from f/6.7 to f/8  when an Extender is
attached, the center focusing point will be sensitive to
horizontal lines only. The other focusing points cannot
be used for AF.
• With Extender EF 1.4x:
400/5.6L, 500/4.5L, 100-400/4.5-5.6L IS
• With Extender EF 2x:
300/4L, 300/4L IS, 500/4L IS, 600/4L,
600/4L IS, 70-200/4L"

So it is not unreasonable to expect a 5D mkIII to af at f8 with the central point (or points).   Not unreasonable to expect that of a 7D mk II either, I say.

[rpt]

I will take any freebies Canon decides to uncripple my way... F8 AF is welcome!

 400mm F5.6 with 1.4iii now possible.

Yes!

I don't see anybody else happy about f/8 AF! For me looks like procrastination works. I have been mulling over the purchase of a 1.4x Kenko and this sorts it out - on the first of April next year

[corpusrex]

Do you think Canons decision to go ahead with giving us clean uncompressed HDMI out was anything to do with ML making clean HDMI available?  I mean, lets face it, they would still be using a Canon cam with ML so not a lot of real commercial reasons to do so.  I would have thought it more likely announced to stop people from jumping ship to something like the Blackmagic Cine cam, especially with the 6 month lead time till the Firmware release.

Wow. Bravo on adding uncompressed HDMI! But I guess they might have had to since ML just did it.

I'm confused by adding f8 support and not AF point illunimation...

[rpt]

Feature requirements get defined very early in the product lifecycle. I am sure there is a spreadsheet somewhere in Canon that is owned by marketing that lists all features needed and a column for the expected release version (or may be it is part of their PLM software). I would be very surprised if these features got added recently as a result of a knee-jerk reaction.

[rpt]

I would be impressed if the they announced the 5D MKIV to be released that date.

They should outsource changes of software more. Developers outside Canon are faster in developing new features for the cameras and devices that connect to cameras.

Great point... the world of software development has advanced eons form Canon's 80's dev model... I guess it will happen once they bring fresh new blood at the top...

I disagree about outsourcing software or any critical part of product engineering. To me it is plain stupid. You are paying somebody to become your competitor in 10 to 20 years! Apparently many large companies (and I am talking Fortune 50 companies) are beginning to un-subcontract their engineering...

Fresh blood, shake the tree and all that is a given... Can't do without it.