5D3's First Engagement Shoot...

[justsomedude]

Picked her up at noon, shot with her at 5:30 (still have lots to learn about the menu-ing system).  However, I can say the ISOs really are amazing, and I can report that she works just fine with PocketWizard FlexTT5s...

(pardon all the post work - trying out some new presets I've been toying with in LR4)

[cps_user]

To be honest, I don't see anything that couldn't have been shot with the 5d2.

But the good thing is that at first sight I'm just thinking "damn awesome shots!"

 

Nice to see some real, good shots instead of all the crap they've thrown at us so far.

im sure it performs up to par! How you like af and metering?

Getting mine today, sold the 5d2 yesterday.

[justsomedude]

To be honest, I don't see anything that couldn't have been shot with the 5d2.

But the good thing is that at first sight I'm just thinking "damn awesome shots!"

 

Nice to see some real, good shots instead of all the crap they've thrown at us so far.

im sure it performs up to par! How you like af and metering?

Getting mine today, sold the 5d2 yesterday.

Thanks, CPS.  Much appreciated!

Regarding the AF and metering, it's hard to give a 100% honest review after only 2-hours of shooting with it, but I will give my first takes:

• In good light, the AF is noticeably faster to lock on - and lock on correctly.  Also, the AI Servo is SICK at tracking (at least running humans - all I've tested so far).
• In low light, the AF is noticeably slower, and seems to either lock on correctly after a bit of a delay - or hunt and give up.  This was a gripe many had with Nikon - slow to lock but at least you got a sharp image.  I actually prefer this to the old "quick lock - hope you get the proper focal plane!" approach of the old 5D2.  It seems like now we either have proper focus after a delay, or no focus at all (visible through viewfinder).  I prefer this to the unreliable AF of the MKII, as now I have better confidence in whether the focus-lock indicator is real and not just guessing at some random focal plane.
• The metering is phenomenal - and while some have complained of the DR, it seems I'm able to recover a heck of a lot more highlights than I could from my 5D2 images.  Whether this is improved functions of LR4, or better metering of the 5D3 is hard to tell at this point.

I'll post up more info as I continue to use it, but so far I'm thrilled with the 5D3 performance.  Oh, and one last bit of info... while every shot I posted probably could have been done on a 5D2, I would say the first one could not.  That was shot at 12800 ISO with no external flash.

Honestly, and I mean this sincerely... the noise of the 5D3 at 12800 seems similar to the 7D at 1600.  It's TOTALLY usable/workable, and will totally change my approach to low-light photography.  The ISOs are one of the most amazing upgrades to this line - they are just mind blowing!!

[DanielG]

I am jealous, my 5D Mark III was supposed to be delivered today but it's tied up in the post because somehow it "missed" it's flight.

I wasn't aware there was a Ferris wheel downtown Denver right now. What's that all about?
(Just realized that's probably 6 flags and I didn't know it was open already)

Nice shots by the way.


-Another Denverite.

[awinphoto]

Very nicely done and congrats on the new camera... Just out of curiosity..  What lens/shutter/f-stop was used on the first shot?  The exif info doesn't look like it was saved/carried over.  Any image quirks we should be prepared for such as slightly soft from the preproduction models or someone yesterday said their copys images seemed "blotchy" and not smooth... How do you feel the detail of the image is like and with the newer controls, is it easy/comfortable to pick up and start shooting or would you say the new features takes a bit to get used to and feels foreign at first and has a learning curve like the 7D had compared to the rest of the XXD series cameras? 

[justsomedude]

I wasn't aware there was a Ferris wheel downtown Denver right now. What's that all about?
(Just realized that's probably 6 flags and I didn't know it was open already)

-Another Denverite.

Hey Daniel - nice to meet another Denverite.  The ferris wheel is indeed Elitch's.  It's still closed - but those lights are on most of the year. 

Very nicely done and congrats on the new camera... Just out of curiosity..  What lens/shutter/f-stop was used on the first shot?  The exif info doesn't look like it was saved/carried over.  Any image quirks we should be prepared for such as slightly soft from the preproduction models or someone yesterday said their copys images seemed "blotchy" and not smooth... How do you feel the detail of the image is like and with the newer controls, is it easy/comfortable to pick up and start shooting or would you say the new features takes a bit to get used to and feels foreign at first and has a learning curve like the 7D had compared to the rest of the XXD series cameras?

Awin, in all honesty there is no softness like we saw from the pre-pro images.  But, as I think many others have previously concluded, a lot of those shots were probably in-camera JPGs, and not processed RAWs.  By working off the RAW files you can get incredibly sharp shots (at least what I've seen so far), which are also helped by the great AF.  As for that first shot, I think it was f/3.2 with a 1/100th shutter speed.  But I will confirm that for you later today.  (and I'll also post higher res. samples for better detail scrutiny)

Image detail is incredible, and the ISOs are just phenomenal.  However, if you're looking for some life-altering jump in image quality from the 5D2 to the 5D3, you will not find it.  The improvements are in the AF, the high ISO noise control, and the menu-ing/control options.  Obviously, the body and ergonomics are also improved.  Some people say this is more like a 5D2-E, and I can understand that argument as the lower ISO images are relatively unchanged.  However, for the AF and ISOs, it's well worth the upgrade to me. 

As for the menu-ing, there is definitely a learning curve.  Totally different from the 7D and even a further departure from the 5D2.  I didn't have much time to dig into it, because I only had a few hours with it before my shoot, and I didn't want to mess anything up!  I'll more time to get through the manual and really dig into the menu levels in the coming days.

[Pyrenees]

Well done on the photos. Love the composition of the second-last shot, in particular.

[SomeGuyInNewJersey]

• The metering is phenomenal - and while some have complained of the DR, it seems I'm able to recover a heck of a lot more highlights than I could from my 5D2 images.  Whether this is improved functions of LR4, or better metering of the 5D3 is hard to tell at this point.

Glad to hear you are enjoying the new camera... Mine should be shipping today. My 5 year old daughter is going to a birthday party at an indoor play place called "pump it up" Ive always had problems there with my 550d due to the low light and movement... If my 5d3 arrives in time tomorrow it will be a great test for it.

Quick question... You are talking about LR4 with the 5d3 shots... So:

- Is there a new update to use the 5d3 raws?
- Did you shoot jpg?
- Did you convert to tiff in Canons software then import that into LR4?

Actually that was 3 questions...

Oh and now I think fo it I have more...

The AF performance you mentioned in low light... what lens were you using? What was the max aperture? I think you were probably using a 70-200L f/2.8?

Great shots by the way... have you shown the client yet? Though I am sure they didnt care about anyhting you had to say about your wonderful new camera! I liked the ones with the sunset clouds in the background. [/list]

[awinphoto]

Very nicely done and congrats on the new camera... Just out of curiosity..  What lens/shutter/f-stop was used on the first shot?  The exif info doesn't look like it was saved/carried over.  Any image quirks we should be prepared for such as slightly soft from the preproduction models or someone yesterday said their copys images seemed "blotchy" and not smooth... How do you feel the detail of the image is like and with the newer controls, is it easy/comfortable to pick up and start shooting or would you say the new features takes a bit to get used to and feels foreign at first and has a learning curve like the 7D had compared to the rest of the XXD series cameras?

Awin, in all honesty there is no softness like we saw from the pre-pro images.  But, as I think many others have previously concluded, a lot of those shots were probably in-camera JPGs, and not processed RAWs.  By working off the RAW files you can get incredibly sharp shots (at least what I've seen so far), which are also helped by the great AF.  As for that first shot, I think it was f/3.2 with a 1/100th shutter speed.  But I will confirm that for you later today.  (and I'll also post higher res. samples for better detail scrutiny)

Image detail is incredible, and the ISOs are just phenomenal.  However, if you're looking for some life-altering jump in image quality from the 5D2 to the 5D3, you will not find it.  The improvements are in the AF, the high ISO noise control, and the menu-ing/control options.  Obviously, the body and ergonomics are also improved.  Some people say this is more like a 5D2-E, and I can understand that argument as the lower ISO images are relatively unchanged.  However, for the AF and ISOs, it's well worth the upgrade to me. 

As for the menu-ing, there is definitely a learning curve.  Totally different from the 7D and even a further departure from the 5D2.  I didn't have much time to dig into it, because I only had a few hours with it before my shoot, and I didn't want to mess anything up!  I'll more time to get through the manual and really dig into the menu levels in the coming days.

Thanks for your response, and I appreciate the feedback.  I cant wait to get my copy to test it out... Regardint the ergonomics, I've heard reviews across the board from people saying it looks and handles a lot like the 7D to those saying it's a modified 5d2 chassis.  I've even read one person saying they changed buttons around just enough where it makes sense over time but may p#@$ you off at first until you get used to it.  I also remember first playing with the 7d camera out of the box, the first shots looked like crap until I figured out the new AF and camera layout...  I was/am expecting the same kind of learning curve with the new 61pt af.  One last quick question/test... since they have the same VF as the 7D (intelligent) when you remove the main battery for charging, does the VF go soft/dark/oof like the 7D does cause the LCD overlay goes dead or do you get a normal view like the older cameras without the LCD overlay?  I understood it still couldn't do much without the battery in it, but it just was weird/annoying if I had the camera on tripod with the battery charging... you couldn't focus or do squat to frame the shot unless the battery was inside. 

[justsomedude]

Thanks for your response, and I appreciate the feedback.  I cant wait to get my copy to test it out... Regardint the ergonomics, I've heard reviews across the board from people saying it looks and handles a lot like the 7D to those saying it's a modified 5d2 chassis.  I've even read one person saying they changed buttons around just enough where it makes sense over time but may p#@$ you off at first until you get used to it.  I also remember first playing with the 7d camera out of the box, the first shots looked like crap until I figured out the new AF and camera layout...  I was/am expecting the same kind of learning curve with the new 61pt af.  One last quick question/test... since they have the same VF as the 7D (intelligent) when you remove the main battery for charging, does the VF go soft/dark/oof like the 7D does cause the LCD overlay goes dead or do you get a normal view like the older cameras without the LCD overlay?  I understood it still couldn't do much without the battery in it, but it just was weird/annoying if I had the camera on tripod with the battery charging... you couldn't focus or do squat to frame the shot unless the battery was inside.

Awin - not to sure on the VF, I'll let you know when I get back home and can test it out.  Also, here's the info on that image, looks like the EXIF is there after all...

Camera   Canon EOS 5D Mark III
Exposure   0.025 sec (1/40)
Aperture   f/2.8
Focal Length   200 mm
ISO Speed   12800

http://www.flickr.com/photos/akphotodenver/7005045775/#meta/in/set-72157629274945686/

[justsomedude]

Glad to hear you are enjoying the new camera... Mine should be shipping today. My 5 year old daughter is going to a birthday party at an indoor play place called "pump it up" Ive always had problems there with my 550d due to the low light and movement... If my 5d3 arrives in time tomorrow it will be a great test for it.

Quick question... You are talking about LR4 with the 5d3 shots... So:

- Is there a new update to use the 5d3 raws?
- Did you shoot jpg?
- Did you convert to tiff in Canons software then import that into LR4?

Actually that was 3 questions...

Oh and now I think fo it I have more...

The AF performance you mentioned in low light... what lens were you using? What was the max aperture? I think you were probably using a 70-200L f/2.8?

Great shots by the way... have you shown the client yet? Though I am sure they didnt care about anyhting you had to say about your wonderful new camera! I liked the ones with the sunset clouds in the background. [/list]

Sorry I missed this post SGINJ!  Regarding editing in LR4...

There is no LR4 update yet to natively view the 5D3 files.  I had to download the new Adobe DNG Converter.  It is in beta, so YMMV.  Others have suggested converting all CR2s to Tiffs, but that was taking too long for me.  The DNG conversion went much faster.  And LR4 can open Adobe DNG files just fine.  However, I do wonder if there is information lost in the x-fer, as the DNG's are about 20% smaller in file-size than their Canon RAW counterparts.

Regarding AF in low-light, I was using the 70-200 f/2.8 IS L as you predicted.  The AF was "OK" in low-light.  Seemed to get lost at times, and give up at other times.  Honestly, I prefer this to the camera just guessing on some random focal plane, only to give me a blurry image I have to delete later.  I'm doing an event gig tonight, and I'll most likely implement the AF assist on my 580 exII (although disable the flash for some shots to test the high ISO).  If you'll be indoors with low-light, I'd still recommend using an AF-assist beam, be it via an ST-E2 or 580EXII.

Max aperture for this shoot was f/2.8 in the night settings.  I tried to stay above 5.6 in the daylight, just to keep their bodies well within the DOF.  Didn't have much option as it got darker, while wanting to keeping my shutter speed above 1/40th without ramming into ISO 25800 land.  Didn't feel like testing that out with a client just yet. 

And yup - sent them these samples this morning.  They are happy with the results. 

[itsnotmeyouknow]

To be honest, I don't see anything that couldn't have been shot with the 5d2.

But the good thing is that at first sight I'm just thinking "damn awesome shots!"

 

Nice to see some real, good shots instead of all the crap they've thrown at us so far.

im sure it performs up to par! How you like af and metering?

Getting mine today, sold the 5d2 yesterday.

Thanks, CPS.  Much appreciated!

Regarding the AF and metering, it's hard to give a 100% honest review after only 2-hours of shooting with it, but I will give my first takes:

• In good light, the AF is noticeably faster to lock on - and lock on correctly.  Also, the AI Servo is SICK at tracking (at least running humans - all I've tested so far).
• In low light, the AF is noticeably slower, and seems to either lock on correctly after a bit of a delay - or hunt and give up.  This was a gripe many had with Nikon - slow to lock but at least you got a sharp image.  I actually prefer this to the old "quick lock - hope you get the proper focal plane!" approach of the old 5D2.  It seems like now we either have proper focus after a delay, or no focus at all (visible through viewfinder).  I prefer this to the unreliable AF of the MKII, as now I have better confidence in whether the focus-lock indicator is real and not just guessing at some random focal plane.
• The metering is phenomenal - and while some have complained of the DR, it seems I'm able to recover a heck of a lot more highlights than I could from my 5D2 images.  Whether this is improved functions of LR4, or better metering of the 5D3 is hard to tell at this point.

I'll post up more info as I continue to use it, but so far I'm thrilled with the 5D3 performance.  Oh, and one last bit of info... while every shot I posted probably could have been done on a 5D2, I would say the first one could not.  That was shot at 12800 ISO with no external flash.

Honestly, and I mean this sincerely... the noise of the 5D3 at 12800 seems similar to the 7D at 1600.  It's TOTALLY usable/workable, and will totally change my approach to low-light photography.  The ISOs are one of the most amazing upgrades to this line - they are just mind blowing!!

I hope it's the camera too, but the new Highlights section of LR 4 is worlds better than the old recovery slider.  Was able to recover detail that was completely blown out earlier