5D Mark III doesn't live up to expectations in real world shooting...

[briansquibb]

I guess this topic is dead, nothing learned or enough to get better than expected expectations.

Somepeople live the dream and it comes as a shock when you wake up and smell the coffee

I suspect personal expectations are always higher than reality - we always see the upsides and not the downsides

[rj79in]

I guess this topic is dead, nothing learned or enough to get better than expected expectations.

The topic may be dead but you may not be entirely correct in saying that "nothing learned". It depends on what you are looking at. I find these online discussions (save the ranting and trolling) quite informative. There are numerous times I find information that is useful I probably wouldn't have thought I needed 

[wickidwombat]

Dark knight what you are describing sounds exactly what i was experiencing with my first copy which i took back
the new copy i got today is performing considerably better still early but my initial feeling is that this one is spot on

just out of interest do you have access to a kenko tele converter you can try on your camera? if it fails to work I suspect you have a faulty AF unit like mine had this new copy works with my kenko TC and looks like its nailing focus wide open
only tested with the 70-200 so far but it is looking good

Ignore all the user error rubbish, I did, (although it is frustrating to read when all you are trying to do is trouble shoot) and now i have a second copy to check against I am certain the first one I had was faulty

[Bosman]

I guess this topic is dead, nothing learned or enough to get better than expected expectations.

The topic may be dead but you may not be entirely correct in saying that "nothing learned". It depends on what you are looking at. I find these online discussions (save the ranting and trolling) quite informative. There are numerous times I find information that is useful I probably wouldn't have thought I needed

Yea, it was a bit of a blanket stement sorry bout that. I guess I was hoping to hear how things are going for Dark night and if any answers to his issue have come to the forefront. I want to hear how things got better with a new approach to the system. This could be helpful for newer 5dm3 owners to find and how it was first this but with some understanding you can have so much more. Thats what i driving at.

[Michael7]

(even then, I would question the focusing system as it seems to be a little soft).

Reminds me of the 7D. I don't like these mushy images Canon cameras are producing (the 5D II is not among them).

[1982chris911]

The OP never AFMAd his lenses and was using Servo AI. In that case, both the suggestions are vaild.
As for your example, I am not seeing that slight softness in my photos. True, I don't have a 5D2 to do direct comparisons, but my 5D3 looks more like your 5D2 example than the 5D3 example.

edit: Could you post those RAW files as well? Or at least something with EXIF data?

Don't make assumptions about how I shoot based on what someone else said. I hardly ever use AI Servo on any of my Canon bodies and never said I did. Ninety percent of the time I'm shooting with One Shot AI. Just because I'm humble in my capacity to accept advice, don't make me out to be a noob, I'm far from it. I've shot everything from fashion shows for Christian Dior to Mixed Martial Arts K-1 Tournaments. I know how to shoot and I know how to set up my camera. It was just an adjustment going from a 1D body to a 5D body especailly with this new AF System. I guess I was expecting too much. A lot of people posting here seem to be coming from a XXD or XXXD body so of course there will be different expectations. My girlfriend shoots with a 60D so I'm sure if she saw the images coming off a 5D body she'd think they were awesome even if they were a little soft because compared to a 60D, they probably would still look slightly better.

In addition, people assume because they know every technical detail of a camera that it makes them good photographers. I know people who can teach Canon engineers about camera tech but still can't shoot worth a darn because they have no imagination when it comes to image creation. No I didn't know I had to AFMA every lens in my bag to work with all my different bodies. However, just because I didn't know that one fact doesn't make me a noob, if anything it makes me wonder what the heck Canon engineers do when they design this equipment if we as consumers have to do our own QA.

http://www.northlight-images.co.uk/article_pages/cameras/1ds3_af_micoadjustment.html

You could try this small test (set up is quite easy) and see if the lenses are seriously out of focus. With MF you should get tack sharp results, if the AF results are not as good the lenses need to be corrected via Micro adjustment. I did that with all my lenses when I got the 5D MK III however so far all seemed to be fine. With the 5d MK II and 7D I needed to adjust them...       

[wickidwombat]

The OP never AFMAd his lenses and was using Servo AI. In that case, both the suggestions are vaild.
As for your example, I am not seeing that slight softness in my photos. True, I don't have a 5D2 to do direct comparisons, but my 5D3 looks more like your 5D2 example than the 5D3 example.

edit: Could you post those RAW files as well? Or at least something with EXIF data?

Don't make assumptions about how I shoot based on what someone else said. I hardly ever use AI Servo on any of my Canon bodies and never said I did. Ninety percent of the time I'm shooting with One Shot AI. Just because I'm humble in my capacity to accept advice, don't make me out to be a noob, I'm far from it. I've shot everything from fashion shows for Christian Dior to Mixed Martial Arts K-1 Tournaments. I know how to shoot and I know how to set up my camera. It was just an adjustment going from a 1D body to a 5D body especailly with this new AF System. I guess I was expecting too much. A lot of people posting here seem to be coming from a XXD or XXXD body so of course there will be different expectations. My girlfriend shoots with a 60D so I'm sure if she saw the images coming off a 5D body she'd think they were awesome even if they were a little soft because compared to a 60D, they probably would still look slightly better.

In addition, people assume because they know every technical detail of a camera that it makes them good photographers. I know people who can teach Canon engineers about camera tech but still can't shoot worth a darn because they have no imagination when it comes to image creation. No I didn't know I had to AFMA every lens in my bag to work with all my different bodies. However, just because I didn't know that one fact doesn't make me a noob, if anything it makes me wonder what the heck Canon engineers do when they design this equipment if we as consumers have to do our own QA.

http://www.northlight-images.co.uk/article_pages/cameras/1ds3_af_micoadjustment.html

You could try this small test (set up is quite easy) and see if the lenses are seriously out of focus. With MF you should get tack sharp results, if the AF results are not as good the lenses need to be corrected via Micro adjustment. I did that with all my lenses when I got the 5D MK III however so far all seemed to be fine. With the 5d MK II and 7D I needed to adjust them...     

If the Af unit is faulty then AFMA does no good either I spent a significant amount of time trying to sort it out and it just kept going all over the place. I even posted all the raws from the testing up here and got all my lenses spot on using AFMA at 2x focal distance then go out and shoot and focus was all over the place
this replacement unit looks to not have any of the issues i experienced with the first one so far

[Marsu42]

Here you can see some 30+ shows I shot w/ my 7D and then the 4 most recent with the 5DMKIII and see the difference.  The only new lens I got with the 5DMKIII was the 16-35, which is obviously great as well (I used the 10-22 on the 7D).  Otherwise, all the lenses were pretty much the same.

To me it seems the photog really makes the difference, a preview size I cannot see a difference between your (great!) old and new shots - but I guess the 5d3 just got you more kept shots. Concerning the 16-35: What other lenses do you use for these shots?

[1982chris911]

The OP never AFMAd his lenses and was using Servo AI. In that case, both the suggestions are vaild.
As for your example, I am not seeing that slight softness in my photos. True, I don't have a 5D2 to do direct comparisons, but my 5D3 looks more like your 5D2 example than the 5D3 example.

edit: Could you post those RAW files as well? Or at least something with EXIF data?

Don't make assumptions about how I shoot based on what someone else said. I hardly ever use AI Servo on any of my Canon bodies and never said I did. Ninety percent of the time I'm shooting with One Shot AI. Just because I'm humble in my capacity to accept advice, don't make me out to be a noob, I'm far from it. I've shot everything from fashion shows for Christian Dior to Mixed Martial Arts K-1 Tournaments. I know how to shoot and I know how to set up my camera. It was just an adjustment going from a 1D body to a 5D body especailly with this new AF System. I guess I was expecting too much. A lot of people posting here seem to be coming from a XXD or XXXD body so of course there will be different expectations. My girlfriend shoots with a 60D so I'm sure if she saw the images coming off a 5D body she'd think they were awesome even if they were a little soft because compared to a 60D, they probably would still look slightly better.

In addition, people assume because they know every technical detail of a camera that it makes them good photographers. I know people who can teach Canon engineers about camera tech but still can't shoot worth a darn because they have no imagination when it comes to image creation. No I didn't know I had to AFMA every lens in my bag to work with all my different bodies. However, just because I didn't know that one fact doesn't make me a noob, if anything it makes me wonder what the heck Canon engineers do when they design this equipment if we as consumers have to do our own QA.

http://www.northlight-images.co.uk/article_pages/cameras/1ds3_af_micoadjustment.html

You could try this small test (set up is quite easy) and see if the lenses are seriously out of focus. With MF you should get tack sharp results, if the AF results are not as good the lenses need to be corrected via Micro adjustment. I did that with all my lenses when I got the 5D MK III however so far all seemed to be fine. With the 5d MK II and 7D I needed to adjust them...     

If the Af unit is faulty then AFMA does no good either I spent a significant amount of time trying to sort it out and it just kept going all over the place. I even posted all the raws from the testing up here and got all my lenses spot on using AFMA at 2x focal distance then go out and shoot and focus was all over the place
this replacement unit looks to not have any of the issues i experienced with the first one so far

The good thing about this test is that it is quite easy to do and you can spot the problem (e.g. all lenses backfocus or frontfocus or they are off in both directions). When the MF does not make the image any sharper than AF (no adjustment needed) ...meaning if you don't get a super sharp image with MF when it locks absolutely sharp on the display in liveview (max moire patterns) then I would start to think about a serious problem with the cam. if the AF is just generally a bit short or long you can maybe compensate in AFMA - even when all lenses go into the same direction it does not mean that the AF module is necessarily broken only maybe needs more adjustment ...   

[revup67]

Numerous good points raised throughout the current 9 pages of this thread.  I have found out of the box anything doesn't mean it's the way it is suppose to be.  I've brought new lenses such as the 400mm 5.6 L out of box to Canon Svc. Center..it was off.  I baby the 7D and after 6 months said to myself, I paid for the warranty go use it and get the unit cleaned..sure enough they found an issue with the AF mechanism and replaced it.  Point being here, if you are not happy with your results but others are, perhaps your lens or camera do need service..new or not.  I wound up buying a Lens Align kit from michaeltapesdesign.com and a WhiBal as well, and found several lenses front or back focusing.  The kit made a big difference and now all are spot on with any lenses I had in question.  Lenses don't permanently stay aligned as well.  They should be checked regularly.

[Northstar]

 

I wound up buying a Lens Align kit from michaeltapesdesign.com and a WhiBal as well, and found several lenses front or back focusing.

 

when using one of these kits, how long does it take per lens?

[neuroanatomist]

I wound up buying a Lens Align kit from michaeltapesdesign.com and a WhiBal as well, and found several lenses front or back focusing.

 

when using one of these kits, how long does it take per lens?

Takes me about 30 minutes per focal length tested using the LensAlign Pro.  FoCal is not that much faster - the difference is that I can do something else during the calibration.