I'm amazed by my 5D Mark iii

[steven kessel]

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.

 

[steven kessel]

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

 

[rpt]

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...

 

[East Wind Photography]

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.

 

[RS2021]

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

 

[EYEONE]

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.

 

[shutterwideshut]

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.

 

[squarebox]

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.

 

[tphillips63]

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

 

[darrellrhodesmiller]

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.

 

[Mr Bean]

+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

 

[ChilledXpress]

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

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

 

[sanj]

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.

 

[JPAZ]

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.....

 

[corey.kaye]

Great shot! Perfect focus!

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

 

[deleteme]

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.

 

[AudioGlenn]

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).

 

[Rienzphotoz]

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.

 

[skinkfoot]

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.

 

[East Wind Photography]

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.

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

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