5D Mark III Noob: What to check out on new camera?

[Dylan777]

Hmmm..I'm not so sure about putting the camera on P for the first 10k shots and everything on center focus - I beg to differ with Mt. Spokane. That's what my neighbor did and is afraid to try anything else since he bought the camera years ago. He spent $3k on a 20D, kit lens and flash a the time of release and shoots everything in P. Of course this is all a matter of matter of opinion but you could have bought a G12 for that type of stuff.The camera has loads of features - I might suggest you explore the hell out of that camera and take note of what you've chosen and your results to revert back if need be or alter. Then you can improve from there. Overtime try, sample and play with most if not all settings - it's got the versatility of a one man band and will offer creativity for all. Read a lot and check out some of the videos on B&H and usa.canon.com - that's where I got some great tips from Canon's experts such as Rudy when I first acquired the 7D. He actually speaks of how to break away from recomposing from center focus which I have and how to use each of the AF groups & points within the camera and their unique purposes. You can always reset back your settings to something more conventional or factory defaults if dissatisfied with any of your results.

Shooting in "P" mode, you can at least focus where you want to focus. I have a co-worker who spent over $5K last year on 5D II + 70-200 f2.8 II IS and he is still shooting GREEN mode.

 

[smithy]

In response to the OP's original question, I would suggest checking a couple of things. I had to return my 5D3 after just a couple of days because it had two faults:

Hot pixels: Take a photo of something middle-grey in RAW format, then copy it to your computer and examine the whole image carefully for any bright red pixels. In my case, no amount of auto sensor cleaning made any difference whatsoever to this fault. It wasn't a single pixel either, but a cluster.

Autofocus: For the purpose of this test, choose the centre focus point and set your aperture to its widest (f/4 on the kit lens). In good lighting conditions, take a photo of something that has lines in it - something that you'll be able to easily see whether it's sharp or not. Then check for focus (at the centre of the frame, since the outer parts of the frame will be slightly out of focus anyway) on your computer. Some variation in lens calibrations is to be expected, but if, like me, you're having to set your 5D3's AF microadjustment to +20 to get things in focus, you probably have a problem.

After receiving my replacement 5D3, both of the above problems were eliminated - much to my relief!

 

[cayenne]

In response to the OP's original question, I would suggest checking a couple of things. I had to return my 5D3 after just a couple of days because it had two faults:

Hot pixels: Take a photo of something middle-grey in RAW format, then copy it to your computer and examine the whole image carefully for any bright red pixels. In my case, no amount of auto sensor cleaning made any difference whatsoever to this fault. It wasn't a single pixel either, but a cluster.

Autofocus: For the purpose of this test, choose the centre focus point and set your aperture to its widest (f/4 on the kit lens). In good lighting conditions, take a photo of something that has lines in it - something that you'll be able to easily see whether it's sharp or not. Then check for focus (at the centre of the frame, since the outer parts of the frame will be slightly out of focus anyway) on your computer. Some variation in lens calibrations is to be expected, but if, like me, you're having to set your 5D3's AF microadjustment to +20 to get things in focus, you probably have a problem.

After receiving my replacement 5D3, both of the above problems were eliminated - much to my relief!

Thank you for the great advice!!

Just curious...what series number was your 5D3 replacement? Mine is a "3".

C

 

[smithy]

Thank you for the great advice!!

Just curious...what series number was your 5D3 replacement? Mine is a "3".

C

My faulty unit was a '3', and my new unit is also a '3'.