5D3 is Soft because of the Low Pass filter - interesting article

[gene_can_sing]

As a video guy, I was very disappointed by how soft the 5D3 image was, and apparently many stills people are finding the same thing.

I read 2 interesting articles this morning by James Miller, a DP who went into his new 5D3 and removed the Low Pass filter and the sharpness of the camera dramatically increased. Interesting read. Of course, nobody should attempt this until (if ever) more is documented.

With that said, I can see this being a desired camera mod. and good little money maker for a camera shop that knows what they are doing.

Article 1

http://philipbloom.net/2012/04/01/a-drastic-solution-to-increasing-sharpness-with-the-5dmkiii/

Article 2

http://www.eoshd.com/content/7727/james-miller-removes-optical-low-pass-filter-from-5d-mark-iii-for-resolution-increase

 

[risc32]

strange, i don't have any problems. :-X

 

[Mt Spokane Photography]

A low pass filter is just that. It cuts off high frequencies that are perceived as sharpness / contrast at the expense of causing moire patterns. Some low pass filtering is also usually done in firmware on conversion to jpeg.

This has been known for a very long time as the Nyquist limit. As we get smaller and smaller photosites, the Nyquist limit is increased, and the possibility of having a usable camera is increased as in the Nikon D800. Even then, it needs filtering in software / firmware to soften the image and reduce moire.

However my 5D MK III is not soft. Being limited to studio work where lighting can be controlled to minimize moire patterns is the penalty for removing the filter.

 

[Kernuak]

Two points.
The article that appeared on the CPN Europe site actually stated that the filter has been reduced in strength. Unfortunately, I can't find the link at the moment.
When the 7D first came out, Adobe RAW produced very soft images which improved once it had been refined with a couple of updates. I wouldn't make too many critical comparisons at the moment with what using what is little more than beta versions of software. The difference when the 7D came out, there wasn't the same issue with DPP.