Canon EOS 5D Mark III Firmware adds HDMI & AF Upgrades

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Don't forget the part about ... at no charge... Not as soon as one would like, but this is pretty good aftermarket support. Kudos to Canon.

Meanwhile... at NR they are splashing a story about how a gap in the corner of the shutter curtain housing makes the D600 a dust bunny. Folks are quippping about I AM NIKON / I AM SILENT on its failure to even acknowledge the issue (so far anyway).

I don't mean this as a C/N snipe (just think about tainted rubber for perspective) -- I'd like to make two points:

1) This pre-announcement of support shows Canon is serious and energized about competing.
2) As one considering what to do moving forward from Canon APS into FF sometime in the next several months, this does score some points with me for staying with Canon.

Oh, and speaking of tainted rubber and dust bunnies: the general rule still holds: never be an early adopter. :o
 
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I still love my 5DIII, but the non-illuminated AF thing... Some quirks I get used to and they don't bother me after a while, but in this particular case the more I use the camera the more the AF points bug me (when shooting in dark conditions). I don't do much in the way of video; I guess the uncompressed HDMI is cool, and if I ever get a chance to rent a lens where it becomes relevant the F/8 upgrade is nice.

But I was really hoping for the AF illumination like on the 1DX. Thanks Canon.
:(
 
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Craig,

Nikon's D800 record uncompressed files via HDMI to an external recording device since day 1. Same with cross-type f/8 AF.

Both features are available on the D800 at a much lower price point than the 5D3.

===========

If you want more "reach" the 5D3 has more MP than a 1DX.

I hope Canon also does these two features with the 7D or 7D Mark II.
 
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EYEONE said:
Wow. Bravo on adding uncompressed HDMI! But I guess they might have had to since ML just did it.

<snip>

Ok, can someone explain to me what the uncompressed HDMI means for us?

I understand that it can now be monitored externally, which is nice...but can someone explain to me what it means with respect to the mentioned "external recorder"...what is the external recorder? A computer/laptop? Would this be of higher quality than what gets put on the CF/SD cards when recording?

Would this be a "RAW" video out, like the Blackmagic camera?

Can anyone explain the particulars here what this means with regard to video with the 5D3.....?


Thanks in advance,

cayenne
 
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cayenne said:
Can anyone explain the particulars here what this means with regard to video with the 5D3.....?
It's only relevant for professionals. There are no consumer grade hdmi recorders because it would mean digital video copying on a humungous scale. The cheapest recorders you can find are in the $5K region, I think.

Uncompressed does mean that you can achieve a higher bit rate than what is stored to the cards, but I couldn't say anything about the magnitude of the difference.

For me, this is a forgettable extra, anyway. Ymmv :)
 
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Rat said:
cayenne said:
Can anyone explain the particulars here what this means with regard to video with the 5D3.....?
It's only relevant for professionals. There are no consumer grade hdmi recorders because it would mean digital video copying on a humungous scale. The cheapest recorders you can find are in the $5K region, I think.

Uncompressed does mean that you can achieve a higher bit rate than what is stored to the cards, but I couldn't say anything about the magnitude of the difference.

For me, this is a forgettable extra, anyway. Ymmv :)

For me also. I don't really care, I'm just impressed they did it--er, are going to do it.
 
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Rat said:
cayenne said:
Can anyone explain the particulars here what this means with regard to video with the 5D3.....?
It's only relevant for professionals. There are no consumer grade hdmi recorders because it would mean digital video copying on a humungous scale. The cheapest recorders you can find are in the $5K region, I think.

Uncompressed does mean that you can achieve a higher bit rate than what is stored to the cards, but I couldn't say anything about the magnitude of the difference.

For me, this is a forgettable extra, anyway. Ymmv :)

I think this will do it. It isn't $5K but it isn't cheap.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/759453-REG/ATOMOS_ATOMNJA001_ATOMNJA001_Ninja_Video_Hard.html

What I find puzzling is the 6-month delay. It's almost as if this really is a reaction to the most recent Magic Lantern announcements.

Update - Correction: Wrong Ninja: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/858661-REG/ATOMOS_ATOMNJA002_Ninja_2.html
 
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Bob Howland said:
Rat said:
cayenne said:
Can anyone explain the particulars here what this means with regard to video with the 5D3.....?
It's only relevant for professionals. There are no consumer grade hdmi recorders because it would mean digital video copying on a humungous scale. The cheapest recorders you can find are in the $5K region, I think.

Uncompressed does mean that you can achieve a higher bit rate than what is stored to the cards, but I couldn't say anything about the magnitude of the difference.

For me, this is a forgettable extra, anyway. Ymmv :)

I think this will do it. It isn't $5K but it isn't cheap.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/759453-REG/ATOMOS_ATOMNJA001_ATOMNJA001_Ninja_Video_Hard.html

What I find puzzling is the 6-month delay. It's almost as if this really is a reaction to the most recent Magic Lantern announcements.
Not recommended as a solution for recording the live HDMI output of DSLR cameras.
 
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tron said:
Bob Howland said:
Rat said:
cayenne said:
Can anyone explain the particulars here what this means with regard to video with the 5D3.....?
It's only relevant for professionals. There are no consumer grade hdmi recorders because it would mean digital video copying on a humungous scale. The cheapest recorders you can find are in the $5K region, I think.

Uncompressed does mean that you can achieve a higher bit rate than what is stored to the cards, but I couldn't say anything about the magnitude of the difference.

For me, this is a forgettable extra, anyway. Ymmv :)

I think this will do it. It isn't $5K but it isn't cheap.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/759453-REG/ATOMOS_ATOMNJA001_ATOMNJA001_Ninja_Video_Hard.html

What I find puzzling is the 6-month delay. It's almost as if this really is a reaction to the most recent Magic Lantern announcements.
Not recommended as a solution for recording the live HDMI output of DSLR cameras.

How about this one: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/858661-REG/ATOMOS_ATOMNJA002_Ninja_2.html
 
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Bob Howland said:
tron said:
Bob Howland said:
Rat said:
cayenne said:
Can anyone explain the particulars here what this means with regard to video with the 5D3.....?
It's only relevant for professionals. There are no consumer grade hdmi recorders because it would mean digital video copying on a humungous scale. The cheapest recorders you can find are in the $5K region, I think.

Uncompressed does mean that you can achieve a higher bit rate than what is stored to the cards, but I couldn't say anything about the magnitude of the difference.

For me, this is a forgettable extra, anyway. Ymmv :)

I think this will do it. It isn't $5K but it isn't cheap.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/759453-REG/ATOMOS_ATOMNJA001_ATOMNJA001_Ninja_Video_Hard.html

What I find puzzling is the 6-month delay. It's almost as if this really is a reaction to the most recent Magic Lantern announcements.
Not recommended as a solution for recording the live HDMI output of DSLR cameras.

How about this one: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/858661-REG/ATOMOS_ATOMNJA002_Ninja_2.html
Yes! It looks OK and ... 1000$ :(
 
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Glad to see a positive step forward. I know video folks will really appreciate the HDMI option (without having to hack their firmware).

That said, a bar has been set with the 7D firmware that new functionality will be unlocked. I honestly hope we get more by April:

  • AF Illumination! (just shocked we aren't getting the 1DX fix here)
  • Deeper button reconfiguration options - only some buttons can do certain things, this should be expanded
  • Rating photos should be recognized by vanilla handler programs like iPhoto (I know -- Apple could fix this, too)
  • Would love to see the electronic level (the in viewfinder one) automatically toggle on when shooting vertically as I don't use a grip. This is simple enough to enable as they already have accel/gyro support for separate horizontal and vertical AF point selection, right?
  • As I shoot a lot in the dark, the -3EV AF capability of the new 6D would be a nice pickup, but I am assuming that this is all hardware and off the table. (But here's hoping)

Thanks for digging into this, Canon. I hope they read these threads for ideas. :-P

- A
 
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So far in less than a year, I've personally and professionally never had problems needing F8 (but i DONT use extenders) and haven't had problems with the red dots, although if i need servo tracking, I opt for ai focus which gives me red initial illumination... For what I do, I haven't had any issues... uncompressed HD, while I am implementing video in my packages with the 5d3, I'm not doing any fancy smancy big screen stuff, just short fusion videos to add to my animoto slide shows... So meh overall, but if I ever run into the situation where I need to use extenders, then woo hoo
 
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