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

[Chuck Alaimo]

uggg....this is like a bittersweet update. While I am glad to see something, it feels like this update is mainly geared for video users (which I guess we just have to suck that one up because video does drive sales). But, as someone who has found themselves using servo more often for wedding work, it's hard because the servo is fantastic, but, without a red blinking light you're operating on faith- which is kind of a hard thing to do during a dark wedding reception. Will this stop me from shooting in servo mode? Hell no!!!Will it make me grumble about how video get all the perks? Yes! All that said though, 6 months is plenty enough time to fix/add things, so it may be a bit early to get out panties in a bunch over this.

 

[tron]

Unless ... they plan to release the AF illumination fix as a minor upgrade much sooner : (Now we have to laugh from time to time)

 

[kidcharles]

I'm guessing that they wanted to announce this stuff to prevent video professionals and wildlife shooters from jumping ship over the next six months. Autofocus at f/8 is a big deal for people who spend big money on big lenses. If I was in the market for a big telephoto I would certainly think about getting a cheaper Nikon D600 or D800 and slap it on a shorter tele with extenders rather than having to get a bigger tele for the same reach or having to get a very expensive 1DX.

 

[cayenne]

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

Thanks for the feedback.
I'm going to do more research..but from just looking at this thing...it seems to be a specialzed computer to record an incoming signal.

I'd think a laptop, netbook, or even perhaps a decent tablet hooked to an external hardrive could act at the video recorder?

For sure a laptop or netbook of sufficient cpu/gpu power...? I've got those laying around.

Hmm....might make for an interesting experiment...I've been seeing even set ups, with HD video travelling wirelessly for home use...wondering if you could plug the HDMI out of the Canon 5D3 into the HD transmitter....which sends it to your computer/laptop which could then do the actual recordeing, and that way, not have a ton of equipment extra you need to haul around with your camera on a tripod or other holding device....?

Thoughts?

C

 

[K-amps]

I will take any freebies Canon decides to uncripple my way... F8 AF is welcome!

400mm F5.6 with 1.4iii now possible.

 

[bkorcel]

Quite glad it is happening. While I would like to have those features now, I certainly would rather they regression test the new firmware rather than have it fail when I need the camera the most. They can take as much time as they need.

 

[Murdy]

6 months?!

No Red Light AF illumination?!

Every single day, I curse Canon for not sorting this out. Makes work very difficult at times, if not impossible.

 

[cliffwang]

Seeing more features are released from Canon make me feel glad to be a Magic Lantern supporter.

 

[coreyhkh]

WHy is it taking so long until it comes out???? thats like 6 months away

 

[kirispupis]

Let me guess. The release date is scheduled for April 1st?

 

[wockawocka]

6 months my arse.

 

[ahsanford]

For those complaining about the 6 month lead time, I agree wholeheartedly that this is a 'first strike' sort of announcement to protect big dollar / big glass folks from jumping ship.

I know jumping ship is both rare and impractical, but when there are (numerous?!) $10k lens purchases at stake, this announcement -- albeit very early -- makes a lot of sense. Anyone who (a) is already in the Canon fold, (b) is a birder/sports-type guy and (c) is on the verge of a big new glass purchase should be reassured by this announcement.

I say this b/c at the time of announcement of specs (not when the AF illumination issue came up, which came up later, during use), the biggest complaints I noted on the forums were:

• Where are is my huge megapixel body / crying that Nikon won some nonsensical 'better spec' battle (regardless of whether you agree with this, it was an overwhelming chatter point in the forums, and not just by fanboys)
• Why can't we have video AF?
• Where is my uncompressed video?
• Why can't I get AF F/8 at the center point for 1.4X F/5.6 or 2X F/4 extender use? (Granted, this seemed to be more on the 1DX front than the 5D3 front)
• Where can't we have spot metering at the selected AF point like the 1DX? (Okay, no one really complained about that other than me, but I'm still putting it on this list.)

As some of these are only addressable via new hardware, at least Canon is hearing out it's users and tackling what it reasonably can tackle. You can't exactly replace the sensor with a firmware change, right?

Shouldn't we keep our feet on the ground here? Or am I trying to reason with a mob in full bloom?

- A

 

[Rat]

• Where can't we have spot metering at the selected AF point like the 1DX? (Okay, no one really complained about that other than me, but I'm still putting it on this list.)

You've missed a few votes, including mine - this is my only REAL gripe about the 5D3. The red illumination thingy is second, but it's not close - I can work around that. This, not so much.

Shouldn't we keep our feet on the ground here? Or am I trying to reason with a mob in full bloom?

As you might have read earlier in this thread, people have camera's that malfunction because of these rumours. That is a very serious concern and you can't blame anyone but Canon. I'm mostly surprised at how few people have announced their switching to Nikon, but presumedly, the night is still young :

 

[ahsanford]

• Where can't we have spot metering at the selected AF point like the 1DX? (Okay, no one really complained about that other than me, but I'm still putting it on this list.)

You've missed a few votes, including mine - this is my only REAL gripe about the 5D3. The red illumination thingy is second, but it's not close - I can work around that. This, not so much.

Shouldn't we keep our feet on the ground here? Or am I trying to reason with a mob in full bloom?

As you might have read earlier in this thread, people have camera's that malfunction because of these rumours. That is a very serious concern and you can't blame anyone but Canon. I'm mostly surprised at how few people have announced their switching to Nikon, but presumedly, the night is still young :

Re: the spot metering at the selected AF point...

5D3 has the 1DX's AF system (a kingly gift, I might add, what a huge upgrade over the 5D2!), but the 1DX has different/better metering, I believe with a dedicated processor for that task. So it's a hardware wish -- 5D3 folks really shouldn't hold their breath for that, right?

 

[al2]

Canon might be using April 2013 as a conservative estimate. If they said December 2012 and were a month late there would be an uproar. When it's scheduled for April and if they deliver in February or March they exceed expectations.

 

[GuyF]

Aha! We have all fallen for the oldest engineering trick in the book - tell 'em it'll take 6 months when you know it'll take just 2 or 3 so when you release the fix "early" it looks like you're a miracle worker who puts the customer first!

Plus all this at no extra charge! Seriously? Canon had to say that? If I ever have to pay for a firmware update that's when I jump to Nikon. Whilst I like my 5D3 it was initially over-priced as shown by the big price-drops now available. Still, at least I've taken enough shots that I couldn't have got from the 40D I had. :

I predict January for the release.....or August...or....

 

[GuyF]

Canon might be using April 2013 as a conservative estimate. If they said December 2012 and were a month late there would be an uproar. When it's scheduled for April and if they deliver in February or March they exceed expectations.

You beat me to the punch by 13 seconds! Great minds think alike!

 

[tron]

Aha! We have all fallen for the oldest engineering trick in the book - tell 'em it'll take 6 months when you know it'll take just 2 or 3 so when you release the fix "early" it looks like you're a miracle worker who puts the customer first!

Plus all this at no extra charge! Seriously? Canon had to say that? If I ever have to pay for a firmware update that's when I jump to Nikon. Whilst I like my 5D3 it was initially over-priced as shown by the big price-drops now available. Still, at least I've taken enough shots that I couldn't have got from the 40D I had. :

I predict January for the release.....or August...or....

For a six month delay they will have to squeeze in the AF illumination fix, improve the minimum shutter at auto iso and whatever else has been mentioned as a shortcoming that can be solved by firmware. Even so they will be late!

 

[Rat]

So it's a hardware wish -- 5D3 folks really shouldn't hold their breath for that, right?

I'd love to be able to say 'right you are' and be done with it, but I fear here's some more fuel for the hate brigade

If you compare http://cpn.canon-europe.com/content/education/technical/eos_1d_x_explained.do (click page 7) and http://cpn.canon-europe.com/content/education/technical/inside_canon_eos_5d_mark_iii.do (click Metering and exposure control), you'll notice both camera's have very different systems. The 1DX even has a dedicated Digic 4 to deal with metering.

However, the 5D3 does have a 63 zone metering sensor that presumedly could follow AF points. If you're doing 61pt auto selected AF (and maybe zone AF too), it actually will weigh the lighting for all focus points that have focus. So there it already does what we want it to do, but only if the camera gets to pick the focus points. And with Evaluative, Spot, Partial and Centre-weighted metering however, it always works for the center point only (with more or less extra zones around it used depending on the mode), no matter where you have achieved focus.

So I believe Canon could improve this with a firmware update. If it would work as accurate as with the 1DX, especially taking into account the lesser hardware - probably not. But I'm convinced it can be done. Sorry

 

[K-amps]

Canon... if you want to stop being Cripple Nazi's... here what we want from the Firmware..

1) Let FoCal control the 5d3/1Dx natively without us fiddling with the menus manually.
2) You made us pay for 1 Series AF through our teeth... now live up and link the metering to AF point. This is rudimentary requirement...
3) Let my iPad tether the camera... why should I need some 80's era device to achieve this?

Oh yeah, Red light illumination for the rest of my CR buddies...