Ken Rockwell Updated 5D MK3 Review

[ghosh9691]

You guys are all wrong about bashing Ken Rockwell!!! He is the greatest thing to happen to the photography world since the invention of the camera (well the 35mm frame anyway).

Tell me this: when your day is going bad and you are feeling blue, which other camera/photography related site would you rather go to? Is there really another one that provides so much comic relief??? Don't you get a smile on your face when you see super saturated, orange shaded JPEG images of kids and buildings? Doesn't it feel like the sun just came closer to earth and obliterated your misery and made you think: "Man, even I can take better photographs!" (Pinatubian light not withstanding...)

 

[V8Beast]

It's hard to take a man seriously who posts snapshots taken with $5,000 worth of gear.

 

[Brymills]

I think you're all being very mean!

The guy went all the way to the Alabama Hills in California just to repeat THIS SHOT to demonstrate the camera's LCD display......

 

[Z]

Of course, EOS iTR AF is a feature of the 1D X that requires the 100K pixel RGB metering sensor, and thus, the 5DIII doesn't even offer iTR.

The only thing with less validity than KR's opinions are KR's facts.

That didn't even occur to me, oh dear.

 

[nightbreath]

His concerns seem, to me, to be incapable of holding even hot air.

But for this particular brass tack, I don't have a 5DIII, but on my 7D and 5DII if the camera happens to be in automatic AF point selection mode (which it never is, because the 'mind-reading AF selection mode' hasn't been invented yet), pressing the multi-controller straight in changes to manual selection of the center AF point, and then it can be moved from there. KR implies that can't be done with the 5DIII, but the manual seems to indicate he's mistaken (about a great many things, cue Emporer's voice from Star Wars). Alternatively, you can register an AF point, and assign a button to that function.

A couple of my favorite points from KR's...ummm...review (and I use the term very loosely):

"If it was significantly different, Canon would have given it a new model number, instead of a "mark" appellation." Right, because KR didn't say the 5DII was far better than the original 5D (oh, wait, he did).

"AF is much more complicated, not necessary better than the original 5D and 5D Mark II." Ummmm, ok, sure...it's no better than the 5D's AF. By extension, neither is the AF of the 1D X. Ok, Ken, fine.

...and my personal favorite:

"Foolish RATE Button Clutter" A Nikon shooter, complaining about 'button clutter' on a Canon camera. I actually LOL'd when I read that heading line...

Why don't you start writing reviews by your own, Neuro? Seriously. I find your comments very useful.

 

[V8Beast]

Why don't you start writing reviews by your own, Neuro? Seriously. I find your comments very useful.

Off topic, but that's one heck of a portfolio you have there. Great work!

 

[EvilTed]

Come on guys, I think there's just a little too much hating going on here...

 

[nightbreath]

Off topic, but that's one heck of a portfolio you have there. Great work!

Thank you for the comment. Though, I think we (I shoot together with my girlfriend) are just starting to understand how photos should really look like.

Here are few new reportage shots we've made few days ago: http://luxuryphoto.com.ua/cool.html

We were limited by 50mm prime on 7D while framing those images, so they are not the best possible composition examples

 

[preppyak]

It's hard to take a man seriously who posts snapshots taken with $5,000 worth of gear.

Actually, $3600 worth of gear...his sample photos use a 50mm f/1.8 on the front of the camera. Kind of hard to believe he doesn't have a better prime in his bag...or that his D800 review will use the Nikon 50mm f/1.8

 

[-zero-]

Is it only me or is our beloved KenR getting even more bashfull than he was before?

 

[V8Beast]

It's hard to take a man seriously who posts snapshots taken with $5,000 worth of gear.

Actually, $3600 worth of gear...his sample photos use a 50mm f/1.8 on the front of the camera. Kind of hard to believe he doesn't have a better prime in his bag...or that his D800 review will use the Nikon 50mm f/1.8

My bad. For some reason I assumed it was the 50mm f/1.2L. You'd think that someone that spent $3,500 on a body would use something other than a $100 lens in front of it.

 

[D_Rochat]

Come on guys, I think there's just a little too much hating going on here...

No one is "hating" on him here. It is a discussion on how he is often wrong and provides misguided information. You can't expect someone to create a website and continually talk out of his a** (while asking you to support his family) and not catch a little heat for it. I actually regret clicking on the link from the first post and giving his site a hit.

Would you suggest we move the discussion to Peter Lik? ;D

 

[cowanrg]

yeah, he's just plain wrong sometimes. Under his section about manual focus lenses:

"The only help you get from the 5D Mark III's electronics is one green OK dot on the bottom of the finder. No longer do you get brilliant red flashes as each area sees good focus, as do the original 5D and 5D Mark II."

Not true. With my Zeiss and TS-E, you can still select auto focus points, get confirmation on where it's focused, etc. I have no issue using this body with MF lenses. Apparently Nikon does a better job. :

 

[DarkKnightNine]

I have to set the camera on my lap and use both hands on the right hand side.
Am I missing something?

Thumbs perhaps?

lol. Good one.


I have to say I have never had any problems with Canon's ergonomics. Actually it was one of the reasons I chose Canon over Nikon when I went pro. The buttons on a Canon just make sense to me and there's not an overwhelming amount of them.


The only gripe I've ever had about Canon ergonomics is now and it isn't even Canon's fault. I've just gone from a 1D Mark IV to a 5D Mark III body and really miss that long grip. It feels like the base of my palm is dangling in mid air. Of course this will be rectified once the battery grip for the 5DIII becomes available. For now it just makes my hand tired not having anything to rest against.

 

[K-amps]

Off topic, but that's one heck of a portfolio you have there. Great work!

Thank you for the comment. Though, I think we (I shoot together with my girlfriend) are just starting to understand how photos should really look like.

Here are few new reportage shots we've made few days ago: http://luxuryphoto.com.ua/cool.html

We were limited by 50mm prime on 7D while framing those images, so they are not the best possible composition examples

The lovely bride could pass off as Miss Jolie . Wonderful work by the way, very original.

 

[EvilTed]

Ronrandle,

" he'd see that he can tap the focus button on the back and the wheel near the shutter will scroll backwards and forwards through the auto focus options. No need to look away from the viewfinder. "

Huh, must be my lack of two thumbs, 'cause the only thing I can get the wheel to cycle is the AF points around the matrix.
It doesn't cycle the different options for me, but it's really not hard to use the two button combination required.

Cheers

ET

 

[wickidwombat]

well he got this right!

"Foolish RATE Button Clutter

The Ratings button is a waste of a button, unless you really like to edit in-camera.

The only other function to which it can be set is "protect," which I also never use.

Therefore, it just gets in the way. We'd be better off Super-Glueing it down so that we can feel which button is which in the dark among the buttons we really do use.

Canon should have let us program this to other functions, otherwise, there are too many identical buttons along the left side of the 5D Mark III."

 

[Bosman]

...do his concerns hold any water? What's the answer to the following for example:

"I'm still trying to learn the extremely complex AF system of the 5D Mark III. I still can't figure out a fast (one-click maximum) way to get from the auto-AF area select mode to a single selected area. I always shoot letting the camera select the AF point, and need instant override to select the point if the camera can't do it itself. Right now, I have to press the Mark III's [-|-] button and then press the M-Fn button a few times, an then move the thumb button, which is completely unacceptable unless I can find a faster way."

His concerns seem, to me, to be incapable of holding even hot air.

But for this particular brass tack, I don't have a 5DIII, but on my 7D and 5DII if the camera happens to be in automatic AF point selection mode (which it never is, because the 'mind-reading AF selection mode' hasn't been invented yet), pressing the multi-controller straight in changes to manual selection of the center AF point, and then it can be moved from there. KR implies that can't be done with the 5DIII, but the manual seems to indicate he's mistaken (about a great many things, cue Emporer's voice from Star Wars). Alternatively, you can register an AF point, and assign a button to that function.

A couple of my favorite points from KR's...ummm...review (and I use the term very loosely):

"If it was significantly different, Canon would have given it a new model number, instead of a "mark" appellation." Right, because KR didn't say the 5DII was far better than the original 5D (oh, wait, he did).

"AF is much more complicated, not necessary better than the original 5D and 5D Mark II." Ummmm, ok, sure...it's no better than the 5D's AF. By extension, neither is the AF of the 1D X. Ok, Ken, fine.

...and my personal favorite:

"Foolish RATE Button Clutter" A Nikon shooter, complaining about 'button clutter' on a Canon camera. I actually LOL'd when I read that heading line...

I check for Ken rockwell opinions all the time and throw out what is a joke to me but he's mostly legit. His work also for the most part backs that up. The thing is i cant bring myself to read his write up if thats what he is stating because my experience is that for the first time the F1.2 lens i use is dead on accurate at f1.2! What kinda lame crap is a review saying its more complicated but not better BS? This focus in near dark locks on, i cant get my 1dm3 or my 5dm1 to do anything close to that.

 

[itsnotmeyouknow]

This bit made me laugh the most:

"My LEICA M9 needs only one menu for the entire camera, and its AF system never misses."

Ummm when I looked at a M9 it had no auto focus so how does its auto focus never miss? I couldn't get on with the M9 when I tried it out. The lens quality is amazing on Leica glass and the M9 certainly is a very capable camera but it doesn't have auto focus just all the other rangefinders.

Either that or I'm very very wrong and a fool. But I certainly didn't find any autofocus on the M9 or I probably would have bought it.

 

[smithy]

Ummm when I looked at a M9 it had no auto focus so how does its auto focus never miss? I couldn't get on with the M9 when I tried it out. The lens quality is amazing on Leica glass and the M9 certainly is a very capable camera but it doesn't have auto focus just all the other rangefinders.

Either that or I'm very very wrong and a fool. But I certainly didn't find any autofocus on the M9 or I probably would have bought it.

You are quite right, and when KR wrote his review for the M9, his statement about it having 'autofocus' caused a stir then, too. It just appears that he doesn't quite understand the meaning of the word 'automatic'. What he means is that the M9's focus-assist system makes manual focussing very accurate - as opposed to 'it focusses the lens for you', which is how most of us would interpret the word 'autofocus'. It may be a private joke on his part, created to gain attention.

Most amusing for me in the 5D III review was the comment about how it doesn't have wifi, unlike his iPod Touch which has had it for years. I'm just wondering if he's going to complain that he can't play Angry Birds and listen to his music collection on the 5D as well?

I'm convinced it's all just tongue-in-cheek.

I actually agree with his opinion of the 'rate' button, and thought his comments about the 'zoomed-in histogram' were quite valid.