Canon Eos 5D Mark 3 – First Review
A couple of days I got a mysterious call from Canon Belgium, asking me if I was available today and if so, could they come by with a case with secret content? I hoped it would be the long awaited 5D Mark 3 and by yesterday all rumors on Twitter and Facebook indicated that I could be right. And yes, this morning Canon officially announced the new camera. So I anxiously awaited the arrival of the Canon guys at The Barn. Erik from Shoot Magazine also joined us and after a brief introduction, we got to play with the camera for about an hour and a half. I asked you all what I should test on Twitter and Facebook and tried to address as much as possible of your input. So here’s what I think:
THE SHORT VERSION
It’s an amazing camera! I’m getting one
I’ve uploaded full res unprocessed versions of theses files (EXIF included) to this Flickr set. Feel free to download the full res files for personal use. If you’d like to use these images any other way, please ask my permission first.
DISCLAIMER
- It’s after 10pm and I had a really busy day. I don’t like to write when I’m tired but I know you are all waiting for this post. So please don’t mind typos and stuff. I will blog more in the coming days.
- The test was done on a pre-production sample with pre-production firmware. So thing can only get even better when the 5D mark3 hits the market.
- I have to base my review on JPEG-files as there’s no support for the RAW-files in Lightroom (or any other RAW-converter) yet.
- I’m not a scientist and don’t do lab tests. This is my point of view, the point of view of a professional photographer that needs an all-round camera.
- We were too exited and had too little time to do a very organized test. It was all a bit chaotic but great fun.
- My friend and pro model Sylviane kindly offered to be our model for the test. She’s so professional, she looked even great with 4 guys geeking out around her.
—–
HOW DOES IT FEEL?
It might sound stupid, but I think it’s important that a tool that you use all day, feels right in my hands. And the 5D mark 3 certainly does, even slightly better than it’s predecessor. It’s just a bit easier to hold and offers a bit more grip for sweaty hands. All the buttons and dials are in the right place and it didn’t take me long to figure out the menu system.
—–
AUTOFOCUS PERFORMANCE
Let’s face it, the autofocus on the 5D mk2 wasn’t very good (and I’m being gentle here). So a lot of people hoped it would be better in the new version. Well, good news, the new autofocus ROCKS!!!!! It has 61 AF sensors, of which 41 are cross-type sensors. I did my best to place Sylviane it very challenging AF situations but couldn’t get the 5D mk3′s AF to fail or even hunt. The focus was instant spot-on even in very low light with little contrast.
The AF-system is almost identical to that of the 1DX and that’s very impressive. I did a little bit of testing in continuous focus on a moving subject and it seems like the camera will handle that really well too.
The new autofocus system is already reason enough for me to upgrade.
I’ve uploaded full res unprocessed versions of theses files (EXIF included) to this Flickr set. Feel free to download the full res files for personal use. If you’d like to use these images any other way, please ask my permission first.
HIGH ISO
The 5D2 was already pretty good at high ISO, certainly if you consider the resolution. For reportage-style I usually found iso 3200 the top of the usable range. With the 5D Mark 3 I tried ISO 6400 and it looks perfectly usable, even 12.800 is perfectly fine. Even 25.600 looks acceptable for weddings and events. So I figure you win at least 2 to 3 stops of usable ISO range. I’m very happy Canon didn’t jeopardize high ISO performance by putting a ridiculous amount of megapixels on the sensor.
I’ve uploaded full res unprocessed versions of theses files (EXIF included) to this Flickr set. Feel free to download the full res files for personal use. If you’d like to use these images any other way, please ask my permission first.
OTHER IMPROVEMENTS THAT I LIKE
- I’m not shooting video with my DSLRs, so you should probably look elsewhere for more info about video. As far as I can see, there is no revolution in the video part but definitely an evolution with more options and better controls.
- The on/off button is now positioned on the top of the camera, which is a more logical place
- There’s a lock-button on the mode dial to prevent accidental switching from for example Aperture Priority to Bulb.
- Dual card slot: You can now have a CF-card and/or an SD-card in the camera. To me this it makes me feel safer to have all files stored on two cards but you can only make the camera switch to the second card if the first one is full.
- Better Metering: I’m a manual shooter but I’m sure that there are a lot of people who can appreciate better light metering
- Six Frames/second: Not something I need very often but sometimes it certainly comes in handy.
- Less Noisy Shutter: The shutter is not as loud as the 5D mark2 and there are some options to make it even more silent.
- I’m sure there’s other things, but these are the most important (TO ME)
—–
DOWNSIDES
I haven’t found any negative points about the camera so far. Except maybe for the price. Here in Belgium, it will start hitting the shelves at around 3.500 EUR. That is definitely more expensive than it’s older brother. Off-course, I would have liked it to be cheaper but I’d rather have a higher price tag than a camera full of technical compromises to keep the price lower. The guys from Canon also told me that the 5D Mark 2 will stay in production for a while so there’s still a cheaper alternative.
I’ve uploaded full res unprocessed versions of theses files (EXIF included) to this Flickr set. Feel free to download the full res files for personal use. If you’d like to use these images any other way, please ask my permission first.
CONCLUSION
Canon has clearly listened to it’s user base and build upon the still great 5D mark 2. They have improved the good things and fixed the autofocus big time. My 5D mark 2 is nearing the end of it’s life after more than three years of hard use (or should I say ABUSE) and I will replace it soon with a 5D mark 3. I am very impressed with this camera.
—–
THERE’S MORE
The secret case from Canon contained lots of other amazing goodies like the 1DX, the G1X, the new 24-70, the 24mm IS, the 28mmIS, the WFT-E7 (new WiFi transmitter), the GP-E2 (new GPS receiver) and … the brand new Speedlite 600EX-RT and the Speedlite Transmitter ST-E3. I mainly focussed my testing time on the 5D mark 3 but I had a little play with some of the other toys too. I’ll blog about those in the next days.
[...] Stephani high ISO pics DPreview studio sample pics : 50 (Medium, Large, Original), 100 (Medium, Large, Original), 200 [...]
Bert you did it again! Great post, Like any american TV series, you left a clue for next episode; now lets hope it won´t take one week to find out more!
Bert,
Is this this camera worth extra 45-75% ($3500 vs $2000) over current Mk2? We should be getting more for the buck, and not less, or the same. It seems that this rule somehow has been missed by Canon execs.
Also, the radio triggered flashes for only 30m range… wouldn’t PW solutions still be better and cheaper?
Also, for the love of God, $350 for a silly GPS receiver? Are they truly insane? There are GPS units with worldwide maps, with lifetime free updates, cheaper that this!!! Not impressed at all. I guess, I will stick with my 7D, and wait for FF Sony.
Bert says: “It’s an amazing camera! I’m getting one”
I guess this is crossing your plans to look at your investments/budgets thing, when you discussed the Lumix GX1, no?
Seems good on high ISO’s, mouthwatering, but I just bought me a 2nd brand new 5D II however this week, budget is too high for now. Going to have a look at it later this week.
I didn’t quite understand your quote about the two cards, can’t you write on both simultaneously?
Thank you Bert!
[...] | Flickr : partage de photos !. Lire son blog (en anglais) sur http://bertstephani.com/2012/03/02/canon-eos-5d-mark-3-first-review/ Did. 3 mars 2012 Infos, Photo 5D, Canon, Mark III, Mark3, nouveau Facebookfacebook [...]
“I’m very happy Canon didn’t jeopardize high ISO performance by putting a ridiculous amount of megapixels on the sensor”
Yea, I’m not sure what Nikon are doing.
I was looking for a higher resolution than the current 12.1, but 36 is …. a bit too much I think.
Perhaps they have shares in Sandisk and Western Digital
CW
Bert,
Thanks for testing and sharing your opinion on the mkIII. i think it was a hard job, but some one has to do it. I think i have to save some money ……….
Arjan
Bert, appreciate the write-up! I noticed most of the large jpegs are very, very soft and lacking sharpness and detail (a sort of muddy look), like all the other jpg samples we’ve seen so far. Is this due to the internal processing? Were you allowed to alter the way the camera renders jpg? Of course we all prefer raw, but if this is the best the camera can do with jpg…;)
For anyone curious about the price, it pays to look across the entire bloodline. The original selling price of the 5D classic was $3299…. in 2005, no less.
Super post, thanks for sharing. Are the RAW files produced by this camera not compatible with current software such as lightroom? Did you get any of the RAW files?
Hello Bert,
I downloaded your full size images from flickr set, and i’ve noticed that few of them are very soft, like: 48, 10. I think it’s not the ISO, becouse 25600 looks sharper than 12800.
Do you think it’s the problem of the lens, or microadjustment, or maybe AF?
Thanks!
Wow now they are the noise levels I had always wished for.
Them ISO 12800 and 25600 in camera jpg’s are stunning.
Certainly useable.
Bert you are so lucky, you must have been like a kid in a candy store.
Hi Bert!
Great post, i’m glad to have someone post real life shots with the new body.
I have a few questions:
- What was the setting for the in-camera noise reduction and the quality of the JPEG?
- What did you use for focusing? center point + recompose, or lateral focusing points.
I’m asking this because the pictures look really soft, and it seems to be a focusing issue…
Really nice pics!!! But I would like to see some pics (in high ISO) in really low-light conditions…we are not always shooting in a Fotostudio with flashes, aren´t we?
@Evert
I know what you mean when you say the pictures look soft. But have you taken the extremely high iso into account? They may look soft when pixelpeeping, but the whole picture looks usable to me.
Michael
Hi Bert
Do you know if there is improved sharpness is Raw?
Hi do you have actual out of the camera files….without your TXT on them? Re-saving JPGs degrade the images further. So I’m curious to see the actual files. Not re-saved further compress images.
Hmmm… pictures don’t do justice to camera nor model. OOF, frontfocus, overexposed and underexposed. Not convincing.
I am really concerned about the sharpness. I think I am one of the first to pre-order the new camera at B&H. I was all excited about the new AF and the higher fps. But…. I came across a forum post talking about lack of sharpness. So I have been checking the Canon sites and sure enough they are soft. I was hoping that your images show the sharpness that I am looking for…. nope. I assume in your example portraits that you are focusing on your models eyes. Check them out at 100%… not sharp. Why do you think that is?
My god this images are dreadfully soft. I would be embarrassed to show these to a client.
Merci Bert. Tu es un des premiers à publier un si long commentaire et beaucoup de samples.
What about the sharpness …. (or the lack of sharpness) of those pictures…
More and more peoples seem to indicate that the 5D MK III seem pretty soft on all the available on the web…
Being abroad and only with my ipad , it’s difficult to see by myseft…
Comment please…
Just an update from my previous post.
I visited the Focus On Imaging event here in the UK on the 6th.
had the chance to play with the 5D MkIII, though I was not allowed to put my own memory cards in to examine the images.
I shot in both Raw and Jpg at 12800 and 25600
To be honest I was blown away and can vouch the quality was equal to what bert has posted.
Now I was not able to view them on anything other than to zoom in and view on the camera screen but what I seen was very nice.
I also managed to take some under the counter to simulate low light.
The focusing was quick and had no issues what so ever and again I could barely see any noise
We may be complaining bout price and that it is a full frame 7D, but I think Canon have another winner here.
[...] I posted my first impressions of the Canon Eos 5D Mark 3, I received loads of questions and remarks. Let me address the most recurring [...]
[...] First View by Bert Stephani [...]
I`ve been looking on the web for negatives about the new 5d, but it seem that i`m going to have to stomach the price as it ticks all the boxes from my point of view, in particular auto focus.