Why I bought my Canon 5D Mark III - tell us why you bought it.

[sravan]

<p>IF you didnt want to buy it for any reason - dont rant here. I know it was too costly for some, not enough features for some. I am trying to get people in the future to see why people buying are making their decisions. There are enough threads on why people are not making their purchases.<br>

I am looking between 1DX and 5D mark III.<br />So looking to see what are the differences between the two. The ones i can see are<br /><br />1. Single Digic 5+. This ( and the higher MP) limits the processing speed to 6FPS. A slight advantage to 1DX for my needs. Would have preferred atleast 8 FP as i take Dance photos.<br /><br />2. No Digic 4/iFCL metering with 63-zone dual-layer sensor. It means the same metering as in 7D - Two year old technology. To me this is a big step down from what is promised for 1DX. This means that there is not the same metering linked to the focus point as the 1DX. 5D Mark III has the face recognition according to one preview. <br />The auto ISO changes are also welcome. I understand that they are not as robust as in the Nikons, but i am not looking to change systems. So didnt factor into my decision.<br /><br />3. AF - Most of the functionality seems to be the same. The hardware and algorithm are said to be the same. <br />I am also assuming this means that the ability to focus in -2EV is not there in the 5D Mark III. The difference i see is that i dont think the integration with the exposure component is to the same level. I also do not think it has the focus point based spot metering that was promised for 1DX.<br /><br />4. CF /SD card slots vs the Dual CF card slots. I dont have many SD cards and the one i have is a simple 1 GB card. to me it would be better to have CF cards only, but then the SD card gives you networking capability through the Wifi cards. Have to think more about what i need.<br /><br />5. HD Movie. From what i learnt from yesterday since i posted the previous version of this analysis, I do understand why there might be less moire for video applications. The 3x3 scaling will help get cleaner video in my understanding. So this is better for 5D Mark III. The audio out also is better than the 1DX. I think 1DX is video added to a still camera from design choices perspective, while 5D Mark III has more design choices in its design to help with video as well.<br />Movie compression schemes seem to be the same between 5D Mark III and 1DX.<br /><br />6. HDR Mode. The 1DX initial specs do not talk about HDR mode. So not sure if this is a real difference or just a marketing spiel of the multi exposure setups in 1DX. From what ever i could read the multi exposure choices on 5D Mark III are the same as 1DX and HDR combination is new in 5D Mark III. I think this is most probably considered as an amateur function and so was not included in 1DX. I assume that 1DX users would prefer to have more control over the HDR and so in camera HDR was not included. Not a big deal for me right now, but it might be easier to get better photos in some situations easily. <br /><br />7. Weather sealing - The Canon europe pro site mentions that the sealing is the same level as the Film based 1N. So the weather sealing is around 10 year old levels. But at one time considered 1 Series level! So it obviously less than 1DX. I dont need that high level. For me it was icing on the cake.<br /><br />8. Ergonomics - This actually something i am worried about. My camera for the last six years had an L plate stuck on it always that connects to my Arca Swiss ball head. In my shooting i alternate between the tripod and hand held a lot. So on a new 1DX i most probably will keep the L plate also. So i am thinking that for that purpose the other handling side of the 1DX actually might be a distraction and not something i would want. Because now my hand will have to go around the L plate also and so will nto be as comfortable a handle as the regular one is. On the other hand (Pun intended) the way i shoot now with my 5D with my hand on the top of the portrait shots makes my hand ache a bit by the end of the three to four hour shooting session. This is a situation i did not think about until recently. Dont know which side to go for this issue. <br />I decided to stick with 5DIII for now for this issue. Just need to do more work in the Gym for it.<br /><br />9. MP difference - too small to really matter to me. Coming from 12 MP (of the original 5D), both are a significant bump. Will satisfy me i think.<br /><br />10. ISO difference - If the native is 1 stop lower on 5D Mark III, that means most probably the usable ISO is ISO 1600 and can go to ISO 3200/6400 in tough situations. For me coming from 5D, this is atleast 2 stop increase already for Mark III. And for the dance concerts i do take it is sufficient. There is enough lighting on the stage for me to be happy with a 2 stop increase. So professionally i am good. Personally higher ISO will allow me to take photos of parties etc without the flash and capture more of the ambience. So 1DX has an advantage - tiny bit only.<br /><br />11. Silent and Low vibration modes - Not sure if i need them. Important for video. 1DX has the still photo sound reductions but it does not have the capacitive touch strip on the back wheel to use during video recording. So I think this is another area that the 5D Mark III looks more like that video was an integral part of the design decisions.<br /><br />12. File formats, length etc - no difference.<br /><br />13. Intelligent viewfinder - It is the same as in the 1DX<br /><br />14. Shutter actuations - Not going to hit the limit in any way. My current 5D i have done maybe around 40,000 actuations. So not really an issue for me.<br /><br />15. Accessories - Same as 1DX. I am not sure i am interested in the GPS accessory. I would have liked it in my recent vacation, but then my iphone had it and made do with it.<br /><br />16. Networking - USB only for 5D Mark III vs the wired ethernet port for 1DX. I think with the larger files and the associated larger card sizes i would need, faster transmission is a must. 1DX is winning here.<br /><br />I made my decision in the morning and put my preorder in. <br />Only things i would have loved to have: the metering of 1DX, and the better low light noise levels. But just those two were not enough of a reason to spend an additional $3,000.</p>

[david_wu6]

<p>Thinking to upgrade my 5Dc, will wait for your full review after you have it.</p>

[Robert DeCandido PhD]

<p>The folks over at the Nikon forum here at Photo.net have much kinder words for Canon's new camera, and its features, than some of the Canon folks...It seems the Nikon folks want the Canon camera and the Canon folks want the D800 (Nikon).</p>

[Wouter Willemse]

<p>Robert, coming over from the Nikon side of things, I have to agree... and it's really funny (to me anyway). Now everybody seems complaining, while both companies seem to have addressed the most common complaints (5D: AF not good enough - D700: too low resolution).</p>

<p>And in the end, most of us have a bit too much money tied up in lenses, so we stick with our brand, only to find that both 5D Mk. III and D800 are really good cameras with their own specific strengths and weaknesses.... rinse and repeat for 5D Mk. IV and D900.</p>

[alan_bryant1]

<p>I've been using a 5D mk I, and shoot a lot of theater and other low-light work. A summary of my wish list for the 5D mk III - in decreasing importance -</p>

<p>- Better AF in low light<br>

- Better AF servo performance<br>

- Better high ISO performance<br>

- Regarding improvement from the 5D2 point, I'd prefer better image quality rather than more pixels<br>

- Better weather sealing<br>

- Dual card slots<br>

- Higher fps</p>

<p>The 5D3 has all of that. The AF improvements (which do include AF down to EV -2) are the most important to me. Getting the 1DX AF system was more than I had expected. The only point that's a little disappointing is that I expect the focus screen isn't replaceable. I like the high-precision screen in my 5D1; I'll miss that. But otherwise the new viewfinder will be pretty awesome.</p>

<p>I'll wait for the first reviews, but probably buy one over the summer.</p>

[glennpollockphotography]

<p>For me, the advanced focusing and metering are worth the price of admission. Having said that, however, I will most likely continue to use my MK II until there are the inevitable couple of firmware updates completed.</p>

[glennpollockphotography]

<p>For me, the advanced focusing and metering are worth the price of admission. Having said that, however, I will most likely continue to use my MK II until there are the inevitable couple of firmware updates completed.</p>

[john_a5]

<p>Glenn, if it is anything like in the past, you can order it now and by the time it ships, it will have had all of those firmware updates. I am sure the waiting lists are already substantial. Sometimes it takes up to 9 months to get one of these newer, high-end models.</p>

<p>I think that if one didn't have special genre needs or was into heavy use of the camera for video, and already had the 5dII or 1dsIII, I don't know that there would be a huge reason to get one of these. Certainly, I would buy it over getting one of the older cameras if I needed to replace one of my bodies and I do like a lot of its new features. But unless it really produces better quality images for those that shoot landscapes, stills, portraits and don't shoot video--which it doesn't seem to make any claims about, I would be hard-pressed to see a great advantage over the dII or dsIII one already has. When you learned to photograph on cameras that were all manual, including the meter, you tend to not get too bothered about autofocus features, you are most interested that it can be focused and the quality of the image it produces. MP, good MP, is important but this one doesn't offer enough to be that attractive to make a move in that regard.</p>

[PuppyDigs]

<p>Once the 5D3 drops 25 or 30% in a year or two I might buy one. $3500 is a bit stiff but $2500 might make me reach for plastic and sell my 7D, keeping my 5D2 as backup. Meanwhile, I'll limp along on the one great AF point the 5D2 provides. </p>

[bob_mcbob]

<p>It's basically the camera I wanted to buy from Canon 4 years ago. I got a 1D Mark III instead of jumping ship to Nikon, eventually figured out it was silly for me, got a 5D Mark II as a stopgap, and I am satisfied enough with the 5D Mark III to stay with Canon (mostly from a financial perspective because of lenses).</p>

<p>Autofocus is a big deal for me. I do not like the "focus and recompose" method. Having a good spread of points, and being able to rely on the outer points is important. I get the feeling a lot of 5D Mark II apologists have never used anything other than the centre point.</p>

[sarah_fox]

<p>It sees in the dark! :-) I'm with Puppy Face. My 5DI is fine for now, but the 5DIII will be my next upgrade after prices drop a bit. The edge-to-edge photosite coverage is a game changer for me. The camera has the resolution I want, and it couldn't possibly gather much more light. Subsequent generations may have somewhat less noise, somewhat more resolution, somewhat faster processing, etc., but I think the MkIII will keep me happy for a very long time. I'm glad I waited until the MkIII release and didn't bite on the MkII -- because I would just want the MkIII.</p>

[dan_south]

<I>It seems the Nikon folks want the Canon camera and the Canon folks want the D800 (Nikon).</I>

<p>

It definitely seems that way. Those who were given high resolution wanted better noise performance, and vice versa. Perhaps it's

human nature to want what's not available.

[massimo_foti]

<p>I'll wait for the prices to drop at least a bit, then I will order it</p>

[fridrik_skulason]

<p>I preordered it just after the announcement. I am not a professional photographer by any means - a "semi-advanced amateur" at best, but I shoot a little bit of everything.<br>

My current camera is a 40D, bought in 2008. I have a pretty good collection of lenses (too many of which are expensive L lenses, if you ask my wife), and some would say that those lenses are wasted on the 40D. However, what bothers me most about the 40D is how bad its high-ISO performance is - and that is my primary motivation for upgrading.<br>

Now, I didn't like the 5D2 - it has a significantly better high-ISO performance than my current camera, the fps rate was not high enough for sports, and I was not too thrilled with the focus system.<br>

The 7D was not quite right either - it has the fps and the high-ISO improvement, but considering that I have all those lovely "L" lenses around, I really wanted a FF camera.<br>

So, now Canon introduced the "bastard love child of 7D and 5D2, with a bit of 1DX thrown in", as someone described it, and it just meets my needs perfectly. It has the fps rate I want, very good high-ISO performance, great focus system and is FF - as I said, everything I need. I couldn't care less about the video features, dual cards or some of the other features, but it gives me what I want, so I am happy (or will be, once I get my copy). </p>