Don Ellis
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 p.1 #1 · 5D Mark III -- First Impressions, plus JPG and RAW files | |
Don't want musings?
Click here for 23 full-size JPG images and downloadable RAW files, plus 25 high-ISO images.
Musings:
If, like me, you've read every scrap of information to be found on the Canon 5D
Mark III, then I won't be telling you anything new -- but I can at least give
you some very preliminary first impressions based on perhaps an hour of actual
shooting. (Come on, you're desperate for information, so an hour of reality
has got to be better than days of marketing copy.)
I picked up my Mark III on Thursday, 16 March, from Mirama Camera on Stanley
Street in Central, Hong Kong. Benny seems to be on some sort of dealer
priority list, so he called me at 1pm and I was holding my new camera at 1:20.
Quick background: I have about 11 years of experience with Canon compacts: G1,
Pro 1, G9 (and still have two of each of those. I bought a Sigma DP2 about two
years ago for greater resolution, and then a used 5D from a photographer
friend over a year ago. So moving up from a 5D to a 5D Mark III is a fairly
dramatic leap forward -- I still love the 5D, but even after a day, I know it
will become a backup camera. If nothing else, there are too many new things I
want to learn about the new camera.
The first thing I noticed is that its gecko-worthy grip means you'd have to
make a real effort to drop this camera. This grippy surface wraps from the
inside front of the camera, around the side of the camera and onto the back,
so your fingertips, fingers, palm and thumb all enjoy the comfortable,
confidence-inducing sensation.
The finish of the camera is matte black, so when I mounted my 135/2 lens, it
looked a little garish with its shiny black surface, but too bad, it's my
favourite lens, so I ignored it.
The Mark III is so new that there are no accessories yet, so I'll have to wait
for the battery grip and I had to make my own protective film over the
beautiful LCD display. They had a clear overlay for the top readout panel, but
none for the back because it's a different size from the other Canons, so I
bought a protective overlay for a Samsung tablet, figuring I could get three
Mark III LCD sheets out of it -- which turned out to be a good idea, since I
cut the first one about a millimetre too wide and had to try again.
On a whim, I grabbed a Richard Franiec hotshoe cover from my G9 and slipped it
into the Mark III's flash hotshoe and it fit perfectly. I never liked the
exposed hotshoe with its silver-against-black look. And with the high-ISO
performance of the Mark III, I hoping not to use the flash ever again (ok,
seldom).
Then I started going through the menus (the English user guide is still in
plastic wrap). The menus are beautiful, as is the LCD itself. I quickly found
the setting to get the camera off JPG only and onto RAW+Large JPG (for
convenient and accurate review), and took a couple of quick snaps.
In reviewing photos (without the benefit of instructions), I found that you
press the Review button to see the full image, then press the Magnify button
just above it to magnify the image to one additional view. And that's all you
get until you turn the top dial just behind the shutter button to zoom in and
out.
This seemed a little lame (I don't like the clicky dial too much for zooming,
especially since I have to readjust my grip a bit to use it) until I dived
into the menus again and found that you can set this Magnify view to 1x (no
magnification, so no point for me), 2x, 4x, 8x, 10x, Actual size, and Same as
last magnification. Amazing. I set it for Actual size and now when I hit it, I
can see whether or not something is in focus (using the joystick to reposition
if necessary) and go right back to shooting. No clicky dial needed.
(Since then, I have discovered that you don't have to hit the Review button at
all. You can press the Magnify button and it takes you directly to your
preferred view. Check the focus, press again (or half press the shutter button)
and you're back to shooting.)
It was still a work day, so I contented myself with a few shots around the
office. I shot the boss first so maybe he wouldn't mind my not doing much
other work -- he's the Frenchman below (first shot). It was taken on a rainy
day in a dismal office with no lights. I set it for spot metering, Av mode at
f/2.0, and this was the result. Yes, I've processed it a bit, but did nothing
about the camera-selected ISO2000, and didn't need to do anything for noise
(in my opinion -- and I'm fairly particular about noise).
Speaking of which, you can set your automatic ISO range yourself, and I set the
high at 6400. In different circumstances, I might use 12,800 or 25,600. On
this same menu, you can also choose a minimum shutter speed, which I think
I'll find very handy when shooting moving subjects in Av mode. (And since then,
I have found it useful -- setting the Av to f/2.0 and the minimum shutter speed
to 1/250. It's under "ISO speed settings.")
The camera came with a nice, pocket-sized user manual in English, which was a
pleasant surprise in a Hong Kong-legal camera, because I recently bought a
Canon G1X and it came with a Chinese manual only, with an English PDF manual
on disk. Surprisingly, I couldn't find the English manual in PDF format on the
Mark III disk, so if you want one for your iPad, you might want to download
while you're waiting for delivery of your camera.
Knowing the cost of original Canon batteries, I also purchased a Phottix LP-E6
compatible which the dealer said had to be charged in the original charger,
and would show the battery level in the Mark III's readout panel -- something I
wasn't aware was an issue, so I'm glad he mentioned it. (His words were, "It's
already been hacked," so I gather not all third-party batteries display
properly. It works fine, by the way.)
A final comment so you can get to some photos (link at the end): I once
considered the 1Dx with its 12/14-frames-per-second speed. Well, it was a
dream -- I don't shoot sports, and I'm finding the 6fps of the Mark III just beautiful.
Even on critical candid portraits, like the Frenchman below, it's nice to rap
out a few bursts and 6fps gives you just that much difference in expressions
across an entire second. I might even be able to photograph my wife with her
eyes open for a change.
There's a secondary continuous selection that feels like 3fps (user guide still
in plastic bag) that may be more suitable for other times, but at the moment
I'm leaving it on 6fps and training my finger to do single shots, and three-
frame bursts.
Naturally I'm enjoying the megapixel doubling from the original 5D. And now
that I've read the first two comments to this thread, I'll admit I've done no
exploration of AF points -- that's my next project since that's one of the
things I was looking forward to. Sorry I can't comment at the moment.
Don
The Frenchman -- the executive creative director at the agency I work for.
Spot metering and ISO2000. The RAW is in the list below.
And, no, I don't want him lighter. 
http://www.kleptography.com/dl/5diii/thierry.jpg
Red Shirts -- I find it impossible not to photograph interesting laundry,
especially in dingy alleys, and the fact that it's red and my experience with
cameras and red have not always been positive makes it a must. Came out all
right, reflecting what I saw. The RAW is in the list below.
http://www.kleptography.com/dl/5diii/red_shirts.jpg
Lobster-monger -- wet markets are a favourite of mine and next time I might
treat you to some depth of field.
http://www.kleptography.com/dl/5diii/lobster.jpg
And a 100% crop of the lobster:
http://www.kleptography.com/dl/5diii/lobster_crop.jpg
Don
Click here for 23 full-size JPG images and downloadable RAW files, plus 25 high-ISO images.
Sorry to take you off-site, but I did all the coding in HTML before I realized that it wouldn't work on the forum.
Edited on Mar 18, 2012 at 09:32 PM · View previous versions
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