p.1 #1 · Panama with the 5D Mark III (picture heavy)
Hi all,
I thought I'd share some photos and my impressions of the 5D Mark III from a weeklong trip to Panama. My dad and I each managed to pick up a 5D3 the day before we left for our trip, so we had some fun playing with them in the jungle.
Most shots are by me with 5D3 + 500, no extender (we forgot the 1.4x at home, unfortunately), except where noted. We shared one 500 between the two of us, and also carried a 70-200 2.8 IS II + 2x and a 400 5.6 (plus a macro and 24-105). As with all wildlife applications, we could have used more reach pretty much all the time. But at the same time, being able to shoot at 4.0 was huge, because we were already pushing it in terms of ISO. There were some shots we had to go over 6,400 ISO on just to keep our shutter speeds at 1/200. The noise handling of the 5D3 helped a lot with this.
In terms of AF, I thought the camera did great locking onto stationary targets. I had trouble with moving targets at first, but once I played with the AF settings I had a lot more success. I enjoyed the handling of the camera, think the noise levels are great, and think the silent shooting mode is a fantastic addition.
Anyway, here are some pictures, very quickly processed in LR4. Feel free to ask questions or debate the merits of the camera or my photographic skill, but please keep it civil if at all possible. At lot of these are heavy crops, but I'm pretty happy with them. I hope you enjoy.
p.1 #2 · Panama with the 5D Mark III (picture heavy)
Justin, those are excellent images ! Yes, I do enjoy them but I couldn't see the leafcutter ants... they are simply too small . It looks like you and your dad had a blast there. Plus, that the camera functioned as specified there is a big plus, of course. Thank you for sharing.
p.1 #4 · Panama with the 5D Mark III (picture heavy)
The first properly sharpened photos taken with the 5D Mark III I've seen on this forum thus far. Well done. Can you share with us how you processed your images? RAW or JPEG? How much noise reduction and/or sharpening did you apply typically to these images?
p.1 #6 · Panama with the 5D Mark III (picture heavy)
Todd Klassy wrote:
The first properly sharpened photos taken with the 5D Mark III I've seen on this forum thus far. Well done. Can you share with us how you processed your images? RAW or JPEG? How much noise reduction and/or sharpening did you apply typically to these images?
Hi Todd,
My workflow was as follows:
1. Convert to DNG since LR4 can't handle the CR2 files yet
2. Import into LR4
3. Exposure/contrast/clarity as required
4. Sharpen/NR below the 40 mark (which is around 1/4 the slider)
I'm no post-processing expert by any stretch, but that seemed to do the trick. I did a hatchet-job clone on a couple of these, too.
p.1 #11 · Panama with the 5D Mark III (picture heavy)
Thanks, everyone.
Leon - appreciated! We saw quite a few Cara Caras on one day in a rice field that was being harvested (along with peregrine falcons, savanna hawks, glossy and white ibis, several varieties of egrets and herons, etc.!). And that little guy was just sitting in a tree later in the day.
AGeoJO - those little buggers are hard to spot in that picture, but they were everywhere in Panama. We saw millions. They are lots of fun to watch. I'll try to post a video of them doing their thing later.
joshn - Thanks. We stayed 3 nights at the Canopy Tower and 4 at Canopy Lodge. I really enjoyed both, but thought the variety by the tower was incredible (though the lodging less glamorous). Also, the unique build and location of the tower lends itself to some very close-up shots. The Aracari and Two-toed Sloth were both taken from inside the tower, shooting into trees 15 or so feet away. www.canopytower.com
Fish On - Thank you! I have tons more photos to go through (over 6k in total), and some others I didn't share... so I may post more later on. There are some more up on my flickr for now if you're interested:
p.1 #12 · Panama with the 5D Mark III (picture heavy)
Thanks for posting these! I would be very curious about your thoughts re: 7D vs. 5D MKIII focusing in both static and ai servo environments (and low light if you have experience). I am assuming you also have experience with the 7D based on your profile.
p.1 #14 · Panama with the 5D Mark III (picture heavy)
Schlotkins wrote:
Thanks for posting these! I would be very curious about your thoughts re: 7D vs. 5D MKIII focusing in both static and ai servo environments (and low light if you have experience). I am assuming you also have experience with the 7D based on your profile.
THanks again!
Chris
Hi Chris,
As far as static targets, I think the 5D is much faster and surer than the 7D (and the 7D has a really solid AF system, in my opinion). I only use AI Servo with back-button focus, FYI.
I didn't get a lot of work with moving targets in Panama. Most of the time it was in the dark/cramped rain forest, where animals/birds were in and out of view in a second. When I did shoot moving subjects, I struggled to lock focus, but the more time I spent with it and updated my AF settings, the better my results were. I'll have to spend some more time shooting gulls or pigeons or something around Chicago to definitively answer that question.
p.1 #15 · Panama with the 5D Mark III (picture heavy)
The tanager and acari outstanding as is the honey creeper. It looks like the 5DIII performed amazingly well... as did the photographers.
I do a lot of work in Costa Rica... a trip a year or so, so the low light performance is critical for me. It appears that the AF really nailed these birds nicely.
Where in Panama did you go (Tower Lodge?)?... looking to combine a trip to Panama with my travels to CR in 2013.
regards,
bruce
p.1 #17 · Panama with the 5D Mark III (picture heavy)
OwlsEyes wrote:
The tanager and acari outstanding as is the honey creeper. It looks like the 5DIII performed amazingly well... as did the photographers.
I do a lot of work in Costa Rica... a trip a year or so, so the low light performance is critical for me. It appears that the AF really nailed these birds nicely.
Where in Panama did you go (Tower Lodge?)?... looking to combine a trip to Panama with my travels to CR in 2013.
regards,
bruce
Hi Bruce,
Just copying from above... we did the Tower and the Lodge. Both were excellent, but I'd say the Tower was my favorite of the two (despite more spartan accommodations). Its proximity to Pipeline Road was a huge plus.
We stayed 3 nights at the Canopy Tower and 4 at Canopy Lodge. I really enjoyed both, but thought the variety by the tower was incredible (though the lodging less glamorous). Also, the unique build and location of the tower lends itself to some very close-up shots. The Aracari and Two-toed Sloth were both taken from inside the tower, shooting into trees 15 or so feet away. www.canopytower.com
p.1 #18 · Panama with the 5D Mark III (picture heavy)
jkhalifa wrote:
Hi Bruce,
Just copying from above... we did the Tower and the Lodge. Both were excellent, but I'd say the Tower was my favorite of the two (despite more spartan accommodations). Its proximity to Pipeline Road was a huge plus.
We stayed 3 nights at the Canopy Tower and 4 at Canopy Lodge. I really enjoyed both, but thought the variety by the tower was incredible (though the lodging less glamorous). Also, the unique build and location of the tower lends itself to some very close-up shots. The Aracari and Two-toed Sloth were both taken from inside the tower, shooting into trees 15 or so feet away. www.canopytower.com
Thanks for the info! I stayed in a spot on the Osa Peninsula back in my film days that provided level viewing of canopy wildlife... allowed for amazing opportunities that I would love to experience again.
! Yes, I do enjoy them but I couldn't see the leafcutter ants... they are simply too small 
. It looks like you and your dad had a blast there. Plus, that the camera functioned as specified there is a big plus, of course. Thank you for sharing.
! Somehow I thought that the ants army was going horizontally. Thanks!
Each one is carrying a peace of leaf ...