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With some of the Ebay deals to be had lately, a lot of folks have become proud owners of the 5DMKIII. Some are pros, some are enthusiasts, and some may even be new to photography all together. Maybe you're like me and are upgrading from a much older body. I thought it would be nice to have a thread for those of us who are new to the pro-level features of the MKIII to have a place to post our initial thoughts.
I'll start with my thoughts, in no particular order:
I've had mine for about a week and half, almost two, after snagging the Adorama/Ebay deal. My previous primary body was a 5Dc, and a 40D backed it up for sports and wildlife. There were a number of things that struck me right away about the MKIII:
1. The menu system is greatly improved. My 5Dc had the old menu system, the 40D was a significant upgrade with the tabbed format, and the MKIII has a very nice evolution of that set up.
2. I used to complain about the mode dial getting shifted by accident on my 40D. Missed a couple of memories I wish I had because of it. This camera has the mode dial lock and I don't like it. Probably just take some getting used to. The grass is greener...
3.The LCD rocks. 'Nuff said.
4. The owners manual has something like 40 pages devoted to the AF system. The number of points and the coverage of those points is incredible. I have not even begun to understand how to most effectively apply various modes of AI Servo. On top of that, you can customize the profiles for each of those modes. Having come from bodies with nothing close to these features, I have a lot of learning to do. I Could easily spend weeks messing with this. The system is incredible. They have also laid out the controls pretty well. With easy access to changing modes (i.e single point, zone, expansion, servo, point selection) while still looking through the view finder. No menus necessary. This adds volumes to the versatility of the system.
5. Extra buttons and configurable buttons are a great feature. There are a few places where you can configure buttons to different functions. I never knew I needed this feature until I had it!
6. I'm a little underwhelmed by the weather sealing. I've never really had a weather sealed body, and I suppose I don't know what I was expecting but some foam glued to the insides of the various doors wasn't it. Now, I'm not saying it doesn't work, or that its a gimmick (or that I'm switching to Nikon , I'm just saying I didn't know what to expect.
7. The in camera HDR function is really fun to play with. Just knowing that it is there, I find myself seeing places to try it out everywhere. Its a little tricky in crowded places, but it is still nice to have.
8. The 22mb files are noticeably slower to use, even on my fairly new computer with plenty of RAM. Not too slow, just noticeably slower.
9. WIth my previous two bodies, it was clear what job belonged to each. 5D for events and portrait work, 40D for sports and wildlife. This camera does both of those things better than either of the previous. The IQ is at least as good as my 5D, but at nearly twice the resolution. The pixel density is just a little less than the 40D, so the crop factor gains I once got from that body are now mostly irrelevant, given the IQ difference. This gives me a tough choice on which to keep as a second. Its good to have "first world" problems I guess.
10. High Iso is amazing. Absolutely amazing. 12800 no problems. I have used it many more times than I though I would. Its just so convenient to up the ISO and get a decent shutter speed. It makes a lot of things possible that weren't with my last two bodies, especially if I don't want to bring a flash along. For instance, went to a pumpkin patch with my daughter in the afternoon, Plenty of light, no need to pack the flash. But there was a haunted house there which was very dark. At 12800 I could still shoot 1/60 at F4 and get usable shots. Incredible.
Hm, well, that's all I can think of for now. What is on the forefront of your mind now that you've had some time with the MKIII?
-Brian
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