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A few 5D3 images and some thougths about the camera.

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  • A few 5D3 images and some thougths about the camera.

    Well, after waiting around 6/7 weeks for my camera to be delivered it finally appeared a few weeks ago. Due to various work/travel commitments it's taken me a short while to find time to be able to use the cam and put it through it's paces.

    I managed to grab a few hours to shoot at my local this past week and thought i'd post a couple of shots and give a couple of my thoughts about the camera. This is coming from someone who's been using a 5D2 and 7D for nearly 3 years.

    Well, the first thing i have to say is that while on paper it may not look like a big upgrade from the 5D2, in your hands it is a total and utter transformation. The 5D2 is a fantastic camera, but the 5D3 is just something else entirely. Everything from the handling, the AF performance, the ISO performance and the overall usability of the camera is vastly improved.

    In my hands when mated with a 70-200F2.8L and 1.4x or the 100-400 it feels really nicely weighted and everything is where you would expect it to be. It feels much more like a 7D than a 5D2 which is a good thing.

    The AF, which is the big change in the 5D series is what you would expect. Tracking is second to none, it tracks better than any camera i have ever used and i've used a 1D4. In all the situations that i threw at it, it nailed focus every time. It really is a fantastic system.

    ISO wise, i've not pushed the camera massively yet. What i have seen though will make all 7D users cringe, at ISO100 there is no noise, period. ISO 200/400 there is really no noise. At ISO1600, there really isn't much noise. I'll post a shot of a Cathay 744 in a mo that was taken at ISO 1600 and was about a stop underexposed. In post, i brought it back using a mix of levels/curves etc, which on a 5D2 and 7D file would introduce noise, on the 5D3, nothing. No NR was applied, no special processing. It was just levels, curves, resize, sharpen. It is rather staggering.

    Over the next few weeks i plan to shoot a lot more, including some late night high ISO stuff. Plus a lot of non av stuff too. I will update this post as i find out more stuff and get more pics.

    For now here are a couple of pics from this week.

    ISO1600 Cathay.


    ISO 400 EK.


    ISO 200 BA Firefly


    If anyone has any questions about the cam, feel free to ask me!

    Thanks,

    Chris
    Last edited by chris78cpr; 2012-06-01, 16:53.
    Chris Sharps
    5D3 | 5D2 | 7D | 1D2 | 10D | 400D | 1V | 3
    17-40F4L | 24-105F4LIS | 70-200F2.8LIS | 100-400LIS
    24F1.4L II | 50F1.2L | 85F1.2L II | 15F2.8 Fisheye | 50F1.4 | 100F2.8 Macro
    1.4x | 550EX x2

    Fuji X100


  • #2
    I have a question .... WHERE'S MY 5D3???????

    Seriously, thanks for the pics. The questions will come once I have mine in my hands.
    My photos on Flickr www.flickr.com/photos/geridominguez

    Comment


    • #3
      I received mine yesterday. After a frantic morning of finishing assignments for uni, went out with my dog.

      What can I say, instant results!

      Click on Image for a larger version
      Canon 5DIII + 135 f/2L @ 1/3200s, f/2.5

      I feel my upcoming exam results will be suffering from playing with the camera too much!

      And in the manual theres 40 pages on the AF alone!

      Honestly, Like Chris I'm pretty amazed at the noise performance. Having moved up from a 7D its a massive reduction. I'm gonna be working hard to tame the AF system to get it performing how I want, I've never seen anything with so much user input into how it behaves!
      Last edited by Simpleboy; 2012-06-02, 00:21.
      Sam Rudge
      A 5D3, some Canon lenses, the Sigma L and a flash

      Comment


      • #4
        Looks like you have got off to a great start with it Chris.
        Good summary on some of its many virtues..stellar piece of gear!

        Comment


        • #5
          Two questions:
          1) assuming you shoot RAW, which converter do you use, Canon Software, Lightroom, PS (Adobe Camera Raw), ...?
          2) What did you change, if anything at all, in your post processing workflow?

          So far I am using Lightroom for conversion and Photoshop for post processing. But I am thinking about switching to Canon's Software to convert RAW files.
          My photos on Flickr www.flickr.com/photos/geridominguez

          Comment


          • #6
            Hi Gerado
            I'm using LR4 and Ps6 now.
            I tried Canons DPP and it can definitely convert more demanding files better than the Adobe products.
            Better shadow detail than Adobe by far.
            However it's clunky interface means I will only use it for ISO greater than 3200 as it takes longer to work and for most stuff it's pointless.
            There are some cool features in DPP that are not in LR or PS that work well in particular the CA removal and lens adjustments which are awesome for older lenses like the 24-70..been playing with some older street pics and getting far improved images at 2.8.
            It's worth it for some files just pick them if they need it.
            Dazz

            Comment


            • #7
              Thanks, Dazz. This could indeed be the way to go, using DPP for the more demanding photos.
              My photos on Flickr www.flickr.com/photos/geridominguez

              Comment


              • #8
                I'm going to have to start saving now. I'm really disappointed with the low ISO noise on the 7D, that even my 7 year old XT can beat.
                [SIGNATURE GOES HERE]

                Felipe Garcia

                Comment


                • #9
                  In my RAW exploits I've found DPP to be fine, but I tend to just send a 16bit TIFFs to photoshop when theres a more difficult shot to work on.

                  Felipe, If you dont like your 7D's low ISO noise dont look at the pic below!
                  ISO 25600, in camera noise reduction set to low, and no NR done in post processing



                  Sorry for the boring subject, should have had my fender P bass as the subject! But im currently sick and just living in my room, and being lazier than normal.

                  But a pretty damn impressive result if i dont say so myself!
                  Last edited by Simpleboy; 2012-06-03, 11:26.
                  Sam Rudge
                  A 5D3, some Canon lenses, the Sigma L and a flash

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Originally posted by Simpleboy View Post
                    should have had my fender P bass as the subject!.
                    Yes you should! I love my Precisions!
                    Seeing the world with a 3:2 aspect ratio...

                    My images on Flickr

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Got mine finally!! It feels absolutely great, well balanced and easy to handle.

                      Then comes the menu ... I understand perhaps half of the settings ... at most!

                      Any first hand experiences above all regarding AF? What do you use, what can you recommend for aviation or for other typical situations?

                      Cheerios
                      My photos on Flickr www.flickr.com/photos/geridominguez

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Originally posted by LX-A343 View Post
                        Got mine finally!! It feels absolutely great, well balanced and easy to handle.

                        Then comes the menu ... I understand perhaps half of the settings ... at most!

                        Any first hand experiences above all regarding AF? What do you use, what can you recommend for aviation or for other typical situations?

                        Cheerios
                        First off, I disabled the shutter button from engaging AF, then leave in Ai Servo.

                        For a/c they are pretty much constant speed, especially in relation to how far away they are, so I'd leave that at 0, or 1. When I've done shots at the dog park, I've definately had acceleration sensivity set to +2.

                        For tracking sensitivity, For a/c, I'd have it on -2 and use manual focus to correct it if its wrong. For sports and such you want it higher, when i've been at the dog park I've had it on +1, as I like to quickly swap from dog to dog depending on what they are doing.

                        When im not doing either of these I just have it in the general setting (case 1). Though knowing how to swap it quickly is handy for when you need to!

                        As for AF point selection, I've found the 8 point expansion works best for me for when tracking, when I'm shooting whatever, just a normal focus point is fine. I have spot, 4 point expanstion and all AF points as selection options disabled. And only have the 41 cross points available.

                        I also have my priorities set to AF accuracy over frame rate. Though if i was being paid, I'd prolly have it set equal priority, as a blurry shot is better than no shot.

                        Hope this helps.
                        Last edited by Simpleboy; 2012-06-22, 05:20.
                        Sam Rudge
                        A 5D3, some Canon lenses, the Sigma L and a flash

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Jeeeez ....and I thought my Nikon D7000 was complicated !

                          These days it's getting like you need a degree in computer sciences just to take a picture !!
                          My Nikon D7000's are pretty good on grain control at high ISO but I must say that that 5DIII grain control is something else.

                          I'm getting a mental image of a users manual that weighs around 1 kilogram ????

                          If it 'ain't broken........ Don't try to mend it !

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Originally posted by Simpleboy View Post
                            First off, I disabled the shutter button from engaging AF, then leave in Ai Servo.
                            So did you just set it to the "back button focusing", where you use the AF-ON (or equivalent) to activate the AF?
                            [SIGNATURE GOES HERE]

                            Felipe Garcia

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Originally posted by Felipe Garcia View Post
                              So did you just set it to the "back button focusing", where you use the AF-ON (or equivalent) to activate the AF?
                              Exactly, this way I can leave my camera in AI-Servo, which is far better at tracking moving subjects than AI-Focus, yet dont have to swap to One shot if i want to focus on something using one of the 5 center double cross points etc, then recompose so its off center. I can simply not hold the AF-ON button, then start metering when I have the framing I want.
                              Some people use the dof preview button as a AI servo - One shot swap, but i like my dof preview, especially in combination with live view, it makes getting the required depth of field so easy!
                              Sam Rudge
                              A 5D3, some Canon lenses, the Sigma L and a flash

                              Comment

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