Canon 5D MKIII official owners/users thread, anything related to the 5D MKIII

jdfotos said:
Terry, I've been using a BR double strap with two gripped bodies for a while, with a mixture of lenses, and no issues with grips falling off.
I do check everything is still tight at regular intervals though, just to be sure!
Just wish I had a 5D3 so I could post here!
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Hello James thanks for the info, it does look like a Black Rapid would be a good investment.
 
Tenorphoto said:
Oh that is a big responsibility. I am sure you will be fine though. I had to photograph a friend's civil partnership a few months back before I had the 5D3, I did it with the 5D2 and the 7D, I aged about 10 years in those few hours! It all went well though. If I can do it, you definitely can!

Enjoy the day!
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Thanks.

Well i think it went well. The couple and guests like the shots ive posted so far.
The issue i had most was there were a bit too many of us shooting. Although i was the only one with a DSLR there were a group of guests (mainly family members) that also wanted to get a lot of the same shots. So while we weren't jostling for position i did find they would either get in my way, or i was trying not to get in theirs. I dont really have the right attitude to push in toget the shot. Im a bit too shy a lot of the time.
Getting the couple to pose was quite difficult, again, due to the number of cameras there. quite a few that i thought had come out well actually had thme looking in different directions etc. Very hard to get all eyes no me.

I did enjoy it though, and it was actually a lot less stressful than i had thought, I guess all that reading did go in after all. I found the camera to be very easy to work with, although i did try and keep it simple. At one point i had forgotten that i had it in AF Servo but that was just a minor issue.

Most of the shots would only be considered snaps. I think my processing will make them a bit better. Im happy that most of what i took came out sharp and well exposed. At leas ti have a good starting block.

I found i used the 24-70 95% of the day. Only using the 100 f/2 for a short while during the speeches. My son and Gf had my 60D with either kit lens or 70-200 f/4 so they got a lot of candids. My eldest son used manual focus for most of his shots with the 70-200. Im impressed.

Anyway, here are just two that ive looked at. The bride had a it of a rough skin patch on her arms, so i had to resort to B&W for the first shot. Not something i would have preferred to do really but i think it works. Apparently she cried when she saw this, so job done i guess lol.

Im happy for any comments on these shots, good and bad. I know they aren't what a wedding pro would have done, and my style isnt really geared up for portrait shots. There are no second chances but fire way if you want. Ill post a link to the whole album later in the week.



Laura and Toms wedding by dave_bass5, on Flickr

I wish i could clone out that bag but its too big a job for me. Ive already cloned out some cars and posts etc.


@Jonny. Amazing shots of an amazing place. Im really enjoying the look and feel of your shots.
I used to live near the Barbican until about 2 years ago. I live near the Southbank now, and work in Hatton Garden, so the City is sort of on my way home if i take the long route.
 
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daugirdas said:
Guys, what backup (3rd party) battery to go for? Not looking to spend much on back up.
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I was looking at the Duracell ones but there is another make on amazon that comes with 2 year guarantee and they're only a tenner each. I think it was power planet. I've heard that the 3rd party batteries don't work with the camera screen, although I haven't tried it myself so can't confirm.
 
daugirdas said:
Guys, what backup (3rd party) battery to go for? Not looking to spend much on back up.
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Be careful what 3rd party you go for. With the latest FW update a lot of them dont work properly any more.
Make sure any recommendations are for using with FW 1.2.1 if your on that version.
 
dave_bass5 said:
Be careful what 3rd party you go for. With the latest FW update a lot of them dont work properly any more.
Make sure any recommendations are for using with FW 1.2.1 if your on that version.
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do you think I should wait another few weeks to let them catch up? I should survive with one for now
 
daugirdas said:
do you think I should wait another few weeks to let them catch up? I should survive with one for now
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Unless someone can give you a definite recommendation then yes, i would wait.
Im sure they will get them working pretty quickly, and i have read that some still do work ok.
 
Infinite said:
can anyone recommened the best place to get a 5d3? best price / with uk warranty?
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Bought mine from ProCameraShop, but they're grey imports, so no UK warranty.

In an unrelated note, has anyone bought the official 5DIII grip? Is it worth it?
 
Rojibo said:
Bought mine from ProCameraShop, but they're grey imports, so no UK warranty.

In an unrelated note, has anyone bought the official 5DIII grip? Is it worth it?
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I have the official BG-E11 grip and wouldn't be without it. I got it half price (150 quid at the time) on a special offer when I bought the body.
I've no idea what they cost nowadays though?

I've never seen or used any of the 3rd party ones for any comparison mind you.
 
Rojibo said:
Bought mine from ProCameraShop, but they're grey imports, so no UK warranty.

In an unrelated note, has anyone bought the official 5DIII grip? Is it worth it?
Click to expand...

For landscape work I would hate to have the grip on (bigger than 1Ds when it doesn't need to be)

For portraits and weddings grip is sadly very much preferred. Sadly because of £300 price tag
 
dave_bass5 said:
Thanks.

Well i think it went well. The couple and guests like the shots ive posted so far.
The issue i had most was there were a bit too many of us shooting. Although i was the only one with a DSLR there were a group of guests (mainly family members) that also wanted to get a lot of the same shots. So while we weren't jostling for position i did find they would either get in my way, or i was trying not to get in theirs. I dont really have the right attitude to push in toget the shot. Im a bit too shy a lot of the time.
Getting the couple to pose was quite difficult, again, due to the number of cameras there. quite a few that i thought had come out well actually had thme looking in different directions etc. Very hard to get all eyes no me.

I did enjoy it though, and it was actually a lot less stressful than i had thought, I guess all that reading did go in after all. I found the camera to be very easy to work with, although i did try and keep it simple. At one point i had forgotten that i had it in AF Servo but that was just a minor issue.

Most of the shots would only be considered snaps. I think my processing will make them a bit better. Im happy that most of what i took came out sharp and well exposed. At leas ti have a good starting block.

I found i used the 24-70 95% of the day. Only using the 100 f/2 for a short while during the speeches. My son and Gf had my 60D with either kit lens or 70-200 f/4 so they got a lot of candids. My eldest son used manual focus for most of his shots with the 70-200. Im impressed.

Anyway, here are just two that ive looked at. The bride had a it of a rough skin patch on her arms, so i had to resort to B&W for the first shot. Not something i would have preferred to do really but i think it works. Apparently she cried when she saw this, so job done i guess lol.

Im happy for any comments on these shots, good and bad. I know they aren't what a wedding pro would have done, and my style isnt really geared up for portrait shots. There are no second chances but fire way if you want. Ill post a link to the whole album later in the week.


Laura and Tom's first kiss as husband and wife. by dave_bass5, on Flickr


Laura and Toms wedding by dave_bass5, on Flickr

I wish i could clone out that bag but its too big a job for me. Ive already cloned out some cars and posts etc.


@Jonny. Amazing shots of an amazing place. Im really enjoying the look and feel of your shots.
I used to live near the Barbican until about 2 years ago. I live near the Southbank now, and work in Hatton Garden, so the City is sort of on my way home if i take the long route.
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Looks like you did a good job mate :) Only thing i'd say is get rid of the sepia tone and go for a straight black and white conversion... sepia is very yucky and out of date (y)
 
dave_bass5 said:
Ive spent much too much on bass gear over the past 8 years.
Im now settled with that but decided the camera gear gets a lot more use, and so i get more pleasure from it, so this so where my money goes now.
Funny enough its the Bass playing hobby that actually brings money in, but im hoping my photography will bring a bit in at some point.

I took this on the way home form work yesterday. Ive shot it before, and from the same area, but i quite like how this came out.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/davebass5/8742318504/
Standing in the city of london. by dave_bass5, on Flickr

@Dominic. Nice shot. Love the DOF.
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I was by here yesterday. I went to see Clapton last night :) There was so much mist/fog you could only vaguely see the first building and nothing at all of the arty one behind it :D
 
terrysphotoz said:
Thanks tugster, Pete I presume you had the strap linked to the lens collar, I am just worried that with a smaller lens with no collar like the 24-105 it would be a lot of strain on the battery grip to camera screw.
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For the 70-200....yes. For the 24-70 it was just into the bottom of the grip.
Some people put another small strap from the strap mounting eyelet of the body to the carabiner clip on the BR just in case such as:
20120222-033.jpg
 
ajax_andy said:
Looks like you did a good job mate :) Only thing i'd say is get rid of the sepia tone and go for a straight black and white conversion... sepia is very yucky and out of date (y)
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Thanks Andy.
I agree with you, these were quick edits for their FB and Flickr friends and i just wanted the to look a bit different from the other shots that people were taking.
Im going back over everything and re editing them. Ive just "discovered" Nik Colour FX so will probably go over the top with that instead lol.

I need to find a style so they look consistent. Other than a few B+W shots (due mainly to the rough skin patches that i cant seem to PP out properly, although ive tried in the shot below) im hoping to go for this look, although i will loose the borders for the final images.


Fri-17-May-6555 by Dave Pearce (London), on Flickr


Fri-17-May-6575 by Dave Pearce (London), on Flickr


Fri-17-May-6791 by Dave Pearce (London), on Flickr
 
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Bluesmachine said:
I was by here yesterday. I went to see Clapton last night :) There was so much mist/fog you could only vaguely see the first building and nothing at all of the arty one behind it :D
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Haha, yes, you just cant predict the weather these days. We have just had hailstones here in London. :wacky:
 
Cheers again Andy. Yeah, the vignetting is a bit over cooked. Im always the same when i get a new piece of software to play with. In this case its the Radial filter in LR5.
Part of me liking the vignetting comes, i think, from Flickr's (old)white background. I dont do boarders as a rule but i feel it creates a pseudo boarder.
I will cut back though, especially for the printed versions.

Its funny but there were no other DSLR users there. You cant really walk down the street without bumping in to them these days, and every other wedding ive been to or played at has been full of them. So while im sure i did get better than most, it really wasn't too hard at this one.
Im not over the moon with them but the couple are, so im happy that i did ok.
 
why oh why dont canon send out the battery charged, i just got mine home, un packed it and want to play, no power..........arrrrrrrrrr

feels great though.
 
formula400 said:
why oh why dont canon send out the battery charged, i just got mine home, un packed it and want to play, no power..........arrrrrrrrrr

feels great though.
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Give them a call.

I can just hear the excuse now.. "We do fully charge EVERY battery we pack sir,but these things do discharge after a certain time!" :D
 
had a quick play and it seem great, feels pretty meaty...

exposure bracketing???? how????

on my old D7000 i pressed a button on the front and moved the wheel and it would let me press the shutter 3 times and it would take 1 at -3 0 -1

how do i do this or is there super superior way to this??

i can get the HDR function to work and take 3 shots but then it joins them together.


cheers people.
 
formula400 said:
had a quick play and it seem great, feels pretty meaty...

exposure bracketing???? how????

on my old D7000 i pressed a button on the front and moved the wheel and it would let me press the shutter 3 times and it would take 1 at -3 0 -1

how do i do this or is there super superior way to this??

i can get the HDR function to work and take 3 shots but then it joins them together.

cheers people.
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When you press the brush or whatever it is button to select the HDR option it'll give you a menu.
The bottom one being "Save Source Imgs".
Make sure it's set to "All Images" and not HDR only.

The Exposure bracketing is under the second section of the AF menu (Expo.Comp./AEB).
Select it and the top wheel activates it.
 
You're welcome.
Forgot to add that the main (rear) wheel changes the position of the increments too if you haven't already found out.
 
I'm in a slight dilemma about upgrading from a 7D to a 5D mk3. No doubt this has been discussed many times so can I ask a couple of things from you please.

I have considered an EOS 1DX but cant see that the extra cost will give me any advantage, plus the extra weight to carry around is a big thing for me as I am trying to reduce the overall load I carry now that the years are going past for me too quickly.

I have loved my 7D, but have been stretching it and myself recently and am getting dissatisfied especially with the noise above 800 ISO. I do mainly wildlife and BIF with either a 100-400 or a 500 f4. I am concerned about losing the 1.6 crop factor, but then, am I right in saying that the 21mp when cropped down to the equivalent of the 18 of the 7D will virtually compensate for the loss of the crop factor, I hope I have explained myself clearly there.

The only other slight downside is the frame rate of 6 fps when used for BIF, have you found this fast enough or is it that I am just used to the 8 FPS and am being unduly worried about a small drop.

I understand that with the latest firmware upgrade, the AF will work up to f/8, so has anyone used a 100-400 with a 1.4TC and does it work and is it useable, ie, fairly fast AF or dreadfully slow.

If anyone else had made the step from a 7D, how have you found it and do you feel it was worthwhile.

I apologise if this has been discussed before, I have looked through the previous pages but couldn't see the answers to my questions.

Thanks in advance for your thoughts.
 
Trev4 said:
I'm in a slight dilemma about upgrading from a 7D to a 5D mk3. No doubt this has been discussed many times so can I ask a couple of things from you please.

I have considered an EOS 1DX but cant see that the extra cost will give me any advantage, plus the extra weight to carry around is a big thing for me as I am trying to reduce the overall load I carry now that the years are going past for me too quickly.

I have loved my 7D, but have been stretching it and myself recently and am getting dissatisfied especially with the noise above 800 ISO. I do mainly wildlife and BIF with either a 100-400 or a 500 f4. I am concerned about losing the 1.6 crop factor, but then, am I right in saying that the 21mp when cropped down to the equivalent of the 18 of the 7D will virtually compensate for the loss of the crop factor, I hope I have explained myself clearly there.

The only other slight downside is the frame rate of 6 fps when used for BIF, have you found this fast enough or is it that I am just used to the 8 FPS and am being unduly worried about a small drop.

I understand that with the latest firmware upgrade, the AF will work up to f/8, so has anyone used a 100-400 with a 1.4TC and does it work and is it useable, ie, fairly fast AF or dreadfully slow.

If anyone else had made the step from a 7D, how have you found it and do you feel it was worthwhile.

I apologise if this has been discussed before, I have looked through the previous pages but couldn't see the answers to my questions.

Thanks in advance for your thoughts.
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I went from a 5D Mark II and 7D combination to just the Mark III.

My shoe was on the other foot though in that I used the 5D 90% of the time as I mostly shoot landscape and macro,unless I go to any rally events (once,twice a year maybe?) and used the 7D.
The rest of the time the 7D was just collecting dust in my bag,and having the 2 was just plain uneconomical.


I must admit I did miss the crop factor when I went to a rally last month,but the drop in FPS not so much really.

I was able to stand pretty close to the stage side (and the cars are a bit bigger than birds :) )so cropping wasn't too much of an issue.
So I can't really comment on that.

I think if I'd have used the 7D more frequently instead like you my choice to change over would have been much more difficult though!
 
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Trev4 said:
I'm in a slight dilemma about upgrading from a 7D to a 5D mk3. No doubt this has been discussed many times so can I ask a couple of things from you please.

I have considered an EOS 1DX but cant see that the extra cost will give me any advantage, plus the extra weight to carry around is a big thing for me as I am trying to reduce the overall load I carry now that the years are going past for me too quickly.

I have loved my 7D, but have been stretching it and myself recently and am getting dissatisfied especially with the noise above 800 ISO. I do mainly wildlife and BIF with either a 100-400 or a 500 f4. I am concerned about losing the 1.6 crop factor, but then, am I right in saying that the 21mp when cropped down to the equivalent of the 18 of the 7D will virtually compensate for the loss of the crop factor, I hope I have explained myself clearly there.

The only other slight downside is the frame rate of 6 fps when used for BIF, have you found this fast enough or is it that I am just used to the 8 FPS and am being unduly worried about a small drop.

I understand that with the latest firmware upgrade, the AF will work up to f/8, so has anyone used a 100-400 with a 1.4TC and does it work and is it useable, ie, fairly fast AF or dreadfully slow.

If anyone else had made the step from a 7D, how have you found it and do you feel it was worthwhile.

I apologise if this has been discussed before, I have looked through the previous pages but couldn't see the answers to my questions.

Thanks in advance for your thoughts.
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Hi,

I am currently using a 1 Dx and a 7D with various lens combinations, having upgraded the 1 Dx from a 1 Ds mk 3.
I pondered long and hard about whether the 1 Dx was going to suit me better than a 5D3, and I was fortunate to get the loan of a 1Dx from Canon.
My photography is almost exclusively wildlife, more mammals than birds, but I went for the 1 Dx and have never regretted it.
The 12 fps is just superb, I was photographing humpbacks breaching with the 1 Dx, 70-200 mk 2 and a 1.4 TC and I got sequences better than anything I could have hoped for with the 7D, perhaps the 5D3 would have been just as good on AF but the extra speed of the 1 Dx gave me a better choice of frames, and the same would be true with BIF.

I relly think you'd find 6 fps too slow for your type of photography, but I take your point re the pixel count.
However the 1 Dx images are so clean, even at high iso, that they can be cropped substantially.

Yes the weight is a problem for us with advancing years, I've partially got round this by using a 400DO with a 1.4 extender, but at the end of the day I'd suggest at least hiring a 1 Dx for a few days prior to making your decision.

I realise that this is a 5D3 thread, and I'm sure it's an excellent camera, in fact I may buy one as a back up instead of the 7D, but will wait till the mk 2 7D comes out before making that decision.

Has that confused you further?
:LOL::LOL:

George.
 
George said:
Hi,

I am currently using a 1 Dx and a 7D with various lens combinations, having upgraded the 1 Dx from a 1 Ds mk 3.
I pondered long and hard about whether the 1 Dx was going to suit me better than a 5D3, and I was fortunate to get the loan of a 1Dx from Canon.
My photography is almost exclusively wildlife, more mammals than birds, but I went for the 1 Dx and have never regretted it.
The 12 fps is just superb, I was photographing humpbacks breaching with the 1 Dx, 70-200 mk 2 and a 1.4 TC and I got sequences better than anything I could have hoped for with the 7D, perhaps the 5D3 would have been just as good on AF but the extra speed of the 1 Dx gave me a better choice of frames, and the same would be true with BIF.

I relly think you'd find 6 fps too slow for your type of photography, but I take your point re the pixel count.
However the 1 Dx images are so clean, even at high iso, that they can be cropped substantially.

Yes the weight is a problem for us with advancing years, I've partially got round this by using a 400DO with a 1.4 extender, but at the end of the day I'd suggest at least hiring a 1 Dx for a few days prior to making your decision.

I realise that this is a 5D3 thread, and I'm sure it's an excellent camera, in fact I may buy one as a back up instead of the 7D, but will wait till the mk 2 7D comes out before making that decision.

Has that confused you further?
:LOL::LOL:

George.
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Hi George,

I've been watching this thread with the same dilemma as Trev4 and you have just thrown a spanner in the works lol. I am still after a 500 F4 IS lens and adding a 1DX to that makes it a decent sum :-(

I figured the 5D Mark III would be ideal but I suspect, as you mention the 12fps is a godsend with BIF/movement etc.

Might just have to just stick with my 400 F5.6L and 1.4 TC and buy the 1DX instead of the 500mm.

Mike.
 
gotta ask - do you 'really' need all those fps? I now we have asked this time and time again but surely taking the one shot or maybe two is more than enough if you do it right rather than point and blast and pick the one that's in focus. . . . . that's just plain lazy and anyone can do that (even my 5 year old granddaughter)

picking up my 5D mkiii in a couple of weeks and i expect the 1D mk4 will go in the cupboard.

.DAVID.
 
David Stallard said:
gotta ask - do you 'really' need all those fps? I now we have asked this time and time again but surely taking the one shot or maybe two is more than enough if you do it right rather than point and blast and pick the one that's in focus. . . . . that's just plain lazy and anyone can do that (even my 5 year old granddaughter)

picking up my 5D mkiii in a couple of weeks and i expect the 1D mk4 will go in the cupboard.

.DAVID.
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I find that for sport the 5D3 goes on my 400 and the 1Dx goes on the 70-200. I don't find that shoot more than four or five frames on the 1dx ..normally it's two or three..
 
David Stallard said:
gotta ask - do you 'really' need all those fps? I now we have asked this time and time again but surely taking the one shot or maybe two is more than enough if you do it right rather than point and blast and pick the one that's in focus. . . . . that's just plain lazy and anyone can do that (even my 5 year old granddaughter)

picking up my 5D mkiii in a couple of weeks and i expect the 1D mk4 will go in the cupboard.

.DAVID.
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Well, David, in the examples I quoted in my post, you'll see why I felt the 12 fps was a distinct advantage.
Pick one that's in focus?????with the 1Dx and 70-200 mk2 and a 1.4 converter, they are all in focus!!...I don't even have to think about an out of focus issue, it's just remarkable,whereas with the 7D I am always checking.

The af performance is just remarkable, however I suspect the 5D3 will give very similar results.

I also took some shots of a humpback fluking, and without 12 fps I wouldn't necessarily have got the water spilling off in the way i wanted with 6 fps.

It's a trade off however, is it worth twice the price to you?
Only you can answer that, depends on your type of photography, and if I am photographing still life I don't "point and blast"

Please read my post carefully, I think I explained my reasons clearly.

George.
 
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mikeyb said:
Hi George,

I've been watching this thread with the same dilemma as Trev4 and you have just thrown a spanner in the works lol. I am still after a 500 F4 IS lens and adding a 1DX to that makes it a decent sum :-(

I figured the 5D Mark III would be ideal but I suspect, as you mention the 12fps is a godsend with BIF/movement etc.

Might just have to just stick with my 400 F5.6L and 1.4 TC and buy the 1DX instead of the 500mm.

Mike.
Click to expand...
Hi Mike, how are you doing?

Suspect you'll still have my mobile, if you want to see some of the shots, give me a call.

George.
 
To be honest David, its more than just "in focus shots" that the FPS rate is important for, especially for birds in flight which is what I tend to do more of. I defy anyone to take just one or two shots and time it so that a small bird, or a large one for that matter, has its wings in the ideal position when its flying to get a nice image, the speed of their wings makes it physically impossible to judge when the wings are in the up position, to press the shutter, allow for the slight shutter lag, and take the picture. For that reason as well as the ones George has explained, a high FPS is an advantage, naturally, having them all in focus is a big bonus, it means you have a wider choice of frames to choose the best from.

As an example, this is a recent one I took:

TJS_6579_Puffin -Fratercula arctica 12-05-13 by Trev4 Photography, on Flickr

This was a series of 12 shots while I was tracking the bird. The wing movement is incredibly fast as you know, to the naked eye its a blur, in this series taken with a 7D, I took a burst of 12 shots, about 80% were sharply in focus even though the focus point was over the bird all of the time.
This is one of my concerns about the 6 fps of the 5d mk3, its only 2 less than the 7D but it could have an effect on this genre of photography.

Thanks everyone for you valid and important thoughts, its given more information to help make a decision.
 
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