Canon 5D Mark III, remarkable minus the wow factor

Albert Pedrosa

Photo Mania

WITH the release of Canon 5D mk3 at 22.3 megapixels a week ago, you can’t help but compare it with Nikon D800’s whooping 36.3 megapixels. So the question is, “How much pixels do you really need?”.

You would note that it was Canon who started the megapixels race in their 5D mk2 and continued with their 1Ds mk3, 550D, 60D and 7D. Nikon answered with 24.5 megapixels on their D3x and pushed it to the sky with D800. Recently in their release of 1Dx and 5D mk3, it seems Canon is singing a different tune by strengthening its ISO capabilities.

Was it just a marketing move before?

Nikon has proved that their DSLRs are better than Canon’s in terms of ISO. This is an argument that most Canon users wouldn’t pick on. However, with the way Canon is positioning its new releases towards better ISO, it seems that we are on to a different direction this time around. Looks like this is going to be an ISO hunt in the next generation of DSLRs.

The 5D series started sometime August 2005 as an alternative full frame DSLR over the 1D series. The 5D mk2 came in September 2008 with video capture capabilities and almost doubled the megapixel. It didn’t offer much upgrade in frames per second but offered 2 stops more on its ISO.

The 5D mk2 revolutionized the film and television production after its release. Indie film makers were using it as their workhorse and soon a wide range of accessories for video came in. NBC and BBC were among the first network to use 5D mk2 in their TV sitcoms. The ability of DSLR to capture video with the versatility of depth of fields opened a lot of opportunities.

Nearly 5 years after, 5D mk3 finally arrived with a bag full of goodies. Although it didn’t arrived with a bang, it answered a lot of request from Canon users and more. The pixel count didn’t improve so much but the ISO definitely is something to look forward to. The 5D mk3 has a new gapless micro lens design that offers standard ISO of 100-25,600 and expandable up to 102,800.

Frame rate also improved from 3.9 to 6fps due to its new DIGIC 5+ processor. 5D mk3 uses a 61 point AF system same as installed in 1DX. This is far more than what you can ask for if you’re coming from a 9 point AF system of the previous 5D mk2. SD card slot is now added to the CF card for added storage and media support.

Video buffs can now monitor and control audio level recording through camera’s quick control screen and headphone jack. This is one feature that is missing from the previous 5D mk2 which was sufficed by some third party accessories. 60 fps is now also possible for slow motion effect at 720p HD and because of DIGIC 5+, you can now trim your videos in your camera.

I haven’t seen the 1DX or the 5D mk3 in action so until then the promises of the new sensor especially on the ISO is yet to be tested. One thing’s for sure, those who cannot afford 5D mk2 before can now think twice since definitely price will go down.

Keep on shooting everyone! For comments and suggestion, you may email me at photography@grp.ph

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