The body of the 5D Mark III is largely unchanged from the Mark II's, but there are a few key differences. The pentaprism lump on the top for example is a little larger and more rounded to accommodate the AF module which is 2.5x larger than the one in the Canon 5D MK II.
There's also the live view/video switch on the back of the camera which is in easy reach of the left thumb.
In addition, Canon has added a couple of new buttons. The first of these is to access three creative options: Picture Styles, Multiple Exposure and the HDR modes.
In multiple exposure mode up to 9 images can be combined into one, but it is still possible to save all of the images separately. There's also a fair amount of control over the HDR options and the exposure variation can be set to up to 3EV with a collection of blending styles from natural to the more extreme HDR look.
We're really looking forward to putting this through its paces.
Canon UK's David Parry tells us that the HDR mode is a handheld option as the 5D Mark III can automatically align images.
Another new button is marked Rate and pressing it in playback mode allows you to rate the image, one press for one star, two for two etc. These ratings are logged in the EXIF data and are visible in Adobe Bridge and Elements etc. Pressing the Creative buttton in playback mode allows two images to be compared next to eachother.
Like the camera it replaces, the 5D Mark III has a magnesium alloy bodyshell and consequently the new camera feels almost identical to the camera it replaces, however, the waterproofing has been improved and the finish on the body is slightly more deeply textured.
The 5D Mark II proved a big hit for shooting video and Canon has added an audio out port to allow users to listen to the sound recording as well as the ability to adjust the sound level - just like with the 1DX using the touch sensitive control dial.
Some video shooters may be disappointed that the 3.2in screen is fixed rather than articulated - we have yet to see a full-frame SLR with an articulated screen. On the plus side the gap between the LCD and the glass cover has been with an optical gel which should reduce reflections significantly.
Another difference between the mark 2 and 3 versions is that the newer camera has two card ports, one for compactflash and the other for SD format cards. There's no XQD card port.
Autofocus
One of the key selling features of the 5D Mark III is its impressive AF system which is very similar to the EOS-1DX's (though it doesn't detect colours or faces) and it has a dedicated menu section.
Helpfully, there are a number of sport orientated 'Case Studies' or set-up arrangements that allow users to select the correct options for the subject. According to David Parry Canon is working on other non-sports case studies that should be available in the future.
Quiet
The 5D Mark III's quiet shooting mode is impressive.
Unlike other similar modes, with the 5D MK III it deesn't rely on taking a shot and then flipping the mirror back down later. Instead the mirror moves more slowly, the maximum continuous shooting rate is reduced to 3fps and a new mechanism dampens the movement to reduce the noise.
While the Canon EOS 5D Mark III may not have quite the wow factor that some were hoping for, the headline figures such as the pixel count aren't as high as some may have wished for,it's clear that a lot of work has gone into it. If Canon has managed to control noise levels at the mid to high sensitvity settings as much as it claims (it is supposed to have 2EV advantage over the 5D Mark II), it could be a very versatile camera and a real competitor to the Nikon D800.
Look out for our full review coming soon.
Source : Google Reader
No comments:
Post a Comment