f16sunshine
Moderator
I agree completely. My best lenses are all manual focus. Although realizing, this is not a deal breaker in any way for most. Who knows maybe the screen is very high contrast and works great for Manual focus use.
Canon EOS 5D Mark III Released
- Thread starter Sarcophilus Harrisii
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I agree completely. My best lenses are all manual focus. Although realizing, this is not a deal breaker in any way for most. Who knows maybe the screen is very high contrast and works great for Manual focus use.
nighstar
eternal beginner
keep it! a 5D Mark III is no replacement for an MF camera like a Hasselblad, imho. i intend to use my 500C alongside my Mark III. 🙂
PatrickONeill
Well-known
nighstar
eternal beginner
i agree that not being able to change the focusing screen sucks, but i think the electronic overlay of the new "intelligent" viewfinder will be a definite plus. not only do you get additional information in the VF that you didn't get before, but i believe you have more control over the AF points that you see and use + you can put a grid in the viewfinder without having to install a new focusing screen for it! 😀 i love my grids!
as for the ease of manual focusing.... we shall see. i intend to use my OM lenses with the Mark III and will post of my experiences with it.
as for the ease of manual focusing.... we shall see. i intend to use my OM lenses with the Mark III and will post of my experiences with it.
semilog
curmudgeonly optimist
There's the rub. As you say, we'll have to wait and see.
f16sunshine
Moderator
I like grids too.
I've been using one of the latest emulating chips on a Contax to Eos adapter and find it works very, very well at confirming focus.
It's EXIF programmable and you can fine adjust it just like an L series AF lens (have not tried that feature yet).
The trick is placing the focus point correctly and moving the focus dial slowly enough so you don't pass focus when you hit it.
It's not a replacement for a micro prism screen of old but, with the new VF in the Mark iii maybe ....
segedi
RFicianado
The only screens I've ever purchased were grids, the ability to turn it off and on without changing screens works well for me.
And yeah, I'll probably keep the Hasselblad 😀
Snowbuzz
Well-known
gavinlg
Veteran
You can still have the screens interchanged, it's just a more labour intensive process.
It's the same viewfinder setup as the 7d - here is the instructions for the catzeye split focus screen for the 7d -
http://www.katzeyeoptics.com/files/install_12.pdf
So you certainly will be able to install a manual focussing screen...
nighstar
eternal beginner
i (well, not really me) just found this and thought some here might be interested....
http://www.imaging-resource.com/IMCOMP/COMPS01.HTM
it allows you to compare sample photos (including high ISO) from two cameras at once, including from the 5D Mark II vs 5D Mark III.
there's an interesting discussion regarding the findings here: http://www.canonrumors.com/forum/index.php/topic,4054.0.html
there's been a lot of discussion on the Canon Rumors forum re: the "horrible" and "soft" sample JPEGs that Canon has released which got a lot of people worried about the camera's sharpening/NR/AA filter/etcetc, but people seem to be pretty happy with the findings from these RAW samples. 😀
http://www.imaging-resource.com/IMCOMP/COMPS01.HTM
it allows you to compare sample photos (including high ISO) from two cameras at once, including from the 5D Mark II vs 5D Mark III.
there's an interesting discussion regarding the findings here: http://www.canonrumors.com/forum/index.php/topic,4054.0.html
there's been a lot of discussion on the Canon Rumors forum re: the "horrible" and "soft" sample JPEGs that Canon has released which got a lot of people worried about the camera's sharpening/NR/AA filter/etcetc, but people seem to be pretty happy with the findings from these RAW samples. 😀
Jeremy Johns
Member
I've use the 5d series since their inception, predominately in studio for jewellery photography.
I'm probably in the minority here as I've found the the jump from the 5d to the 5d2 was a blessing and a curse. The greater MP count allows for bigger files however it came at a cost of depth of field. I quickly found that I could no longer use the f32 that I had relied on for macro work (shooting rings etc), the smallest I can now get away with and not have softness is f18 - f20. This means focus stacking images, even with tilt & shift, an extra layer of work in every shoot. When the average shoot is 30+ shots, it's quite a lot on top of post processing pile. So I'm quite happy that there aren't more pixels on the 5d3.
Secondly and more importantly, the price of these cameras are creeping ever closer to the price of a used P2 or RZ67 and digi back (yes an older back but still better iq than a 5d). This makes me wonder how companies like hasselblad & mamiya or leaf & phase one will try to temp customers away from Canon or Nikon, towards the promised land of medium format.
I for one am for tempting!
I'm probably in the minority here as I've found the the jump from the 5d to the 5d2 was a blessing and a curse. The greater MP count allows for bigger files however it came at a cost of depth of field. I quickly found that I could no longer use the f32 that I had relied on for macro work (shooting rings etc), the smallest I can now get away with and not have softness is f18 - f20. This means focus stacking images, even with tilt & shift, an extra layer of work in every shoot. When the average shoot is 30+ shots, it's quite a lot on top of post processing pile. So I'm quite happy that there aren't more pixels on the 5d3.
Secondly and more importantly, the price of these cameras are creeping ever closer to the price of a used P2 or RZ67 and digi back (yes an older back but still better iq than a 5d). This makes me wonder how companies like hasselblad & mamiya or leaf & phase one will try to temp customers away from Canon or Nikon, towards the promised land of medium format.
I for one am for tempting!
nighstar
eternal beginner
so.... i got my hands on a pre-production Mark III today. twas very cool, but i won't rant or rave about it. not here, anyway. the auto focus was f'in awesome.
for those who don't yet know, it has been confirmed that the fixed focusing screen of the Mark III is basically the same as the Eg-A and will suck for manual focusing of anything faster than f4. (See here)
there are companies that will be making matte screens for the Mark III, so the main issue is:
1) will installing such a screen void the manufacturer's warranty?
2) metering compensation for the matte screen
i approached a Canon Australia rep today about the matter of the warranty and couldn't get an answer then and there. he told me to email him the question and he'd get back to me, so we'll see how that goes.
the 5D Mark III body only will start shipping late next week/early the following week & kits shortly thereafter. won't be much longer now. 😀
for those who don't yet know, it has been confirmed that the fixed focusing screen of the Mark III is basically the same as the Eg-A and will suck for manual focusing of anything faster than f4. (See here)
there are companies that will be making matte screens for the Mark III, so the main issue is:
1) will installing such a screen void the manufacturer's warranty?
2) metering compensation for the matte screen
i approached a Canon Australia rep today about the matter of the warranty and couldn't get an answer then and there. he told me to email him the question and he'd get back to me, so we'll see how that goes.
the 5D Mark III body only will start shipping late next week/early the following week & kits shortly thereafter. won't be much longer now. 😀
Tim Gray
Well-known
There's also the matter of the LCD overlay used in the 5DIII's viewfinder. I don't know where it actually is and if changing the focusing screen somehow screws it up.
But I am thinking about this camera. Glad to hear the focusing is good. I have some decisions ahead of me.
nighstar
eternal beginner
the LCD overlay isn't an issue. both the 1DX and the 7D have the same intelligent viewfinder and the 1DX's screen is interchangeable. the 7D's screen is "fixed" like the Mark III's, but they too can be switched out to 3rd party screens.
when Canon says "interchangeable" what they really mean is "Canon supported" and "readily changeable". since the 1DX has the exact same intelligent viewfinder but with interchangeable screens, it was obviously a decision by Canon to cripple the 7D and 5D Mark III with "fixed" screens. :/
gavinlg
Veteran
I command thee to elaborate more on yee impressions of the camera!!!
Tim Gray
Well-known
Cool, good to know.
bobbyrab
Well-known
Picked mine up today, figured it would be worth the extra outlay for the two stops of extra iso, but there's so much more again, very impressed so far, much more choice in customising the various functions, an auto iso with selectable parameters at last. I didn't find the AF too bad on the mark2, but this is straight off obviously in another league. Projected grid in vf will be useful, it feels much more substantial and ergonomic , has dual cards (at last), generally a big improvement on the mark2. All this and I haven't been able to view onthe computer, LR wouldn't read the raw files and I hadn't time to load Canons software before I had to take my daughter out. I'm sure anyone whose interested will have read all this already, personally I can never raise the enthusiasm to read lengthy reviews. But so far it might be my dream digital slr, mind you I'm away for the weekend and I'll still take the M6 over this.
nighstar
eternal beginner
bobbyrab, how did you get the camera so early....? looks like someone didn't obey the release mandate! 😀
Adobe has released a new RAW candidate for Photoshop that should allow you to open the RAWs in Photoshop: http://labs.adobe.com/downloads/cameraraw6-7.html
Please post some samples!
i'm afraid my impressions won't be very informative. i haven't owned the 5D Mark II or any other similar camera to compare the Mark III to. 😱
buuut, based on my very brief experience of trying out a Mark II in a store & my very brief experience with the Mark III last night, i have to agree with bobbyrab that it feels really nice to hold. better than the Mark II.
the menu system was very nice to navigate with its colors and whatnot. there were 6/7 submenus for auto focus alone! it really made my 350D (the only Canon DSLR that i own) seem like an ancient toy. 😱 i really liked the new Q (quick) menu and felt at home with it immediately as my Olympus E-P2 has pretty much the same thing. i can't even imagine having a DSLR like the Mark III and not having such a menu; it's so intuitive and so convenient that (to me) it seems like an essential part of any non-P&S camera.
the viewfinder was nice and large and bright. shutterlag/blackout time was (to me) barely noticeable. sadly, i didn't really have the chance to dive into the menus and figure out how to turn on the grid, leveler etc and i didn't mess with the auto focus points at all. the auto focus was very snappy-- no hunting at all! 😀 i wasn't able to test my biggest concern, however, which is (manual) focusing with a fast lens because the demo model had a 24-105mm F4 L on it. 🙁
as memory cards weren't allowed (it was kind of amusing how strictly they enforced this), sample photos were taken of a model in a makeshift studio setup in the room and then displayed on a monitor and iPad. all of the samples were large JPEGs as the computer/iPad didn't yet support the RAWs. from what I saw, the samples were great noise-wise. even the high ISO ones with lowish lighting. sharpness-wise, they looked a little soft zoomed in, but i don't know what the camera's settings were and this isn't really something that concerns me. the softness of the JPEG samples on Canon's website has been of much debate on Canon Rumors (god, i read that forum too much) and i've already come to my own conclusions about that. 🙄
anyway, yeah. can't wait until next week!
Adobe has released a new RAW candidate for Photoshop that should allow you to open the RAWs in Photoshop: http://labs.adobe.com/downloads/cameraraw6-7.html
Please post some samples!
i'm afraid my impressions won't be very informative. i haven't owned the 5D Mark II or any other similar camera to compare the Mark III to. 😱
buuut, based on my very brief experience of trying out a Mark II in a store & my very brief experience with the Mark III last night, i have to agree with bobbyrab that it feels really nice to hold. better than the Mark II.
the menu system was very nice to navigate with its colors and whatnot. there were 6/7 submenus for auto focus alone! it really made my 350D (the only Canon DSLR that i own) seem like an ancient toy. 😱 i really liked the new Q (quick) menu and felt at home with it immediately as my Olympus E-P2 has pretty much the same thing. i can't even imagine having a DSLR like the Mark III and not having such a menu; it's so intuitive and so convenient that (to me) it seems like an essential part of any non-P&S camera.
the viewfinder was nice and large and bright. shutterlag/blackout time was (to me) barely noticeable. sadly, i didn't really have the chance to dive into the menus and figure out how to turn on the grid, leveler etc and i didn't mess with the auto focus points at all. the auto focus was very snappy-- no hunting at all! 😀 i wasn't able to test my biggest concern, however, which is (manual) focusing with a fast lens because the demo model had a 24-105mm F4 L on it. 🙁
as memory cards weren't allowed (it was kind of amusing how strictly they enforced this), sample photos were taken of a model in a makeshift studio setup in the room and then displayed on a monitor and iPad. all of the samples were large JPEGs as the computer/iPad didn't yet support the RAWs. from what I saw, the samples were great noise-wise. even the high ISO ones with lowish lighting. sharpness-wise, they looked a little soft zoomed in, but i don't know what the camera's settings were and this isn't really something that concerns me. the softness of the JPEG samples on Canon's website has been of much debate on Canon Rumors (god, i read that forum too much) and i've already come to my own conclusions about that. 🙄
anyway, yeah. can't wait until next week!
Chriscrawfordphoto
Real Men Shoot Film.
You can download RAW files from the 5DmkIII at Imaging Resource. I downloaded them and also downloaded RAW samples from the 5DmkII. I have a 5DmkII, but wanted Imaging-resource's samples so I can compare pics of the same scenes side by side. Honestly, I saw almost no image quality difference, even at ISO 3200 (I didn't look at higher ISOs). I looked at 100, 400, and 3200. The two cameras gave damn near identical quality at those ISO speeds. I 'developed' the files in Photoshop CS5.5 using that Camera RAW candidate nighstar mentioned.
I am very happy that I bought the 5DmkII when the price was so low. I didn't give up any image quality. The new one is supposed to have incredible AF and less shutter-lag, which will be worth the money for those who shoot sports, wildlife, and other fast-paced action. I don't, so I was glad to save $1500 by getting the old version.
I am very happy that I bought the 5DmkII when the price was so low. I didn't give up any image quality. The new one is supposed to have incredible AF and less shutter-lag, which will be worth the money for those who shoot sports, wildlife, and other fast-paced action. I don't, so I was glad to save $1500 by getting the old version.
MCTuomey
Veteran
Thanks for sharing your comparison results, Chris. My Mk II is used for land and city scapes, macro, and some paid portrait work, so I don't feel the need for a III. And the money's not there for one anyway. Sure is an excellent opportunity to pick up a used Mk II from those who need/want to upgrade though.
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