Friday, March 2, 2012

Canon EOS 5D Mark III Announced

This morning Canon announced the EOS 5D Mark III, a somewhat modest update of the 5D MKII. Resolution has a small increase from 21MP to 22.3MP, so don't expect the camera to deliver much difference in terms of image detail (other than at high ISO). The biggest improvements that Canon delivered are in the areas of the auto focus system (now 61 points), faster burst rate (6FPS), 100% viewfinder coverage and an updated metering system. The camera now features dual card slots, CF and SDXC. Some new buttons have been introduced (Q menu) while others have been changed. 


MSRP in Canada is $3799.

Comments:
The 5D MKIII seems like a small improvement over the 5D MKII, and still lacks some features that 5D MKII users were asking for. Early reports are saying that high ISO performance has been improved by approximately 2 stops, which no doubt will be welcomed by natural light shooters. The price of the camera seems very high for the feature set, compared to the recently announced Nikon D800/D800E. The D800 has some features that will appeal to some videographers such as RAW video via HDMI, something the 5D MKIII surprisingly lacks. Also, the MSRP is lower, the D800 is $3149.99, and the D800E is $3349.99. Of course switching brands over the MSRP is not a very good reason, since switching lenses is costly. The 5D MKIII looks like a nice upgrade for Canon users, thanks to improvements in auto focus (taken from the 7D), metering (also borrowed from 7D) and larger viewfinder coverage, areas that bothered some 5D MKII users. 

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