The good the bad and the Canon 5D Mark III.
I have shot weddings with the Canon cameras since 2002. Generally their product line is all about their lenses. They have the 85mm f/1.2L, the 135mm f/2.0L and the 35mm f/1.4 L. I love them all. I even love the 50mm f/1.2L – a very good and useful lens.
What concerns me is they have stopped improving their chips since 2008. The Canon 5D mark III is a great focusing camera and supports multi-card recording. The problem is I see no real improvement over the 5D mark II in image quality. And at $3,500 there should be.
The skin tones still are nice for weddings, but not as good as the old Fuji Pro S5. It makes me want to shoot film ! There is nothing like Medium format film. But no one seems to want to pay for it.
We have enough pixels, but as wedding photographers we need dynamic range and creamy skin tones.
With Canons great fast prime lenses it would be perfect.
I know Canon makes more money on the Rebel series, but please give us wedding photographers and the brides a gift. Fuji’s color and Nikon’s new dynamic range.
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Article by Darlene Gambino: http://aperturephoto.com
Aperture Photography Albany and Poughkeepsie, NY Fine Art Wedding Photographer
I’m sure photo-journalists and sports photographers (to nanme but two) would really love it (not) if Canon’spro bodies were re-engineered to provide “creamy skin tones” just for the benefit of wedding photographers.
More dynamic range is good, but surely colour should be as neutral as possible?
And this ” they have stopped improving their chips since 2008″ is just plain wrong. Compare high ISO performance from four years ago to what you get now.
Hmm, I would probably try mastering white balance / colour balance and camera raw before posting a statement like this.
A good photographer (and photoshop user) would have no problems with dynamic range – especially with the gear you’re using.
Time to go back and learn exactly what you’re kit is capable of, perhaps?
I’ve got to agree with the comment above. I do shoot sports and the 5d3 is a far cry better than the 5D2. ISO, much better. Focus, WAY better. fps/enough of an improvement to use as a sports body. (Although I do also use a 1D3). Not sure what’s up with the ‘creamy skin tones’ comment, but the variable lighting conditions and temperatures I shoot in are no problem that I can see for my 5D3. I would suggest she learn how to color balance properly. Might solve her problem. I couldn’t be happier with my 5D3. I also shoot architecture and the built-in level and HDR function is very helpful as a image to show clients out of the camera how their shots will look. $3500 is a lot to pay, but it was definitely worth it to me.
I’ve shot weddings with Canon since 2002 as well, but I’m quite happy with the 5DIII. Canon has delivered exactly the camera we needed for wedding photography. Image quality from the 5DIII is fantastic, and the sensor is improved over what was available in 2008. I can now comfortably use higher ISO settings than back in 2008. Color and dynamic range are excellent for weddings. Skin tones are superb. The 5DIII offers numerous improvements over the 5DII, so of course the price is higher.
Scott +100 but DR, and noise in dark parts is not good as I want.
What in the world are you talking about?
Your review has absolutely so substance and you support your claims with mediocre pictures.
My, my the Canon fanboy tribe is out in force lol, Canon has lost its way in sensor development going from pack leaders to also ran’s. The Sony domination of sensor development is at every level in which the produce sensors from P&S, through 1 inch and mFT and especially in APS and FF.
The shadow noise in low light on the 5Dmk2 or 3 is very poor even compared to the APS cameras with the Sony APS chip such including the D7000, D5100 and K5. I have shot with Canon for a long time and have many thousands of pounds in the lens system. However I am not in denial enough to see that Canon is bit by bit falling behind in the sensor market, the 5DmkIII is almost identical to the 5D mk2 with regards to image quality, the main improvement being a better AF system . In APS it is even worse.
jAXC, when you start your comment by calling people names (“the Canon fanboy tribe”), you immediately reveal a heavy bias and disqualify yourself as an objective commenter. Name-calling is the lowest and cheapest form of argument.
Last year I investigated this so-called “Sony domination” of sensor development by shooting with a pair of D7000’s. I’m very glad I did, because It revealed that Canon color technology was far superior for photographers who photograph human subjects. Maybe Sony has the lead with landscapes — I don’t know. But with humans, that sensor leaves a lot to be desired.
As for the 5DIII being “almost identical” to the 5DII in image quality, that is partially true, because the the 5DII offered phenomenal image quality and the 5DIII is even better. Canon image quality meets the needs of many professionals, including those who photographed more than 90% of Reuters 100 Best Photos of 2011, more than half of them with the 5DII.
I photograph professionally, often in low light environments, and have never found “shadow noise” to be an issue with either the 5DII or the 5DIII. The words ” very poor shadow noise” never come to mind as I edit thousands of low light photos from these cameras. I know from first hand experience that the 5DII and 5DIII are better low light cameras than the D7000 that you claim is superior.
I agree that the main improvement of the 5DIII over the 5DII is the AF system, but you’ve missed other improvements that are nearly as important. These include a much better shutter and mirror system, with less blackout time and a 50% higher max. frame rate; this makes the 5DIII feel as responsive as a 1-series camera. The new quiet shutter mode is amazing, a fantastic feature for photographing wedding ceremonies and events that require quiet. And the extreme customizability of the 5DIII has transformed the way I work.
I won’t even get into important ergonomic advantages, or the unique lens options, or the excellent new radio controlled flash system — superbly tailored to the needs of event photographers. Yes, Canon has a lot of fans — and there are good reasons for that.