Canon 5D Mark III Photography Adventure

By:
On:
In: Uncategorized
With: 1 Comment

A photography adventure with the Canon 5D Mark III, a one week adventure that brought me a mini success story of photography recognition. Not only was I admiring the beauty of the excellent state of the art modern technology Full Frame Digic 5+ sensor, I had a great time testing and reviewing the Canon 5D Mark III in of the rehearsals during the Singapore Arts Festival 2012 and Gardens By The Bay Preview.

How was my experience during the Canon 5D Mark III photography adventure? It was simply awesome and great fun to test/play/review one of the latest Canon DSLRs in their line-up. Here’s a quick look into the technical specifications of the Canon 5D Mark III –

EOS 5D Mark III Specifications Summary:

  • Dimensions: 152 x 116.4 x 76.4mm
  • Weight: 860g (body only)
  • Image sensor: 22.3 effective mega-pixel 36 x 24mm CMOS sensor
  • Imaging processor: DIGIC 5+
  • ISO speeds: 100-25600 (expandable to L:50, H:51200, H2: 102400)
  • AF system: 61-point high-density reticular AF system

– Max 41 cross-type sensors

– Central 5 points: Diagonal cross-type sensors

  • Continuous shooting speed:  up to 6 fps
  • Release time lag: approx. 59 ms
  • Viewfinder: Approx 100% coverage, 0.71x magnification, 21mm eyepoint
  • LCD: 3.2”, 1.04 million dots Clear View LCD II
  • Shutter durability: 150,000 cycles
  • Recording media: CF + SD
  • Battery: LP-E6

Here’s my personal thoughts and views during my photography adventure with the Canon 5D Mark III –

Pros

  • Excellent state of the art modern technology Digic 5+ sensor
  • Full Frame
  • 22.1 Megapixels
  • In built HDR (High Dynamic Range) Shooting
  • 61-point High-Density Reticular AF System found in Canon’s flagship EOS-1D X
  • High native ISO sensitivity of up to 25,600 (expandable up to ISO 102,400)
  • Detailed and informative LCD Monitor from the new 3.2” tempered glass 1.04 million dot Clear View LCD II monitor with a wide 3:2 aspect ratio
  • Multiple Exposures function and capabilities
  • ISO at 100 is “very sweet” and very beautiful to work with
  • ISO 25,600 on the5D Mark III is equivalent to an image taken at ISO 6,400 on the 5D Mark II, a two-stop improvement.
  • You can use both SD and CF cards (best of both worlds)
  • Professional filmmaking functionality

Cons

  • Pricing is on the high side and might not suit everybody’s budget
  • For photographers who are very familiar with APS-C sensor (1.6x crop factor), the full frame sensor of 5D Mark III might be a bit challenging during the initial stages
  • ISO at 25,600 is a bit grainy and the acceptability would depend on individual preferences and shooting requirements
  • The 61-point High-Density Reticular AF System is not as fast compared to the Canon EOS-1DX (in my personal opinion since I tested both DSLRs)
  • While the functions and controls of the Canon 5D Mark III are state of the art technology, there are times whereby too much technology hinders your photography or helps you in your photography

The Canon 5D Mark III is a very beautiful and powerful DSLR with great functions packed inside it. With state of the art modern Digic 5+ sensor and it’s full frame, this is like going back to the good old film days of the 35mm format. Armed with high megapixels and on a full frame, you are going to get a lot more details and information for your photograph. The Canon 5D Mark III suits both professional and advanced amateur photographers as well as independent filmmakers. I am not a filmmaker and I hardly do video recording on the DSLR therefore, I wasn’t able to test the professional filmmaking functionality of the Canon 5D Mark III and share with my readers here. The full frame of the Canon 5D Mark III makes it really sweet and lovely for travel lovers because we don’t need to take a few steps back to capture the whole landscape image (as compared to a APS-C sensor camera).

The Canon 5D Mark III was loaned to me for a one week review, courtesy of the special arrangement by Canon Singapore and Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide. Thank you very much for this wonderful arrangement that gave me an opportunity to test and try it out during the one week stint. This Canon 5D Mark III review post had been backlogged for a while due to work and commitments, my sincere apologies for the delay. It was with great pride and honour that one of my photographs selected for Gardens By The Bay Roving Photography Exhibition and Official Opening was taken using the Canon 5D Mark III that was on loan during that period! That’s my photograph below that was selected for Gardens By The Bay Roving Photography Exhibition and Official Opening!

I had a great time photographing with the Canon 5D Mark III and here are some of my photographs taken –

The Canon 5D Mark III will be an awesome DSLR especially for those who have started off in the entry level DSLRs and planning to upgrade to the next level in their photography adventure. It’s ideal for portrait, product, landscape and architecture photography, as a main DSLR or a back up DSLR and even as a replacement DSLR for some photographers out there. It’s definitely a worthy consideration to own this beautiful Canon 5D Mark III especially if it meets your needs and demands in your daily photography work and usage.


Created with Admarket’s flickrSLiDR.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *