The Canon 5D Mark III is both a professional still camera and video camera with 22 megapixels, a "full frame" sensor and can shoot cinema quality 1080p video at 24 fps. Chris Hardwick and Matt Mira review the $3,500 DSLR for Gadget Pr0n.
What You Need To Know
- The Canon EOS 5D Mark III looks the same as the 5D Mark II but there are a ton of subtle changes.
- The body is rounder, making it a better fit in your hand.
- The button layout has changed a little bit but for the better, especially for video.
- One small thing that we loved was that the mode wheel at the top is locked; you have to press down on a button to switch modes.
- This means the mode won't accidentally switch mid-shooting.
- All the same ports are here from the Mark II: mic input, headphone port, mini USB, HDMI, compact flash and SD card slot.
- The screen is superb: it doesn't flip out or tilt but the viewing angles are great.
- The screen almost looks too good; photos and video never looked as good as it did on the screen.
- The 5D Mark II really shook up the digital SLR market by recording cinema quality video that no one had had ever seen before, but a lot of people forget that this is a still camera first.
- The picture quality was amazing.
- This has a full frame sensor as opposed to a cropped sensor or micro four thirds sensor that we're seeing in cameras today.
- The full frame sensor can capture a lot more data than other sensors, resulting in incredible color reproduction and really impressive low light photography.
- The 5D Mark III has an improved auto focus system, which is super fast and actually easier for people who are new to digital SLR photography.
- A lot of the picture quality has to do with the lens and the kit lens is fantastic, which is a 24-105 L series lens with a great focal range.
- The L series is the top of the line when it comes to Canon lenses.
- The video quality was almost amazing.
- We did find it still very difficult to focus when the iris was opened up wide.
- There is still no auto-focus while recording video.
- There were a few firmware updates for the Mark II that really improved the video, so we're hoping Canon releases one for the Mark III to add auto-focus for the video.
- There is definitely a bit of a learning curve involved with using this DSLR.
- There's no easy mode or any guidelines to help find the right settings, so users will have to know about f-stop, ISO, shutter speed, etc. to snap a good photo.
- That said, the Auto mode is very functional and can be used for serious shoots.
- If you're spending a few thousand dollars on a camera, you should probably know how to use it.
Price
- $3,500 for just the body.
- $4,300 for the kit.
Rating
- 5 Seals of Approval out of 5. (How do we rate gadgets?)
- The pictures are as good as you're going to get for this price.
- The video quality is amazing and we liked the improvements from the 5D Mark II.
- This is one of the best still cameras and video cameras on the market.
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