Top positive review
5.0 out of 5 starsA Work of Art
Reviewed in the United States on April 1, 2012
This is a user not a professional review. Otherwise, I'd suggest go to dpreview.com or your preferred reference. I think they are capable of showing evidence of issues such as vignetting or chromatic abberration in a product that could get the attention of the manufacturer's engineering department. They helped or convinced me with the purchase. My intention is to give feedback on the couple of points they've raised and highlight what I've experienced as a user so far.
I agree that this camera performs excellent at 12,800 ISO or even higher. At f/4, this allowed me to shoot handheld and flipped the mirror in a fraction of second. The almost black sky showed the clouds in the captured image which was not visible to my eye (my vision is 20/20). At some situations, you can have a 4L lens function at 2.8L. I was going for the new 24-70mm 2.8L but I had to wait 2 months for the 5D body only so I went for the kit. I guess it's a good accident.
I am pleased with the new 61-point AF. Fast and gets my focus right most of the time so far. What I mean by fast is less than half a second or probably faster than that. I could catch a bird flying within my frame without exciting some nerves. I won't mention how the new AF system works. The pros could discuss this all day. What's important is that when you use AF you can capture a nice pic fast without going for MF or manually controlling the exposure. I was able to produce a silky background blur consistently (1 foot away from subject) with AF using the kit lens. Nevertheless, if you bought this camera you would find the MF as sweet or sweeter than the AF.
35mm camera these days can do still and motion pictures but not excellent at both worlds in my opinion. 5D3's video is handsomely good but if you spent $3500, I think you wouldn't mind going a little further and buy a possibly lighter, smaller and more than capable video cam and get the 1080p/60fps. Pros I've met use their SLRs mainly for shooting still pictures. However, its video performance can be used in some production in my opinion as it's way too good for the end user.
The manual states that this 5D does not comply with the Ultra High Speed memory cards but SDHC/SDXC can be used. I guess Canon is referring to writing at 95MB/s. I used the SDHC (600x) it worked just fine but I'm noticing some delay (around 1/4 second) when flipping images in the LCD. It might be normal. I will try the CF (600x too) and see the diffence. If you're considering to get the latest and greatest like 1000x you might want to wait a little while. Canon might release a newer firmware and make it fully compliant with UHS. Fast cards need fast writer too. Having both CF and SD is winner for me. Saving money on cards (unless CF and SD cost and perform the same) but achieving the same thing. Record to both or use one then switch. Don't have to worry losing the images or clips and backing up to the laptop regularly unless somebody steals the camera or I dropped it above the mariana trench.
22M pixels is more than enough I believe unless you print posters or billboards. It's too big for me already. Large prints consume 10MB in the card. I don't see much difference shooting lower (12) than 22M pixels. Noise seems to show faster and noticeable at higher pixels and ISO.
Physically, it's ergonomic and the buttons are placed almost perfectly. Kenrockwell articulated this well and I agree with him that 5D3 is the best well rounded SLR that Canon ever made. However, I disagree when he compared the D4 and 5D. It's like comparing BMW's SUV with Audi's sedan. Anyway, when I first lifted 5D3 the thumb, index, and middle finger put a groove in the grip. I'm 5 foot 8. Fits my right hand perfectly. The battery compartment has an internal lock - ensures pins remain in contact and it gets more secure as you put your hand around the grip. The camera is not heavy I would say but with the lens and the first all day shooting I felt the weight.
Not sure why Canon did not go for USB 3. 128GB CF/SD will be a norm soon. Imagine taking hours transferring files to your computer via USB 2 where it could take in minutes. This is my biggest disappoinment. The touch pad is like the egyptian table compared to iPhone and it's a bit redundant with the track ball (above the Q button). I saw some cosmetic imperfection around the mode dial. It looks like a dent. If you notice this, please let me know. The top LCD looks to have a protective film but not the 3.2 LCD. I can't find anyone selling screen protector so I ordered the ones for the iPhone. I will cut and fit when it arrives.
In summary, excellent ISO, AF, ergonomic. Best form factor out there for full 35mm SLR for me - I shoot outside and under the roof. No flash which is a plus for me - makes camera smaller and you won't need it most of the time if you have good lens but if you do, you wouldn't want the built-in flash. I have a couple of minor issues but the thing still deserves 5 stars.
I will post some pics.
