I'm seriously considering the 5d3 and wanted to know if there are any known issues with the camera, such as overheating (I believe the 5d2 had this issue?), etc. How do you work with getting high and low angle shots with an LCD that doesn't swivel?

Only just got mine a few weeks ago Bill. Did my first proper shoot the other night and had no overheating issues - shot about 40 minutes of footage over a 2 hour period at an amateur boxing tournament.

Must admit I hated the feeling of shooting with the form of this camera - I have invested in a decent shoulder rig system and an EVF (which I think is an essential piece of kit of you are going to run this camera through its paces). Unfortunately I am massively underwhelmed by my EVF - I paid nigh on £1000 for an Alphatron and have had so many issues with it - sending it back next week for the manufacturers to check it out.
I would invest in some external monitoring device as the non-swivel LCD makes it difficult to see anything from an unconventional angle.

Even though I didn't actually enjoy shooting with it like I do my shoulder mounted JVC gy-hm700, I certainly liked the image that I got out of the mkiii - amazing

Works great, my main issue is it doesn't take CF card type 2, I use a Varavon multifinder and it can open up so you can look down on it for low angle, for high angle if you handheld the camera you can flip the camera upside down and reverse it in post.

I have had mine for several months with no major issues to report. I guess like the others, I wish that the camera had an on board swivel screen. Personally, I don't have a need nor do I have the necessary equipment to take advantage of the missing clean HD out.

I think that with all camera, you will undoubtedly have some issues. I have found that for my purposes, the Mark III is fine. I don't get into a lot of the nit picking that I see others do when differentiating between the Mark III and others. In my unprofessional opinion, you can't go wrong with many of the new cameras, Just get the one that gives your clients what they need.

Good Luck and Merry Christmas!

Bill,
the only issue I've had has been the softness that everyone has had. I solve that by upping the in camera sharpness a tick and applying in post if needed. The old "dial sharpness down to nothing" method did not work well for me. Otherwise it's a revolution. 8000 iso is very useable, and the audio improvements are awesome. To add, I'm also liking the 6d but i haven't had it but about a week.
Bill

Bill,

Great comments! I agree with you that the audio improvements are awesome. In fact once you understand how to use the audio, it is really good despite the early reviews that said that it was terrible. Like you, I don't like the softness but coming from the XHA1s and the XHA1, it was a drastic improvement. Once I learned how to set up the camera, I like you learned to adjust the sharpness and produce some really sharp footage that only a videographer would appreciate. The majority of the people watching probably wouldn't even notice the improvement.

Do you need specialized software to ´sharpen´ the image in post or will any editor do (I still work with FCP 7) And what is the noticeable difference between sharpening it in-camera or in post-production?

I find sharpening in post to be more pleasing to the eyes. And yes. Any editing software will sharpen.

This is a great camera. I love it and have had no issues. I use the Mrk III mostly for video and RAW time-lapse work. In video mode, I shoot with Technicolor CineStyle picture profile and then sharpen in post. I just shot these test clips for an upcoming music video last weekend: Sara's Test Shots For: Bury Me Under music video. Camera Angle 1.1 on Vimeo. The sharpening in camera was totally off for these clips and sharpened 4.5 in FCPX and at 87% in Neat Video plug in. I hope this give you a sample of how this camera performs.

What exactly is Technicolor CineStyle picture profile? Is it just a series of recommended settings because this isn't something in my Mark III?

Bill, I've owned a T2i,7D and now a 5D3. I experienced overheating on the T21 but never on the 7D (though I don't shoot in the jungle or desert, but do shoot all day video in theater settings). I believe that the overheating might have had to do with battery placement in the T2i. Anyway, no overheating with the 5D3, even with long shoots. Low angle I hook up a small Marshall monitor. Great camera. I echo everyone else's comments. A bit of sharpening in post does help, but picture quality is outstanding over all. You have watched Philip Bloom's review of it? Worth the time.


I'm seriously considering the 5d3 and wanted to know if there are any known issues with the camera, such as overheating (I believe the 5d2 had this issue?), etc. How do you work with getting high and low angle shots with an LCD that doesn't swivel?

Bill,
the only issue I've had has been the softness that everyone has had. I solve that by upping the in camera sharpness a tick and applying in post if needed. The old "dial sharpness down to nothing" method did not work well for me. Otherwise it's a revolution. 8000 iso is very useable, and the audio improvements are awesome. To add, I'm also liking the 6d but i haven't had it but about a week.
Bill

Bill I would not adjust the sharpness in the camera. Trust me the detail is there. It is much preferred to do your sharpening in post. I shot a commercial recently and when I looked at the footage in post I freaked out because it was soft. Then I added the most basic sharpening filter and it was amazing. Phillp Bloom recommends the same thing.

I know. Ive seen the recommendations but I've had a better experience with sharpness in camera.
Bill

What exactly is Technicolor CineStyle picture profile? Is it just a series of recommended settings because this isn't something in my Mark III?

It is a very flat - almost LOG-like - picture profile that one uses to record video. It provide greater dynamic range than the other Canon picture profiles. It is butt ugly without post processing, but allows you to much more control in post. I would not shoot without it - unless I was using a RED of Alexa :-). Their RAW and Log profiles are really ugly before post processing.

You have to download it from the Technicolor website and install it using the Canon utility that came with your 5D. Once you do that, apply the following picture profile settings to the CineStyle profile: Sharpness = 0; Contrast = -4; Saturation = -2; Color Tone = 0. There are some nice YouTube tutorials on CineStyle.

Does downloading the third party profile to the 5D Mark III void the warranty? Are their other profiles that can be download?

Thanks for the answers.

No, the profiles are made and installed through the Canon software. So your warranty is fine. You can also make your own custom profiles and install them as well. This is the best way to the "look" you want out of the camera.

Technicolor worked with Canon to develop Cinestyle. They used some proprietary Canon tools, so Cinestyle is able to do some things that isn't available to those of us using the standard profile editor. (I believe that their main "trick" is to lift the blacks. h.264 is known to be noisy near it's floor, so they avoid that area.)

No ... not for loading in CineStyle. Programs like Magic Lantern that can have an effect on the actual OSX "may" void the warranty. People are free to create whatever profiles they like. That's why the Canon Utility allows you to install CineStyle and other profiles. It's totally safe and way better than the standard profiles in my opinion. Some people use the stock Neutral profile with the following settings: Sharp = 0; Contrast = -3; Saturation = -2; Color Tone = 0) and then correct in post, but I like CineStyle because of greater dynamic range. Check out below here what I was able to do to the smoke by using CineStyle. You could not do that with a Standard Canon profile without introducing weird artifacts. However, with that being said, you will need to make your clips come alive in post with proper color correction/grading and sharping (usually around 2.5-5.0 tops in FCPX or 80% in Pr). Hope this helps.

Candle on Vimeo

The problem with Cinestyle is that loses 16 levels (out of 255) because it lifts the blacks up that much. It will also increase noise in the shadows and decrease the level of midtones.

Try the Flaat10p profile. Way better.