Canon 5D Mk III is shipping in UK (pictures)

[Tariq Peter]

If you were going to mix 550D, T3i footage and 5DMK3 footage in 1 timeline does the compression method for the 5DMK3 have any impact when editiing? I am not to sure if I should be choosing IPB or ALL-I.

[Josh Dahlberg]

You may want to test the codecs in your editing system Tariq.

Final Cut Pro 7 struggled with the All-I when I tired it. Switched to FCPX and it's a breeze to edit ALL-I with - you shouldn't have to worry about mixing this with footage from the other cameras. Just ensure the timeline is set to render to something decent like ProRes and it will all be conformed.

And yes, Andy is right, you can assign the Set button to focus magnification.

[Nigel Barker]

Originally Posted by Josh Dahlberg

And yes, Andy is right, you can assign the Set button to focus magnification.

but you cannot assign the Set button to start/stop video recording. As this is the how you shoot video on the 5D2 it is really irritating me as even after a week I am still automatically hitting the big Set button with my thumb to start/stop rather than the little button at the top of the camera. I suppose it's OK for those who are used to the 7D but as a long time 5D2 user it's going to take quite a while to retrain my muscle memory never mind the hassle of when I switch between a 5D2 & 5D3. Why couldn't they have left things as they were? By default the Set button isn't even allocated a function in video mode.

[Tariq Peter]

Thanks Josh/Nigel

Looking at the manual it reads

IPB 1hr 4 mins with a 16GB Card@235 MB/min
ALL-I 22mins with a 16GB Card@685 MB/mins

I don't fancy carrying 22 memory cards and changing them every 22mins on a 8 hour wedding shoot. Even I were to go ahead and buy 15 32GB SD Cards it seems like a lot of money. I think you need SanDisk Extreme Pro 32GB SDHC Card which writes over 90Mbps and they are over £75 each!

Has anybody tested the two codec’s and found a massive difference in quality between them?

[Andy Wilkinson]

Me again with my reading. Please test this yourselves as you have cameras but there are reports that the All I codec is flawed with a mosquito type noise in some situations and that the other codec is actually giving better results. Tests are needed! At least the IPB is more gentle on card usage.

[Tony Davies-Patrick]

Originally Posted by Nigel Barker

but you cannot assign the Set button to start/stop video recording. As this is the how you shoot video on the 5D2 it is really irritating me as even after a week I am still automatically hitting the big Set button with my thumb to start/stop rather than the little button at the top of the camera. I suppose it's OK for those who are used to the 7D but as a long time 5D2 user it's going to take quite a while to retrain my muscle memory never mind the hassle of when I switch between a 5D2 & 5D3. Why couldn't they have left things as they were? By default the Set button isn't even allocated a function in video mode.

That is also a big problem for me in many ways Nigel, especially for underwater filming. Even for topside filming I've got used to using the rear "Set" button.

Another problem is when the normal shutter button on the front grip of the Mark 3 is in operation for Start /Stop video function, it locks the ability to shoot stills using either the finger button shutter release or any cord remotes and wireless remotes that are attached.

[Kris Koster]

I sold one of my 5D2s a couple of weeks ago to create some budget for the 5D3, but now having watched quite a lot of example footage out there and reading some reviews, I'm getting cold feet about investing in it.

Because I only really use these for video, I can't see *enough* improvement over the 5D2 to really warrant that extra £1,500 spend (maybe for the photographers out there). It's really great that they've improved on the moiré and aliasing, and that was definitely one of the features I was shouting for. But let's not forget that Canon have had 3 years R&D on this machine. Perhaps its highly anticipated announcement has left a lot of people feeling somewhat shortchanged (myself included).

I think 1080/60p would have won me over, I'm really so surprised we haven't got there yet with these cameras. Mind you, even the C300 doesn't do that? But the Panny AF100/101 can? I just don't get that.

I'm afraid I will be one of those that waits it out a bit longer to see if we have any announcements on the 4K Canon. I am disappointed, truth be told - But I'm not ready to desert Canon just yet - Not with all these lenses anyway! ;-)

[Jon Fairhurst]

NAB is just a few weeks away, so I guess it makes sense to wait until at least then if you are unsure of the 5D3. However, my gut tells me that there will be no new announcements that will change your mind. I believe that the next significant announcement will be for a crop camera without moire and maybe some other camera in the cinema line (eventually, anyway.)

Back in November, Canon said that the 4K DSLR would be introduced near the end of 2012. I can't imagine them accelerating the schedule to April. Engineering schedules tend to go long, not short.

To me, aliasing has always been the worst part about DSLR video with 8-bit contouring holding second place. For 35mm DSLRs that leaves the 5D3 and the 5d2 with VAF. But the VAF has some funny side effects and can't go ultra wide. Add in the two stop improvement of the 5D3, and it's a pretty clear winner... for now.

[Kris Koster]

Jon, I think I could wait until end of 2012, but I'd prefer not to go beyond another year for an upgrade!

Would be fantastic for filmmakers if Canon could fill that gaping hole between the 5D2/3 and the C300. I can't think of any camera suitable to take its place in there.

[Jon Fairhurst]

I would think that there are some features on the C300 that could be stripped to make a C200(?). HD-SDI comes to mind. And of course, the sky is the limit on the high end.

We can predict that there will be crop cams below the 5D3 without aliasing. We just don't know the timing or details.

And then there's the 4K DSLR that takes the hybrid role: DSLR form factor but movie-centric features. Given that RED is bragging on shooting for Vanity Fair, I think Canon has some additional motivation to deliver this product.

The last piece of the puzzle would be mirrorless cameras with EF mounts - or a new mount with a 100% compatible EF adapter. This is the "EVIL" camera that has been theorized for years, but has never really been hinted by Canon. It remains a possibility, but no more than that.

With the C300 as the anchor point for the "C" line and the 5D3 as the anchor for new alias-free DSLRs, there are a number of good possibilities down the road.

The future is bright. :)

[Nigel Barker]

Originally Posted by Kris Koster

I sold one of my 5D2s a couple of weeks ago to create some budget for the 5D3, but now having watched quite a lot of example footage out there and reading some reviews, I'm getting cold feet about investing in it.

My wife & I are delighted with our 5D3s. I just met another new owner today who is using it almost exclusively for video & he is really pleased with the new model. Low light performance is exceptional which is far more useful to us than 1080/60p. Lack of moire & aliasing is as we all wanted. There are many other nice features that any 5D2 owner will really appreciate like the customisable file name prefix or locking pin on the mode wheel so it cannot accidentally get moved to P or AV when set on M.

I don't get all this anguish. The 5D3 really is a significant improvement over the 5D2 both for video & stills.

[Tariq Peter]

Hi,

I am a little concerned, I took my new 5DMKIII out today and filmed my nieces playing in the garden. I have just copied the MOV files back and I was expecting to be Blown away considering I just spent 4k on the MKIII and Canon 24-70. The grass looks pretty bad and was wondering why this has happened.

The profile was set to standard, Camera was set to 1080p, IBP, 25p with shutter at 50, F22@ISO 100

Lens 24mm set to manual.

Not sure what other settings I could have used to increase the quality but the video of the grass and leaves looks better on my friends Samsung Galaxy SII HD mobile.

I have just seen this video and the quality is amazing https://vimeo.com/38763637 what am I doing wrong?

[Tony Davies-Patrick]

Tariq, I am just wondering why you are using the lens aperture at f/22?

Setting your ISO in good light to 100 or 160 is a good idea to maintain quality in bright light conditions, but unless you are filming wide landscapes, or macro, or scenes that require foreground to background DOF...then it would better to open up the aperture to f/8 or f/5.6...or even f/4 and f/2.8.

The lens will perform far better at those apertures, because at f/22 the lens will be quite soft, especially on subjects like the blades of grass at frame corners. You should rarely need to stop a lens down beyond f/16.

If you need to maintain that ISO 100 in bright conditions, it is better to use a PL filter or ND filters to lower the amount of light hitting the sensor while keeping the aperture at a wider f/stop. Yes, you'll need to be more accurate in your focussing the wider the aperture is, but it will make the subjects pop-out from the background more.

Looking at the Wedding Highlight Vimeo clip, I have no doubts that most of it was filmed with lens set at widest aperture or a few stops down from open aperture, with none of the video filmed anwhere near f/22.

[Jon Fairhurst]

Also, I'd avoid the Standard picture style. Try Neutral with sharpening at the minimum, then add some sharpening in post.

[Tariq Peter]

Originally Posted by Tony Davies-Patrick

Tariq, I am just wondering why you are using the lens aperture at f/22?

Setting your ISO in good light to 100 or 160 is a good idea to maintain quality in bright light conditions, but unless you are filming wide landscapes, or macro, or scenes that require foreground to background DOF...then it would better to open up the aperture to f/8 or f/5.6...or even f/4 and f/2.8.

The lens will perform far better at those apertures, because at f/22 the lens will be quite soft, especially on subjects like the blades of grass at frame corners. You should rarely need to stop a lens down beyond f/16.

If you need to maintain that ISO 100 in bright conditions, it is better to use a PL filter or ND filters to lower the amount of light hitting the sensor while keeping the aperture at a wider f/stop. Yes, you'll need to be more accurate in your focussing the wider the aperture is, but it will make the subjects pop-out from the background more.
If you don't have PL or ND filters with you, then I would suggest dialling up the ISO slightly rather than closing the lens down to f/22.

Looking at the Wedding Highlight Vimeo clip, I have no doubts that most of it was filmed with lens set at widest aperture or a few stops down from open aperture, with none of the video filmed anwhere near f/22.

The sun was so bright even at f8 I was way over exposed and I did not have an ND filter, my only option was to go to f22. I also wanted to capture everything and do away with any kind of DOF but I did not know that the quality would be this bad. If I were to dial the ISO up wouldn't that just increase the light as anything over 100 was over exposing? The picture was only correctly exposed at F22.

I could hardly see the LCD screen because of the sun, I thought best to be safe and make sure the children were in focus. I cranked up the aperture, used the only ISO available which was not over exposing the image which was 100.