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

[Nigel Barker]

It was a mixed day. On the downside the new iPad wasn't delivered as promised but on the upside when I called in to collect my shiny new Canon 5D Mk III with 24-105mm F/4L they had a spare that had not been reserved so I was able to buy one for my wife too. I haven't even taken a still or shot any video yet but I just wanted to let everyone know that they do exist & are shipping.

[Tariq Peter]

Wow you lucky thing! Please please please upload some footage ASAP!

[Nigel Barker]

We are staying in a hotel the next 3 nights as we are shooting two big Jewish weddings back to back Sunday & Monday. I don't think that I'm going to have time to do anything worthwhile as we will be too busy. I'm not even sure that I will use it for the weddings as there are quite a few changes regarding controls & buttons that have been moved around a bit so I am a little concerned that I might mess up. It's almost but not quite the same as the 5D2. Also I'll be needing to match the footage with a 5D2. I suppose if I give myself a crash course this evening I might be ready. I'll keep you posted.

The new LCD screen is sharper & nicer for focusing. I'm not sure that low light performance is 2 stops better. I'll grab some footage with a 5D2 & compare.

BTW The current firmware is 1.0.7

[David Chilson]

I'm figuring Nigel could be a little too busy to be posting footage getting thanked for bringing his wife home such a gift! :) Anytime tomorrow would be fine.....

[Tony Davies-Patrick]

'..There was a spare 5D Mark III...so I bought my wife one too...'

I love that one! :)

[Andy Wilkinson]

Yep. I can only afford one for myself!

Just came across this new video from Japan with the 5DMkIII - lots of night shots etc. but I don't care too much for the aesthetics of the fisheye stuff in the second part of this 5 minuter. It's certainly worth a look in YouTube's 1080p if you're remotely interested in this cam - or happen to own a couple already!

The link is in Japanese so looks odd on the forum (lots of ????) - but I've just tested it and it should work.

Canon 5D Mark III ?????? ?? ?? ?? sogo ???? ?? WB0043 2012 - YouTube

[Andy Wilkinson]

And another one here. UK this time!

https://vimeo.com/38658374

[Nigel Barker]

Originally Posted by Tony Davies-Patrick

'..There was a spare 5D Mark III...so I bought my wife one too...'

I love that one! :)

Just to clarify it was not an impulse buy. We had budgeted for two cameras for the business & we already had them on order from another source (orders now cancelled). It was just that it was too good to miss the opportunity to collect from Digital Depot in Stevenage (very nice people & a very good camera store) as we were passing by yesterday.

[Tariq Peter]

Hi Nigel, How well does the 24-105 perform in low light with the MK3 compared to the 5DMK2? It's wide enough for me to film the groom and family making thier entrance and gives me enough to zoom with. Only issue is the aperture and I am hoping the 5DMK3 ISO capabilities will take care of that in low light.

[Andy Wilkinson]

Another test video...

https://vimeo.com/38717195

[Tariq Peter]

I really want the extra f-stop because of the venues I shoot in, the lights are pretty much always off with just the DJ's strobe lights. So I am looking to purchase the 24-70 my question is regarding IS for video.

Glidecam have said to me that whenever I balance a camera on the Glidecam VC or IS should be turned off, which then brings me onto using IS for when the camera is on a monopod. I will be using the 5DMKIII with a 561BHDV-1 and the Glidecam 2000HD. Will I be kicking myself when I watch the footage back, how bad is footage without IS if on a monopod? I have tried with my Tamron 17-50 and I honestly can't see much difference.

[Colin Rowe]

Tariq - If you only have the DJs strobe lights to work in, you are really going to need some form of lighting yourself. An extra 2 stops will certainly help in that level of illumination, but the use of a small light will enable you to lift the colour and detail in any low light situation, it will also help a great deal with focus and colour balancing. We need light to produce good images, just as we need good mics for sound and a good tripod for stable shots. Light is our friend.
BTW. Its common practice to turn off any stabilisation when the camera is mounted in a tripod, slider or any other stable platform. Practice with your set up on a monopod, it should be fine without IS.

[Andy Wilkinson]

This new 5DMkIII test video looks promising in YouTube's 1080p...Canon 24-104mm IS F4 and Canon 15mm F2.8 lenses, all shot at F4. Some significant moire in the opening shot (ceiling tiles, top of frame) but otherwise looks good, albeit lacking a little in the (often false) edge sharpness we've seen with the MkII.

Canon 5D Mark III: Footage (Video Test) - YouTube

[Tariq Peter]

Still waiting for mine!

I Had a nightmare with the lens choice 689.95 for the 24-105 with the 5DMK3 or pay the extra £250 for the 24-70 f2.8.

I finally decided to go for the 24-105 as the ISO the 5DMKIII should give me enough to play with, there is hardly any difference in the bokeh and I can't find any review where the 24-70 really outshines the 105 in terms of optics. It's light so I can also use it with my glidecam without breaking my arm and I have that extra zoom which is always handy.

I also have the Samyang 35mm 1.4 so I am hoping that the two will work well together.
I will take my unomat lx 301to give me extra lighting once the lights go off!

[Andy Wilkinson]

Hi Peter,

I find the IS on my 17-55mm EF-S (that's on my 7D) and absolutely brilliant feature for video. I'm sure you made the right choice with the 24-105mm IS for the kind of work I imagine you will do with the 5DMkIII. It's the lens I'm narrowing down on.... IF I buy a 5DMkIII. I still really don't understand why Canon launched the new 24-70mm F2.8 without IS (and some new wide primes with it - very strange), and there is a separate thread for that discussion.

I'm waiting for NAB in mid April - in case they announce a "C100" that I might rather have than a 5DMkIII - assuming I can afford it. Sony or Panny might also pull a bunny rabbit out of the hat, who knows? Also, I want to see good in-depth reviews of the video features of the 5DMkIII by people I trust before I'll push the button on one. Just a little worried we might have lost some of the "magic" in the image of the 5DMkII as a trade-off regarding much less aliasing and better low light ability/noise processing. I guess you can never have everything! Certainly there are often times with my 7D where aliasing makes clips completely unuseable, especially in 720p50 mode. So far, I'm please with what I've seen regarding keeping aliasing much more under control with the 5DMkIII videos, albeit just on the web.

Here's a new 5DMkIII video shot in 720p50.

Slow Motion: Canon 5D Mark III (Video Samples) - YouTube

Just seen on Twitter that Philip Bloom now has a new 5DMkIII. It'll be interesting to see what he thinks of it when he gets time to test it thoroughly. Let us know how you get on too!