D800 vs 5D3 in high ISO - Eye opening!

[Dave Partington]

So I have both bodies (selling one - guess which?) and decided to do a low light high ISO test.

I posted the results to YouTube here :

D800 vs 5D3 High ISO Video - YouTube

Play 1080p FULL SCREEN to see how it really goes!

Check out the sharpness of the D800 compared to the 5D3 in lower ISO, but then see what happens when you get to 4000+ (which is what I often need).

The 5D3 has more faithful colours.

Focusing was manual on the purple book.

Check the sharpness of the DVD cases to the left, then the noise on the chairs and finally the curtains as the ISO goes up.

[Chris Joy]

Amazing how clean the 5d3 is at high ISO's, great test. At 12800 with a f/1.4 lens it looks like you could see in the dark.

[James Manford]

With a F1.2 / F1.4 and at the highest ISO on the 5Dmk3

No wonder this is the choice for cinematographers!!! Im seriously considering sending my EA50 back for a refund after watching this video!!!!!!!!!

[Noa Put]

No wonder this is the choice for cinematographers!!! Im seriously considering sending my EA50 back for a refund after watching this video!!!!!!!!!

Above test is nothing new, the question is why did you buy the ea50 to start with?Both are very different camera's for different purposes. Also The 5DIII is not a "cinematographer" camera, for "cinema" a bmc cinemacamera is a much better choice for the same price.

[James Manford]

Most companies around my area are using Canon 5d mk2's or mk3s for cinematic wedding films.

I bought mine for the aesthetics. And because it looks professional to an ordinary person.

And the icing on the cake is the fact you can switch lens to do some fancy cinematic style work too.

Im a bit annoyed my slider can't handle the weight of the EA50 ... my VG20 works on the slider flawlessly. My plan was to sell the VG20 but looks like i'll have to keep it.

[Noa Put]

From the moment the 5dIII came out is was known it could handle very high gains well and I saw user videos from the nikon before showing it did produce much more noise, only the high gain performance seems to have a negative impact on sharpness. If you want the same performance in lowlight as the 5DIII (and a sharper image) in a videocamera you at least need to be getting a Sony fs100.

The nex ea50 is somewhat comparable as it has a bigger sensor and you can have different lenses on it but there ends all comparison, the ea50 is a much more complete videocamera right out of the box.

Now the ea50 can do the same "cinematic" stuff as you could with a 5DIII, that has little to do with extreme low light perfomance, cinematic is also a overused term in weddings as for me that would mean a script with planned shots, actors and a location that has been chosen carefully and with the appropriate light.

[Jeroen Wolf]

Many people use ´cinematic´ when they mean ´shallow depth of field´. Which is a good step towards a cinematic look, albeit only one step.
For wedding filmers, documentary makers and ENG style shooting in general, the BlackMagic camera is not really an option, at least not a first option in my opinion. You need that full sensor wide angle and low light performance.