Canon USA Announces EOS 5D Mark III

[Emmanuel Plakiotis]

Josh, doing simple maths:16384Mb/1320sec=12.4MB/sec or 100Mbit rate.

For an intraframe codec is not a lot. Space wise the interframe codecs are usually 2.5x more efficient than intraframe, so apart from editing, i dont think there will be that much improvement over the IPB compression. By comparison the yet to ship 1Dx claimed 6min per 16Gb, which translates into 360Mbit which is better than most codecs available. Of course it also depends on the codec used. I'm not sure if both cameras use the same codec in the ALLI mode. Does anybody have a better insight?

This also means that the 1Dx have a clear advantage in video mode over 5Diii.

[Brian Drysdale]

I noticed a estimated selling price of $7K being mentioned on one forum, I expect rumours will float around for a while regarding the price.

Although, that particular price could be because of possible confusion with the 1Dx.

[Ted Ramasola]

Sample movies posted here, 3 different genre's showing brick walls, cobbled stones, fabrics, VFX shots Night time videos, and Behind The Scenes videos.

http://web.canon.jp/imaging/eosd/samples/eos5dmk3/

[Ken Diewert]

Brian,

I just checked and saw 3,499...

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/847545-REG/Canon_5260A002_EOS_5D_Mark_III.html
That's a pretty good price. My 5d2 is closing in on 3-years old. And over 20,000 video clips. At least I know there's a hell of a nice replacement ready.

[Brian Drysdale]

I think the person in that case may have done a quick google and came up with the 1 Dx by mistake. That happened to me, then I double checked again and changed the post when I couldn't find the 5D Mk III at B & H at that time.

[Ted Ramasola]

Hey! I just saw on the end of the Mario&Nette where they show scenes with lenses used they Posted EF 24-70mm f2.8L IS II USM ! Not just once but twice, Does that mena that the New 24-70 NOW has IS ?! whooohoo!

[Nigel Barker]

I was all ready to order a 1DX but the 5DIII ticks nearly all the same boxes video-wise plus adds some plus points of its own e.g. headphone socket. The 1DX has mega-awesome high ISO & shoots to 2xCF rather than the bastard CF+SD of the 5DIII. It's now a tough choice as the 1DX is double the price & not actually shipping yet (I've been told late March/April) whereas the 5DIII is supposed to ship late March.

I am somewhat surprised at the short lead time between announcement & planned ship date. The 1DX was announced last year & I have handled what looked like a production model at BVE in London a few weeks ago. I suppose that the 5DIII is going to be produced in much higher volume than the 1DX.

My 5DII has served me very well over the last 3+ years but this looks to be a really significant & worthwhile upgrade.

[Brian David Melnyk]

Originally Posted by Chris Hurd

My understanding is that it stays in 1080p over HDMI out while recording.

(but ... with overlays, unfortunately)

great for focusing with a monitor!
do you know if it can record video with the crop/magnification like T3i?

[Josh Dahlberg]

Originally Posted by Ted Ramasola

Sample movies posted here, 3 different genre's showing brick walls, cobbled stones, fabrics, VFX shots Night time videos, and Behind The Scenes videos.

Canon?EOS 5D Mark III?Sample Images & Movies

There are some wonderful shots in "Color of Hope" and "Mario & Nette" - they look very crisp and deal with lots of tricky patterns/textures.

Just a pity they have been reduced to 1/4 resolution. At full resolution these clips would tell us much of what we need to know. Looks promising though.

Some of the shots in both would be a moire breeding ground on the 5DII.

[Sareesh Sudhakaran]

For $3,500 I don't see how this can be much of an improvement over the Mark II. Right now, the Nikon D4 is probably the most interesting camera, with a clean uncompressed HDMI out at a staggering ISO range.

Frankly I don't fathom Canon's pricing structure. After all, it is first and foremost a still camera, and it's not much of an improvement over the MII. What's even more curious is that the 5DII will continue to be in production.

I'm betting on Nikon this time around. They have no video line to look after, and I can't wait to watch their next iteration.

[Glen Vandermolen]

Will it still be susceptible to overheating in the video mode? And to repeat a previous inquiry - is it 4:2:0 video?

[Josh Dahlberg]

Originally Posted by Sareesh Sudhakaran

For $3,500 I don't see how this can be much of an improvement over the Mark II.

The 5DII was a groundbreaking camera but had several key hinderances in video: it seems practically all of these (bar ergonomics, it is a still camera after all) have been addressed. To what extent remains to be seen, but for many of us an upgrade from the 5DII is a no-brainer. Jon has already covered this but, to recap:

* Moire, false colour, aliasing well controlled
* reduced rolling shutter
* Headphone jack and much improved audio control
* Improved codec
* 12 minute limitation removed
* HD monitoring via HDMI
* And we can assume improved low light
* Better LCD and video controls

These issues could be a nightmare on the 5DII - it's hard to see how this can't be considered a major upgrade.

Presumably detail/resolving power has also appreciably increased (the 5DII was only a shade better than SD after all). And this isn't touching on the improved still specs.

The Nikon's may be nice, we'll have to wait and see. We do know the bit rate they record to internally is much more limited. The side by side comparisons will be intriguing indeed.

I'm very thankful (and surprised) Canon have retained the 5DII battery! Good stuff.

[Sareesh Sudhakaran]

Originally Posted by Josh Dahlberg

* Moire, false colour, aliasing well controlled
* reduced rolling shutter

It won't be a big improvement over the GH2, which is a third of the price.

* Headphone jack and much improved audio control

It's still not a professional setup, and on a serious shoot one will still need additional audio gear.

* 12 minute limitation removed

Already available on the GH2/D4 and D800.

* And we can assume improved low light
* Better LCD and video controls

How many professionals shoot video at ISO 1600+ on a regular basis? I will be impressed if the noise is somewhat like the C300's (color-less) at ISO 3200 or thereabouts, though.

* Improved codec
* HD monitoring via HDMI

These issues could be a nightmare on the 5DII - it's hard to see how this can't be considered a major upgrade.

The only real world improvements I can see - but one can hardly call this a major upgrade. Hell, the 7D already has HD HDMI. It's a case of paying $1,500 extra just to reduce the pain a little.

I'll reserve judgement on the codec until the actual tests come in. To be honest, the GH2 looks a far better camera for video than the Mark III.

[Josh Dahlberg]

Originally Posted by Sareesh Sudhakaran

To be honest, the GH2 looks a far better camera for video than the Mark III.

Oh Sareesh, I guess we'll have to agree to differ on this one. I happen to own a GH2 but in my opinion the 5DII's image is much prettier (I miss mine). However, I eventually gave up on the 5DII because of the aforementioned issues - particularly moire - which Canon claim to have resolved.

The GH2 has a whole bunch of baggage of its own. For a start the codec (yes I've tried the hacks but they are unreliable), noisy shadows even at comparatively low ISO, reds that bleed, no head-phone jack, consumerish build quality, very limited DR, harsh highlight treatment, tiny battery capacity, fiddly controls, ridiculous 2.5mm mic jack, unpredictable colour shifts, no-fast IS zooms... I could go on.

The GH2 is a great camera to throw in a bag and take everywhere, it's tiny! I'll probably keep mine, but unless Canon have got things horribly wrong given these specs and the FF sensor the 5DIII should eat the GH2 for breakfast.

[Steve Game]

So there will be a feeding frenzy for information around the Canon stand at the 'Focus On Imaging' show tomorrow at the NEC in Birmingham, - that is if Canon don't change their mind and not turn up like last year!
Although I'm not interested in buying one, I'll probably check it out.

Steve