My First Month With The Canon 5D MKIII

Regular readers to my blog will realise things have been very, very quiet recently, and for this I apologise. I have always tried to be consistent with updating this blog, as I really do enjoy answering your questions and writing inspiring and useful articles, but sometimes, life just gets in the way. I hope to get back into the routine of weekly blog posts soon, so please bear with me.

Although I haven’t had time to blog, I have been taking lots of photos as I get used to and learn how to use my newly acquired Canon 5D MKIII, and learning about the differences from my old Nikon D700 which I had been using day in day out for the last 2 years.

No two cameras are the same, and especially the difference between the Nikon and Canon is like night and day. But in a fast paced environment, like a wedding, or when you are using your camera as a means to run your business, you really, really need to know the camera inside and out. You need to be able to use the camera like an extension of your hand, to change settings without thinking and understand its abilities and limitations without taking a single photo.

It’s for this reason that I have been shooting lots in the last month or so, getting to better understand this new camera. Unfortunately, a lot of the stuff I have been shooting has been pretty mundane, and certainly nothing special. But practice is practice, and the more I shoot, the more I learn about this new Canon. So, I figured I would share with you my first thoughts and experiences of my switch to Canon after a few short weeks.

Thoughts on Physical Differences

I love the grip and ergonomics of the 5D MKII, although there was nothing wrong with the D700. The Canon feels a lot lighter in the hand, but even more sturdy and solid.

I’ve always heard that that the Nikon approach to controls is to have more physical buttons on the body and less reliance on menus, with Canon the other way around, less buttons, more menu diving. But in my experience this has been the opposite. The Canon does have less buttons, but the ones it does have allow for quicker access to the most important things, like White Balance, ISO and metering etc. On the D700 these were spread about all over the place, but on the 5D MKIII, these are all in one place right up on the top by the shutter button, where they should be. Changing the key settings on the 5D MKIII is quicker than it ever was on the D700, despite me being a new user to the camera.

Autofocus on the 5D MKIII is fantastic. It is faster, more accurate, more consistent and more customisable than the D700, but then the D700 wasn’t exactly bad either. But the Canon is a lot better.

The live view implementation of the 5D MKIII is extremely well thought out and works very smoothly. Live view on the D700 was cumbersome and felt tacked on, to the point where I avoided using it.

I love having video mode on the 5D MKIII. The old Nikon didn’t have a video mode at all, and the 5D absolutely beats the old Nikon D3100 I was using.

Not that it makes huge difference, but the menus and UI of the Canon 5D MKIII are absolutely fantastic compared to the Nikon system. I would compare the Canon to Mac OSX, and the Nikon to Windows XP. I mean it works, but it’s not pretty or clever. The 5D makes the D700 look and feel very old and outdated.

The metering on the 5DMKIII is different. I’m still getting used to it. On my old Nikon, it used to get metering correct 95% of the time, and when it got it wrong, I could understand why, and change the metering mode or exposure compensation to compensate. On the 5D MKII, I have had few occasions where the metering was way off, and I’m left scratching my head, and not sure why it got the scene so wrong. In some cases I have had to put in up to 2 stops of exposure compensation to make up for the odd metering decisions of the Canon. I’m hoping I will get used to this and learn to anticipate the odd metering behaviour of the 5D MKIII. *QUICK TIP: Shooting using liveveiw helps you to see in real time how the camera meters and what affects it*

My absolutely positively most favourite feature of the Canon 5D MKII is the silent shutter mode. I hated the *CLUNCK, SLAP, CLUNCK* of the Nikon D700. That thing was loud and noisy. The Canon still makes a sound, but it a softer *click* and is so much quieter, you cant really hear it in most situations. A little feature of the 5D MKIII, that isn’t mentioned often, but don’t underestimate it. It is SO useful.

Thoughts on RAW Files

The difference between the 12mp files from the D700 and the 22mp 5D MKII files isn’t very significant, but it is noticeable. The extra resolution is extremely useful, while still being memory card friendly. On my i7 Quad-Core iMac, there is no difference in processing times or speed of editing, although the 5D MKIII files use about 30% more disk space.

The Canon files match the Nikon files in terms of dynamic range. Which is enough.

The Canon files just seem very contrast-y, which I don’t like one bit. I now have to take extra steps in post-processing in order to get the files to look how I like them, (faded, low contrast with subtle, film like colours). The RAW files from the Nikon were more neutral and softer.

The Canon files are about a stop and half better at high ISO. 3200iso on the Nikon D700 isn’t as good as 6400 on the 5D MKIII, and is almost comparable to 10,000 iso on the Canon. Very impressive considering the additional resolution. This is a killer feature of the 5D MKIII.

Other Experiences and Thoughts

The Canon lenses I have used so far have been considerably better than the Nikon equivalents I used to own. I’m sorry, but it’s true. The build quality, optics and autofocus speed are in another league to the Nikon versions. Even the cheapest Canon lenses like the 85mm f1.8 have seriously impressed me with the build quality and image quality, although it is a little annoying that lens hoods are not included with non L lenses. Even my top of the range Nikon 1.4 primes feel plasticy and had slower AF motors than cheaper Canon lenses. Overall I’m extremely impressed with the greater range and quality of Canon’s L Prime lenses.

I’m really looking forward to getting my hands on lenses like the 85mm f1.2 and rumoured 35mm f1.4 MK II in the future. I’m also very excited to try out the new radio flash system of the Canon 600EX-RT in the next few days. If it is as good as people say, it will be a huge leap compared to the venerable Nikon CLS system.

Overall Thoughts About The Switch

Very pleased. Even only after a short time, my new Canon has already completely wowed me, and already feels like a very natural fit to the way I shoot and edit. It has taken less time, money and hassle then I though switching brands would. I’m really not sure what all the fuss is about. Picking the right tool for the job is just good sense, regardless of who makes the camera or lenses. I am really looking foward tp pushing the Canon 5D MKIII to its limits in the coming month and years.

And finally, since it feels like ages since I posted some photos, here are a handful of interesting “test shots” I have taken in the last few weeks. I am really looking forward to using this new setup on weddings and portrait sessions starting in Spring 2013…

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