By TAN KIT HOONG
bytz@thestar.com.my
The EOS 5D Mark III, Canon's long-awaited successor to the Mark II is here, improved in every area that matters.
MORE THAN SKIN DEEP: Canon has tweaked all the important features in the 5D Mark III to make it a much better camera.
THE EOS 5D Mark II was rightly hailed as a landmark camera, especially for independent filmmakers, since it was not only a high-resolution still camera, but also a DSLR that took a more serious stab at shooting video.
So now about four years on, Canon has finally introduced its successor, the 5D Mark III, which, on the surface, hasn't really changed much from its predecessor - at 22-megapixels, the Mark III only gains an extra megapixel over the Mark II.
However, look deeper and you'll realise that Canon has tweaked the camera in a number of significant ways and improved image quality and other important features by quite a bit.
Improved features
Put the Mark II and Mark III together and you'll probably not notice a significant difference in physical design. Side by side, the cameras are about the same size and shape, although when you hold it in your hand, you'll notice that the Mark III grip is more comfortable and substantial in the hands.
SIMILAR BUT DIFFERENT: At first glance the 5D Mark III looks like its predecessor, although the grip has been slightly redesigned to be more comfortable and substantial.
On the back though, the camera controls have changed substantially over the Mark II - almost every button has had functions reassigned and moved around, so if you're a professional upgrading from the Mark II to the Mark III, be prepared for a period of acclimatisation.
For example, the Menu and Info buttons now have their own dedicated buttons on the top left corner of the Mark III, while the power switch has moved from the bottom right-hand corner to the top left-hand corner, just under the mode dial (which now gets a lock to prevent accidental switching of modes).
Perhaps the hardest thing to get used to is during image playback. Instead of pressing the Magnify button then using the thumb buttons on the top right to zoom in and out like on the Mark II, the Mark III now uses the command dial at the top of the camera to zoom in and out after you press the magnify button.
Under the sleek exterior of the Mark III, the changes are quite substantial as well - autofocus has been completely revamped and now offers an all-new 61-point High Density Reticular autofocus system.
Compared to the nine-point autofocus of the Mark II, the Mark III's autofocus is a great improvement - it not only has more autofocus points, but 41 of these points are cross-type (i.e. sensitive to both vertical and horizontal detail).
In use, the new autofocus system is impressively fast and very responsive, so no complaints in this department.
The Mark III's shutter is already reasonably quiet, but the camera has the option to turn on a Silent shooting mode - it's not totally silent, but it definitely reduces the decibel level quite significantly when you turn it on.
MANY CHANGES: The back of the 5D Mark III is where many of the changes in the control scheme has happened, with many functions and buttons now moved around.
Continuous burst speed has been improved, as the Mark III now shoots at a maximum of 6fps (frames per second) over the 4fps of the previous generation.
In terms of video, there isn't a really big change. You still get 1080p at a maximum of 30fps (or 29.97fps to be exact) but you also get more choices for shooting at a few lower resolutions at different frame rates.
On the side, you also get a 3.5mm stereo output now so that you can monitor audio levels during video recording by plugging in a pair of headphones, something which videographers should find useful.
Last, but certainly not least, we have to commend Canon on the 3.2in LCD on the back of the Mark III - at 1.04million dots, it's higher resolution than on the Mark II, and seems to have a lot more accurate colour balance too.
Image quality
Of course, what's most important is photo quality and here is where the Mark III really pushes ahead of the Mark II.
There really isn't any difference in detail between the 21-megapixel Mark II and the 22-megapixel Mark III, at least at lower ISO settings. Coupled with a good lens, both cameras exhibited loads of detail.
If anything, the Mark III's metering system was slightly better at coping with extreme lighting conditions.
FAMILIAR: The top plate of the 5D Mark III remains almost unchanged from the 5D Mark II, although with the addition of a dedicated Live View and record control next to the viewfinder.
White balance is markedly improved in the Mark III - we took a few interior shots using tungsten lighting with both cameras, and the Mark III proved much better at getting the white balance right.
The biggest noticeable difference, however, is that the Mark III is a lot better at high ISO settings than the Mark II.
While detail and noise are much the same between the two cameras up to ISO 800 or so, by ISO 1,600, the Mark III is still producing clean, nearly noise-free images while the Mark II is starting to show some noise in shadow areas.
By ISO 3,200, the Mark III pulls comfortably ahead, producing still relatively clean and usable images with only a hint of noise while the Mark II is already showing quite a bit of noise.
On the Mark III, noise is still well controlled at ISO 6,400 and produces images which has only a slight loss of detail, but which I would still not hesitate to use if I needed to.
ISO 12,800 is at the limit of what's acceptable to our eyes - there is a noticeable loss of detail, but even here, noise is very well controlled.
LOCKED: The mode dial on the 5D Mark III has gained a lock to prevent accidental switching of modes. Notice that the power switch has been relocated here as well.
By the time you crank up ISO to 25,600, noise reduction kicks in quite hard and you start losing a lot of detail and colour saturation also starts to suffer.
Overall, top marks for image quality and noise control.
As with all modern cameras, the 5D Mark III has very good battery life and certainly nothing to complain about.
For those interested, you can download the full-resolution photos from our Picasa site at goo.gl/photos/oTaHZikqxF.
Remember to go to Actions then Download Photo to download the whole file if you want to evaluate quality.
Conclusion
It may not look like it from the base specifications alone, but the EOS 5D Mark III is a great improvement over its predecessor in every way that counts - autofocus, exposure and ISO have all had the benefit of the technological improvements Canon has gained since the 5D Mark II was released.
The only kink in this is that at RM11,199, the Mark III is also quite a bit more expensive than the Mark II when it was released.
If you're a professional who shoots primarily sports, video or low light, the Mark III is a great improvement and worthy of an upgrade if you have the cash.
However, if you are an enthusiast who's already happy with what you get from the 5D Mark II, then stick with it - in our tests, both the Mark II and Mark III capture about the same amount of detail, with only the autofocus and ISO performance being the major differentiators.
Pros: Greatly improved autofocus; excellent high ISO performance.
Cons: Redesigned controls may take some getting used to.
5D Mark III
(Canon)
DSLR camera
SENSOR: 22-megapixels (5,760 x 3,840-pixels)
VIEWFINDER: 3.2in TFT LCD (1.04 million dots)
LENS: none
SHUTTER SPEED: 30sec 1/8,000sec, plus B
ISO RANGE: 100 to 25,600 (up to 102,400 in ISO boost mode)
SHOOTING MODES: Program, Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority, Manual
VIDEO MODE FORMAT: H.264 video recording up to 1080p at 30fps
BATTERY: Lithium-ion battery
STORAGE: SDXC, CompactFlash
INTERFACE: USB 2.0 port, HDMI out
OTHER FEATURES: 61-point high density reticular autofocus system
DIMENSIONS (W x H x D): 152.0 x 116.4 x 76.4mm
WEIGHT: 950g
WEBSITE: www.canon.com.my
PRICE: RM11,199
RATING: 4.5
Review unit courtesy of Canon Marketing (M) Sdn Bhd, (03) 7844-6000