5D Mk III vs D800/E, is the 5D3 better at anything?

[takoman46]

I am very pleased with the 5D3. Just shot a nude female spread in low light this weekend and I couldn't ask for more in a camera.

post some samples

+1 you cant leave us hanging like this haha

;D

I thought about this... and I really would if it wouldn't violate the modeling agreement. On my end, I'm only allowed to show the photos to other prospective clients I meet with as sample images of my work. Also, are there any rules on this forums about posting age restricted content? I wouldn't want to offend those who are not interested in viewing such explicit photos and get banned from this great forum! ;D

Maybe I can post cropped in versions that do not reveal the model's identity and also crop out explicit areas of the photo??? Like this:

So for the sake of this being a forum for Canon Cameras:
Shot on 5D Mark III (no speedlite or studio lighting setup) w/ EF 24-70 f/2.8L @ f/5.6, 1/60 sec, ISO 8000
The available light was just three lamps with 60 watt CFL bulbs that can be commonly found in a hotel room. FYI I did a full shoot with strobes and diffusers but I worked it out a deal with the client explaining that I wanted to do some test shots after the formal shoot with the 5D Mark III since it is a new camera lol. She... I mean IT is amazing! There was no post noise reduction performed and I just corrected white balance in the above crop, brought down some highlights, and there you have it! Also, this is a pretty small crop of the original. Anybody still need 36 megapixels? j/k lol

 

[V8Beast]

I'm shooing aps-c and shoot raw because of the *huge* dr difference to jpeg when using highlight recovery - esp. in LR4 there's no drawback in contrast to "recovery" in LR3 which dulls the picture. If you write that ff jpegs are more "forgiving" (I don't doubt that): Why exactly is that? Does the mk2 etc put more dr into the jpegs than my 60d?

I'm not exactly sure why, since I'm not the most tech savvy person out there Not sure how a 60D stacks up to a MKII either, since I haven't shot with either of them. My APS-C experience is limited to the 10D, 20D, and 7D while the 5DC and 5DIII are my FF bodies. With the FF jpeg files, there's more headroom in highlight recovery compared to the APS-C files before the midtones and shadows lose detail. Likewise, it's easier to recover the shadows with FF jpegs without affecting the midtones and highlights, and there's far less noise as well. Obviously, raw files are different story.

This is based on editing in various versions of photoshop and LR3. I haven't tinkered with LR4 yet, but it sounds it offers some more flexibility in highlight recovery.

 

[Chuck Alaimo]

Part II of the excellent Camera Store 5d III vs. D800 shootout. Canon really shines in this one.

Canon 5D Mark III vs. Nikon D800 Part 2 with Mike Drew

What I like a lot about this 2 part series is that it really seemed fair. Unlike many of where the personal bias is really noticeable. It was most interesting to see how often the canon shooter praised the nikon and vice versa. And the most notable conclusions based on both videos ---

If your already shooting canon, there's no need to switch, and if your already shooting nikon there's no reason to switch...

 

[D.Sim]

If your already shooting canon, there's no need to switch, and if your already shooting nikon there's no reason to switch...

Perfect summary of the overall topic

 

[smithy]

If your already shooting canon, there's no need to switch, and if your already shooting nikon there's no reason to switch...

Perfect summary of the overall topic

Except for the obvious spelling mistake. Sorry, couldn't help myself. ;D

 

[D_Rochat]

http://youtu.be/opyNMck9Jhk

 

[birdman]

While I hate to mention his name on this site, KRockwell has determined that the 5d3 is the BETTER camera. Haha.

Not that it isn't....I don't know that answer. I do know that KR benefits from folks clicking on his links to buy cameras that are actually shipping. And this leads us to the most available of the new DSLRs-- 5d3.

I am no longer going to believe that anyone has a motive, other than profit, in recommending gear over other gear---unless we're on forums. forget DXO, DPREVIEW, DSLR magazines, etc. There is a profit motive with ALL OF THEM!!! and no sarcastic responses please. It's just my thoughts on how people on the line (housewives, amateurs, teenagers, middle-aged adults) can be persuaded by capitalists.

 

[tron]

I am very pleased with the 5D3. Just shot a nude female spread in low light this weekend and I couldn't ask for more in a camera.

post some samples

+1 you cant leave us hanging like this haha

;D

I thought about this... and I really would if it wouldn't violate the modeling agreement. On my end, I'm only allowed to show the photos to other prospective clients I meet with as sample images of my work. Also, are there any rules on this forums about posting age restricted content? I wouldn't want to offend those who are not interested in viewing such explicit photos and get banned from this great forum! ;D

Maybe I can post cropped in versions that do not reveal the model's identity and also crop out explicit areas of the photo??? Like this:

So for the sake of this being a forum for Canon Cameras:
Shot on 5D Mark III (no speedlite or studio lighting setup) w/ EF 24-70 f/2.8L @ f/5.6, 1/60 sec, ISO 8000
The available light was just three lamps with 60 watt CFL bulbs that can be commonly found in a hotel room. FYI I did a full shoot with strobes and diffusers but I worked it out a deal with the client explaining that I wanted to do some test shots after the formal shoot with the 5D Mark III since it is a new camera lol. She... I mean IT is amazing! There was no post noise reduction performed and I just corrected white balance in the above crop, brought down some highlights, and there you have it! Also, this is a pretty small crop of the original. Anybody still need 36 megapixels? j/k lol

Nice pixels ;D

 

[LetTheRightLensIn]

http://youtu.be/opyNMck9Jhk

Yeah 5D3 takes the win for video.
If they add zebra, focus peaking and a sharp 1920x1080 1.6x crop mode and option for higher non-All-I bitrates then it will really, really take it. It would be awesome to get 10bit out, would help tremendously in post, otherwise you need to have the perfect profile for each shooting condition.

 

[V8Beast]

While I hate to mention his name on this site, KRockwell has determined that the 5d3 is the BETTER camera. Haha.

Not that it isn't....I don't know that answer. I do know that KR benefits from folks clicking on his links to buy cameras that are actually shipping. And this leads us to the most available of the new DSLRs-- 5d3.

Damn, I'm going to have to sell my 5D3, and buy a D800 now :-[

 

[moreorless]

If your already shooting canon, there's no need to switch, and if your already shooting nikon there's no reason to switch...

Perfect summary of the overall topic

Seems to me there is a potential reason to switch if your use falls into the areas each camera excells at(Resolution/DR for the D800, FPS, Video and high ISO for the 5D3) but I'd say that doing so right now might not be a good idea if you've got a large investment in glass given that there are strong rumours both manifacturers may target those areas with another body reasonabley soon.

 

[PhilDrinkwater]

While I hate to mention his name on this site, KRockwell has determined that the 5d3 is the BETTER camera. Haha.

Not that it isn't....I don't know that answer. I do know that KR benefits from folks clicking on his links to buy cameras that are actually shipping. And this leads us to the most available of the new DSLRs-- 5d3.

Damn, I'm going to have to sell my 5D3, and buy a D800 now :-[

That was my thought too

 

[RLPhoto]

17 Pages? Really Now Guys? Where the dead horse was beaten to death, Is now a large canyon from sea to glistening sea. Can we continue this savagery on the 5D3? ???

what happened to the awesome threads like this one?

http://www.canonrumors.com/forum/index.php?topic=6019.0

Over ten years ago, Most of us were shooting film or early digitals which weren't that good compared to the great cams we have today.

Dunno, I was suprised to still see this thread alive and well.

 

[D_Rochat]

17 Pages? Really Now Guys? Where the dead horse was beaten to death, Is now a large canyon from sea to glistening sea. Can we continue this savagery on the 5D3? ???

what happened to the awesome threads like this one?

http://www.canonrumors.com/forum/index.php?topic=6019.0

Over ten years ago, Most of us were shooting film or early digitals which weren't that good compared to the great cams we have today.

Dunno, I was suprised to still see this thread alive and well.

I'll take the blame for digging this one up, but it was only to link the new Camera Store video that was just uploaded. The first two videos were put on here and I thought I'd link the third. Like the videos show, not one camera is the clear winner and they both are amazing. Whether it's in this thread or another, the Canon vs Nikon thing will continue no matter what.

 

[iso79]

I'll take the blame for digging this one up, but it was only to link the new Camera Store video that was just uploaded. The first two videos were put on here and I thought I'd link the third. Like the videos show, not one camera is the clear winner and they both are amazing. Whether it's in this thread or another, the Canon vs Nikon thing will continue no matter what.

I dunno about you but they were leaning a lot towards the Mark III for a lot of things in all three videos but didn't want to show a clear winner to show that they were unbiased. The only real advantage the D800 is megapixels and slightly better dynamic range. Sadly that's what a lot of people care about these days.

 

[LetTheRightLensIn]

I'll take the blame for digging this one up, but it was only to link the new Camera Store video that was just uploaded. The first two videos were put on here and I thought I'd link the third. Like the videos show, not one camera is the clear winner and they both are amazing. Whether it's in this thread or another, the Canon vs Nikon thing will continue no matter what.

I dunno about you but they were leaning a lot towards the Mark III for a lot of things in all three videos but didn't want to show a clear winner to show that they were unbiased. The only real advantage the D800 is megapixels and slightly better dynamic range. Sadly that's what a lot of people care about these days.

make that massively better DR

and why is that sad? Is it sad if someone cares more about 6fps in FF mode or video without moire or clean, smooth 100% view in liveview? no? so why is carrying about dynamic range sad? why was it not sad to care when 5D2 had way more MP than the D700? the only thing I see is that if nikon has something better then it's a sad person who cares about those aspects and if Canon has something better well then of course that stuff should matter ;D

other than some cripplings in video and the sad old-school low iso dynamic range the 5D3 is excellent, fantastic

D800 has lots of MP and amazing low ISO quality and moired video and poor liveview and no 6fps without grip, etc. it's not sad to care about any of those aspects or not

 

[jspiteri]

It is interesting how much the ADL (Active D-Lighting) does to the D800 images , as seen in DP reviews dynamic range tests (images below). Source: http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/canon-eos-5d-mark-iii/19

It can be seen in the last image, albeit less dramatically.

 

[moreorless]

I'll take the blame for digging this one up, but it was only to link the new Camera Store video that was just uploaded. The first two videos were put on here and I thought I'd link the third. Like the videos show, not one camera is the clear winner and they both are amazing. Whether it's in this thread or another, the Canon vs Nikon thing will continue no matter what.

I dunno about you but they were leaning a lot towards the Mark III for a lot of things in all three videos but didn't want to show a clear winner to show that they were unbiased. The only real advantage the D800 is megapixels and slightly better dynamic range. Sadly that's what a lot of people care about these days.

make that massively better DR

and why is that sad? Is it sad if someone cares more about 6fps in FF mode or video without moire or clean, smooth 100% view in liveview? no? so why is carrying about dynamic range sad? why was it not sad to care when 5D2 had way more MP than the D700? the only thing I see is that if nikon has something better then it's a sad person who cares about those aspects and if Canon has something better well then of course that stuff should matter ;D

other than some cripplings in video and the sad old-school low iso dynamic range the 5D3 is excellent, fantastic

D800 has lots of MP and amazing low ISO quality and moired video and poor liveview and no 6fps without grip, etc. it's not sad to care about any of those aspects or not

Surely his point is that resolution/DR is "all" alot of people seem to care about. Personally I find myself in that position mostly taking landscapes and would probabley buy a D800 if I upgraded to FF(most of my investment is in EF-S lenses anyway) but it does seem to me that alot of amature reviews are focused on these areas to the almost total exclusion of everything else.

The net photographic community generally has a bias towards these areas IMHO, partly i'd say because its something that easier to quantify for users who'll never own or never use these cameras in situations were features like FPS and AF will be important factors.

 

[V8Beast]

Surely his point is that resolution/DR is "all" alot of people seem to care about. Personally I find myself in that position mostly taking landscapes and would probabley buy a D800 if I upgraded to FF(most of my investment is in EF-S lenses anyway) but it does seem to me that alot of amature reviews are focused on these areas to the almost total exclusion of everything else.

The net photographic community generally has a bias towards these areas IMHO, partly i'd say because its something that easier to quantify for users who'll never own or never use these cameras in situations were features like FPS and AF will be important factors.

Yes, the 'net is fixated on DR and resolution at the moment, but prior to the 5D3 announcement, much if not most of the talk revolved around AF. There was the occasional resolution debate, but many people wanted to talk about was how many AF points they needed. "Cross-type points" was the catch phrase back then, and pulling an arbitrary number of cross-type AF points out of your ass was en vogue ;D

Other common declarations:

"There's no way Canon will ever put a 1-series AF system in a 5D3."

"We'll be lucky if Canon puts the 7D AF system in the 5D3."

"Canon will never put the 1Dx's AF system in anything other than a 1Dx."


Welp, Canon proved those claims wrong, addressed the most glaring weaknesses of the 5D2, but now the hot topic is DR and Canon still sucks.

 

[Kernuak]

It is interesting how much the ADL (Active D-Lighting) does to the D800 images , as seen in DP reviews dynamic range tests (images below). Source: http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/canon-eos-5d-mark-iii/19

It can be seen in the last image, albeit less dramatically.

Examining the DPReview results, the 5D MkIII has almost half a stop more DR than the D800 with HTP and ADL switched off, but the overall DR with HTP and ADL switched on is the same, the difference is in the priorities. Canon as usual has prioritised recovery of highlight detail, while Nikon has given priority to shadow detail. In contrast, the D7000 has noticeably greater DR judging by DPReview's data.
Perhaps now we can lay the DR arguments to rest, but I somehow doubt it. I still maintain that it is about making use of the equipment available to overcome the compromises than worrying about detailed specification lists. If whichever camera does the job you need it to do, then you don't need to worry what another camera might do. If it doesn't, then get the one that does, if you can afford it and the overall system also gives you what you need.