My review of Canon EOS 5D Mark III

[drkrishi]

Here is my comprehensive review of Canon EOS 5D Mark III.
http://www.drkrishi.com/canon-eos-5d-mark-iii-review

[thelightening]

Dr... wow... the first review by a forum member !!! Nice !!

[Chillum Baba]

Dr... wow... the first review by a forum member !!! Nice !!

Second actually. Mr Apacheebest has reviewed it in short with his photos.

@drkrishi Seem like a very professional review doc. Reading it.

[drkrishi]

Thanks Arun, Chillum Baba

[Madhav Bhakta]

Great review Dr. Krishi. Superb.

[lightwave]

WOW. Canon seems to have a winner on their hands. The video at ISO 15600 is brilliant. And the feature set as explained in the review is remarkable. Also they decreased the announcement to availability time and I see it is already selling like hot cakes. Nikon better make their D800 hit the stores fast or they are bound to lose out on a lot of market share. Also I feel a lot of video professionals are going to adopt the 5D MkIII easily. Now I hope the sales translate into a fall in price so I can go out and buy one lol.

[Hankosaurus]

Now I hope the sales translate into a fall in price so I can go out and buy one lol.

Good luck, Doc. LW. 

Nice review, drkrishi.

Thanks for creating it and sharing it with the JJMPF Membership.

[itsme_soumya]

do you own a 5Dmk3? then contact canon first to get the "light leak issue" corrected. it's a canon acknowledged problem with all 5Dmk3 currently there in market.

cheers!
soumya

[itsme_soumya]

btw, here is the official service advisory issued by canon:

http://www.usa.canon.com/cusa/support/consumer?pageKeyCode=prdAdvDetail&docId=0901e02480538fc7

cheers!
soumya

[lightwave]

Hmmm ... in extremely dark situations. I guess it doesn't make the cam unusable till they come out with a resolution. Live view in dark. I guess video shooters might on occasion experience this. Interested to know OP's experience on this.

[itsme_soumya]

"in extremely dark situations" is canon's way of describing the condition, but i have read in different forums that this happens in any indoor lighting condition.

more info here: http://www.canonrumors.com/2012/04/canon-5d-mark-iii-light-leak/

seems like this might be an issue for people shooting long exposure shots (specially landscapers?).

cheers!
soumya

[lightwave]

He does say:

Does this matter in the real world?
For the moment, I’m not sure. I haven’t noticed any issues with metering on the 2000 or so shots I’ve put through the 5D Mark III. I’m sure we’ll know more in the coming days.

Since I don't own one, I repeat, would be interesting to see OP's take on this. Perhaps some MkIII owners in JJMPF could let us know about their experiments. Better to get first hand information.

[drkrishi]

The whole light leak issue it is blown out of proportion. It is meant for people not even for astro photographers, but for those who shoot with body cap on their camera Since I use camera to take photographs, I am not affected by this issue.

I wonder why canon even bothered giving out advisory, there are so many other canon models which exhibit the same behavior. If you are wondering what this light leak is, here is the explanation.

•     Put your body cap on the camera body.
•     Put the viewfinder cover that came with the camera over the viewfinder.
•     Set the camera ISO to 800 and put the camera in “P” mode.
•     Turn on the backlight for the LCD panel and watch the exposure change.
•     It seems the top side LCD may be to blame.
•     Yes, shining a flashlight on the top LCD causes the exposure to change, as does sunlight and bright overhead lights. All of which happen with the body cap on.

My 5D mark III does react to LCD, but only when the  body cap on the camera body.

I tried with my 5D Mark III was take the lens cap off and meter off facing a relatively neutral wall in a very low light situation. I turned on the backlight and nothing changed. I then flashed a flashlight up against the top LCD and the exposure didn’t change. I also ran the flashlight around the camera body and absolutely nothing changed. If the camera acts properly with the lens cap off, who cares how it acts with the caps on? So please don’t return your 5D Mark III or overreact.

[Apacheebest]

The whole light leak issue it is blown out of proportion. It is meant for people not even for astro photographers, but for those who shoot with body cap on their camera Since I use camera to take photographs, I am not affected by this issue.

I wonder why canon even bothered giving out advisory, there are so many other canon models which exhibit the same behavior. If you are wondering what this light leak is, here is the explanation.

•     Put your body cap on the camera body.
•     Put the viewfinder cover that came with the camera over the viewfinder.
•     Set the camera ISO to 800 and put the camera in “P” mode.
•     Turn on the backlight for the LCD panel and watch the exposure change.
•     It seems the top side LCD may be to blame.
•     Yes, shining a flashlight on the top LCD causes the exposure to change, as does sunlight and bright overhead lights. All of which happen with the body cap on.

My 5D mark III does react to LCD, but only when the  body cap on the camera body.

I tried with my 5D Mark III was take the lens cap off and meter off facing a relatively neutral wall in a very low light situation. I turned on the backlight and nothing changed. I then flashed a flashlight up against the top LCD and the exposure didn’t change. I also ran the flashlight around the camera body and absolutely nothing changed. If the camera acts properly with the lens cap off, who cares how it acts with the caps on? So please don’t return your 5D Mark III or overreact.

Return my Camera 5dMark III , no way.

TFS !

Anil

[rollno22]

Absolutely fantastic Drkrishi. I visited CSC yesterday and engineer there explained the same. This behaviour is perfectly normal and in no way affects the quality of output or the piece. Regards

[drkrishi]

Canon has published advisory regarding light leak issue.
http://www.usa.canon.com/cusa/support/consumer?pageKeyCode=prdAdvDetail&docId=0901e02480538fc7 which is as follows

To Users of the Canon EOS 5D Mark III Digital SLR Camera

Thank you for using Canon products.

Concerning the EOS 5D Mark III digital SLR camera, when the LCD panel illuminates in extremely dark environments, the displayed exposure value may change. Canon has concluded the investigation of this phenomenon, and this announcement informs you of our findings as described below.

Phenomenon
In extremely dark environments, if the LCD panel illuminates, the displayed exposure value may change. However, based on the results of extensive testing this change in exposure value will not noticeably affect the captured image.

Affected Product
Canon EOS 5D Mark III Digital SLR Camera
*Products whose sixth digit in the serial number is 1 or 2 are affected.
   For example, “xxxxx1xxxxxx” or “xxxxx2xxxxxx” (

• represents any optional number.)

Support
Under almost all shooting conditions (including dark environments) this phenomenon will not affect your captured images. However, if you would like Canon to inspect your camera, we will provide this service free of charge upon request beginning in mid-May. Please contact Canon using the information below to request service.

This information is for residents of the United States and Puerto Rico only. If you do not reside in the USA or Puerto Rico, please contact the Canon Customer Support Center in your region.

Please register the EOS 5D Mark III. By registering, we will be able to notify you via email when service updates are available. If you already registered, please ensure you are opted-in to receive the notification.

Thank you,
Customer Support Operations
Canon U.S.A., Inc

[Apacheebest]

Dr Krishi,

my serial no is not 1 or 2 in the sixth place, i feel the camera in india is not effected at all.

my serial no is 0 in the sixth position, ( perhaps all india or kerala zone)

TFS

Anil

[drkrishi]

Apacheebest,

if your serial no is not 1 or 2 in the sixth place, then you are not affected.