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Incorporating Digic 5+ adds a lot of important features. These include support for UDMA 7 CF; the camera now has dual CF/SDXC card slots, which is a really useful feature. And Canon implements it with the novel ability to configure it to record different sizes/quality of raw or JPEG files saved to each card. There's also three-shot in-camera HDR, but you can save the source images as well as add some effects. (For manual HDR, you get a bump to seven-frame bracketing at +/-5 EV.) Additionally, it offers the same powerful multiple-exposure mode as the 1D X.
The 5DM3 also gets a headphone jack, time code support, and 64 levels of audio control plus a wind filter. One video disappointment: the camera only outputs the display view via HDMI, so you can't get high-resolution video capture that way and it has the display overlay. On the other hand, you're no longer limited to 12-minute clips.
| Canon EOS 5D Mark II | Canon EOS 5D Mark III | Canon EOS 1D X | Nikon D700 | Nikon D800/ D800E | |
| Sensor (effective resolution) | 21.1- megapixel CMOS 4-channel readout 14 bit |
22.3- megapixel CMOS 8-channel readout 14-bit |
18- megapixel CMOS 2-line, 16-channel readout 14-bit |
12.1- megapixel CMOS n/a 14 bit |
36.3- megapixel CMOS n/a 14 bit |
| 36 mm x 24mm | 36 mm x 24mm | 36 mm x 24mm | 36 mm x 23.9mm | 35.9 mm x 24mm | |
| Focal-length multiplier | 1.0x | 1.0x | 1.0x | 1.0x | 1.0x |
| Sensitivity range | ISO 50 (exp)/100 - ISO 6400/25,600 (exp) | ISO 50 (exp)/100 - ISO 25,600/102,400 (exp) | ISO 50 (exp)/ 100 - ISO 51,200/204,800 (exp) | ISO 100 (exp)/200 - ISO 6400/ 25,600 (exp) | ISO 50 (exp)/100 - ISO 6400/ 25,600 (exp) |
| Continuous shooting | 3.9fps 14 raw/310 JPEG |
6fps 13 raw/65 JPEG |
12fps n/a |
5fps 17 raw/100 JPEG |
4fps n/a (5fps with battery grip) |
| Viewfinder magnification/ effective magnification |
100% coverage 0.71x/0.71x |
100% coverage 0.71x/0.71x |
100% coverage 0.76x/0.76x |
95% coverage 0.72x/0.72x |
100% coverage 0.70x/0.70x |
| Autofocus | 9-pt AF 1 cross type |
61-pt High Density Reticular AF 21 center diagonal to f5.6 5 center to f2.8 20 outer to f4 |
61-pt High Density Reticular AF 21 center diagonal to f5.6 5 center to f2.8 20 outer to f4 |
51-pt 15 cross type |
51-pt 15 cross type; 11 cross type to f8 |
| AF exposure range | -0.5 - 18 EV | -2 - 20 EV | -2 - 20 EV | -1 - 19 EV | -2 - 19 EV |
| Shutter speed | 1/8,000 to 30 secs; bulb; 1/200 sec x-sync | 1/8,000 to 30 secs; bulb; 1/200 sec x-sync | 1/8,000 to 30 secs; bulb; 1/250 sec x-sync (est) | 1/8,000 to 30 secs; bulb; 1/250 sec x-sync | 1/8,000 to 30 secs; bulb; 1/250 sec x-sync |
| Shutter durability | 150,000 cycles | 150,000 cycles | 400,000 cycles | 150,000 cycles | 200,000 cycles |
| Metering | 35-zone TTL | 63-area iFCL | 252-zone RGB | 1,005-pixel RGB sensor 3D Color Matrix Metering II | 91,000-pixel RGB 3D Color Matrix Metering III |
| Metering exposure range | 1 - 20 EV | 0 - 20 EV (est) | 0 - 20 EV | 0 - 20 EV | 0 - 20 EV |
| Image stabilization | Optical | Optical | Optical | Optical | Optical |
| Video | H.264 QuickTime MOV 1080/30p/ 25p/24p; 720/25p/24p | H.264 QuickTime MOV 1080/30p/ 25p/24p; 720/60p/50p | H.264 QuickTime MOV 1080/30p/ 25p/24p; 720/60p/50p | None | H.264 QuickTime MOV 1080/30p/ 25p/24p; 720/60p/50p/ 25p/24p |
| Rated estimated max HD video length at best quality | 4GB (approx 12 minutes) | 29m59s | 4GB (29m59s) | n/a | 20 minutes |
| Audio | Mono; mic input | Mono; mic input; headphone jack | Mono; mic input; headphone jack | n/a | Mono; mic input; headphone jack |
| LCD size | 3 inches fixed 920,000 dots |
3.2 inches fixed 1.04 megadot |
3.2 inches fixed 1.04 megadot |
3 inches fixed 921,000 dots |
3.2 inches fixed 921,000 dots |
| Memory slots | 1 x CF (UDMA mode 7) | 1 x CF (UDMA mode 7), 1 x SDXC | 2 x CF (UMDA mode 7) | 1 x CF (UDMA mode 6) | 1 x CF (UDMA mode 7), 1 x SDXC |
| Wireless flash | No | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Battery life Viewfinder/Live View (CIPA rating) | 850/ n/a shots (1,800mAh) | 950/200 shots (1,800mAh) | n/a (2,450mAh) | 1,000/ n/a shots (1,500mAh) | 900/ n/a shots (1,800mAh) |
| Dimensions (inches, WHD) | 6.0 x 4.5 x 3.0 | 6.1 x 4.6 x 3.0 | 6.4 x 6.2 x 3.3 | 5.8 x 4.8 x 3.0 | 5.7 x 4.8 x 3.2 |
| Body operating weight (ounces) | 32.9 | 33.5 | n/a | 38.7 | 31.7 (est) |
| Mfr. price | $2,499 (body only) | $3,499 (body only) | $6,800 (body only) | $2,199.95 (body only) | $2,999.95/ $3,299.95 (body only) |
| n/a | $4,299 (with 24-105mm lens) | n/a | n/a | n/a | |
| Ship date | November 2008 | March 2012 | April 2012 | July 2008 | March 2012/April 2012 |
Except for the aforementioned disappointing HDMI output and the missing ability to save/load settings via memory card, which Canon erroneously thinks only matters to 1D-class photographers, it's not lacking any key capabilities that I can think of. A built-in flash to enable wireless control of remote flashes would be nice, and as I've mentioned elsewhere, I think cameras in this price class really should supply articulating LCDs. But it's got excellent configurability options -- much improved over its predecessor.
Conclusion
Unlike the D800, the 5D Mark III isn't a no-brainer upgrade for 5D Mark II shooters, but I think that's more of a testament to the quality of the Mark II than anything lacking in the Mark III. That said, it does have some important advantages over its predecessor, including a much faster autofocus system, improved video quality and controls, and a far more configurable feature set. And if those are important to you, it's definitely worth the price premium over the now-reduced Mark II.
(Shorter bars indicate better performance)
 |
Time to first shot | |
Raw shot-to-shot time | |
JPEG shot-to-shot time | |
Shutter lag (dim light) | |
Shutter lag (typical) |
(Longer bars indicate better performance)
