Canon EOS 5D Mark III | First Thoughts

[HDNitehawk]

Just an observation, because I have been reading all the 5D III comments about its new auto focus system. I was expecting more of a “wow” factor from everyone since the 5D III is supposed to have the same AF system as the 1D X.

The reason I expected more “fanboi” comments is my experience with a 1D IV. When I went from the 5D II and the 7D to the 1D IV it was a very noticeable jump in performance. Keep in mind I am not talking all the new gadgets and gizmo’s like additional points. I am talking performance, precision and accuracy.

Keep in mind I have read all the Canon propaganda put out by their rep’s, obviously those express the “wow” factor. The responses back from those who are buying the camera seem to be a bit less overwhelmed.

[shizam1]

You guys should go into the settings and turn off all the af points that aren't cross type, which will still give you more than 40, see if that helps in low light?

I actually plan on doing that tonight But with the test I was doing, if you select the center AF point, all of the surrounding AF points are either cross or double cross type.

[shizam1]

Just an observation, because I have been reading all the 5D III comments about its new auto focus system. I was expecting more of a “wow” factor from everyone since the 5D III is supposed to have the same AF system as the 1D X.

The reason I expected more “fanboi” comments is my experience with a 1D IV. When I went from the 5D II and the 7D to the 1D IV it was a very noticeable jump in performance. Keep in mind I am not talking all the new gadgets and gizmo’s like additional points. I am talking performance, precision and accuracy.

Keep in mind I have read all the Canon propaganda put out by their rep’s, obviously those express the “wow” factor. The responses back from those who are buying the camera seem to be a bit less overwhelmed.

Well my comments were specific to low light stuff. I did do some studio testing ( to test sharpness between the 5DII and 5DIII ) and the 5DIII seemed more accurately focused on the nose of my teddy bear test subjects

I also did some low'ish light photography at a meet & greet and got accurate results:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/shizam1...7629715914809/

I just got the camera a week ago, and really haven't had much chance to use it except for the wedding reception and that meet & greet thing.

I was REALLY itching to use if for the whole wedding, but was scared to use new technology to capture someones precious moments... in case something was weird!

I rarely use AI-Servo mode, since I don't shoot sports or wildlife, so I can't say anything about that!

[neuroanatomist]

Interestingly, fast glass means a more accurate AF lock, but not necessarily a faster one. An f/5.6-sensitive AF point will actually achieve a lock faster than an f/2.8-sensitive point. With an f/2.8 or faster lens and a dual-sensitivity AF point (either an f/2.8 line + f/5.6 line cross type, or a dual cross type), focusing is a 2-step process - an initial focus move from an f/5.6 sensor line, then a refinement by an f/2.8 line. In AI Servo mode, most of the work is done by the faster (but less accurate) f/5.6 sensor lines.

[shizam1]

With an f/2.8 or faster lens and a dual-sensitivity AF point (either an f/2.8 line + f/5.6 line cross type, or a dual cross type), focusing is a 2-step process - an initial focus move from an f/5.6 sensor line, then a refinement by an f/2.8 line.

Well that is interesting, because in my low light tests, I saw the focus move a lot, then stop, then couldn't see any other changes for a noticeable chunk of time, followed by the AF confirmation. So maybe it was "refining" focus and that was taking up some time.

If that is the case, then in situations like that, I could take the picture after the initial movement, and take it again afterwards, just in case the scene I'm trying to capture dissapeared before the final AF adjustment.

[Mark Elberson]

You guys should go into the settings and turn off all the af points that aren't cross type, which will still give you more than 40, see if that helps in low light?

I did that already. There are plenty of cross type points and they seem to be everywhere I need them so it made sense.

[Mark Elberson]

Great, looking forward to it! Also be warned, you may have trouble with the AF, just because of the viewfinder in the 5DIII There doesn't seem to be an option to show the AF point you're using, it only will turn red when focus is achieved. So in a dark area, if you're using center point AF, you are kind of just aiming the camera and hoping you have the center spot aligned with what you want to focus on, it's difficult to see! For some reason I never had this problem with the 5DII, so I need to go look at that camera again to see what it is doing differently.

Did you try this? I like the "All (constant)" setting.

[neuroanatomist]

Well that is interesting, because in my low light tests, I saw the focus move a lot, then stop, then couldn't see any other changes for a noticeable chunk of time, followed by the AF confirmation. So maybe it was "refining" focus and that was taking up some time.

If that is the case, then in situations like that, I could take the picture after the initial movement, and take it again afterwards, just in case the scene I'm trying to capture dissapeared before the final AF adjustment.

You could, at least it's worth a try! IIRC, there's a setting for focus priority vs. release priority, and you'd want the latter so you can release the shutter before focus is confirmed.

[shizam1]

Did you try this? I like the "All (constant)" setting.

I modified it somewhat, but now reading it again, I think I want to change it to "selected constant". But even with that, unless they're glowing red, I feel they are harder to see than on the 5DII. I think the 5DII had a darker border around the points.

[shizam1]

Thanks for that tip Mark, I changed the setting and the points do show up all the time.

Also, I played with the 5DIII AF some more with more reasonable lighting ( ISO 400-800 territory ), and it was very fast and accurate. I think in most situations it's faster and more accurate than the 5DII AF.