Canon Mark III D day 1

First impressions of my new Canon Mark III D on day one. First let me say that I have barely scratched the surface of this complex camera.

Speed: I bought this unit because of it’s speed, promoted as the fastest camera available. This is likely true but…….at 1 / 7000 shutter with ISO 100 the image was way under exposed in full midday sunlight. I’m not sure of the lighting conditions that would be needed for proper exposure given these settings but it’s obvious that I will be unable to set the camera to these settings and photograph very much of anything.

Focus: Exceptional! Auto-focus is impressive except during extreme close up macro shots. I was trying to shoot an extreme close up with my 100mm macro which may have been the problem with the auto-focus searching. I needed my 60mm macro but see below.

Image: Exceptional, but not hugely different than my Rebel XTi. This may reflect my lens inventory short comings more so than the camera. The lowest f stop in my bag is 2.8 and my favorite 60mm macro lens is not compatible with my new Mark III D. I have ordered a 300mm f2.8 and a 50mm f1.2 from a lens rental company to try out prior to purchase. These two lenses will put the Mark III D to the test for image sharpness.

Color: With my Rebel XTi I almost always have to turn up the colors a bit in the RAW format but with the Mark III D no alteration of the colors is needed.

ISO: This is where I have been the most impressed so far! The reviews told me of the exceptional low light ability of this unit which weighed heavily in my decision to buy the Mark III D but boy, I had no idea how much difference there really would be. Shooting just past sunset I “blew out” some flowers with no flash and an ISO of only 1200. This unit goes up to 6400 ISO! I bet my dimly lit high school football fields are going to be much less troublesome this year.

Pros so far: Fast and accurate auto-focus (excluding extreme close up macro).

Exceptional colors and image quality.

Extreme improvement in low light shooting.

Cons so far: Very complex camera which will take a great deal of time before it’s full benefits will be realized.

May have an extreme close up macro auto-focus issue (more on this issue to come).

How much noise is there on the highest ISO settings?

In "regular" shoot mode there is a lot of noise. Much more than my Rebel XTi.

It has a single shot "quiet" mode also. I haven't used this fuction yet to comment on that.

I'll try it today after work and give you an answer.

under 'cons' i would have listed the price!

edit: which B&H list as 3844.95$

Agreed, but I bought from Cameta for $2,600.

Still a big bite out of the wallet but.....
The Ds is $4,500 or more used!!!!!!!!!!!!!

and congrats!!

always fun to get new gear!!

All the new digitals seem to have more features that anyone one will ever use and its almost a hazard, you have to mutle through tons of instructions to get to the simple, just take a good photo settings... to many buttons!
Its nice to have some photo buddies to help/suggest where to start.
my favorite toy.

i agree with elbert,,
as much as i dearly want a new camera,, the new ones only offer a few features i would use.
i want a faster sync speed, wireless strobe capability's, a larger LCD screen, and better 'O' rings and seals.
the rest would be useless,, to me. but i can also see where others styles may benefit also.
then theres that money thing again,,,,

For Simmon,

The "quiet" mode does produce less shutter noise but is no where near "silent".

If a silent shutter is top priority then this unit would not be for you.

Sorry, should have made myself more clear. By noise I mean grain in the picture. I know that with my digital the higher the ISO number the more digital "noise" there is in the picture. If I want a crisp picture I shoot at the lowest ISO possible.

Duh!, here's my sign!

I should have known you meant grain and not actual audible noise.

That's another pro of this unit, the grain noise at higher ISO values remains very low. One quote from a review stated that this unit's ISO 3200 is more like other unit's at ISO 800.

I'll post some shots from this evening at 800 ISO.

Update: After several days of use I'm getting much more comfortable with the Mark III D.

Pros: remain the same so far.

Cons: one I need to add. The lack of a built in flash. I realize that when using a camera this high end a shoe or handle or studio flash is used if any at all but I find myself rarely wanting a little built in when shooting in daylight with a subject shaded / background bright. There is a way around this problem using multi point spot metering but I haven't figured out how to properly use this feature yet.

Today we go to Napa Valley, CA for a wine tour. I plan to shoot tons of shots there and may get some worth sharing here.

Recent shots with the Mark III D are posted in my online gallery for anyone who would like to see them

http://www.betterphoto.com/gallery/gallery.asp?memberID=253298

i am partial to using my sb800 strobe when at all feasible.
but,, there are some times, not many, that the little pop-up adds just the touch of fill that i needed,, very conveniently.
mostly tho,, i use the pop-up only to trigger other strobes that are set as optical slaves. it works great for that!

and i would question the comment of spot metering as a 'way around it'.
two different animals if you ask me.

With two, or more, different ev levels in the same scene, sometimes a very wide range of ev levels, the sensors in the cameras are not able to record it all accurately. You just can’t have everything.
If you spot meter on a lighter background for instance, it will be correctly exposed, but the darker foreground will be under exposed. And vice versa.
A better ‘way around’ this would be to go ahead and meter for the background, then add whatever amount of fill flash is needed to lite the foreground properly. IMHO.
Sorry if I am overstepping here but I am a huge fan of using strobes.
Photography is all about light. I want as much control as I can get!

I agree completely but a shoe flash just adds a lot more bulk when walking around town.

What you are saying about spot metering I have found to be true. I just assumed I hadn't figured it out yet. Basically if the subject is shaded and the background is bright then a flash must be used. I guess there is no "way around that" after all.

I also just purchased a Metz 76 MZ-5 Digital Handlemount TTL Flash. I don't have my shoe connector for it yet so I haven't been able to play with it. I also have my Canon Speedlite 580EX II Flash from my Rebel that will be compatible with my new Mark III D.

I guess I'll just have to start packing my flashes even for daytime shooting.

this canon actually has some features i could use!
but why 3 white balance buttons?

One of those bottom row buttons is way too small. It needs to be more easily accessed for more frequent use!

I'll let you decide which one I'm referencing

you probably already know this, and/or not interested, but canon does make this small unit that would substitute for a pop-op nicely.
small, inexpensive, will 'bounce', has 2 focal lengths, compatible with e-ttl.
would work in a pinch and much less obtrusive to lug around town.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/616667-USA/Canon_3806B002_Speedlite_270EX_Flash.html

"I guess I'll just have to start packing my flashes even for daytime shooting."

you'll learn to love it!

Tommy - when are you bringing this beast to Belize?

I met him today at El Fogan - he was very busy taking pictures.

I'd love to see it. Tommy?