Who is going to trade up to the 5D MKIII?

[Xenedis]

the fact that you can't get a 10mm focal length lens for crop sensors that goes wide open to F2.8 has led to a few frustrations at many scenes for the one who's got the 7D for the day.

For landscape work, why would you need f/2.8? My ultra-wide lens is f/2.8, but I rarely ever use it wide-open.

[KeeFy]

Dtoh: 11-16 f2.8? Might not be 10mm but 11 is as close as you can get !

Anyway 5Dm3 is out for preorders from DWI! I'm thinking if i should preorder it or wait for the first batch to clear before i get it :/ There's always some form of an issue with the first batch as with everything.

[Tannin]

I'm with the majority here: I'm not going to upgrade.

I respect the very, very significant advances of the Mark III in build quality and AF system; the AF improvement in particular is massive and long overdue. Further, much of the photography I do would benefit from these things. But precisely because the older 5D Mark II has those weaknesses, I have other cameras for tasks that need super-fast AF and top-end features (1D IV and 7D), and use the 5D II almost exclusively for landscapes. Outside of New Zealand, landscapes don't move around much and I don't really need a top class AF system for them. So what would be the point of upgrading?

All that notwithstanding, I reckon the 5D III will be extraordinarily successful over the longer term. It looks like being a wonderful camera and, for what it is, quite reasonably priced.

[MJay]

An interesting question both for those with a 5D and those looking to buy into the full frame market.

From someone who is looking to go full frame at some stage this year and upgrade from a 400D, the 5D mark III is incredibly tempting. But one can't help but think of the savings one could make by purchasing the cheaper yet extremely capable mark ii (which would still be a considerable step up from wht I currently have). Could certainly buy some nice accessories with the spare 1.5-2k extra cash, whether it's a single L lens or a bunch of smaller items like high speed cards and flash units or a quality tripod... I certainly wouldn't have any trouble spending it.

Ideally I'd like to buy a 5d Mark iii after a few batches have been shipped and of course assuming the reviews are good. And then down the track buy whatever succeeds the current 7d as a high quality backup/2nd Camera to replace my aging and somewhat lacking 400D. I'm increasingly finding it would be incredibly handy to have 2 bodies.

The other big issue will be how long new 5D mark ii's are available for.

Lots of pondering and saving to do.

[Dylan & Marianne]

For landscape work, why would you need f/2.8? My ultra-wide lens is f/2.8, but I rarely ever use it wide-open.

John - nearly all of my night star freeze images are taken at 2.8 with the 5dmkII
Going by the ability to freeze stars with an exposure of 500/focal length (full frame) - iso1600 F2.8 30 seconds at 16mm is as far as I want to push a landscape image in terms of exposure and high iso noise ( higher and it can look great on web but pretty crappy on print!) Going any longer in focal length and stars move even with those settings, so higher iso clean-ness would be fab . Also, I shoot alot of bridal waltzes wide at iso1600-3200 wide open if I want natural light and frozen motion too.

And Keefy, not sure why I haven't considered the tokina before! for some reason I keep thinking it can't have filters screwed on but pretty sure that's another lens I'm thinking of. but the night shooting of the 7D at higher iso's is a deal breaker and we found that out most spectacularly so when shooting auroras in iceland. I know I don't shoot auroras for a living (would love to) but both of us being able to shoot at night without having to do very long exposures would certainly motivate the other who presently doesn't have the 5dmkII!

[Dylan & Marianne]

oops , couldn't edit but I forgot to add, I'm happy with the 5dmkII, looking to replace the 7D!

here's a few examples where the 7D would struggle


Some examples :

iso1600, F2.8 30 seconds :
Try with the 7D : iso1600 = ugh, F2.8 (I'd need to get tokina lol), why not longer than 30 seconds at a smaller aperture that the 10-20 has - you end up with half movement of the stars = ugh


iso3200, F3.2, 1/100
Try with the 7D : iso 3200 = killa!, slower shutter? blurred subjects, faster shutter with flash = lose natural light

All of the frames for the timelapses shot at upward of 1600 iso wide open as well


All three are things I'd like to do more of and already do lots of - so for me , good reasons to at least get a second 5dmkII to replace the 7d, and since with the mkIII fixes, I've taken a punt with it

[Cage]

*removed. post was reported as being off-topic and just trying to inflame a brand argument*

How petty ! It was an open question, so was not 'off topic'.

And there was no intent on my part to

inflame a brand argument

It was meant as a tongue in cheek comment from someone who is quite happy to be with a minor player in the camera world, and who sometimes looks at what the canikon people are being offered with more than a little envy.

My only peeve with Canon is that they left me stranded with a lot of FD lens, and yes, I know there are adaptors.

[Xenedis]

John - nearly all of my night star freeze images are taken at 2.8 with the 5dmkII

Fair enough; that makes sense.

[ricktas]

How petty ! It was an open question, so was not 'off topic'.

And there was no intent on my part toIt was meant as a tongue in cheek comment from someone who is quite happy to be with a minor player in the camera world, and who sometimes looks at what the canikon people are being offered with more than a little envy.

My only peeve with Canon is that they left me stranded with a lot of FD lens, and yes, I know there are adaptors.

Your post was reported by several members who felt you were just having a go at their choice of Canon. Therefore I removed your post, cause although it may not have been your intention, it was received that way.

[fabian628]

it looks like a nice camera. I prefer faster fps so i am happy with 1d3 and 5d2 combo at the moment.
However for a single camera is looks very nice. Personally i prefer 1d cameras and probably would spend the money on a 1ds3.

[Tony B]

Happy with 1DmkIII & 5D. May opt for a 5DII as it is now almost half the price of 5DIII. I put aside $3500 for a 5Diii but will not pay $4400. I'd rather go up to the 1DIV for that amount of cash (+a bit) but I can't see where for me I am going to gain over the 1DIII for a pay out of approx $3000.

[keithinmelbourne]

I don't think I know enough about the MkIII to make a decision. When the dust and price have settled it might be a good upgrade. I currently have a 1Ds3 and a 5D2, therefore the 5D3 may not be enough of a leap. I would seriously think about the 1DX, but only when it settles into a reasonable price range. I must say that neither has me salivating enough to pay an early adopter premium, which is a good thing

[Tricky]

Whilst no doubt a great camera, I couldnt justify it over a 5d2. A lot of my shooting is manual focus (macro and TSE-17) or doesn't require fast focus (landscapes), which is probably where he 5d3 has the biggest edge over the 5d2.

[KeeFy]

I did a quick run around sydney getting prices. $3872 from Gorges and Digidirect. $3520 after 10%.

I'm buying from a B&M!

The prices are so much more realistic after nikon actually made the price move.

[Tony B]

Price now dropped to $1600 more than 5DII. Think I'll have a 5DII & 14 days in Bali to practice using it..

[KeeFy]

I almost pulled the trigger yesterday. Untill i heard that the prices will come down really quickly soon. So i reckon 1 to 2 month wait is worth a hundred + in savings

[Bercy]

I have a 40D that I still think is quite new! I tend to use it as a camera, not an alarm clock, personal organiser and mix master. One day some one will invent a camera with a manual focus, aperture ring and shutter speed, and maybe ISO. That would be scary! WIth film it was pretty much all about the glass, but I guess it is not so easy now and the relationship between the glass, the sensor and the black box purports to faithfully record what the sensor reads, is more important. I have to be content with what I have but hope those acquiring the Mark3 have a camera that lives up to the price tag!

[agb]

The 5DIII seems to me to almost have the best features of the 5DII and the 7D combined in a single full frame camera.
But now that I have the 7D I will have to stick with it and its limitations.

[Dylan & Marianne]

hmm I just got mine today , took a few pictures in RAW , tried to have a look at them in CS5 and LR3 - no go grrrrr
temporary solution is to use adobe RAW converter 6.7 - patiently waiting for an update............

[JM Tran]

or use DNG converter to convert it to DNG and open them in existing programs.