Canon EOS 5D Mark III 22.3 MP Full Frame CMOS with 1080p Full-HD Video Mode Digital SLR Camera (Body)

This is my review as a landscape photographer. Upfront you should know that I don't shoot video. I realize there are many video upgrades but I wouldn't have a use for them in my current work. That's not covered in this review. When the MkIII first was announced, it was about $500 more than it is now. And on paper, I decided that for the quality differences in my actual images, it would not be worth the upgrade. I felt content in my analysis and went on happily using my MkII for several more months in which I logged thousands of frames and make several new additions to my portfolio, which you can see at LensTraveler18 and at this moment all images in the last 3 years are from the MkII. This winter, I traveled to Jordan with a group of photographers and met a guy who went through the same thought process I did. He gave me a complete tour of the new features and I was blown away with the improvements made by Canon. After the recent price drop, which brought the MkIII within about $500 more than what I paid for the MkII, I decided to make the purchase. I am thrilled that I did. I just returned from Iceland and used both cameras and started to notice differences that make my experience more enjoyable and my images "better" from my perspective. I will try and explain what I found and why those changes were important to me. This is a complete overhaul, upgrade and enhancement of the MkII. There are no similarities except the size of the sensor physically and the number of megapixels which is roughly the same as the MkII. So to consider this an upgrade is misleading. The body is shaped differently yet almost completely familiar to the MkII user, and the menu structure is an enhanced version of the MkII. It's VERY enhanced. The Canon "Experience:" If I were to summarize what I realized and what's been said over and over here in the forums is that Canon actually listened to users carefully and implemented nearly every suggestion for improvement, and there are many. I cannot say enough about Canon and Canon Professional Services (CPS,) who are the repair and service arm of Canon. Nikon readers should tune out here, I suspect you will be disappointed. Before I left for Iceland, I had my 5dMkII cleaned and adjusted by CPS, it took 3 days, the camera came back better than it was before and I had a long conversation with the service rep who explained what was found and what was done to my camera. Side note: I slipped and smashed a 17-40L zoom to smithereens. I spent 5 minutes picking up the pieces so I wouldn't litter. I put all the pieces into a box and shipped it to Canon. They charged me under two hundred and returned a perfect, tested lens. That's what you get with Canon. Features: With the MkIII, autofocus has been enhanced so much that it's practically telepathic. The problem is that so much new functionality is built in, the learning curve on the autofocus system itself is substantial. You can just use it like you did on the MkII and it's 1000% better but there's so much it can do. I cared about that, I was thrilled to see how heavily it was enhanced. The AEB (autoexposure bracketing) system now matches Nikon in allowing for 3, 5 and 7 frames, with 1/3 to 2 stops between each frame and with full offset. For HDR types, this is a huge improvement and very welcome. The memory card management system now accepts two cards, one SD and on CF, and you can separate which image types goes to which card or use them as backup. I realize Nikon's high end cameras had this before so it's catchup here too. But very welcome. There are two new "functions" which are useful and one of them is AWESOME. The camera can now shoot HDR and process 3 frames into a single Jpg image. I have no use for this since I do everything in software but many people will really enhance their results with this new feature. The other new function is "multiple exposure" shooting which I haven't had since my film days. Yes, I am that old. I had some fun with it this past weekend and I am thrilled it's there. Virtually ALL buttons are definable and a new "Q" button has been added. I think it was on other Canon models but not on the MkII. I have already become so used to it, I almost can't imagine working without it. The processor upgrade shows up as faster processing time for noise reduction, higher frame rates and generally snappier performance. Since I spend time out in the dark, I was concerned with low light performance. This gets into a discussion of how the new sensor performs. The new sensor has about double the dynamic range as the MkII. At night, I expose at ISO100 for 10 minutes typically and sharpness was always excellent on the MkII, I never complained. Yet the MkIII is better in several ways; the pixels are "sharper" the fringing/noise is far lower and the color appears more accurate. There are also non-specific differences in that images seem to "look better" which is totally subjective, when shot with the MkIII. I know the new 6D will be readily available soon and it will be a great camera from what I have read. And with the 6d came two improvements I wish were included in the 5dMkIII; the built-in GPS and WiFi. I did buy the external GPS receiver and I am generally happy with it. I wish it were smaller and more "informative" on its own. But now I can tag my image files with GPS data. And it works in Lightroom 4. Besides these two obvious exclusions, I have found wanting for almost nothing else with the MKIII. Yet, I do have my wish list. And this goes for all SLR's and even all digital cameras. My Wish List: - Include a built in intervalometer with bulb ramping (google it) and lightning triggers, along with full time-lapse as well as internal stacking. This would make a lot of sense. Better yet, the entire line of Canon cameras should have APPS. This way, the entire photographic community can create time-lapse, tracking, remote control and a host of other amazing functions all run from a menu. Wouldn't that be incredible? You could buy or create any software function you could imagine. - Like I said, include the GPS and WiFi remote control AND bluetooth functionality. - Add USB 3.0 transfer directly so I can stop using a card reader. - Lower the price by $500 and Canon, you will own the DSLR market. Thats what I have so far, I know I have left out a lot of the new functionality because it's not as meaningful to me. I will update this review after several more months of shooting.

Wow, where do I begin. To start with, I've been a Nikon guy up until this point. Going back to my first SLR with the N80 film camera back in the day (god only knows how many rolls of film I exposed with that thing), to the D70, the D200, and the D7000. I was skeptical of all the hype around the 5D3, so being a cautious man I rented it and a 16-35 LII first. As soon as I held the camera in my hand, I knew I was hooked on the ergonomics alone. Further shooting continued to impress with it's amazing user experience, refined menus, and incredible autofocus performance. So I ended up buying a 5d3 along with a 35 1.4 L. (16-35 had too much distortion for my applications) Ergonomics: This thing fits your hand like a well worn glove. My hands are on the small side being only 5'7" tall, but even the big full frame body just snugs in my hand like it was custom designed for me. You really need to hold this camera to believe how ergonomically amazing it really is. It balances perfectly both with the 16-35L II and the 35 1.4 L. The physical buttons are very customizable, letting you configure the camera to make it's operation so intuititve, it just gets completely out of the way and let's you focus completely on shooting. User Experience: The top notch physical ergonomics and the customizeable buttons combine to make a user experience like I've never had before. I liken it to my Volkswagen GTI - everything is in the perfect spot and the product feels like it was designed to maximize the joy in the user experience. It really must be used to be believed. Refined Menus: Despite being a Nikon DSLR users since 2004 with the D70, I've never got used to Nikon's menus. On my D7000, changing anything takes me forever just to find the item. I've had the 5D3 for less than a week, and I can already find items right away. Maybe it has to do with Canon's method of Horizontally orienting the menus, instead of Nikon's veritical orientation. I'm really not sure, but I know for me the menu is so much more intuitive than Nikon. Autofocus Performance: Autofocus performance is simply stunning. I've heard it said in the photography world that Nikon has accurate and slow autofocus, and Canon has inaccurate but fast autofocus. I've used the 5D3 to shoot challenging indoor sports, and I'm blown away by it's speed AND it's accuracy. On both the 16-35 and the 35 1.4, the autofocus feels like it BITES into the subject. It's very confidience inspiring, letting you worry about important things like Light, Color and Gesture. Screen: While I admit that I have not personally tried a D800, several reputable review sites complain of it's green tinted dispaly. This is not confidence inspiring. The 5D3's display is just gorgeous - bright enough to see outdoors, responsive, quick, and accurate. Why I went with the 5D3 instead of the D800: After analysis, I felt like 5D fit my 'shoot from the hip' style of photography best. The d800, as evidenced in DxO Mark and other sources, cleary gives better technical IQ. But as most of my work is indoor sports and candid photography, the 5D was the clear winner for it's silent continuous AF-DRive mode, higher FPS (4 vs 6) in fast mode, user experience, and legendary canon autofocus. Conclusion: This camera was cleary designed with THE PHOTOGRAHER in mind. It becomes transparent , letting you focus on what matters - Light Color and Gesture. To me, this is the clincher. LCG are really what is most important in photography. Update 10.24.2012 Color: I used to convert all my images to B&W when I shot Nikon. With this camera however, I find myself loving the way color images look. Colors are deep and smooth, without being overly saturated and harsh. I find myself using Silver EfxPro less and less. I'll A/B in lightroom between the color image and the B&W converted image, and the color image has some inexplicable ethereal quality that I love. Remember Kodack NC and VC film? This camera renders skin tones like NC, and colors like a slightly less saturated VC. It's a beautiful balance - it has a soul to it, like an old Fender Twin reverb tube guitar amplifer. Smooth and soulful. Now admittedly this could just be an evolution of my style, but I thought I would throw this in here and you can take it with a grain of salt. Also note that I think a lot of my love for this camera comes from my love of the 35 1.4 L that stays glued to it. Also #2, I always shoot RAW. So I can not comment on the camera's color modes or .JPG engine. Also #3, I've learned with this camera to "overexpose" by about 2/3 EV and turn down exposure by 1/3 to 2/3 in post. When you do this, the noise performance in the shadows is stunning. Update 01.11.2013 I'm continually amazed at how clean the sensor says. Using the D7000 in the same environment I'm using the 5D3 in, I was forced to continually clean the sensors. The 5D3's sensor cleaner is quite effective - I have a sensor loupe, and even upon inspecting the sensor that closely I still haven't seen a single particle of dust adhere to the sensor. This could also be a testament to the 5D3's weather sealing. You may think "yea, big deal" but dust can be difficult to remove from photos without leaving any traces. Loving this camera more and more. Update 05.07.2013 I know I mentioned the autofocus above, but I wanted to talk about how much I love the spread of those cross type focus points. Having 41 (YES, FORTY-ONE) of those things to choose from really enables some creative freedom with regards to composition. I shoot a lot at f/1.4, so the whole "focus then recompose" thing just doesn't cut it for me. The focus points cover a large portion of the frame, which lets you put your subject closer to the edge of the frame for some cool negative space or environmental compositions. It can be tough to see your photo this way, but once you realize you can do it it becomes a powerful story telling tool.

The switch from Nikon: After being with nikon for 16+ years, I recently threw in the towel. As a wedding shooter, I count on my equipment and need things to work correctly. I had purchased two nikon d600's 1 year apart and both had the horrible dust/debris issue. After repeat cleanings and 20,000+ shots, both cameras still had the issue. I got tired of wet cleaning the sensors and got tired of nikons poor customer service. Nikon decided that the D600 owners just had to either deal with repeat sensor cleanings or send in the camera to "possibly" have the issue resolved. Nikon had no proven fix besides switching out the shutter and praying that the issue went away. Nikon released the d610 and left the rest of the people hanging. Leaving nikon was extremely difficult for me because I had a big investment in the bodies, accessories and glass. I made the move at a huge loss but am extremely happy that I did. The differences: I purchased both a 6D and the 5D mark III from amazon. The immediate thing that I have noticed is that all my canon glass has been good with focus right out of the box. With almost every nikon lens/camera combo, I had to pull out a focus chart and focus tune software and apply fine tuning. I also noticed that the focus system on my canons do not have the tendency to act up under tungsten lighting like my nikons did. My d600's and d7000 had a tendency to back-focus under heavy tungsten lighting. The canon DPP software is a pleasure to use. I hated Nikon capture NX2. It was slow and the user interface was horrible. Canon DPP loads quickly and applying batch changes is amazing. I do miss the Nik software selection point feature of CNX2. The one thing I don't like is the fact that canon makes you purchase your lens hoods separately and at a premium. I do like the fact that the canon equipment is made in japan and has a quality feel to it compared to cameras like the d600 that are made in Thailand. The 5D mark iii vs D800: Prior to leaving nikon, I also spent a week with the nikon D800. I found that the d800 produced a lot of noise in the raw files when pushed to higher iso's. This alone was enough to turn me off. I did test my sample of the d800 for left focus issues. I did not have the left AF issue of older d800's but the camera I got had some focus issues that required fine tuning all my glass to the body. In some cases the fine tune was at +20. The D800 files did have a lot of detail and dynamic range but the file size was huge. If you shoot a lot of landscape and want lots of dynamic range, the d800 is a good option. But the dynamic range comes at the cost of nikons lack of quality control. If dynamic range is not your main goal but want a great reliable camera with a killer AF system (better in my testing) and smaller files, the canon 5D mark III is amazing. I suggest not to get caught up in the megapixel game unless you do some very heavy cropping like birds in flight for which the d800 may be a better choice. The 5D mark III files are great and have plenty of latitude for most users. 5D mark III: Focus: Focus Focus Focus. The 5D mark III has a killer focus system. The best that I have used. The focus system is lighting fast, accurate and very very customizable. It is a pleasure to be able to customize my focus system like this. I recently shot an event and out of 700+ images, I scrapped maybe 10 shots because of focus. The ones I did delete because of focus was do to me not placing the focus point on the right area of the image. No back/front focus like my nikons had. No focus shift under tungsten lighting like some nikons. The hit rate on focus is amazing. You want to know why canon can charge a premium for this camera? Because of its pure amazing focus system! If you absolutely need the best focus system on any camera, this is it. Customization: You can assign buttons to do certain functions and to your own shooting style. This is a god send compared to nikons lack of customization. Body: The camera is solid with a good feel in the hand. The buttons are easy to operate and cleverly located. Coming from nikon is an adjustment because the camera buttons are in a different layout. It will become easy to use after some time and practice. I did not like the fact that canon has no built in removable screen protector like the nikon. This is a minor gripe but one that I resolved by buying the vello stick on glass protectors. I know the nikon plastic screen protectors are not fancy but they did a good job of protecting the screen from bumps. Images: The 5D makr III images are fantastic. The auto white balance works much better compared to my nikons I had owned. The 5D mark III is not able to pull details from the shadows like the D800 or D600 so it is a sacrifice in dynamic range if that is the most important thing to you. Nikon still has canon beat in dynamic range. I will personally will take a in focus, sharp, good out of camera white balance and dust free image out of a canon any day vs a hit and miss focus and dusty d600 image with dynamic range. An out of focus image with dirt is useless to me. Conclusion: If you shoot anything that requires this focus system, this reliability and this customization, BUY THIS CAMERA. I found the 5d and 6d is a perfect combo. I use the 6D with the wifi feature when working in a studio paired to an ipad and use the 5D when shooting a wedding or anything that moves at a fast pace. The 5d mark III continues to sell even at the higher price because it is a proven camera and you cant go wrong with it. I love it and will update this review as I use it more. I am glad I left nikon and I hope they learn one day that customer loyalty is earned.

The 5d Mark III has great specs as we all know, but is the build quality sufficient for professional use? Short answer - no. It's the little bits and pieces that simply cannot stand up to extended use. The two big issues that everybody is talking about are the joystick and the mode dial. The cover to my mode dial fell off after light use (no drop, no water damage, just regular use). The cover is a thin piece of metal that has the modes on it (Av, Tv, M, etc.). It is not essential for the camera to function but without it it is difficult to tell which mode you are in. When I sent my camera into Canon I was expecting the cost of repair to reflect the nature of the piece that fell off. When I got word from Canon that it would cost $250 to have the cover replaced, I was shocked. When I expressed my disappointment to them, they began negotiating the price and eventually told me they could do it for around $200 so I told them to send the camera back unrepaired. Several of my friends and colleagues have also had their mode dial covers fall off so this is evidently a common issue. None of them have been willing to pay the cost of repair and have decided to simply tape a piece of paper to the mode dial so they can know which mode is which. It is a shame that customers who spent over $3,000 on their cameras must take this route, lest they spend hundreds of dollars on a little metal cap. I have found that the build quality has drastically decreased from the Mark II to the Mark III. I did not previously see myself switching brands but have some serious thinking to do.

UPDATE as of 17 June 2012: I have now taken more than 10,000 shots with my new 5D mk3. I have returned from a trip to Italy where I took about 4000 shots over 11 days. I traveled light and only used two lens (24-105 IS and 70-200 IS), 90% using the 24-105. I did not use a flash, about 70% were inside shots. The low light (many at ISO 12,800) performance was very good to excellent and allowed shots that could not have been taken as flash was not allowed in many inside locations. My outside shots were excellent with outstanding color and sharpness. This is a great camera! The July 2012 issue of Popular Photography has reviews of the Canon 5D mk3 and the Nikon D800. The Test Results sections are very interesting. Keep having fun. Original Review: First let me say that I don't appreciate people who write a review on a product that they have not used. I believe that anyone who rates the new 5D MkIII below 4 stars has not properly evaluated this camera. It is excellent and I only have one gripe (I wish it had a simple built-in fill flash as my D700 and 7D have/had). My last two favorite DSLRs were the Nikon D700 and Canon 7D; both were excellent and worthy of a five star rating when they were introduced. Until now the D700 was my only Full Frame DSLR but I gave it to my nephew (my nephew has become a very good photographer) after I used my 7D for several months. Because of the high cost of lens and other accessories, I have now decided to standardize on Canon. As a side note, I plan to keep my 7D or it's replacement as I like the 1.6 crop factor for telephoto work. The 7D body is less expensive than most good telephoto lens ( I already own the EF 100-400 ). I received my new 5D MkIII from Amazon on March 26th and have taken about 1200 shots. What I like best about the new 5D is the quality of my pictures. I also enjoy 2 stops + or - higher ISO performance ( vs D700 and 7D ) and at a recent Easter dinner event was able to take all my shoots w/o a flash (95% were taken inside) using f/4 lens (24-105 IS and 70-200 IS). I used Av mode with Auto ISO ( Auto ISO set to Max range ). I try to keep Av at f8 unless I have a depth of field, shutter or ISO issue. The 61 Point AF worked well but I also used single-point Spot AF alot. Auto WB was excellent. Evaluative metering was used as my default but I used Spot metering with certain light issues. I did not record in RAW for this family event. I recorded Large jpegs to my CF card and small jpegs to the SD card. Only a few shots needed a slight adjustment in Photoshop. I absolutely LOVE the Q function when I forget what I am doing ( thanks 7D ). I have played a little bit with my 50mm f/1.4 len in low light and my pictures are better than "my eyes". So far all is good and I am having fun.

I had full intensions of working my 5D Mark II for another year or two. The Mark II had really served me well, but I didn't have rain protection on one of my photo tours this year and during the week of intense rains here in Colorado, the Mark II gave out after being in the rain for 2 days. I needed a camera right away while my Mark II went in for repairs. I decided to go with the Mark III since it used compact flash and also I wanted the upgraded 61-point focusing system and the faster frame rate. Both the Mark III and the 6D have the new Digic 5+ processor which is amazing but the Mark III can shoot at a full 6fps allowing me to use the camera in more action related situations and so I didn't need to purchase a 2nd camera for the occasional sporting events I was shooting. On my last photo tour we did some astro photography just outside of Crested Butte Colorado on Ohio Pass and the result was some amazing images at ISO 5000 with little to no noise! I literally was able to use image right out of the camera with no post noise reduction. I also shoot portraits and occasionally I get requests to shoot the kids in action. I went to one of the high school football games to capture of few of my students in action on the football field and I was able to shoot at ISO 12800 so I could capture the players in action with a fast enough shutter speed. This in combination with 6fps gave me clean crisp images. Post noise reduction was minimal. The 5D Mark II would never have been able to match this camera's performance. Iso 6400 on the Mark II is loaded with noise so 12800. I am disappointed in the fact that the SD card slot is not UDMA-7 compatible and will only support write speeds of 133X. If you want to shoot fast with no buffering then don't use the SD card slot. Stick to the compact flash. When you pair this camera with the Lexar 1000X or San Disk Extreme Pro CF cards it can shoot all day long at 6fps and you never notice any buffering. I love the new beefier body and grip. It feels really good in the hands and ever better than the Mark II. Though it is heavier, I love the magnesium body. This camera is much more solid and tight sealing than my Mark II, though during my trip to Telluride I made sure I had rain and snow protection for the camera. The price is high for this camera, but I'm totally happy with my purchase. I'm glad I didn't settle for the 6D. The new 61-point focusing system and the 6fps frame rate made this the right purchase for me, plus the fact that I could take advantage of my already huge investment in compact flash cards I already owned and didn't have to move to new SD cards. Love this investment in my business! Totally worth it!

Ive gone from the Canon 20D to the Canon5D to the 5dmk2 and recently made the decision to upgrade to the Canon5dmk3. Both of my 5Dmk2 shutter lives were over the 150,000 "clicks" from Canon so I used that to justify my upgrade. I sent in the 5d2 for service as I am going to keep one of them for backup and to second shoot. I have reviewed things before like the Canon 70-200mm f2.8 v2 lens HERE. Once again this review doesn't contain any charts and scientific mathematical optical graphs comparing the 5dmk2 to the 5dmk3. But I do have real world (for me) tests. Ive had 5 sessions with the new 5DMK3...here is MY mini review with 5 images (edited in LR and CS6) 1) Focus is light years better than mk2. Canon finally got it right. My 50mm 1.2 that I never use because of poor performance with my mk2 (even after sending it in to Canon to have them calibrate it together) is now spot on. You can pick your focus point with your zoom or primes at IT NAILS IT. Using the dials I can pick the tiny red square where I want it to focus on my portraits and guess what? It nails it! No more trying to lock focus at 2.8 or wider then recomposing, zooming in, trying it again, over and over. Although it is a hard habit to break from 4 years with the 5dmk2s. But I finally feel confident when the shutter clicks (which is probably how most Nikon users already feel). 2) The camera seems "faster".The shutter makes a more "confident" sound without being louder... and is quicker. Sounds like a "quiet" machine gun that the other cameras (like Nikon) must sound like when shooting multishot. 3)The screen is gorgeous, bright, and HUGE. The magnification with one press takes you right into a zoom. No more plus, plus,plus,plus,plus to look at eyes then minus,minus,minus,minus,minus to back out. It looks amazing and clear...even outdoors in bright sun at the beach. Its like going from a 13inch laptop screen to a 30inch monitor. The only thing that it a hard habit to break is Canon moved the magnifying glass to the other side of the camera so I keep pressing the wrong button with my thumb to magnify. It is now on the left which will take some time getting used to. 4)The 70-200 firing INTO direct sun at sunset was a little slow to focus and had a little difficulty. The primes 85 and 50 did not. The 85 is my go to lens for my portrait work so I don't see that being to much of an issue for me. Also the 24mm 1.2 L performed amazing with the 5d3 as it had some of the same problems on the 5d2 as the 50mm 1.2 did. 5) The "cloudy" WB setting in RAW (which is what I usually shoot under for nice skin tones) comes out a little too "orange" with the 5d3. I went back to AWB. I can adjust in LR if needed or I may just set it myself in camera slightly cooler than 5500K. But it is noticeable to me.I am trilled with the camera at this point. The focus issue is worth the upgrade to me. The images are gorgeous...just like the 5d2. I really didn't expect to see a HUGE difference in the quality of the final image. For me and my workflow it is the ease of use and speed that I GET those images that is a huge plus for me. *I think you have two choices: Trade to the Nikon system OR get the 5d3 to stay with Canon. I have shot with Nikon before. It feels like that when shooting with the 5d3-fast, confident, spot on focus. Everything else is the beautiful images that canon users have learned to love and the fast prime lenses love this camera as well.

I used a 7D prior to this. I have both bodies now. I'll spare you the technical aspects of the camera, because honestly, I don't think it matters that much. What is important to me is that the camera has the ability to do what you need it to, and it doesn't make it a chore to do so. It needs to remove itself from the process as much as possible so you can make the art not master how to flip switches or earn the high score at The Game of Menus. I'll preface the remainder of the review with some information about my shooting style. 1. I'm a RAW only guy; I just don't think about JPG. 2. I can sometimes be an IQ geek (I try not to be). 3. I only shoot in manual mode... because I don't ever remember that Av and Tv exist (I've long forgotten about P and A). 4. I turn off just about every setting that exists. Highlight priority, Noise reduction, long exposure comp, etc... all off. 5. I usually only shoot in Expanded AF Area or Spot AF. 6. I process everything through LR. Now... here's what I like about the 5D Mark III: - The 5D III has some wonderful ISO response, especially compared to my 7D. I was only marginally content up to ISO 400 on the 7D, but I'm happy with ISO 6400 on the 5D before I feel the need to apply some noise reduction (I shoot with all that off). This lets me shoot in darker places without my own light, which is great. - Handling the camera is a joy, but man does it have menus out the yingyang. Sometimes it is a bit annoying to have to go from one end of the menus to another (e.g., from Mirror Lock up to Format Card). I am glad they took Mirror Lock up out of the Custom functions... of course... there are custom functions. For that mirro lock up bit, just set a "Tripod mode" to one of the C's on the dial and problem solved. Easy. In my hands, I really like the 5D III w/ Grip. It's bulky and heavy. It definitely feels like a tool and not a toy. Then again... I'm one of those people that liked the original O controllers for the Xbox. I held it in a bit of a weird way, though. - The AF system is great (coming from the 7D). Now when I shoot with my 7D, I feel the same as when I used a 5D II from using the 7D's AF system. The viewfinder is oddly... bare on the 7D. - The dial lock is amazing. My 7D is always ending up in Bulb or a Custom mode (it hangs at my hip from a strap). 5D III? Never changes modes, and I surely never want it to... except for tripods, which is so rare anyway. - Images come out great (when I don't suck). This is really more a consequence of the glass on the front (and my own skills holding the camera still), but the 5D III doesn't hinder the process at all. - Very well rounded. Decent FPS (7D is faster, which is why I keep it around), great ISO response, Full Frame, great AF, and wonderful button placement. Naturally, I could go to a 1DX from the 7D, but that's a lot of money, and then I lose the "1.6x crop factor" (which is only a composition/FOV thing; there is no actual magnification... beyond the differences in different size and pixel pitch senors and so forth. That's all really beside the point). All in all, it's a great camera. More MP than you need, well thought out ergonomics, and so many functions. If you are looking for a Full Frame camera that isn't $6,000, this is a wonderful option. There's also the 6D, too, and they're pretty much the same thing minus some choice features. I bought this camera before the 6D came out, and I don't regret it. If you are a professional photographer, I don't really know why you are reading this review. You already know way more than I do. If you are a serious photographer looking for a good FF camera, I give this thing a thumbs up. If you are a serious [money] amateur looking for a great all around camera (or a great FF), sure, I'd wager you won't be disappointed. If you're tight on cash, buy a much cheaper camera and invest the rest in your retirement or in glass. After all, glass matters more than the camera. I've never met anyone who can look at a photo and tell me which camera it was shot with or even which brand. Lens maybe, camera definitely not. Give a photographer a Canon Powershot, and I'm sure he/she can make better stuff than I can with this fancy pants 5D III.

Très content de mon choix! Merci pour la livraison rapide. La caméra vaut de l'argent.

Envió ok y rápido, unos 5 días laborables, la cámara va espectacular, por poner una pega, no trae libro de instrucciones en español y el tema de la garantía no lo tengo claro, si la cubre Canon España, por lo demás todo bien.

Was a gift and she loves the camera.....

Canon 5d best camera going, however sold as new uk camera....arrived with language set to japanese, and a charger plug showing this is a grey import....took two days to get into English so I could use it and then found the lens was on lock down so wouldn't take pics. Finally got it working and it is good. Reported faults to seller, got no reply, and spoke to amazon who also e.mailed seller...got no reply. Great camera but not as it was described.

Saved for a long time for this camera and it has taken my business up several notches! I have been incredibly pleased with its performance and the quality of the shots I am finally able to achieve. I did a lot of research and spoke with many seasoned photographers before I made my choice. So glad I did!