Awesome 5D3 AF

jmphotocraft

Here is a shot of my son stepping off his skimboard - if you don't know what that is, suffice to say he is moving towards me at about a medium running pace. This result was typical for the day. I know, some people will say meh, bright sun, high contrast, any camera could do that. Perhaps , but I can tell you that none I've owned (40D, 1D2N, 7D, 5D2) look this good at 100% view as often. I'm loving this camera. Lens was my 70-200/2.8II.

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100% crop:


a few more pics from the day:
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mercphoto

Wait a minue, you're telling me a 5D Mark III has better AI Servo auto focus tracking of moving subjects than a 1D Mark II-N, or a 7D? Wow!

jmphotocraft

Yep. Sarcasm meter is a bit off, what's up?

Matthew Saville

I'll be impressed if you get the same results 10 mins after sunset. :-P

=Matt=

lensmole

Nice pics! Can you tell me , in terms of a percentage value, how much better is the new focusing capabilities of the 5d iii over the 5dii,for example hits verses misses ? A rough guesstimate will do.

ziggy53

lensmole wrote: »

Nice pics! Can you tell me , in terms of a percentage value, how much better is the new focusing capabilities of the 5d iii over the 5dii,for example hits verses misses ? A rough guesstimate will do.

It appears that in terms of sports/action and still image AF speed and accuracy, the Canon 5D MKIII can match the 1D series Canon camera bodies. This is the first Canon body, outside of the 1D/1Ds bodies, which appears to have the autofocus qualities required for professional sports/action photography.

For still images, Roger Cicala, of Lensrentals.com, is rating the 5D MKIII AF accuracy above the 1D MKIV:

http://www.lensrentals.com/blog/2012/08/autofocus-reality-part-3b-canon-cameras

mercphoto

ziggy53 wrote: »

It appears that in terms of sports/action and still image AF speed and accuracy, the Canon 5D MKIII can match the 1D series Canon camera bodies. This is the first Canon body, outside of the 1D/1Ds bodies, which appears to have the autofocus qualities required for professional sports/action photography.

So you're saying for my next camera body I should consider a 5D Mark III instead of blindly assuming I'll get a 7D (or its possible successor)?

lensmole

ziggy53 wrote: »

It appears that in terms of sports/action and still image AF speed and accuracy, the Canon 5D MKIII can match the 1D series Canon camera bodies. This is the first Canon body, outside of the 1D/1Ds bodies, which appears to have the autofocus qualities required for professional sports/action photography.

For still images, Roger Cicala, of Lensrentals.com, is rating the 5D MKIII AF accuracy above the 1D MKIV:

http://www.lensrentals.com/blog/2012/08/autofocus-reality-part-3b-canon-cameras

Thanks for the link Ziggy ! Very informative tests, according to the standard deviation numbers the 5diii is a 55.84% improvement over the 5dii depending on the lens choice. It is interesting to know some lenses perform better than others. I shoot with a 35 mm L f/1.4- 99.9% of the time on a 5dii and am considering a step to the 5diii.

ziggy53

mercphoto wrote: »

So you're saying for my next camera body I should consider a 5D Mark III instead of blindly assuming I'll get a 7D (or its possible successor)?

The Canon 7D and 5D MKIII are completely different bodies, for very different purposes. Both can still be recommended, depending upon your specific applications and needs.

Likewise for pretty much all camera bodies. No single body from any manufacturer satisfies all needs.

jmphotocraft

mercphoto wrote: »

So you're saying for my next camera body I should consider a 5D Mark III instead of blindly assuming I'll get a 7D (or its possible successor)?

You should seriously consider it, but the 7D is still the king of reach if you need that. For soccer this fall I suspect I might be looking at a 1.4x TC or a 100-400L. I could get away with my 7D and 70-200 for soccer last year. I'm hoping to get some winners with my naked 70-200 just by waiting for action to come close.

Matthew Saville wrote: »

I'll be impressed if you get the same results 10 mins after sunset. :-P

How about 1/400, f/2.8, ISO 25600? Here ya go, wise guy ;-) http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1032&message=42297219

They're not mine, and not what I would call usable, but the AF performed. He has since admitted he added +0.5 in post because his monitor was off, and I also think he could have used 12800, but suffice to say, the AF worked in low light.

Matthew Saville

jmphotocraft wrote: »

How about 1/400, f/2.8, ISO 25600? Here ya go, wise guy ;-) http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1032&message=42297219

They're not mine, and not what I would call usable, but the AF performed. He has since admitted he added +0.5 in post because his monitor was off, and I also think he could have used 12800, but suffice to say, the AF worked in low light.

THAT is what I'm talking about. AF so good, it is no longer the weakest link.

Honestly with the AWESOME quiet mode, I do strongly consider a mk3 for wedding photography. Man I was in a quiet catholic ceremony the other day, and it was like I was setting off little firecrackers every time I clicked a shot on my D700. And I've tried the quiet mode on the D800, it's not very quiet at all .

Anyways, thanks for keeping me in mind and sharing the link! I am indeed impressed.

=Matt=

jmphotocraft

Cool. The silent mode is indeed a real bonus I had not even expected. Funny how some features like that completely slipped past the usual rumor mills undetected. If someone had suggested a "stealth mode" I would have laughed and said ok now you're just making stuff up for attention.

Last weekend I was at my niece's 1st birthday party, and I became aware of some glances and turning heads when my shutter would click. Switched to silent mode and that put an end to that. Not that it's actually silent, but it is significantly quieter and a much more "polite" sound.

Brett1000

jmphotocraft wrote: »

Here is a shot of my son stepping off his skimboard - if you don't know what that is, suffice to say he is moving towards me at about a medium running pace. This result was typical for the day. I know, some people will say meh, bright sun, high contrast, any camera could do that. Perhaps , but I can tell you that none I've owned (40D, 1D2N, 7D, 5D2) look this good at 100% view as often. I'm loving this camera. Lens was my 70-200/2.8II.

nice pics, 5D3 & 70-200 2.8II a good combination