The New Canon 5D MK III Is Official

I took a bunch of crap from the trolls yesterday over offering a 5D MK III as a prize in my new contest, but I knew something the trolls didn’t – the new Mk III is on its way and it will be here soon.

Here are the most important things to know about the new camera. The 5D MK III costs $1000 more than its predecessor. $3499 – WOW! Both Nikon and Canon have significantly raised prices on their new flagships without offering much in the way of justification. I know why they did that. Here’s why…

THEY CAN

Canon knows demand for this new long-awaited successor to the more than three year-old Canon 5DMK II will sell like hotcakes. But I think it’s too much money. Doesn’t matter – I’ll buy it but still…

The basic specs will be reported all over the place but here’s what I think matters. Canon went with a 22.3 MP sensor (1/3 fewer MP than the D800) which I think is an excellent choice. I will shoot both cameras but I’ll bet dollars to donuts that the Canon has better low-light performance. That’s not always important but if it IS important to you – you’re going to want the Canon.

The new processor is the Digic 5+. There are 61-AF points (41 crosshair and five dual cross type points *lens dependent.) The camera shoots at six FPS. This is fast enough for some sports action. There’s a new version of AI Servo and there are now silent and low-vibration modes which will work well for DSLR video shooters.

There’s a new metering system, an allegedly more responsive shutter, more weatherproofing and 100% viewfinder coverage.

The camera accepts CF and SD cards and offers longer battery life which will work well with the full 1080p HD video at 24p. There is a new eight channel readout for better video quality and even SMPTE time code embedding (A big WOW there for us who shoot video.)

Manual mic input and audio level controls, HDMI out a headphone jack and a wind filter. In other words, Canon knows this camera will be the go-to choice for HDSLR video shooters and is trying their best to help out there.

There will also be a new wireless transmitter, a new GPS receiver, battery grip and new 600 EX RT speedlite that offers a built-in wireless radio transmitter. (all expensive.)

I’ll say the same thing about this camera that I said about the Nikon D800 – we have to wait and see how well the camera actually performs. But I have to say looking at the specs, the 5D MK III looks like the winner. If it matches the hype, Canon will beat Nikon – AGAIN! If the 200-400 ever actually ships from Canon, I might have to go BACK to JUST Canon instead of Canon and Nikon.

But there’s just one more thing…

I said it before and I’ll say it again. The price is too high. For an additional $1000 I think Canon should have offered more but like I said before, they will sell a bunch of them (at least one to me) no matter what. But I am sorry that they took this opportunity to charge so much for so little extra – given the hard times that most photographers are facing – that’s just my 2 cents.

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