- Conclusion Get the lowdown
- Features How it compares
- Performance Real world benchmarks
- Differences Technical showdown
- Reviews Word on the street
- Competition Others to consider
- Discussion Answers and opinions
Canon EOS 5D Mark III
- 22.1 MP
- Full frame CMOS
- 3.2" LCD
Released March, 2012
Rated 82% by by DPReview (Mar, 2012)The new model takes many user interface elements of Canon's flagship APS-C DSLR the EOS 7D and combines them with a 22MP full-frame CMOS sensor that is capable of capturing high quality output up to very high sensitivities.
Conclusion Check out the Canon EOS 5D Mark III
First reviewed March, 2012
Features Key features of the Canon EOS 5D Mark III
22.1 MP
Full frame
Rated 82% by by DPReview (Mar, 2012)With the movie mode/live view selection switch movie mode feels much better integrated into the camera's operation and the switch allows for seamless transition from stills to movie shooting.
megapixels
| 0 MP | 22.1 MP    | 40 MP |
EOS 5D Mark III by rbtk (Oct, 2012)That said, the 5d3 also has a great sensor - it has excellent color, excellent metering, WB and a more reasonable megapixel count.
EOS 5D Mark III by DPReview (Mar, 2012)This is pretty much the performance you would expect from a camera with a 22MP pixel count and a good quality lens.
sensor size
EOS 5D Mark III by Bill-Pehrson--Riverrunner-7I have a Canon EOS 7D, which I really love as well, so it's wonderful to now have a great full frame camera to go along with a great crop frame camera.
EOS 5D Mark III by DOBrien--We-review-stuff. (Mar, 2012)cash and are looking for a full frame with video!
viewfinder size
EOS 5D Mark III by c|net (Jan, 2009)Canon also reduced the spot meter size to 1.5 percent of the viewfinder.
EOS 5D Mark III by Photography Blog (Apr, 2012)The viewfinder has also been upgraded, now offering an improved 100% coverage to its predecessor’s 98%, with a magnification of 0.71x and dioptre correction.
body size
152 x 116 x 76 mm
160 x 157 x 91 mm
136 x 107 x 76 mm
EOS 5D Mark III by C.-Concepcion (Apr, 2012)The camera is not heavy I would say but with the lens and the first all day shooting I felt the weight.
EOS 5D Mark III by john (May, 2012)It also has the right weight to support those heavy L lens and the grip and handling are perfect.
focus points
| 0 | 11   | 70 |
EOS 5D Mark III by E.-Lacey (Mar, 2012)The result of these added focus points is a system that is very quick to lock focus, and very accurate.
Performance Real world tests of Canon EOS 5D Mark III
DxOMark image quality
EOS 5D Mark III by DPReview (Mar, 2012)The Canon EOS 5D Mark III's out-of-camera JPEGs offer good colors, tonality and dynamic range with a very smooth highlight roll-off but in terms of pixel-level detail the images are not quite as good as we might expect from a 22MP sensor with a Canon L-lens mounted in front of it.
EOS 5D Mark III by MoonX (May, 2012)The color accuracy and vibrancy out of the box is great, even shooting with a "neutral" or "faithful" color setting.
DxOMark low light performance
EOS 5D Mark III by C.-Bushman (Oct, 2012)This camera has the night vision of a barn owl and will grab the shot you least expect to grab in EXTREMELY low light.
EOS 5D Mark III by N.-Mckown (Jul, 2012)I love using this camera for lots of reasons...Mostly, I'm amazed at the fast and accurate focusing power and the quality of my shots in low light.
shutter lag
| 0 ms | 260 ms  | 200 ms |
EOS 5D Mark III by J.-Howell (Apr, 2012)Shutter lag and mirror blackout is now faster than before and leads to a more instant, responsive feel while shooting.
EOS 5D Mark III by DPReview (Mar, 2012)The more silent shutter actuation is achieved by slowing down the shutter and mirror reflex action and as a downside there is a slight increase in shutter lag and viewfinder blackout time.
continuous shooting
EOS 5D Mark III by c|net (Jan, 2009)For burst shooting, however, it's the slowest of all the new models, partly because of Nikon's significantly lower resolution and Sony's doubling up on the processors to maintain burst rates.
EOS 5D Mark III by DPReview (Mar, 2012)On the other hand the Canon offers faster burst shooting, which makes it more suitable for capturing fast-moving action.
battery life
950 photos
2,600 photos
500 photos
EOS 5D Mark III by Photography Blog (Apr, 2012)Battery life is rated to CIPA standards at 950 shots using the viewfinder, or 200 shots in live view mode.
Our analysis How does it stack up against its top 10 competitors
pros
-
HD video -
Generic -
Full frame -
Gives you more flexibility when framing your shot -
41 -
61 -
3.2" -
1,040 k dots -
Opaque -
0.28 fps -
120 ms -
Combines multiple photos together to capture both bright and dark areas -
Mar, 2012 -
76 mm -
152 x 116 x 76 mm -
950 g
cons
-
11.7 ev -
0 -
The screen is fixed in place -
87.22% -
Taking quality photos in low-light will require external hardware -
No geotagging included -
None
Reviews Word on the street
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 | Rated by 184 users at amazon.com Rated 100% by by Scott-Bourne--Scott-Bourne (Apr, 2012) Rated 100% by by Phaseout (Apr, 2012) Rated 80% by by David-Siegfried |
Sensor
Canon EOS 5D Mark III | Rated 82% by by DPReview (Mar, 2012)With a larger sensor comes more dynamic range and better performance in low light - unfortunately these attributes of the sensor are not fully utilized in video mode on the 5D Mark III.
Canon EOS 5D Mark III | Rated 82% by by DPReview (Mar, 2012)In Tv mode ISO and Aperture are set automatically, you select shutter speed by turning the front dial.
Canon EOS 5D Mark III | Rated 100% by by Greg-K (Aug, 2012)I like having HDR feature as it allows me to easily get 3 raw images plus HDR jpg.
Focus
Canon EOS 5D Mark III | Rated 80% by by gMan (May, 2012)It's not a big bump from 5D2, but includes some nice features, such as new AF system, HDR, multi-exposure, multi-storage card support.
Canon EOS 5D Mark III | Rated 100% by by CanonInBama (May, 2012)Having all of those (61) AF points can be a little overwhelming at first, but they are fantastic for getting the composition right the first time in camera without having to set and recompose.
Canon EOS 5D Mark III | Rated 82% by by DPReview (Mar, 2012)This second, 'AF Live' method is potentially more accurate and flexible (not being constrained to the 61 points of the AF sensor); it also has a face-detection option.
Autofocus
Canon EOS 5D Mark III | Rated 100% by by A.-DattaJust for reference it has the same AF as the upcoming pro camera 1DX and it is performing better than any other canon AF to date, not just the 5 series based on user input.
Canon EOS 5D Mark III | Rated 100% by by C.-Concepcion (Apr, 2012)What's important is that when you use AF you can capture a nice pic fast without going for MF or manually controlling the exposure.
Canon EOS 5D Mark III | Rated 82% by by DPReview (Mar, 2012)The other key improvement is the simplification of the AF configuration.
Lens
Canon EOS 5D Mark III | Rated 90% by by TrustedReviews (Apr, 2012)Paired with the professional-grade Canon EF 24-70 f/2.8 and Canon EF 70-200 f/2.8 zoom lenses the 5D Mark III delivers impressively sharp results.
Canon EOS 5D Mark III | Rated 90% by by TrustedReviews (Apr, 2012)In addition, the Mark III also offers a Distortion Correction feature to lessen the effects pincushion or barrel distortion.
Canon EOS 5D Mark III | Rated 90% by by Photography Blog (Apr, 2012)You can now set the aperture and shutter speed from the camera in movie mode, and exposure compensation and AE-Lock can also be used.
Image quality
Canon EOS 5D Mark III | Rated 82% by by DPReview (Mar, 2012)The High Dynamic Range (HDR) mode is a new feature on the 5D Mark III and increases a scene's dynamic range by combining several exposures into one.
Canon EOS 5D Mark III | Rated 100% by by Scott-Bourne--Scott-Bourne (Apr, 2012)The images are crisp and the color rendition accurate.
Canon EOS 5D Mark III | Rated 100% by by Theresa (Apr, 2012)In my opinion the image quality is top notch (right where it should be for such a high power DSLR).
Competition What else you should consider
 | 1 | Nikon D4 Fastest rapid fire mode Nikon D4 vs Canon EOS 5D Mark III |
 | 2 | Sony SLT-A99 Most detailed video recording mode Sony SLT-A99 vs Canon EOS 5D Mark III |
 | 3 | Nikon D800 Best image quality as rated by DXOMark Nikon D800 vs Canon EOS 5D Mark III |
 | 4 | Nikon D600 Least noise at high ISO Nikon D600 vs Canon EOS 5D Mark III |
 | 5 | Canon EOS 5D Mark II 4-way tie: Largest sensor 5D Mark II vs 5D Mark III |
 | 6 | Canon EOS 6D OK benchmarked shot to shot times 6D vs 5D Mark III |
 | 7 | Canon EOS 7D 4-way tie: Has a built-in flash 7D vs 5D Mark III |
New duel?
Let the battle continue or dare to compare.
Popular Questions
July 6, 2012
If you were to switch camera brands, which camera would you buy?
Tell us what camera you have already, and what camera you would get if you had to switch camera brands.
Beginner I
20
Answers October 17, 2012
Why would you select the A99 over the D800 or 5D MKIII?
I own a Canon 60D with a few lenses, but am thinking of jumping into the full framed world, I'm not glued to Canon and I have no issues leaving them behind. I'll be using it as an all-purpose be...
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Answers May 27, 2012
Wedding photography
As a wedding photographer, I want a camera with great image quality that also performs well in low light. I see the D800 is a better camera overall and has significantly better image quality, is...
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Answers Latest Questions
August 12, 2012
Does the T4i shoot the same video as a 5D MarkIII?
Pro, still shooting film. Need to upgrade to a digital camera. I want to shoot video, do both camera shoot the same video? I know about the full frame vs. the 1.6 cropped sensor.
Beginner I
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Answers November 29, 2012
Semi-Pro Videographer / hobbyist photographer needing perfect upgrade
I am venturing into doing video work but my budget will only allow for a 5DM3 with a 24-105mm L lens or a T4i with more lenses and more add ons. Which should I choose. I'm stuck with too I do to...
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Image quality at any ISO (within reason, of course).
* I am a keen enthusiast and I submit photos to stock agencies and competitions. I currently use a Lumix LX3 (yeah, I know this is a big step up!). * I use aperture priority and of...
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Answers Unanswered Questions
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January 21, 2013
Shutter lag
Will I notice the slower shutter lag difference in the 5D MK III? And does the 1D have better/faster focus accuracy?
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Answers January 11, 2013
Portrait shoots, landscape shoots, a little macro, and videos?
I'm interested in rather casual shoothing, primarily of persons, landscapes, sometimes animals, with some macro shots and I'm interested in shooting FullHD videos. I care a lot about image in of...
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Answers December 31, 2012
Video tapping something for a very long period of time (+2)
Video tapping messages and programs.
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Answers Community Find out what the Sortable community is saying about the Canon EOS 5D Mark III
53
people have recommended the
Canon EOS 5D Mark IIITop Canon EOS 5D Mark III experts at Sortable
heuscher 
Intermediate II
Crisandjason-Langley 
Beginner II
Philip-Davis 
Expert III
Salar-Full-HD 
Intermediate I
Nikon D800
- 36.2 MP
- Full frame CMOS
- 3.2" LCD
1 more Sortable user recommendeds the Nikon D800 over the Canon EOS 5D Mark III.
View all discussions | View comparison 
Beginner I
2
votes I'm a nikon guy But The mk III does better at video than the D800 Less megapixels =less noise
- 0 comments
- May 28, 2012
- Reply to: For video only: lowlight, sharpness, focus & post grading?
Intermediate II
2
votes If you are open to either and there isn't a particular lens from either you 'must have', then the fundamental difference is the sensor. It's not possible to say one is better than the other. so...
- 0 comments
- July 16, 2012
- Reply to: Can't Decide
Beginner II
1
vote The 5DMKIII handles iso noise better than anything I've seen. Canon L glass is legendary, 85 f1.2 and 50 f1.2 are probably the best lenses in their class. NIkon bodies have great ergonomics and I...
- 0 comments
- October 14, 2012
- Reply to: Wedding photography
Pentax K-30
- 16.1 MP
- APS-C CMOS
- 3" LCD
6 more Sortable users recommended the Canon EOS 5D Mark III over the Pentax K-30.
View all discussions | View comparison 
Beginner I
-1
votes I was a Nikonian for more than 30 years (yeah, that old). When I went digital, Canon was the only one offering full frame (5D Mk1). So I switched to Canon. I'm still with it. After the Mark 1 2...
- 0 comments
- January 5, 2013
- Reply to: If you were to switch camera brands, which camera would you buy?
Sony SLT-A99
- 24 MP
- Full frame EXMOR
- 3" LCD
11 more Sortable users recommended the Sony SLT-A99 over the Canon EOS 5D Mark III.
View all discussions | View comparison 
Beginner I
-1
votes I think you should go with the Canon 5d mark iii. Even though it is the most expensive on among the three, the price is definitely worth it. It has build in HDR, and has 22.1 mega pixels which is...
- 0 comments
- October 17, 2012
- Reply to: Why would you select the A99 over the D800 or 5D MKIII?
