EOS 5D Mark III strip tease: Perfection where you can’t see it.

What do you do if you rent out a camera and it comes back with a loose screw inside? You probably would send it in to a service center to get the problem fixed. But if you have the necessary technical skills (and you really need this skills) you may also decide to tackle the problem by yourself and to open the camera to find that damned screw that’s rattling around inside. This is what Roger Cicala of lensrentals.com must have thought as he got such a camera body in his hands. It happened to be an EOS 5D Mark III, and he posted the report on imaging-resource.

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EOS 5D Mark III reviews (and problems) small round-up

I still do not have any significant information (from retailers) about the rumored recall/stock delay of the EOS 5D Mark III, while it seems confirmed that new batches of the Mark III have a different top LCD cover (may it have to do with the leaking issue?). However, given the fact that Canon now officially recognizes the light-leaking issue I reported about, we should soon hear something more about. In the mean time, don’t get too much worried about these issues, at least not as long as you are not shooting with mounted lens caps :-). At least the problem with the EOS 5D Mark III RAW files should be resolved by a new version of DPP that is ready for download. But then: It seems that Canon is not the only company that has problems with its recent products! Nikon’s D800 is exploding, and has problems with tethering, colors and memory cards. And while we are waiting for (Canon-)news, why not have a look at the latest EOS 5D Mark III reviews…?

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EOS 5D Mark III vs Nikon D800 – How do they compare for photo-journalism?

Let’s go in another round of EOS 5D Mark III vs Nikon D800 comparison. Canon is facing hard times these days given the EOS 5D Mark III hardware problem we reported about and have now been officially confirmed. However, there is no reason to return your new 5D Mark III or to cancel pre-orders.

This is the second part on camerastore‘s ongoing field-testing of Canon and Nikon’s new full-frame cameras (I reported about the first part). This time, it is photojournalist Mike Drew who has a look at both cameras in a real-world, photo-event shooting at a horse competition. The setting is challenging: low light and fast moving subjects – the kind of tests I like. Hence, the attention goes mainly to how these cams cope with the issue. Moreover, JPGs are used. For a good reason, since a lot of people prefers to shot JPGs and hence is interested to know how the internal image processing performs.

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Taming the beast: a tutorial for Canon’s AF system

We know that while being an advanced (possibly the most advanced available) and powerful Auto-Focus system, the AF sported on the EOS 5D Mark III and EOS 1D X can be confusing and overwhelming. Even Ken Rockwell wasn’t able to cope with it :-). There is a comprehensive guide released by Canon (right click here and save as) and oriented to all the photographers that want to master the AF system on their 5D3 and 1DX bodies. It’s a 40 pages document, and if you are looking for something more tutorial-like, then I have a good link for you.

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More on Canon’s light-leaking issue

The possible light-leaking issue of the EOS 5D Mark III is making people curios. And while it is true that if your cam is working as expected (and as it should) with mounted lenses there is no “real issue”, it is still worth to trace down this thing. Let’s see it from a hacker’s perspective: it is not a problem you should be worried about, nevertheless I want to know if it is there. And then: is the 5D Mark III the only canon digital body that is (possibly) affected by the light-leaking issue I reported in my previous post? At canonrumors they decided to test all the Canon bodies they have in stock. Results in short…:

  • EOS 60D no issue
  • EOS 7D no issue
  • EOS 1D Mark IV – some issues and no backlight issue on one body, no issues on another body
  • EOS 5D Mark II – same issue in direct sunlight, no LCD backlight issue, no flashlight issue
  • EOS 5D Mark III – reported issues confirmed, but then… (quoting CR):
    • «The final test I did with the 5D Mark III was take the lens cap off and meter off a relatively neutral wall. I turned on the backlight and nothing changed. I then pressed a 130 lumen flashlight up against the top LCD and the exposure didn’t change. I also ran the flashlight around the camera body and absolutely nothing changed»
Once more: this is not an issue that should make you return your 5D Mark III or make you change your mind about this outstanding camera.
[via CR]