Canon 5D Mark III finally announced

Yesterday Canon finally announced the anticipated successor of highly regarded and respected Canon 5D line. The 5D Mark II is used by both professional and prosumer photographers across the globe, it was also used on the set of major productions like the TV show House. The 5D Mark II showed that DSLRs were serious when it came to movie mode and started a trend in which Canon as been able to stay ahead of the pack.

With the Mark II having a full frame sensor its able to have great low light performance and shallow depth of field many people have chosen the 5D Mark II as there choice of weapon with its compact size, no compromise performance and low price point. Comparing the Mark III to the Mark II we don’t see any large significant changes but with all the changes put together it provides a great upgrade to the Mark II.

Comparing the spec sheet of the Mark III to the Mark II we can start to see each of the little upgrades.

Looking at the specs we can see that the sensor hasn’t had a much of an increase in resolution which has come as disappoint for some especially as rival Nikon recently launched the D800 boasting a 36.3MP sensor but in doing so Canon is able to focus on low light performance. Seeing some early shots the ISO performance has been upgraded significantly, we also saw a similar decision on the 1D X which was announced late last year.

It seems Canon is starting to focus more on sensor performance than a pixel race but we’ll have to wait till we get our hands the 5D mark III and 1D X later this month. Another point of interest is the upgraded DIGIC 5+ processor, it’s said it’s 60% faster over the DIGIC 4. This sensor allows for the upgraded burst rate of 6.0 FPS from 3.9 FPS and also the extra movie recording options.

Lastly the biggest disappoint of the 5D Mark II was the autofocusing system Canon have responded and updated the system to a 61 point system from a 9 point system, one of the most advanced focusing systems on the market. We also see the addition of both a Cf card and Sd card slot which we saw on the 1D X. The exterior has had minor improves which is similar to the 7D but reportedly having a higher quality feel including the buttons grip. Also the LCD display on the top of the camera has a crisper look allow more information to be displayed.

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Pricing and availability

We should see the 5D Mark III later this month running at around $4399 for the body add an $1100 for the premium kit which will include the 24-105mm f/4 L then sometime during April we should expect a kit to be available to include the new EF 24-70 f/2.8 L II to fetch around $6899.

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