A Tribute To The 5D Mark III

The only picture I have for "my" 5D Mark III

Farewell my 5D Mark III, you've served me well, actually, more than well, you had the best, snappiest, most accurate auto-focusing system I have ever seen, you shot high ISOs like a champ, you were always live and ready for action even before I touched the trigger, something that no camera I have used to date was able to match, you gave me the shallow depth of field that everyone craves with complete abundance, even the 50mm @ f/5.6 was not enough to get the whole of my subject in sharp focus.
 
You were, technically, the best camera that I have ever used, but I was never able to feel any love from you, there was no relationship between us, not more than one between a human and a very clever robot that can do everything perfectly, all the time. I am not sad to see you go, I know I will not dearly miss you when I use any another camera (that place is uniquely reserved for my 5D Mark II), and I am probably not going to dream about owning you again.
 
Yes, I've sold my 5D Mark III, and yes, I've owned it for less than 3 months, and no, I'm not abandoning photography, I've re-evaluated my recent (last year) gear purchases and realized that I have drafted from the path I should have taken a long time ago, and it's the time to rectify that. But that will be the story of my next post, for now, enjoy some of my favorite shots taken with the 5D Mark III with a few comments on each one, consider this a mini-review of the 5D Mark III that never got to be fully reviewed as it deserved.
 
 

100L, a brilliant portrait lens

 
Before I start showing my favorite pictures, I think the 5D3 deserves a few bullet points describing the advantages it holds over the 5D2. As usual, most reviews don't speak about the complete differences between both cameras, and the general public impression is that the 5D3 has a betterfocusing system, slightly cleaner files above 3200 ISO, and dual memory cards, that is true, but the differences are much more than that, they are a lot of small changes that completely transform the experience, and can only be known to someone who used both extensively. So here goes the bullets, these are the advantages of the 5D3 over the 5D2:
 

• Much better focusing system, 61 AF points, and 41 cross-type AF points (vs one on the 5D2) which cover a large part of the frame, they are also very accurate and can focus reliably in dim conditions.
• Along with the 61 AF points is a very clever focus tracking system, I'd say I've only exploited 5% of its capabilities, but it is very reliable and accurate, there's no way your subject can escape from all 61 AF points.
• Better noise performance, 6400 ISO is as good or better than 3200 ISO on the 5D2.
• Dual memory cards, CF and SD, I see the choice a brilliant one, whenever I run out of space, I can borrow an SD from any of my friends and continue shooting. I always used the dual memory cards for backup, every photo I take gets recorded to both cards at once, I always fear losing the photos to a corrupted memory card before I get home, which I saw happen to several of my friends.
• 100% viewfinder, it makes accurate framing easy with no need for cropping in post.
• The viewfinder has an LCD overlay, it can show or hide any of the AF points, it can show grids, and it can show horizontal and vertical levels.
• Faster & longer continuous burst rate, 6 fps vs 3.9 fps, much faster and snappier than the 5D2, coupled with faster AF, it transforms the camera performance 180 degrees.
• Shutter sound is more -snap- than the slow, heavy -ka thunnnnnnk- of the 5D2, silent shutter is also really silent, I hoped to record the difference, but I didn't know I'd sell it that fast.
• Exposure compensation goes to -3 to +3 vs only 2 on the 5D2.
• More advanced bracketing modes (up to 7 shots), HDR and Multiple Exposures, not that I cared for them.
• Springy battery and memory card doors.
• New menu systems similar to the newer 7D and 60D.
• Easily configurable buttons via an easy graphical interface.
• A new M.Fn button near the shutter button.
• Better live-view modes (stills, movies) along with a new movie recording button a la 7D.
• Nicely placed DoF button than can be configured to do something else.
• Horizontal and vertical levels.
• More video modes, especially the 720p 60 fps for slow motion.
• Silent touch-sensitive controls during video shooting.
• One touch 100% zoom to the focus point during playback.
• Advanced playback modes, two side-by-side picture comparisons, and in-camera RAW processing.
• Better battery life, the 5D2 used to give me around 800 shots per charge, the 5D3 easily gets around 1300 shots with lots of LCD usage.
• Larger and more sharper LCD, better visibility in sun light.
• Better grip with more rubber beneath the hand, and it doesn't have that rubbery stink that I had with the 5D2.
• Supposedly better construction and weather sealing, nothing I noticed.

I can go on with more tiny details, but what you see above is enough to completely transform the 5D2 into a completely new camera that only shares its name. It is a brilliant camera, but I didn't feel any passion while using it, while on the contrary, the 5D2 felt more involving, and more satisfactory during the image taking process, it is slower, less accurate, but it has a soul.

UPDATE: Someone over in dpreview asked me about the soul thing, I tried my best and came up with a description that more accurately reflects my feelings:

papparazzi wrote:

What do you mean by the 5d2 has more soul (I have a 5d2)

This is something I can't describe, with the 5D2 I took every picture slowly and carefully, and I appreciated every good result, it felt like I was dealing with an old wise man, he knew how to do his job, but he did it slowly and carefully.

The 5D3 on the other hand is more eager, it was like "come on, get done with that picture and move on to another one, I won't be waiting for you all day". At least that's how I felt towards it, it's something psychological, if you don't get, just ignore it, maybe I'm getting old and sentimental.

My favorite DSLR equipment that I miss and regret selling are the 5D Mark II and the Canon EF-S 60mm Macro USM.

 
 
I will let you enjoy the pictures now, they are not technically the best images, but each one has a place in my heart for the reasons I am going to state below.
 

Hotel Lobby

 
An all-time favorite, I took a couple of days to take this picture, I had to align the table and the pot to make a symmetric picture, the shadows created by the window is what makes this picture for me, and it works much better in B&W.
 

Through Glass

 
This was taken in very dim light, a couple of 40 watts incandescent lamps lit the whole room, and my friend was sitting behind a double glass window, the 5D3 nailed the focus (Canon 50mm f/1.4 by the way) and the bounce flash gave the exact right amount of light, talk about reliability.
 

Beach Mail Box

 
I have always loved the compression a long lens creates, and this one was not taken with any long lens, it is the 200L f/2.8 wide open. This is the thing I am going to miss the most by abandoning my FF DSLR system, I will never get that 200mm f/2.8 full frame wide-open look again.
 

Reflection

 
Colors make this picture, the blue on the wall, the white bed covers and the warm glow of the bedside lamp.
 

Peaceful Drinking

 
That 200 f/2.8 again, sigh.
 

Green Fingers

 
Love the composition, the compression, the sharpness and the colors. 200 f/2.8.
 

The Boy

 
Last 200 f/2.8 picture, I promise, hand held, wide open, available light, ISO 3200, don't you just love the rendering of this lens?
 

Hapiness

 
100L wide open, bounce flash (CTO gel), while the daylight seen in the background turned bluish. Colors, shallow DoF, sharpness and the smile make this picture.
 

Strawberry Man

 
100L wide open again, brilliant skin tones and sharpness.
 

Lights Out

 
6400 ISO, pitch black, Canon 50mm f/1.4, camera locked focus and took the shot with zero hesitation, the only light comes from a hand held flash light.
 

Stanley Bridge

 
I loved the 40mm pancake because of this picture, 3200 ISO, wide open, B&W suits the picture and the blurred car makes it more lively.
 

Al Montazah Palace - The Colored Version

 
I wish I had a wider lens here, this was shot through a tiny hole in the fence, so a different composition wasn't an option, 40mm pancake, extra sharp, extra vibrant, lovely.
 

Dora

 
I love taking shoe pictures (maybe I will make a separate post filled with shoe photos, I wonder how would I convince readers this fits the betterfamilyphotos theme), and especially kids shoes, this is a famous Arabic cartoon character called "Dora".
 

Wooden Lamp

 
I love the colors, the wood design, the OOF highlights (wish they could have been circular), Canon 50 f/1.4.
 

Gateaux

 
The colors, the ice, the fork, all make for a nice shot, 50 1.4.
 

The Beach

 
A beach shot, I love the colors and the clouds in the sky, taken with my least favorite lens, the 24-105, it is a versatile lens, but I never used it unless I needed wide angle, it is no where as sharp as any of my primes, and it has to be stopped down beyond f/5.6 to give me acceptable sharpness.
 

Wood & Sky

 
Taken at the beach with the 24-105, I love the composition and the colors.
 
 
That's all I have to say about the 5D Mark III, and I've wanted to review it for a long time, but never got the chance. The next post will tell my story and the reasons for switching to a completely different system (or two) despite the technical excellence of all my Canon gear that is now sold.
 
 
UPDATE II: Part 2 with the whole story is up & running now.

http://betterfamilyphotos.blogspot.com/2012/12/the-truth-behind-migration.html

 

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A Couple Of Yashica Oldies

Yashica Electro 35 GTN + Yashica ST-7

 
How many of you know the above camera? Have you seen such a tripod before? Hit the jump for a flash back in time.
 
The first camera I have ever used, and learned to take photos with, was my father's Yashica Electro 35 GSN, it is not the one shown above, but it is identical in almost everything, and the top part has a silver color instead of black as the one in the picture, which is a GTN by the way.
 

Aperture, Distance Scale, DOF scale, WB, Self Timer & Bulb Mode

 
It was (past tense used to indicate it was decommissioned ~ 10 years ago) a 35mm film range finder, it has a fixed 45mm f/1.7 lens, and to focus, you look through the viewfinder where you see two images of the same scene but slightly shifted horizontally, you move the focus ring until the two images of the object you want to focus on coincide on top of each other, only then can you trip the shutter.
 

Film Speed

 
We used it with color Kodak film, I think it was ASA 400 film, you had a dial to select the film speed (aka sensitivity, or ISO in digital). The camera was mostly automatic, you pick the required aperture and it will select a shutter speed between 1/500 sec up to 30 sec depending on the light conditions, there are two lights that tells you if the shot was going to be over or under exposed, which meant the camera couldn't select a shutter speed suitable enough, and you had to take action. I remember my father taught me to use f/16 aperture when shooting in sunlight, and down to f/1.7 indoors, middle apertures were used in between both extreme lighting conditions.
 

Self Timer

 
See that silver lever with the red dot? That's the self timer, you move it counter clockwise until it locks in place (it uses a spring mechanism), and when you trip the shutter, it returns to it's original position slowly, you have around 10 seconds before the camera takes a picture.
 
One of my step mother's friends gave the camera and the tripod shown here to my daughter to play with, it was the first time for me to see that tripod, it was quite interesting, a unique design which I never saw before, let's have a few looks first, I will compare it to my Slik Mini-Tripod with a ball head, which I adore, especially that it can carry up to 3kg of weight.
 

Yashica ST-7 is really tiny

 

Unscrew the bottom, spread the legs, and screw it back

 

Legs expanded

 

Made in Germany

 

Ball head, a nice surprise

 

Compared to my Slik tripod with only the legs opened

 

Slik's maximum height

 

Maximum height, with maximum legs length

 

How would you focus like that without a rear live view screen? We're quite spoiled.

 
The tripod was a very nice surprise, it is tiny when closed (a mini monopod), it has a ball head, a nice hand strap, and it is very sturdy, and all the mechanical bits are too smooth. The one who came up with this design is a genius. Of course I doubt it will carry a heavy DSLR with a heavy lens with such short legs, but it is more than adequate for small cameras and my soon-to-be-acquired Olympus OM-D EM-5.
 
All of the tripod pictures were taken with the 5D Mark III and the 100 Macro L, I was too lazy to use any lighting equipment, so I just used available overhead room lights, all exposures were completely hand held (not even resting my hands on a table), f/8, ISO 1600 and 1/6th of a second, now that's more than 4 stops of image stabilization, and in some of the shots I was at macro shooting distances, the 100L is really the perfect lens.

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Flash Portrait in Fayoum Desert

Flash Portrait - End Result

I want to share with you a few flash pictures I took during my second trip to Fayoum desert, you might remember my three-part post about my visit there four months ago. I repeated most of what I did before, but challenged myself not to take a single picture similar to the ones I took last time.
When I posted the lead picture you see above on Facebook, it got some nice comments, so here's how I did it. Can you guess how many lights were used? Can you guess the light modifiers used?
 
I started by taking a normal picture using aperture priority, to show you how the available light looked like, we were sitting under a wooden roof with full 3pm sun blazing outside, as expected, the camera was tricked by the strong back light and under-exposed the subject, I opened the shadows in Lightroom.
 

 
Next, I turned the camera to manual mode, I wanted to decrease the available light exposure as much as I can, so I started by choosing the fastest shutter speed possible with flash (sync speed), which is 1/200 in my case, I also reduced the ISO as much as I can, which is ISO 50, finally I closed my aperture and taking test frames, I ended up with f/18, I decided that I want this ambient level judging from the histogram and the back LCD preview, here's the final setting without flash.
 

Ambient light reduced greatly, see the backlight?

 
See that backlight on both shoulders and the head cloth? They will end up in the final picture, they give an edge to the subject. Next, I triggered my Canon 580EX II using another speedlite (600EX-RT) on the camera with it's output turned off, I used the flash on ETTL (i.e. both the camera and the flash worked together to determine the correct flash power), and started shooting. One of my friends was holding the flash, bare, without any light modifiers, we took two or three frames until I got one I liked, here it is straight out of the camera.
 

SOOC

 
Almost there, I like the effect and the shadow covering his mid-section caused by his hand, but I find the eyes that you can see through the sun glasses and the flash reflection quite distracting, so I used the local adjustment brush on the sun glasses to decrease the exposure until it looked natural, and then I cloned out the remaining flash hot spot, and here's the end result for your convenience.
 

Final result

 
I took a similar picture of one of my other friends, using the exact same method and a bare flash as well, but no bright background this time, there was a shaded area behind his back, what I like about this picture is his look, the light shape on his face and eyes, and the black and white conversion.
 

Looking at the future

 
I followed the exact same method with an interesting looking mini-cart outside in the sun, I started by taking an available light shot, but with reduced exposure, can't remember how much, probably -2 EC.
 

 
It looked quite ok, but its color was too close to the sand and the walls behind it, so I turned to manual mode and decreased the ambient exposure, my settings were the same, 1/200, f/18 and ISO 50, here's what I got.
 

 
I then added an external bare flash to the camera right, and slightly higher, mimicking the sun's position, I adjusted the flash exposure compensation until I got this frame.
 

 
I like it more than the available light shot, but the wheels are quite dark, and I wanted to lift the shadows a bit, so I enabled the on-camera flash and set its power to 1/2 the power of the other flash (remember, I'm using ETTL, the camera determines the suitable flash power and then uses half that power for the on-camera flash), but that looked like too much, so I changed the ratio to 1/4 power, and here's the end result, with almost no processing, a few tweaks in the color and some burning using the adjustment brush would yield a better image, but I just wanted to share the concept with you.
 

Final image

 
And just for kicks here's one more picture taken in the same way, I hope you've enjoyed this post. Any questions are welcome.
 

Hanging pot

 

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Hands On: Canon EF 40mm f/2.8 STM Pancake

 
I couldn't stop myself from buying this lens, it's Canon's first pancake lens, it's extremely tiny (almost as thick as the rear lens cap), it's $200, it's f/2.8 (I know, not very fast, but WTH), it's very sharp and it has very pleasing bokeh. Hit the jump for more.

Roger Cicala's test of the lens showed that it is very sharp wide open all the way to the corners, that was the first glimmer in my eyes, other tests and reviews praised it a lot, so why shouldn't I try it for myself? The worst that could happen is that I don't like it and sell it.
 
I didn't have a chance to try it except on an indoor bowling day (awful light), and my niece when I returned home, both shots were available light only, wide open & ISO 3200, it was my first time to use the lens, I didn't have a chance to see if the focus needed micro adjustment or anything at all.
 
My initial impressions are that it is very sharp wide open (even using the outer cross type focus points), it is not a very fast focusing lens, it's not even as fast as my 50mm 1.4, on similar focusing distances, for example moving subjects far away, it is very quick, but moving from close to far focusing distances, it is not that quick.
 

Headshot, 40 STM wide open, ISO 3200

 

100% crop, a higher shutter speed would get a sharper picture still

 
It is noticeably wider than the 50mm on full frame, reminds me of my 35mm f/2 before I sold it, it is good to include more in the shot. I still have to shoot in better light and different subjects to see how it works, more to come.
 

f/2.8, ISO 3200, the magenta light you see on the right is from the TV

 
 

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