I have to admit that I am not all too happy with my Mark III.
I've shot 4 weddings with it and although I do love some things about it, I'm prefering my 5d all the time.
The Focus is not spot on, the AWB sucks and the lcd screen is way too soft. I never know if I got the focus correct. Although with one of the custom functions you can set the zoom to automatically go where the focus was achieved.
sometimes I just use the live preview, zoom in, then manually focus to make sure the focus is dead on. But this takes way too much time.
Tonight I also tried using a flash on it during the reception and it's not that good.
I'm really sorry that I sold one of my 5d's today.
I think I made a major mistake.
I don't want to return it cause I'd have to buy a new 5D. Which I just sold!
I should have waited.
Anyone like their mark III's more than the 5d?


Carlos Andres

this is not good carlos, im sorry to hear your having problems with it! your an incredibe shooter and I trust your word on your experience with the camera. I am really looking forward to having one but this is scaring me quite a bit.

Tim,
Saturday's wedding was not fun for me...
What a day!
In the morning the guy who bought my 5D comes to pick it up... I'm happy to get the money but sad to lose a 5d.
Well I get to the bride's house and my other 5D...
I doesn't work!!!!
So for the first time in all the weddings I've shot, I had to shoot this one with only one camera!
Oh man how I regretted selling that 5D.
I shot the whole wedding with the Mark III.
I was lucky though that my friend Phil Mantas was my "guest shooter". He saved the day. I didn't use his cameras but without my 5D's I felt naked. Amateurish. I couldn't find inspiration.

Everytime I shoot I look at the LCD on my cameras. And although I shoot RAW I need to see the colors that are coming out, they inspire me and if the AWB is not right I don't "feel" the scene. I have copied my color settings exactly to the Mark III but will not get the same colors on the Mark III's LCD (I've made many side by side comparisons). I have tried this for the last 4 weddings. The colors are just awful ( I can fix this all in post but it's not exactly fun to do this)
And then of course I really never know if I am focused correctly until I zoom in.

I really need to have a 5D with me. I have been using the Mark III as a second or as my main camera for low light situations ( I don't mind noise and will shoot as high as ISO 6400 no problem).

If someone asked me if I could only have one camera, which one would it be?
I'd say, without blinking, the 5D.

So If I were you Tim, I'd hold off for a while. I feel I spent an extra $2,400 in order to shoot uncertainly.

Carlos Andres
ps. Hopefully my 5D can be repaired quickly, I have another wedding this friday!

Oh no! I feel for you. Here's hoping that your 5D will be fixed quickly

Matt, where's the crying emoticon?!? We NEED it!

Carlos, so bummed for you. They say it's not the equipment that makes the photographer but sometimes it can break him. I felt frustrated with my D200 in low-light and sometimes being too yellow so waiting for my new 5D felt like an eternity. I shoot primarily with my Canon but am glad to have my D200 to use for flash (higher sync and don't need a PW). Once you have your 5D back I'm sure you'll find that the MarkIII can compliment your work like I've done with my 2nd body.

Ugh! I hate that my D200 is SO YELLOW in low light. You make me want a 5d!

I had a D200 and it was black all the time, I don't recall it turning yellow in low light... oh, and shooting raw means the wb is fixable no matter what the camera does.... ;-)

Carlos, I totally know what you mean. I shoot with a 5D and Mk2n and I use the 5D about 3 times as much as the Mk2n.

Hope it gets fixed fast!

~Bill