Canon 5D Mk II versus Mk III

[Stokie]

Any Canon Canon 5D Mk III users out there.....

 

What are the differences between the Canon 5D Mk II and the Mk III and is it worth upgrading?

 

John.

[Doc]

Hi John - I have both - have had the Mk2 for 4 years and the Mk3 for 6 mths

 

Differences:

 

1. Mk3 - much better focusing - 65 AF points c/w 9 on the Mk2; I have found it much better for wildlife etc

2. I think the sensor is better on the Mk3 - reds better reproduced

3. Weather sealing is supposedly better - I havent had a problem with it but was recently in india with red earth dust ++, and no problems with the Mk3

4. I find the Mk3 beter at ISO 3200 + than the Mk2

5. Mk3 has a specific on/off switch on the top of the camera

6. 6fps rather than 4-5fps

7. (Important to me) - has the facility of a much quiet shutter release than the Mk2

 

Overall I felt the upgrade was worth it - I dont think the upgrade to the Mk4 from the Mk3 is worth it for me, particularly given the high price of the Mk4 body

 

Hope this helps!

 

Kumar (the Doc one)

[Niels Quist]

- also thanks from me, Kumar. 

 

I have the same thoughts about updating My Canon 5dII.

[DJ Myford]

Hi John - I have both - have had the Mk2 for 4 years and the Mk3 for 6 mths

 

Differences:

 

1. Mk3 - much better focusing - 65 AF points c/w 9 on the Mk2; I have found it much better for wildlife etc

2. I think the sensor is better on the Mk3 - reds better reproduced

3. Weather sealing is supposedly better - I havent had a problem with it but was recently in india with red earth dust ++, and no problems with the Mk3

4. I find the Mk3 beter at ISO 3200 + than the Mk2

5. Mk3 has a specific on/off switch on the top of the camera

6. 6fps rather than 4-5fps

7. (Important to me) - has the facility of a much quiet shutter release than the Mk2

 

Overall I felt the upgrade was worth it - I dont think the upgrade to the Mk4 from the Mk3 is worth it for me, particularly given the high price of the Mk4 body

 

Hope this helps!

 

Kumar (the Doc one)

 

+1. The price of the Mk3 dropped low enough after the release of the Mk4 for me to bite the bullet and get one. I also feel that 2 to 3 is a better deal than going for the 4: I certainly couldn't justify getting the latest model. The extra focusing options take a bit of getting used to, as does the new method of zooming the preview, but it's just a case of becoming familiar with a slightly different approach. I'm using the Mk3 for action and outdoors shoots, and keeping the Mk2 for indoor work, as it still has plenty of frames left in it.

 

Edit: there is also an electronic level function, and switchable grid displays, which can come in handy at times.

[vpics]

Vastly improved autofocus system, 6fps as opposed to 3fps and it takes SD cards.

[Stokie]

Thanks to everyone for their thoughts.

 

I'll have to do a bit of thinking now!

 

John.

[Johnnie5]

You may want to wait a bit before buying the Mk III as Canon is due to announce the 6D Mk II soon.  I would expect the price of the 5D Mk III might drop a couple of hundred dollars.  With the specs they are showing and a sub $2000 price the new 6D Mk II would be hard to resist.   http://www.canonrumors.com/some-canon-eos-6d-mark-ii-talk-cr2/

[Stokie]

You may want to wait a bit before buying the Mk III as Canon is due to announce the 6D Mk II soon.  I would expect the price of the 5D Mk III might drop a couple of hundred dollars.  With the specs they are showing and a sub $2000 price the new 6D Mk II would be hard to resist.   http://www.canonrumors.com/some-canon-eos-6d-mark-ii-talk-cr2/

Thanks for the advice.

 

John

[Cryptoprocta]

Thanks to Stokie for starting this thread and thanks to all who replied. I was wondering the same thing!

[christian58]

Got them both and the MIV. The MarkIII is better in every respect, the AF is far superior, video the lot!

[mickfly]

I downgraded to a 6d from a 5dmk11, love it!

[William Caram]

Hi John - I have both - have had the Mk2 for 4 years and the Mk3 for 6 mths

 

Differences:

 

1. Mk3 - much better focusing - 65 AF points c/w 9 on the Mk2; I have found it much better for wildlife etc

2. I think the sensor is better on the Mk3 - reds better reproduced

3. Weather sealing is supposedly better - I havent had a problem with it but was recently in india with red earth dust ++, and no problems with the Mk3

4. I find the Mk3 beter at ISO 3200 + than the Mk2

5. Mk3 has a specific on/off switch on the top of the camera

6. 6fps rather than 4-5fps

7. (Important to me) - has the facility of a much quiet shutter release than the Mk2

 

Overall I felt the upgrade was worth it - I dont think the upgrade to the Mk4 from the Mk3 is worth it for me, particularly given the high price of the Mk4 body

 

Hope this helps!

 

Kumar (the Doc one)

 

 

 

Thanks Kumar..

 

All that Kumar said above...plus i recently upgraded from the 5D2 to the 5D3..Now the #2 was a great camera and still is,but the #3 is more refined,and just feels better in the hand.There is a improvement in shadow detail and less noise also..I am pleased with the camera and the other already mentioned improvements.

 

Bill

[vpics]

Oh, forgot, you can also assign buttons with special functions. I've transformed the DOF button to switch from AI Servo to One Shot. 

[Steve Hyde]

Hey John,

 

I'm not a technophobe but I used 2 5D mk2's and a 5D mk3 for three, pretty full, wedding seasons until a suspected TIA unfortunately put a stop to all that fun. It's been some time since I used either canon but I always used the mk3 as first camera of choice. I just remember it being far better all round and never once regretted buying it. Picture wise there's no great difference but the mk3 paired with any of the L series lenses I was using at the time was pretty awesome. There's more than enough improvements to make it worth the expense of the upgrade. You could hire one just to make absolutely sure

 

However, all that said, after trialing a Fujifilm X-Pro 1 towards the end of 2015 I found myself using my Canon gear less and less. That culminated in my trading most of my Canon gear in once the X-Pro 2 was released and I've not missed it. I hung on to a  5D mk2 and a EF 24-105mm f/4L IS II USM for a while but ended up letting my daughter have it as it was collecting dust on my shelf.

 

I sold the 5D mk3 to another wedding photographer who bought it as a back up to a 5D mk3 he already had, replacing a 5D mk2 he had been using as a backup up until then. He obviously thought the upgrade was worth it as well.

 

Hope this helps

Steve

[Stokie]

Hey John,

 

I'm not a technophobe but I used 2 5D mk2's and a 5D mk3 for three, pretty full, wedding seasons until a suspected TIA unfortunately put a stop to all that fun. It's been some time since I used either canon but I always used the mk3 as first camera of choice. I just remember it being far better all round and never once regretted buying it. Picture wise there's no great difference but the mk3 paired with any of the L series lenses I was using at the time was pretty awesome. There's more than enough improvements to make it worth the expense of the upgrade. You could hire one just to make absolutely sure

 

However, all that said, after trialing a Fujifilm X-Pro 1 towards the end of 2015 I found myself using my Canon gear less and less. That culminated in my trading most of my Canon gear in once the X-Pro 2 was released and I've not missed it. I hung on to a  5D mk2 and a EF 24-105mm f/4L IS II USM for a while but ended up letting my daughter have it as it was collecting dust on my shelf.

 

I sold the 5D mk3 to another wedding photographer who bought it as a back up to a 5D mk3 he already had, replacing a 5D mk2 he had been using as a backup up until then. He obviously thought the upgrade was worth it as well.

 

Hope this helps

Steve

 

Yes, thanks Steve for your reply.

 

I bought a Fujifilm XT-1 but for some reason I didn't like it. I don't know why although I thought the picture quality wasn't as good as the Canon and the batteries didn't last very long. I know some people on here swear by it, in fact, that's why I bought one, but it went on Ebay last month.

 

It's looking more likely that I will buy the MKIII, although,as someone said above, the 6D Mk II is coming out soon so the price of the 5D Mk III could come down. The only problem with that is there's always another all singing, all dancing camera just about to be launched!

 

I think i'm talking myself into getting the Mk III.........

 

John.

[Inchiquin]

 

I bought a Fujifilm XT-1 but for some reason I didn't like it. I don't know why although I thought the picture quality wasn't as good as the Canon and the batteries didn't last very long. I know some people on here swear by it, in fact, that's why I bought one, but it went on Ebay last month.

 

I disliked the XT-1 for exactly the same reasons (among others) and I quickly disposed of it. I did buy a 5D3 but it seemed to have a focusing problem that no-one could explain so eventually it went back and I've subsequently spent the money elsewhere. But I really liked the feel and the quality of the 5D3 over the 5D2 and as soon as my cashflow improves I will look at it again, though I will still keep the 5D2 in order to do dual-camera video work.

 

Alan

[Betty LaRue]

I have the X-T1 and T2. Love them both. But I'm a caregiver and live with someone who has dementia. I'm constantly finding my things have been hidden. Usually it's just pillows or whatever piled on top to hide them, but left in place.

Until I couldn't find my X-T2. Four days of searching. Completely unpacking my photography chest. Tearing through every closet, every drawer, not just once, but retracing my steps over and over. Four days of it, trying to think like him.

I was 30 minutes away from ordering another one, thinking he'd thrown it in the trash bin which had already been emptied by the city.

 

I look under my bed, and there it is chewing the fat with the dust bunnies. A place I would never have placed it because of the dust.

Ahhhh, that is my life, now. At least I didn't spend another $1600.

 

The T2 had a recent firmware release that adds important features. I've not downloaded it yet because of other things that has kept me very busy.

I can see why some don't like the Fuji system. I think it comes down to ones past experience, making comparisons with what you've been shooting, figuring out how best to use the camera. I was lucky that my last Nikon was the D800, which I didn't like. So I had a very open mind.

 

I had a hard time at first with underexposure, until I realized looking through the viewfinder, WYSIWYG. What you see is what you get. If the scene looks underexposed through the finder, that's what you get. But having the histogram visible, tweaking exposure comp or changing aperture or SS, fixes the histogram and gets me the perfect shot.

Love it.

Betty