Philip Bloom's Initial Take on the Canon 5D Mark III

unless one is a wedding photographer....

now i'm no wedding photographer, but the 5D3 would seem about the perfect camera for a wedding tog

a good compromise on pixel count
good control of noise
AF that equals or betters the 1D4, and blows the 5D2 out-of-the-water
lower cost than the 1DX
twin cards
an LCD with the necessary resolution to check critical focus

what's not to like?

--
a fair bit of gear, a reasonable idea.

My my, do I sense a tinge of bitterness in that statement? What have they done to you to spout that vitriol?

Hats off to these guys for trailblazing the use of DSLRs for video reportage, film making, those awesome timelapse videos, and developing techniques to use them properly and sharing them to the world. They earn and get recognition from what they do, and they deserve so. Without them and the others who have taken up video DSLRs, there would have been no shake up in the video world.

If you criticize them that they have nothing to teach. Pray, tell us, what can you teach that makes you say those words?

Fog Maker said:

vicoy said:

I remember Dan Chung during the Canon Pro -Solutions 2012 with the Kessler PB Pocket Dolly. Though he would've preferred it without the PB signature (and they're friends), he admits that it's the best portable slider in the market.

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And who on earth is Dan Chung? Did he attend film school. Nope.

I am not gonna discuss that particular piece of equipment, since I haven't tried it.

But you really needs to stop to listen to people like Chung
Laforet and the rest of the bunch. They film making skills
are severely limited. They are just starting out and has nothing
to teach anyone.

At least Philip has some sort of background in film, albeit not impressive
by any accounts.

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most of the detractors seem to have stunted emotional development since no rational arguments are given for the negative comments, I mean, rational for grown-ups. The forum has become a little unreadable (here and on the Nikon forum) due to the rollout of 4 Pro products by competitors (I shudder to think what would be going on if Sony were in the fray also) and fanboi allegiance is in full bloom. I spotted this thread hoping to read an expert opinion, but as usual - as of late, it devolved quickly into petty jealousy.

marike6 said:

PhilipBloom said:

Hi chaps.

I don't expect everyone to like my work. That's cool...or my product that's cool too. BTW you are not paying for "racing stripes" but for handbuilt amazing quality. But am not here to pimp it. It's not for everyone and it certainly won't make you a better filmmaker.

If you check out my other reviews, like my C300 they are all unbiased. I don't get paid by manufacturers to write reviews. Unethical.

When it come to my work. If you don't like it fair enough. If you can check out my feature doc "Confluence" on itunes..."How to Start A Revolution" which won best doc at Raindance if you can too. But again. it's not to everyone's taste.

With regards to the actual topic of the thread. I will have a full review up in week. Initially I am just really disappointed with the image

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Philip, I wouldn't worry about anything said here by posters as many here don't have more than a passing familiarity with your work, and influence in the HDSLR video world, and video world in general. Having seen all of your videos on Vimeo which incidentally, play on a loop in the Pro Video section at B&H, and having learned a tremendous amount of useful info like how to set up my 5D Mk II for video from your DSLR Basics series. To equate you in any way to a Ken Rockwell is about the most absurd comment I've read in a long time.

When new video gear comes out, websites like yours and NoFilmSchool are the first ones I visit. Emotions run high here regarding Canon cameras and with anything negative it is often the messenger who takes the heat. Anyway, thanks for the 5D III review and for your contributions in general.

Regards,
Markus Arike
http://vimeo.com/user9253326/videos

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--

Rick Knepper, photographer, photography never for sale, check my profile for gear list and philosophy.

Indeed, a fair bit of the noise here is from people already on my block list.

Philip, the opinion of a real pro who took the time to write down his impressions in much appreciated. Please don't let the noisy griping and sniping (by those who seem to have little better to do) discourage you from sharing more of your experiences with the camera.

bronxbombers said:

the sensor seems to be avg at best for this day and age and to not have great;y improve the video sharpness, wow what a disaster and they want $800 more

they appear to have gotten the AF right but pretty much lamed-out on everything else with their money saving and protectionist garbage

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My exact feelings.

The only thing that would make the 5D.3 acceptable, is if they just did a straight swap with the 5D.2... kind of like GPU makers... 1 day the Nvidia GTX580 costs $499, the next day the GTX680 costs $499, and the GTX580's are flushed through the retail chain at a discount.

They better be readying a 5DX, or they'll be seeing more red ink.

I think the problem with the fanboys is that they're comparing it to the 5D.2, instead of the competition.

PS: I watched Philip Bloom's 5D DVD's a couple years ago... good watch.

Weddings aren't held in dungeons... my 550D did a fine job... but you kind of need 2 cams to get the best, without swapping out lenses constantly.

Let's see how open minded you are 3.5 years down the road?

ihv said:

Thanks for the honest opinion.

I'd think the Canon crowd is pretty sensitive currently - the price seems to claim a premium feature set over the competition but the outcome leaves the claim a bit questionable.

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If you're using it strictly as a video camera, sure. But it's not a video camera; it's a still camera with a video feature. For everything Philip purports to be, he should know this as well as anyone. If you look at the still mode feature set, there are absolutely significant advances over previous models and the competition. That's why it's worth the price they're commanding (and why it will be another blockbuster seller).

The only reason the 5D MkII took off as a video camera was because it - for the first time - allowed amateur and indie "filmmakers" a way to shoot with FF DoF without breaking the bank. Up until the release of that camera, people were hacking and rigging 35mm adapters to their 1/3" chip video cameras just to get that look (and the results were still largely crummy). The MkII didn't have good resolution, it didn't have good compression, and it brought with it all kinds of artifacting and rolling shutter that no self-respecting cinematographer would want anything to do with. The only reason they shot (one) episode of House on it was for the marketing return. Here we are still talking about it today. It did its job.

I don't want to get into the relevance of people like Philip Bloom, though I suspect he's found himself a nice little niche with this part of the market, reviewing accessible-priced gear and selling sliders or whatever. That's great; good for him. But no semi-professional is going to be looking at the 5D to make quality motion pictures... it's not a camera created for that. They'd be much better off with a C300 (which he admits in his own article) or better yet a Scarlet. Of course those cost a lot more money, but that's what it takes to get proper full frame images at dozens of frames per second right now. They sure cost a lot less money than they did five years ago though, and prices will only continue to fall. In the meantime, there are some outstanding smaller chip cameras on the market that won't cause you to turn in your life savings to get. Or, if you MUST HAVE that creamy 35mm DoF in 2012, you still have two choices: buy (or rent) the serious gear that does it properly, or use a compromised system and save a buck. Both are valid options, but if you're going to use the compromise, don't whine about it and act surprised when you don't get the C300 at the MkIII price.

yeah good points

it's really pretty good, just the resolution for video is a bit disappointing (and not even zebra bars???? for $3500 they can't give zebra bars??) after all of this time as is the zero improvements for landscape shooting (same MP (a bit weak for wildlife reach too), same DR), but otherwise it does have some great stuff, true

David Birkin said:

unless one is a wedding photographer....

now i'm no wedding photographer, but the 5D3 would seem about the perfect camera for a wedding tog

a good compromise on pixel count
good control of noise
AF that equals or betters the 1D4, and blows the 5D2 out-of-the-water
lower cost than the 1DX
twin cards
an LCD with the necessary resolution to check critical focus

what's not to like?

--
a fair bit of gear, a reasonable idea.

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