|
Dynamic Range for the 5D mark iii as posted on another forum is the same or slightly less than the mark ii. Noise performance is better in jpegs for sure but as mentioned that is from aggressive NR in part.
How it performs in RAW is still a question mark. Unless you really need the better autofocus and the other improvements it basically seems to be much the same camera as the 5D mark ii. In the Canon forums there was initially a lot of enthusiasm for the camera but now some tests are flowing in it seems to be turning to upset over the lack of sesnor progress and the high cost. However it does seem Canon has improved the banding issue in its noise pattern. That may be worthwhile to some astrophotographers. As Luigi pointed out most Astrophotographers shoot in RAW and that's where the improvement is not as great as Canon lead people to believe. Read the fine print - they said 2 stops improvement in jpeg. I am sure there is an improvement in RAW as well but early indications are nowhere near 2 stops and that possibly much the same as the Nikon D800 which has a 60% larger number of pixels.
Nikon has the Sony Exmor processor which appears to be the one with the better performance. Better dynamic range by one stop than the 5D mark iii, noise performance is also very good plus of course its 36mp so resolution is superb.Its also about $600-700 cheaper here.
I'd stick with mark ii for astro or go D800 if you want a noticeable upgrade. If you already have a lot of Canon glass then the change may not be worthwhile.
There are rumours of a Canon to come soon that may be large megapixels and possibly 4K video. Now that would be the Canon to have not the 5D mark iii which seems to be an evolutionary upgrade over the mark ii for a large increase in price. Lets face it Canon has been trumped by Nikon badly and the sales at Amazon are proof of that (D800 #23 5D Mark ii #80 or so). Canon execs no doubt are sweating as the market share they so cleverly gained will be slipping away and hard to get back.
Sorry Canon lovers but thats the way its rolling. I would have happily bought either not being in either camp and only simply want the better camera. Or pick up a mark ii for much the same money.
If you really want a Canon and are patient I'd wait for this next rumoured release which is supposed to be at Photokina (not exactly sure of the date but I think its in the next 1-2 monts).
Greg.
|