Omar's Photography Blog! » Event and portrait photography by Omar Rustom, based out of Doha, Qatar.

UPDATE (31/03/2012): The new 5D Mark III is finally in the hands of users, and there are now plenty of good reviews available online. Here are some of the best ones I found:

• Rob Galbraith: http://www.robgalbraith.com/bins/content_page.asp?cid=7-11675-12364
• Ryan Brenizer: http://www.ryanbrenizer.com/2012/03/a-nikon-users-review-of-the-canon-5d-mark-iii/
• Digital Camera Info: http://www.digitalcamerainfo.com/content/Canon-5D-Mark-III-First-Impressions-Review.htm

I’ve decided to wait until the BG-E11 grip gets released before buying the 5D III – I’m just too used to the size and handling of a gripped body that I’d have trouble handing a grip-less 5D III. I’m definitely excited about this camera though, as it seems to be the perfect low-light event photography camera ever made, and a worthy successor to the 5D II.

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The Canon EOS 5D Mark IIIis finally here!

The new Canon EOS 5D Mark III

It appears that Canon has indeed listened to its users and added lots of features that significantly improve upon its predecessor and my current main body, the 5D Mark II. Among my favorite new features are:

• 61-Point High Density Reticular AF (this is a HUGE jump over the 5D II’s 9 point AF – hopefully this will result in a smaller number of out-of-focus images!)
• 2-stop improvement in noise, which means much lower noise at high ISO’s (which is GREAT for taking available light images at wedding receptions and other dimly lit events!)
• 6.0 FPS continuous shooting (a welcome increase in speed over the 5D II’s 3.9 FPS)
• A lower shutter response time (meaning a more responsive camera!)
• A “joystick” on the battery grip (I find it really annoying not having this within easy reach of your thumb on the 5D II when shooting in portrait mode and you wanna quickly change your focus point! So I’m really glad this feature was added!)
• 720p @ 60 fps video recording (slow motion video is super cool! Here’s hoping they add 1080p @ 60 fps with a future firmware update – it seems to be a missing feature that many videographers wanted added on the 5D III)
• Bigger, clearer LCD (3.2 inch and more pixels compared to 3.0 inch on the 5D II)
• Better weather sealing (for those days at the beach or in the rain!)

I can’t wait to get my hands on one!! It’s true that in the end, its the photographer that counts more than the camera – but having a better camera certainly helps with taking better pictures – especially with the improved AF!!

Plenty of great in-depth release coverage can be found here.