*NOTE - This post is does not try to justify the price of the Canon 5D Mark III. You should know if you want or need a camera of this caliber. *
These are my top 5 reason to buy or upgrade to a Canon 5D Mark III over a Mark II. If you do not agree with something, or have additional comment, please leave a comment bellow!
1) 61 Point Autofocus
To me, the improved autofocus is the biggest reason to upgrade to the Canon 5D Mark III. The Mark II had a very lacking auto focus system. Though it was fine for a lot of people, there was much to be desired. The center focus point worked wonderfully, but the rest were rubbish. The new 61 point autofocus system puts it close to that of the Canon 1DX flagship camera, making it great for any type of photography that requires you to have snappy autofocus.
2) Improved High ISO Performance
The high ISO performance of the Canon 5D Mark III is greatly improved from that of the Mark II. This may not be too big of a reason to upgrade if you find that the Mark II high ISO performance is enough, but for those of you that want a little bit more, this might be enough reason for you to. ISO performance has increased across the board, with ISO 3200 in the Mark II being only slightly better than ISO 12600 on the Mark III.
3) ImprovedVideo Features
I put this all into one, even though there are a tone of features and improvements that have been added to the 5D Mark III over the Mark II. This was to be expected as the Mark II was the first camera from Canon that featured the video feature. I am not to big on the whole vidoe thing, and am happy with what I have in the mark 2, but I know that a lot of people use the 5D primarily as a video camera. Some of the biggest improvements for video are:
- 60FPS in 720p
- On Screen monitoring of levels.
- Headphone jack to monitor audio
- Bigger 3.2 LCD Screen
4) New Digic 5+ Processor
The new Digic 5+ processor allows the camera to shoot at 6FPS. Not everyone will benefit from this, but there wil be a lot of people that will. This makes the camera an option for sports photography, or anything that requires you to shoot very fast action, without breaking the bank. A lot of people will prefer to spend $3,500 on a 5D Mark III than $6,500 of a 1DX. Again, this might not be a big enough reason for some people, but a lot of people will.
5) Dual Card Slots
The Canon 5D Mark III now features a CF card slot and an SD card slot. I know that a lot of you are not going to agree with me on this, but I had to add this feature to the list. Sure, it’s a feature that had to be done, but it’s still something that has to be noted because of its importance. Have you ever lost files due to a memory card failure? This feature will make sure that the chances of that happening are very slim. You can have all of your files saved to both CF and SD cards to make sure you do not lose anything. You can also use the overflow feature when you are in situations when you will not have time to change out memory cards. This feature in itself can make the Mark III worth it to both professionals and enthusiasts.
