New 5D MarkIII, is this what we've been waiting for?

Never mind whether a mirror is involved or not I still don't see any stills photographer wanting to hold a camera at arms' length while looking at an articulated LCD screen. It's just not the most stable way of taking a photograph. A viewfinder whether optical or electronic is essential. When shooting video a screen is more feasible as the camera is often on a tripod, shoulder rig or has some other means of stabilising rather than bracing it against the shooters eye socket.
 
Only thing I don't like about it is the price... $4200 estimated rrp in Australia. How is it that despite our dollar being stronger than the US, we still pay $700 more? Even taking into account our import taxes it's still out of line.

Tell me about it! GST is only 10%...
 
Never mind whether a mirror is involved or not I still don't see any stills photographer wanting to hold a camera at arms' length while looking at an articulated LCD screen...

nigel - sorry if I haven't been clear, but that's what I meant - with an EVF on a mirrorless, I can switch from stills to video without taking my eye away from the viewfinder. Reflex cameras with OVFs and 100% silvered mirrors do not allow this.

With an articulated screen, I can easily shoot stills or video from shoelace height or overhead. A fixed LCD makes this difficult.

Separate problems common to older cameras - but both suffered by this particular camera.

Cheers,

Bill
 
Break?

I can't count so many video cameras and dslrs where I have used an articulating screen, and I have never seen or broken one. Heck I film on My canon 60d almost everyday in the most wildest situations and I have never ever even been close to seeing it be damaged.....

The day you use an articulating screen you can never go back. So stop making excuses people.

YOU may not have seen a broken articulating screen, but that doesn't mean to say that OTHER PEOPLE have not.

This place is littered with broken cameras, ranging from hinges on screens going to tape cassettes jamming, firewire chips blowing, harddrives failing.

The hinge may not have broken on your single 60d, but when you have dozens of cameras the chances of something breaking increase drastically.

Depends how careful you are too, you should see my macbook pro the chassis is almost 100% dents now.. I'm amazed it still works!
 
I agree. They won't have to let it go. Over the course of the next few decades, they will just disappear, like the plate film guys, the celluloid film guys, and the other photographic artisans of the past :-)

There will be nothing like seeing your subject directly through the glass.
 
There will be nothing like seeing your subject directly through the glass.
Unless you are shooting at iso6400+ and can't see the person you are filming. Then it will be nice to have an EVF. ;) Realities aside, I relate.
 
^ true, but seeing your subject directly as it will be recorded (i.e. on an EVF instead of an OVF) is an advancement too...
 
Break? I can't count so many video cameras and dslrs where I have used an articulating screen, and I have never seen or broken one. Heck I film on My canon 60d almost everyday in the most wildest situations and I have never ever even been close to seeing it be damaged.....

Sorry but you seem to have little idea what pro photography is about. You ask any photohrapher for Nat Geo or serious nature photographers in general and I highly doubt any of them would want a swivel-LCD.
 
Sorry but you seem to have little idea what pro photography is about. You ask any photohrapher for Nat Geo or serious nature photographers in general and I highly doubt any of them would want a swivel-LCD.

Your point has little to nothing to do with what he said, and on top of that was very rude. A few years ago very few people "wanted" an ipad, they didn't think they would have any use for them, now look at them. Is the issue that it creates a weak point on the body or is it a weather sealing problem?
 
Your point has little to nothing to do with what he said, and on top of that was very rude. A few years ago very few people "wanted" an ipad, they didn't think they would have any use for them, now look at them. Is the issue that it creates a weak point on the body or is it a weather sealing problem?

I'm sorry but this comment is even less intelligent--. What are you saying -- pros that buy pro camera bodies are stubborn old geezers because they don't "get the idea" with swivel-LCD's? If you want a non-fixed LCD well most cameras don't have it... so if you're trying to make some point here please do. Price point, less MP count... list goes on. Canon has made a move. And where does the swivel-LCD come in in all this? Sorry but if ranting please be relevant.

I'm not a pro so but I know how some of their cameras tend to look like... put it in the laundry before the wedding gig!!
 
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I've worked for National Geographic as a producer. Trust me, we use whatever tool gets us the shot. A swiveling LCD lets you be very creative with camera placement -- put the camera on the ground, angled up slightly, and that LCD lets you compose (corrected type from when I wrote "compost"!) without laying down on the ground. While NatGeo has strict technical spec guidelines that usually involve big shoulder cameras (they don't want 4K images), there is an allowance for a small percentage of video to be shot with DSLRs and even Go Pros if it gets you a shot you couldn't get otherwise. In my experience, an articulating screen has made all the difference in the world on more than a few shots. That's why real video cameras, even B-Cameras like the Sony EX1 and EX3, have articulating screens. That's why the big 2/3" chip shoulder cameras have articulating eye pieces, and even articulating screen in the case of Sony's XDCAMs. A pro knows how to keep his equipment from getting damaged. And a pro also knows that a certain amount of camera damage is the cost of doing business. Getting the shot pays for the gear, and insurance for your gear if it gets damaged.
 
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I've worked for National Geographic as a producer... ...and that LCD lets you compost without laying down on the ground.
Man, some really patient photographers there at Nat Geo. "lets you compost..."
 
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please don't let this get nasty...
I want a swivel screen because it will help me balance the camera much better on a shoulder mount (so it sits in front of my shoulder, not in front of my face)
I can get the same functionality from an external EVF or a 7" screen, but the camera's LCD is usually better for color rendition, and adding a swivel mount is cheaper than adding a full new screen, with battery, mount, etc
but as usual I'm only comlaining about the price: if I could get a zacuto viewfinder for $100, I wouldn't care that the camera doesn't have a swivel screen

now, going back to "what we've been waiting for"...

please, Canon, do the following:
* start with the 5D3 body and electronics
* get rid of the magnesium body and weather sealing
* make LCD screen swivel like that of the 60D
* get rid of all the phase detect AF mechanism, the mirror, the prism, and the viewfinder
* get rid of the mechanical shutter
* get rid of the hot shoe mount, just leave a flat surface with two or three 1/4"-20 threads
* get rid of the mode dial wheel
* allow us to reassign all buttons
and sell the resulting camera for $2200 body only

what would you think of that? the only downside I can think of is that resell value would go down faster than with a DSLR
I think it would sell like hot cakes (for example: it would be so much cheaper than the d800 that no hdmi-out wouldn't be an issue)
 
Sorry but you seem to have little idea what pro photography is about. You ask any photohrapher for Nat Geo or serious nature photographers in general and I highly doubt any of them would want a swivel-LCD.

Sorry but you have no idea what you are talking about..... A swivel LCD can be placed in the SAME fixed position as a non one. On top of that it's about options, filming a low angle shot you can flip the lcd out and stand up and see what you are doing. If not you would have to lay down on the ground to see what is being shot. Same for any other angle. You don't need to ask anyone, basic common sense will tell you the advantage of having a swivel lcd screen.
 
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