Does the 5d Mark 3 make you a better photographer?

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joescrivens

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No, we all say all the time. Better equipment will not make you a better photographer ....

... however,

My wife has no knowledge of photography, she has a compact that takes terrible photos and she doesn't really know what she's doing. When we do stuff with the kids I'm never in the shots as she can never use my camera.

Until I got the mark 3. My Mark3 pretty much stays in Av mode with a minimum shutter speed of 250 and auto ISO and auto white balance. The dof preview button changes the focus mode from one shot to servo.

I spent 5 minutes with my wife when I got it showing her the following things:

1. Move this around until the red dot is where you want it to be to focus (the multi controller)

2. Press this button with your thumb to focus (the AF on)

3. If one of us is moving, hold down both these buttons all the time (af on and DOF preview)

4. Press here to take the pic (shutter)

Now she can pick up the camera and remember those 4 things and just take pics. This is what happened the first time she did it.


9R4C6932 by JoeBoyMan, on Flickr


9R4C6931 by JoeBoyMan, on Flickr


9R4C6930 by JoeBoyMan, on Flickr


9R4C6929 by JoeBoyMan, on Flickr


9R4C6927 by JoeBoyMan, on Flickr

Im not saying these are the best portraits ever taken, but putting my 5d mk 3 in her hands and showing her those 4 things she can now produce this compared to her terrible flat compact shots.
 
It makes better photos for sure :) I do suck at photography but the 5d mk2 produces nice results especially combined with a good lens :D
 
wow...I'd be happy with some of those.....not sure if this is a reassuring or a frightening post really...:thinking:
 
bluesilver said:
wow...I'd be happy with some of those.....not sure if this is a reassuring or a frightening post really...:thinking:
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a bit frightening I think.

the fact that she doesn't have to think about shutter speed, ISO or white balance mean all she's doing is pointing, focussing and shooting.

the ergonomics and features of the camera mean even a complete novice can use it.
 
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Ofc auto exposure + auto focus, then digital photography, and now great digital cameras, all made/make it a lot, lot easier to take great photos. I remember learning photography on an ancient £10 manual nikon and discarding 80% of my shots most of time because of missed focus and bad exposure.

Equipment does play a huge role, but what happens is peoples' expectations of what makes a great photo also changes. Nowadays, you see plenty of shots on flickr that would be considered 'pro' or 'amazing' some 10 years ago due to technical aspects such as sharpness, exposure, etc - often taken in automatic mode on a decent DSLR. As the floor gets raised, now it's the photographer's creativity that separates them from the majority, far more so than technique, which can be compensated for by equipment ;).
 
one wife is enough for any man surely who in their right mind would want double the trouble lol
those images really do look good
 
Well I was wondering is it worth the 2.5k and with the shots u have just got I think it's a must for me from 400d to 5d mkiii I'm sold but I won't tell my mrs I'll buy her a ikea camera :)
 
Good photography is about good composition. Some composition technique can be taught, but in most cases you either have an eye or you don't.

The technique of focus and exposure is something we as humans have subcontracted to technology, but a lousy composition will always be a boring photo.
 
She's captured some nice shots there Joe.

No doubting the camera is capable of taking better shots than her compact however with regards to your question - don't overlook or underestimate the fact that it's the instructions you're giving that will help her to become a better photographer.
 
dinners said:
She's captured some nice shots there Joe.

No doubting the camera is capable of taking better shots than her compact however with regards to your question - don't overlook or underestimate the fact that it's the instructions you're giving that will help her to become a better photographer.
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so what you are saying phil is that I'm an excellent teacher! You really are too kind:D
 
It certainly helps, I'm taking better photos with my 5D3 than I did with my 1Ds2, or 1Ds, or 1D2 or 450d before that, for me the huge screen with liveview (really helpful for lining up ND grad edges) and high ISO (for when taking a tripod isn't an option).

Your Mrs got good shots from yours but she must have a decent eye for a good shot as well as the camera helping.
 
joescrivens said:
No, we all say all the time. Better equipment will not make you a better photographer ....

... however,

My wife has no knowledge of photography, she has a compact that takes terrible photos and she doesn't really know what she's doing. When we do stuff with the kids I'm never in the shots as she can never use my camera.

Until I got the mark 3. My Mark3 pretty much stays in Av mode with a minimum shutter speed of 250 and auto ISO and auto white balance. The dof preview button changes the focus mode from one shot to servo.

I spent 5 minutes with my wife when I got it showing her the following things:

1. Move this around until the red dot is where you want it to be to focus (the multi controller)

2. Press this button with your thumb to focus (the AF on)

3. If one of us is moving, hold down both these buttons all the time (af on and DOF preview)

4. Press here to take the pic (shutter)

Now she can pick up the camera and remember those 4 things and just take pics. This is what happened the first time she did it.


9R4C6932 by JoeBoyMan, on Flickr

<snip>


9R4C6929 by JoeBoyMan, on Flickr


9R4C6927 by JoeBoyMan, on Flickr

Im not saying these are the best portraits ever taken, but putting my 5d mk 3 in her hands and showing her those 4 things she can now produce this compared to her terrible flat compact shots.
Click to expand...

These three as a fab triptych? You have some terrific pics of your girl Joe :)

I think what these pictures prove is that 99% of the best images include a really good subject and great light. Everything else is secondary.

I often hand my camera to non-photographers. Just put it on P and they can hardly go wrong. Composition is usually rubbish though - not filling the frame and faces smack in the middle :nono:
 
I don't think any camera can make you a better photographer,but some camera,you just get on with,they just seem to fit your style,which help in taking better photos :)

ps, don't forget she might like it to much,you could lose your camera
 
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HoppyUK said:
These three as a fab triptych? You have some terrific pics of your girl Joe :)

I think what these pictures prove is that 99% of the best images include a really good subject and great light. Everything else is secondary.

I often hand my camera to non-photographers. Just put it on P and they can hardly go wrong. Composition is usually rubbish though - not filling the frame and faces smack in the middle :nono:
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I do entirely agree with this comment. Every single time a stranger had my camera (with all correct settings) I got nothing but terrible composition and possibly shake. I even have to 'fight' my parents to get anything but 80% dull sky. But then it wasn't the mk3 :lol:
 
I recently spoke to someone who worked at Calumet who went into great detail to justify the price of the mk3, and to be perfectly honest it made sense, and if I could afford to upgrade I would.

They are brilliant photographs, I especially like the last one. However, with all due respect, was your wife lucky with the composition and lighting here? I am a firm believer that the quality of photograph is not dependant on the camera used. For example, if you stuck a professional with a 350D in a studio with a 9 light set-up, would he/she get better results than someone with less experience with the same set-up using a medium format camera? I personally believe the short answer is yes. There is a long answer here but I wont babble on any more!
 
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I think the quality of the kit used does make a difference. If you gave a 350D + cheap lens to pro, and then gave him a 5D3 + L glass, the 5D3 setup would result in better photographs. If this was not the case, we would all go out and buy 350Ds and be done with it.

You still have to compose the photo though, and if you cant do that then you wont get great shots. But if two identical, but badly composed shots are taken with different quality kit, then the photo taken using the better quality will be the better photo. So the kit does make a difference.

The photos of the girls were taken with the 5D3 coupled with what looks like the canon 135 F2.0 lens, one of the best lenses out there, and probably perfect for the situation. If a 350D + 50mm kit lens had been used, you would not have got quite the same results.
 
Simon, I agree with what you are saying, I did however word my reply badly. What I was trying to get at (and at the same time not trying to sound rude) is that if an 'amateur photographer' who had not used a DSLR or medium format camera before had gone in to a studio with the aforementioned set-up, they may not get the same results by using their own configuration of light set-up compared to an individual who knows how to make use of numerous heads. Composition, posing and direction are all key elements which would come as second nature to a professional, where as an 'amateur' may not get the same results due to a lack of experience, regardless of what camera they are using.
 
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Awful images Joe - get her chained to the sink again ;)

Seriously, they are really good images. I think you might be a good teacher and have probably explained it well to her. Is she creative anyway - the framing would say so.... I think you have some competition in the household :lol:

I suppose the technology is making it easier and easier for 'non-photographers' to take good looking shots because the intelligence of the camera is becoming less fuzzy logic and more specific to what factors take priority in any given situation. As said though, I do think there are people who have a creative eye and that itself will contribute massively, especial;ly when it comes to composition and framing.
 
I'm a little confused about your focus buttons... Are you using back button for AF on and it's one shot unless you have DOF button down too? I have my 5D2 in ai servo with back button so rather than use one shot I just focus and then release the button. I can't see what bringing the dof button to the party achieves... What am I missing?
 
Some genres definitely need better equipment. Try taking a picture of a kingfisher with a rebel and a kit lens ;)
 
whom said:
I'm a little confused about your focus buttons... Are you using back button for AF on and it's one shot unless you have DOF button down too? I have my 5D2 in ai servo with back button so rather than use one shot I just focus and then release the button. I can't see what bringing the dof button to the party achieves... What am I missing?
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On the Mk3 the DOF button is on the other side of the lens mount and falls nicely under the 3rd finger of the right hand. You can change the function of the button too so instead of doing DOF preview it toggles between One Shot and AI Servo (or vice versa depending on what mode you have set). It's very useful.
 
ChrisJ_SLH said:
On the Mk3 the DOF button is on the other side of the lens mount and falls nicely under the 3rd finger of the right hand. You can change the function of the button too so instead of doing DOF preview it toggles between One Shot and AI Servo (or vice versa depending on what mode you have set). It's very useful.
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I see, it does sound convenient. But I still don't get why you would ever use back button AF and one shot mode when you can just use servo and let go of the button when it locks?
Didn't the OP say that he instructed his missus to hold back button and dof button? Seems overly complicated, am I missing something.
 
joescrivens said:
No, we all say all the time. Better equipment will not make you a better photographer ....

... however,

My wife has no knowledge of photography, she has a compact that takes terrible photos and she doesn't really know what she's doing. When we do stuff with the kids I'm never in the shots as she can never use my camera.
Click to expand...

I would hope that the best part of £4k's worth of camera equipment would produce better images than a sub £200 compact!

As someone has said here is correct, 99% of an image is having a great subject and great light and everything else is secondry. I travelled to New Zealand last year and I took some fantastic landscape shots having only owned a DSLR for a couple of months, the reason for that is that the scenerary was so fantastic you only had to point the camera and shoot!
 
whom said:
I see, it does sound convenient. But I still don't get why you would ever use back button AF and one shot mode when you can just use servo and let go of the button when it locks?
Didn't the OP say that he instructed his missus to hold back button and dof button? Seems overly complicated, am I missing something.
Click to expand...

yes.

In my experience, one shot is more accurate than servo. I've asked about it a few times on here, theres an old thread here discussing it

http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=353426&highlight=servo

but the images are gone, so not sure how helpful it is. But basically I found that I get a better hit percentage of perfect focus using one shot on a static object than servo - especially if that subject is at an angle. So I only now switch to servo if I'm tracking.

Others may have found different, but personally I have seen much better results with one shot over servo - so thats why my camera is set up that way to get the best of both worlds.
 
joescrivens said:
yes.

In my experience, one shot is more accurate than servo. I've asked about it a few times on here, theres an old thread here discussing it

http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=353426&highlight=servo

but the images are gone, so not sure how helpful it is. But basically I found that I get a better hit percentage of perfect focus using one shot on a static object than servo - especially if that subject is at an angle. So I only now switch to servo if I'm tracking.

Others may have found different, but personally I have seen much better results with one shot over servo - so thats why my camera is set up that way to get the best of both worlds.
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Fantastic, thanks for explaining. I will have a little play with both modes and see what results I get. I've disabled the expansion points that I believe are only active for servo so that should help with angled subjects.
 
I think with regards to her composition she must just subtly be affected by seeing a lot of my shots and perhaps it was just natural for her to emulate it without really thinking too much?

As for lighting - well, this was full midday sun on a blue sky day with harsh sunlight. It's actually very tricky lighting, this made me think, I already had my camera set up with the right exposure mode - I thought this was in Av mode but when I go back and look at the exif it was actually in manual and I had already set all the exposure up - hence why it's been exposed so well in harsh conditions.

If this had been in Av, actually it probably wouldn't have been exposed as well due to the very bright light shooting into the sun. She wouldn't have known to exposure compensate or anything.

Still, she has been taking more shots with Av mode that have been great, but I realise now that this is not a fair test at all. I suppose there are so many factors you just naturally think about and forget.
 
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whom said:
I see, it does sound convenient. But I still don't get why you would ever use back button AF and one shot mode when you can just use servo and let go of the button when it locks?
Didn't the OP say that he instructed his missus to hold back button and dof button? Seems overly complicated, am I missing something.
Click to expand...

I personally use back button focusing because I got used to it on the mk2 (focus/re-composing off the centre AF point). I too used to use servo and and a quick dab of the af-on to simulate one shot.

However, with the mk3 and the use of the re-mapped DOF button, you get the AF confirmation beep and/or light for one shot you otherwise lack in servo mode.

It might sound complicated using the DOF button instead but trust me, it is very intuitive once you've tried it.
 
Same with my wife. She takes very good shots with a Sony A700 that her dad gave her but hasn't got a clue (or is interested) in how the camera works. She does take a lot of shots where low DoF is required so all I ever explained to her was Aperture priority and what it does. She really doesn't want to know about anything else however I try to explain it!

So the question is does an SLR make you a better photographer than a compact. I think going from a cheap SLR to a 5d is not particularly going to make much difference.
 
Can I just ask, I really dont see the point of using the AF-ON button to focus. Ive tried, and didnt like it - it's uncomfy and feels like my thumb knuckle is poking me in the other eye constantly!
But on top of that, I really dont see the point of it?

PS - could you not just use the * button, to lock focus where you want, then use the shutter button?
 
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futureal33 said:
Can I just ask, I really dont see the point of using the AF-ON button to focus. Ive tried, and didnt like it - it's uncomfy and feels like my thumb knuckle is poking me in the other eye constantly!
But on top of that, I really dont see the point of it?
Click to expand...

That's fine, you certainly aren't alone in not getting on with it. Use what works for you, that's what options are for!

futureal33 said:
PS - could you not just use the * button, to lock focus where you want, then use the shutter button?
Click to expand...

Actually, I have the * and AF-ON buttons transposed so that * starts the AF and AF-ON acts as AE-Lock.

The * falls a bit more naturally under my thumb for frequent use.
 
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futureal33 said:
Can I just ask, I really dont see the point of using the AF-ON button to focus. Ive tried, and didnt like it - it's uncomfy and feels like my thumb knuckle is poking me in the other eye constantly!
But on top of that, I really dont see the point of it?

PS - could you not just use the * button, to lock focus where you want, then use the shutter button?
Click to expand...

What do you mean? My 5DI used the * because it doesn't have an AF on button.... now I use the AF ON button.

Anyway, the point is that I never have to turn AF off and I never have to change between AI servo and one shot. So I can focus once and take a panorama without it re focussing every single photo (if I used the shutter button as AF).
 
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