1. The 5D Mark III Top Ten List

Ten Tips to Get You Started

Like you, I felt the giddy satisfaction of pulling the camera out of the box, inserting the battery, and hearing that sharp snap as I released the shutter the first time. It was like music to my ears. And yes, despite any claims of professionalism I embrace, I began making photographs around the studio, even before cracking open the first few pages of the manual. I’m only human.

I still read the manual. With a camera as sophisticated as the 5D Mark III, this small, 404-page booklet is as invaluable and indispensable as the battery that powers the camera. Yet, I was as eager as anyone to see what this new camera could deliver.

So, with that in mind, I thought I would share ten tips that I believe will help you make the most of the camera straight out of the box, in case you’re as eager as I was.

Poring Over the Camera

Camera Front

Camera Back

Camera Top

1. Charge Your Battery

The battery packaged with your camera is only partially charged out of the box. So, it’s important to place the LP-E6 battery pack in the LC-E6 charger. A full charge should take approximately two-and-a-half hours under normal conditions.

I shoot fairly regularly, so I always charge my batteries the night before a shoot. Even if the battery indicator shows that I have a good amount of juice left, I’ll charge it up to full capacity. This is especially important if you go days or weeks between uses. Even if the camera isn’t being used, power will dissipate from the battery, and you don’t want to be in a situation where your camera is no longer functioning due to lack of power.

You can check the status of your battery by referencing the battery check in the lower-right corner of the 5D Mark III LCD panel or the Battery Info screen (Figure 1.1).

Figure 1.1 Make sure to fully charge your battery the night before a shoot. You can check the battery status on both the LCD Panel and the Battery Info screen, the latter of which provides the remaining charge capacity, frame count, and recharge performance.

2. Set Your ISO

One of the most important settings on your camera is the ISO. ISO is the control that allows you to adjust the camera’s sensitivity to light, which by default on the 5D Mark III ranges from 100 to 25,600. This range can be expanded to 50 to 102,400.

Low ISO numbers require less light in order to produce a good exposure. So, on a bright sunny day, an ISO of 100 or 200 would be more than adequate to capture a good image. As light levels decrease, a higher ISO may be needed. So, a cloudy day may require an ISO of 200 or 400. When shooting indoors under fluorescent or tungsten light, the ISO might need to be set at 800 or higher.

The 5D Mark III has an automatic ISO feature, which results in the camera dynamically changing ISO as light levels change. This mode is automatically enabled when you’re in the Scene Intelligent Auto mode. It also can be used in any other exposure mode, including Manual. However, I prefer to set my ISO manually in order to maintain control over this all-important feature.

Higher ISOs do increase the presence of noise, which appears as speckles, especially in areas of shadow. However, the 5D Mark III’s full-frame sensor and processing engine keep noise levels very low, even at higher ISOs. So, although it’s true that lower ISOs will deliver better image quality, I don’t hesitate to increase my ISO if I need to, especially if it helps ensure that I have a shutter speed that’s fast enough for me to handhold the camera and achieve a sharp photograph, free of camera shake.

I’d rather have a sharp image with noise than a noiseless image that’s blurry. The former I can do something about; the latter ends up being just another failed and deleted image.

To Set the ISO, Follow these Steps

1. Activate the camera by lightly pressing the shutter button.

2. Press the ISO speed-setting button on the top of the camera (refer to the “Poring over the Camera” diagram, earlier in this chapter).

3. Use the Main Dial to select an ISO between ISO 100 and 51,200.

4. Lightly press the shutter button again to lock in your change.

3. Set Your White Balance

Light has color to it, from the warm glow of a sunset to the cool bluish hue right before the sun rises in the east. Our eyes and brains automatically adjust to this, so we sometimes don’t pick up on the nuances of color when it happens. This is why, when you walk from outside on a bright sunny day into a fluorescent-lit office, the color remains amazingly consistent, even though the light sources are different.

The camera’s Auto White Balance (AWB) feature attempts to correct for such variation in lighting, but as with any automatic feature, it’s not infallible. Although AWB can provide acceptable results, I find that I achieve more accurate and consistent results by setting the white balance to a preset or by creating a custom white balance.

When saving images as JPEGs, getting the white balance right is very important, because it’s difficult to correct color after the fact. Raw files provide greater flexibility because you can correct white balance easily in your photo-editing application without compromising image quality. However, it’s always faster and simpler to get the white balance correct at the moment of capture.

Here are the white balance modes you can choose from (Figure 1.2):

• Auto: The default setting for your camera. It’s the only white balance setting available to you when using the Scene Intelligent Auto mode.

• Daylight: Used for general daylight/sunlit shooting.

• Shade: Best suited for shaded areas on days that are bright and sunny.

• Cloudy, twilight, sunset: The choice for overcast or very cloudy days. This and the shade setting will eliminate the blue colorcast from your images.

• Tungsten light: For when you’re using regular household-type bulbs for your light source. Tungsten is a very warm light source and will result in a yellow/orange cast if you don’t correct for it.

• White fluorescent light: This setting gets rid of the green-blue cast that can result from using regular fluorescent lights as your dominant light source. Some fluorescent lights are actually balanced for daylight, which may allow you to use the daylight white balance setting.

• Flash use: Select this white balance whenever using a flash or strobe. You also can use the daylight setting when using flash, because they share the same color temperature.

• Custom: Allows you to use a customized white balance that is adjusted for a particular light source. If you know what the color temperature of your light source is, you can manually create a white balance setting that is specific for that light source.

• Kelvin: This choice allows you to set a specific color temperature from 2500 to 10,000 degrees Kelvin, thus providing both control and precision. This provides an excellent option when neither the AWB or a preset can deliver accurate color, such as when shooting under mercury vapor lights.

Figure 1.2 Though AWB promises convenience, it doesn’t always provide the most accurate results. Most of the time, a preset white balance or a custom white balance will deliver more consistent color.

To Set Your White Balance, Follow these Steps

1. Activate the camera by lightly pressing the shutter button.

2. Press the Metering mode selection/White balance selection button on the top of the camera (refer to the “Poring Over the Camera” diagram, earlier in this chapter).

3. Rotate the Quick Control Dial to select the preferred white balance method.

4. Lightly press the shutter button and check the LCD panel to confirm the white balance method.

4. Set Your Exposure Mode

After your ISO setting, the next two crucial controls for achieving an accurate exposure are shutter speed and aperture. The shutter speed controls the duration that the shutter remains open, often measured in increments of a fraction of a second (for example, 1/500 second). The aperture refers to the opening of the lens, commonly referred to as an f-stop (for example, f/5.6).

The interplay of ISO, shutter speed, and aperture determine the camera’s ability to achieve an accurate exposure, with each setting having an impact on the other.

The 5D Mark III offers several exposure modes, which provide varying levels of control of the shutter speed and aperture and can have a dramatic impact on the look of a photograph:

• Scene Intelligent Auto (A⁺): This is a fully automatic exposure mode, which allows the camera to control ISO, white balance, shutter speed, and aperture. It also dynamically adjusts sharpness, contrast, and color saturation for specific types of scenes or photographs it believes you’re trying to make.

• Program (P): In this mode, the camera controls both shutter speed and aperture, while providing you the ability to manually adjust ISO, white balance, and other settings. Program can serve as your general-purpose exposure mode.

• Aperture Priority (Av): In this mode, you have control over the aperture, while the camera changes the shutter speed based on the light levels and the ISO. This allows for complete control over depth of field.

• Shutter Priority (Tv): This exposure mode provides you the ability to control the shutter speed, while the camera sets the aperture. You also have the flexibility of changing the ISO. This is a good choice when you want to freeze or blur action.

• Manual (M): This mode gives you complete control over your shutter speed, aperture, and ISO. This is a good mode to use not only when the automatic exposure modes are unable to provide an accurate result, but also when you want to keep exposure consistent.

• Bulb (B): For long-time exposure, the Bulb mode will leave the shutter open for as long as the shutter button is depressed. You can set your aperture and ISO as needed for long time exposures of star trails.

To Set Your Exposure Mode, Follow these Steps

1. Press the Mode Dial lock release button.

2. Rotate the Mode Dial (refer to the “Poring Over the Camera” diagram, earlier in this chapter) to set your preferred exposure mode.

5. Set Your Autofocus Mode and Focus Point

The focusing system on the 5D Mark III has been dramatically improved from what was designed into its predecessor, the Mark II. In addition to increasing the individual focus points to 61 focus sensors, the camera’s autofocus speed is significantly improved. The camera also provides much more extensive controls for customizing the camera autofocus performance, particularly when using the image to capture sports action.

You still need to understand that the camera’s advanced autofocus system—while speedy and often accurate—is not sophisticated enough to always know what you’re trying to make a photograph of. The autofocus system can, more often than not, detect focus on your subject, but there will be times when you’ll need to take control.

One of the first considerations to make is which autofocus (AF) mode to use. The camera offers three:

• One Shot: This mode is best suited for static or still subjects. Once focus is detected and while maintaining halfway pressure on the shutter button or the AF start button, focus is locked. To refocus, you have to release pressure from the button and depress it again. This is the ideal setting for portraits, macro, or still life.

• AI Servo: This provides you the advantage of both One Shot and AI Focus. The camera starts off in One Shot mode, but if it detects that the subject is moving, it will automatically switch to AI Focus and begin to track your subject.

• AI Focus: In this focus mode, the camera is constantly adjusting for the movement of the subject. It’s ideal for fast action and sports because the camera continually evaluates the autofocus data to maintain focus on the subject from shot to shot.

To Set Your AF Mode, Follow these Steps

1. Activate the camera by lightly pressing the shutter button.

2. Press the AF mode selection/Drive mode selection button located on the top of your camera (refer to the “Poring Over the Camera” diagram, earlier in this chapter).

3. Turn the Main Dial to select the preferred autofocus mode.

4. Confirm the autofocus mode by looking at the upper-right corner of the LCD panel.

You can use all 61 points for autofocus detection or just a single point. This provides great flexibility in telling the camera what areas of the frame you want it to pay attention to for the purpose of autofocus detection. You may prefer to use fewer autofocus points to eliminate problems (for example, when you’re shooting through a fence or when there are momentary obstructions between the camera and the subject).

Here are the AF area selection modes:

• Single-point Spot AF (manual selection): This option provides pinpoint focus detection, even narrower than the Single-point AF.

• Single-point AF (manual selection): The camera uses a single sensor for focus detection.

• AF point expansion (manual selection): Focus detection is based on a single focus point and four adjacent sensors (above, below, right, and left).

• AF point expansion (manual selection, surrounding points): A single focus point, as well as all adjacent focus points, are utilized for focus detection.

• Zone AF (manual selection of zone): The 61 AF sensors are divided into 9 different zones of focus.

• 61-point automatic selection AF: All 61 sensors are utilized for focus detection, with emphasis often going to the object or element closest to the camera.

To Set Your AF Area Selection Mode, Follow these Steps

1. Activate the camera by lightly pressing the shutter button.

2. Press the AF point selection button located on the rear of your camera (refer to the “Poring Over the Camera” diagram, earlier in this chapter).

3. Repeatedly press the M-Fn (AF area selection mode/Multi-function button) to cycle through the various AF area selection modes.

4. Confirm the AF mode by looking at the glowing red indicators displayed in your viewfinder.

6. Set the Image Recording Quality

Now, here’s a topic that has likely erupted in a couple of bar fights: shooting RAW versus JPEG.

When you shoot in JPEG mode, your camera takes the image file and tweaks it for color, contrast, sharpness, and more. The camera’s built-in image processor optimizes the image. The files are noticeably smaller than raw files, because they’re compressed, which means some data is lost in order to make the file size smaller. As long as the quality setting remains relatively high, a JPEG can produce a good image.

Raw files are unprocessed files—they’re what the camera’s sensors captured. Instead of the camera processing the image, the photographer uses a photo-editing application (such as Adobe Photoshop or Lightroom) to make enhancements to color, sharpness, white balance, or contrast. Raw files provide the greatest image quality, because unlike JPEGs, they aren’t compressed.

Raw files hold the promise of better image quality, but they don’t look that great out of the camera as compared to JPEGs, because they haven’t had the benefit of in-camera processing. So, if you want to make the image look great, you’ll need to do some work in your photo-editing application. This is especially helpful if your images are underexposed or were captured with an incorrect white balance. Such corrections can be made easily, with no sacrifice of image quality.

I shoot RAW most of the time, but occasionally I shoot in RAW + JPEG mode if I want to produce images straight out of the camera that I can e-mail or post online. For example, when I’m at a party or on a day trip with my family, I produce JPEGs (along with my raw files), because I don’t want to work on every image that I may have made during the day, but I want to have the option to work on the raw file if I happen to capture a great image.

The 5D Mark III offers three options for saving your images as raw:

• RAW: Allows you to save the files at their full 22-megapixel resolution of 5760 × 3840

• MRAW: Produces a 10-megapixel file at a resolution of 3960 × 2640

• SRAW: Produces a 5.5-megapixel file at a resolution of 2880 × 1920

The lower-resolution files are for photographers who know they don’t need the full resolution provided by the 5D Mark III, but who still want the flexibility provided by shooting with a raw file. For example, some wedding photographers who know that most of their images won’t be enlarged beyond 8-x-10-inch prints, may choose to use MRAW. Personally, I stay with the maximum-resolution raw files, because I want to make sure that I can always take advantage of the full resolution of the camera.

JPEGs are available in eight degrees of compression, with greater compression providing smaller files (and lower image quality). To achieve this greater compression (and smaller file size), the camera discards data. When significant amounts of data are tossed out, the image will exhibit signs of pixelization, which can limit the size of the enlargement. When shooting JPEGs, I always choose the highest quality setting (the one on the far left of the screen shown in Figure 1.3).

Figure 1.3 You can save your images as raw files, JPEGs, or both.

To set your image recording quality, follow these steps:

1. Press the Menu button on the back of the camera (refer to the “Poring Over the Camera” diagram, earlier in this chapter) to bring up the menu list.

2. Use the Quick Control Dial to select the Shoot 1 menu screen.

3. Use the Quick Control Dial to select Quality Option and press the Setting button.

4. Use the Main Dial to set your RAW Quality. You’ll move the dial all the way to the left if you want to shoot only producing JPEGs.

5. Use the Quick Control Dial to set your JPEG Quality. Select the first L on the far left for the highest-quality JPEGs. (This will render a 22-megapixel image with a dimension of 5760 × 3840 pixels.)

7. Manage Your Memory Cards

Formatting my memory card is one of the ways I reduce the chance of data corruption and the loss of images. Though I only use high-quality, name-brand memory cards, the way that I prepare my Compact Flash (CF) or Secure Digital (SD) cards is an important part of my process.

Every time I insert a card in my camera, I reformat it, which means that not only are the preexisting files deleted, but the whole directory structure of the card is rebuilt. This is better than selectively deleting files to create more space on the card. Over time, if the card isn’t formatted, there is a risk of data corruption. It may be a small risk, but it’s worth the few seconds it takes to reformat the card to reduce this risk.

After a shoot, I make sure that I’ve downloaded my files to my computer and to a backup hard drive before reformatting my card.

To format your memory card, make sure that you’ve downloaded your images to your computer and then follow these steps:

1. Press the Menu button and turn the Main Dial to get to the Set-up 1 menu screen.

2. Use the Quick Control Dial to select Format card (Figure 1.4).

Figure 1.4 Make sure to format your memory cards before each shoot. Don’t forget to download all the images on your cards before you format them.

3. If you have only one card in the camera, it will already be selected. If you have both a CF and an SD card in your camera, use the Quick Control Dial to select the card you want to format. Press the Setting button.

4. Use the Main Dial to select OK and press the Setting button.

One of the great advantages of the 5D Mark III is the ability to use two memory cards. This not only gives you increased capacity for memory storage but also can be a convenient way of creating automatic backups of your photographs in-camera.

There are four modes you have to choose from:

• Standard: The images will be recorded to a single installed card or the primary card, which you designate.

• Auto switch card: This works the same as the standard setting, except when the primary card becomes full, the camera automatically begins recording to the second card. A new file folder is created automatically.

• Rec separately: If you’re shooting in RAW + JPEG mode, the respective files can be saved to different memory cards.

• Rec to multiple: Every image made by the camera will be recorded to both memory cards, creating an automatic backup. If you choose this option, you should use memory cards with the same capacity so that one doesn’t fill up before the other.

Though recording to multiple cards can slow down the performance of the camera, I use this feature if the photographs are especially important. Otherwise, I use the auto switch card mode so that I don’t have to replace a memory card in the middle of a shoot.

To Set Up Your Memory, Cards Follow these Steps

1. Press the Menu button and rotate the Main Dial to get to the Set-up 1 menu screen. Press the Setting button.

2. Rotate the Quick Control Dial, select Recording Function, and press the Setting button.

3. Rotate the Quick Control Dial, select the Record/Play setting, and press the Setting button.

4. If you’re using multiple cards, rotate the Quick Control Dial to select your primary memory card. The first icon refers to the CF card; the second, to the SD card (Figure 1.5). Press the Setting button to confirm the setting.

Figure 1.5 Check what file format is being saved to an installed memory card before you begin your shoot.

5. View the small window at the bottom of the LCD monitor to confirm which format will be saved to the respective cards.

8. Choose a Color Space and Picture Style

Color space is the range of colors that a camera captures and records. It can influence the accuracy of color when reproduced either on-screen or on paper. The 5D Mark III offers two color space options—sRGB and Adobe RGB 1998 (Figure 1.6). These options are important when shooting JPEGs. (With RAW files, you have the option to change the color space freely in your photo-editing application.)

Figure 1.6 The choice of color space is largely based on how you intend to output your images. If they’re designated for the web or a local photo lab, sRGB is recommended. If you expect to edit your own images and output them using an inkjet printer, Adobe RGB 1998 is the better option.

sRGB is a color space that closely matches the color range available on your computer monitor. It covers a smaller range, or gamut, than Adobe RGB 1998. But sRGB is the best choice if your images are destined for the web. sRGB is also often the color space used by many commercial labs. So, by shooting sRGB, it increases the likelihood that your prints will closely match what you captured with your DSLR.

Adobe RGB 1998 encompasses a wider gamut, making it possible to reproduce certain colors more accurately on many inkjet or high-end printers, such as those found at commercial printing services. If you make your own prints or intend to work with your images extensively in your photo-editing software, the Adobe RGB 1998 color space is the best choice.

To Set the Color Space, Follow these Steps

1. While pressing the Menu button, turn the Main Dial to select the Shoot 2 menu screen. Then use the Quick Control Dial to scroll down to Color Space.

2. Press the Setting button, and then highlight your desired color space and press the Setting button again.

3. Press the Menu button to leave the menu and begin shooting with your new color space.

Picture styles on the 5D Mark III allow you to enhance your images in-camera, depending on the type of photo you’re taking. There are six picture styles to choose from, along with three additional user-defined styles.

• Auto: This picture style uses aspects of the camera’s scene recognition technology to automatically choose one of the following picture styles:

• Standard: This general-purpose picture style is used to create crisp images with bold, vibrant colors. It’s suitable for most scenes.

• Portrait: This picture style enhances the colors in skin tone and is used for a softer-looking image.

• Landscape: This picture style enhances blues and greens, two colors that are typically visible in a landscape.

• Neutral: This picture style creates natural colors and subdued images and is a good choice if you want to do a lot of editing to your photos on the computer.

• Faithful: This picture style is similar to the neutral style but creates better color when shooting in daylight (with a color temperature of 5200L). It’s also a good option if you prefer to edit your photos on the computer.

• Monochrome: This picture style creates black-and-white images. It’s important to note that if you use Monochrome style and shoot in JPEG, you can’t revert the image to color.

• User-Defined: This picture style lets you create your own customized picture style by adjusting contrast, sharpness, saturation, and color tone.

To Set the Picture Style, Follow these Steps

1. Activate the camera by lightly pressing the shutter button.

2. Press the Creative Photo/Comparative playback (Two-image display)/Direct print button on the back of the camera.

3. Use the Main Dial to select the Picture Style mode and press the Setting button.

4. Use the Quick Control Dial to scroll through the styles.

5. Press the Setting button to lock in this change.

9. Choose a Metering Mode

One of the biggest concerns that we have as photographers is exposure. Thankfully, the 5D Mark III not only offers an improved evaluative metering system, but also provides three other options for handling difficult and challenging lighting conditions:

• Evaluative: This 63-zone evaluative metering mode serves as a general-purpose meter, which can handle the great majority of situations. It can sometimes handle backlit subjects and provide a good overall exposure. It uses color and focus data to refine the exposure.

• Partial: This metering mode utilizes only 6.2 percent of the viewfinder area for metering. This restrictive metering is good when you’re faced with severely backlit subjects.

• Spot: Utilizing only 1.5 percent of the viewfinder area at the center frame, spot metering is the most restrictive of the metering modes, allowing precise measurement of the subject or other areas of the frame.

• Center-weighted: This metering mode emphasizes the center area of the frame, which is then averaged with what exists in the rest of the frame.

I use the evaluative metering system over 90 percent of the time, but occasionally I use the other metering modes when I’m faced with a scene that has a very bright or dark background or when I know that the evaluative metering will likely be fooled.

To Set Your Metering Mode, Follow these Steps

1. Activate the camera by lightly pressing the shutter button.

2. Select one of the shooting modes, such as P. (You can’t choose anything other than evaluative metering when using the Scene Intelligent Auto mode.)

3. Press the Metering mode selection/White balance selection button on the top of the camera (refer to the “Poring Over the Camera” diagram, earlier in this chapter) to bring up the metering menu.

4. Use the Main Dial to select the preferred metering method for your shooting situation. The selected meter icon will appear in the lower-right portion of the LCD panel.

5. Check the camera display to ensure that the proper metering mode is selected.

10. Set Your Information Display

The LCD monitor on the back of the camera provides wonderful feedback on image exposure and color quality, but if your screen happens to be set too bright or too dark, the image you’re seeing may be deceptive. When you take a photograph, you usually want to keep detail in the highlight areas of the image and don’t want to “blow out” anything (that is, you don’t want certain areas of your image to be completely white). For example, if you were to use your flash while photographing a person and the image were overexposed, the light could flood her face. One way to prevent this loss of detail is by enabling Highlight Alert.

To Enable Highlight Alert, Follow these Steps

1. Press the Menu button and use the Main Dial to select the Play 3 menu screen.

2. Use the Quick Control Dial to select Highlight Alert and press the Setting button.

3. Turn the Main Dial to enable the Highlight Alert function and press the Setting button (Figure 1.7).

Figure 1.7 When the highlight warning is enabled, any area that is severely overexposed will blink between black and white as an exposure warning. The exposure will need to be corrected in order to retain detail in this bright area.

4. Press the Menu button to leave the menus and continue shooting.

Now that you’ve enabled Highlight Alert, you’ll see a difference in your images while you review them. If you photograph something that is pure white (255, 255, 255 on the RGB color model), then that part of the image will blink black on the LCD monitor when you review your shot. At first you might find this a bit annoying, but trust me, it’s extremely useful. This is feedback that will help you properly expose your images. It’s very difficult to pull in detail from the areas that blink black, so if it’s blinking somewhere you don’t want it to, you’ll need to reduce the exposure using exposure compensation if you’re shooting in an automatic exposure mode.

Chapter 1 Assignments

Let’s begin our shooting assignments by setting up and using all the elements of the top-ten list. This will allow you to interact with the various settings and menus that have been covered thus far.

Basic Camera Setup

Charge your battery to 100 percent and insert it in the camera. Reformat your card and set your camera for your preferred exposure mode, evaluative metering, one-shot AF mode, and JPEG recording.

Select the Proper White Balance

Choose a scene or subject that’s in open shade and make several different photographs using each of the various white balance settings. Compare the results.

Focus on a Subject

Photograph a family member or friend with your camera in Aperture Priority (Av) mode and with the lens set to its widest aperture (f/4 or wider). Then take several images using each of the available focus methods, ranging from the 61-point automatic selection AF method to Single-point Spot AF. Compare the image to see how sharp the eyes are in each shot.

Play with the Manual Focus Mode

Change your focus mode from Autofocus to Manual focus and practice. Get familiar with where the focus ring is and how to use it to achieve sharp images.

Play with Picture Styles

Find one thing to photograph and take six different photos—one for each picture style. Compare the images to see how the style changes the colors and tones.

Evaluate Your Pictures with the LCD Monitor

Set up your image display properties and then review some of your previous assignment images using the different display modes. Review your shooting information for each image, and take a look at the histograms to see how the content of your photo affects their shapes.

Share your results with this book’s Flickr group!

Join the group here: www.flickr.com/groups/Canon5DMarkIIIFromSnapshotstoGreatShots