Updated: Canon EOS 5D Mark III Studio Sample Photos

Update: Our Canon EOS 5D Mark III studio sample photo gallery has been updated with samples made from the RAW files. These tests were made before Adobe Lightroom supported the 5D Mark III so we shot RAW + JPEG and just posted the JPEG files. Since Lightroom 4.1 came out we were able to export the 5D Mark III RAW files and make studio tests from those as well. It was also important to include the RAW tests since they are significantly different from the JPEGs. Canon applies in-camera noise reduction to the JPEG files and says they are as much as two stops better in terms of noise. If you compare the RAW to the JPEG images you’ll see the JPEG images have a lot less noise, are a bit softer and there’s a bit of haloing in contrasty areas.

The Canon EOS 5D Mark III was one of the most anxiously anticipated cameras in recent history (maybe ever) and there’s been a lot of hype about the image quality. In an effort to get our studio tests done as soon as possible, we borrowed a camera last night from local pro dealer, Pictureline. Based on these sample photos and some other quick field tests I made, I think the Canon EOS 5D Mark III is useable up to a very impressive ISO 12,800. Noise and detail is even pretty decent at ISO 25,600. The 5D Mark III will make handheld shooting in low light and high-speed shooting in a wide variety of conditions much easier than it was with previous cameras. Kudos to Canon for reigning in the urge to increase camera resolution. In my opinion, the 22.3-megapixel sensor has more than enough pixels and the improved low light performance is way more valuable for most photographers.

The thumbnails below link to full-size Canon EOS 5D Mark III studio sample photos. These tests were shot at all sensitivity settings, from ISO 50 all the way up to ISO 102,400. I shot them RAW+JPEG in aperture priority with white balance set to the tungsten preset. There are two sets of samples below – one made from the JPEG files and one made from the RAW files. Canon says that the 5D Mark III JPEG files benefit from in-camera noise reduction and you can definitely see the difference when you compare to the RAW to the JPEG. No adjustments have been made in post-processing. The RAW files were converted to 16-bit TIFF files in Lightroom and the text, logo and graybar were added in Photoshop then the files were resaved as a maximum quality JPEGs.

Warning: these files are HUGE – be patient while they download.