Natural light - this thing rocks. No worries there, but with the flash I was getting concerned, especially at the reception because the images I was seeing on the LCD lacked the punch and richness I was seeing on the 5D LCD. Well - it turns out that most of it can be attributed to the LCD itself. It's actually not very good, and doesn't have the best viewing angle. You need to tilt the top of the camera away from you to get the optimum representation which still is a bit contrasty. After realizing this, I give the LCD poor marks because it's also soft making it near impossible to judge image sharpness even when zooming in to the max. They made it big, but not better! It pales in comparrison to the 5D's LCD which I can use to accurately check focus and gives decent color/tone accuracy.
The other part of it was actually the one of the 580EX's custom functions! C.Fn-11 on the 580EX (C.Fn-7 or 9 *I can't remember which* on the 580EXII) is Auto setting of flash coverage to match sensor size. By default it is set to ON, when I switched it OFF the results were very simlar if not identical to the 5D's flash. My 2nd shooter (20D & 30D) also set his 580 and 580II to this and it improved his flash use as well Tip: For those with a cropped sensor Canon and 580EX or 580EXII - try disabling that C.Fn and see how you like your flash performance now baby!
The camera is fast, actually too fast for many situations. I found that I was taking too many similar frames because the camera reacted so fast. I set the camera on single frame or burst low (which I set for 4fps.) This helped quell the speed shooting when I started using my blazing fast D2h. So I need to tame myself once again. I did purposfully rattle off a handful of frames at 10fps during the portrait session outside and the girls went crazy, whooting and hollering - so I guess it has it's place!
I also got a chance to use silent mode in the (big, echoey) church and it's simply amazing how much difference it made. What a great feature!
Battery life - I feel that I wasted money buying a spare battery. I made 867 frames on the MkIII and have 72% battery life remaining!
I'm truely amazed. I didnt think anything could top Nikon's D2 battery system, but this is a bit better *finally*!
I have a HUGE nit pick with the placement of the flash compensation button. It's accessable on the left side of the camera, which means I can't reach it while shooting. I have to take my hand out from under the lens and pull the camera away from my face to use it. I'll have to do a few tests to see if the regular EV comp button effects the flash when shooting manual exposure (like on Nikon). If it does, I'll be happy again, but this is a feature I use a lot as I shoot 99.8% manual exposure at a wedding and need to have quick control over my flash at receptions.
The Af system is a puch button, 2-dial system to change points, and while I'm slowly getting the hang of it, I didn't stray from the center point AF very much because of time and my comfort level making a quick change. But this is something that I'm wrapping my brain around and feel that I'll be able to get a hang of pretty quickly.
I did not shoot in AI servo even once. I have yet to do the dredded AI Servo test. I don't normally use it, but I have a feeling I'm going to be disappointed when I give it a shot. Call it a hunch.
Anyway, this is just my first report. I chimped the files, but didn't give them a true work in yet, but from my initial browse, I'll be very happy. If you made it this far, thanks for hanging in there. In fact if you click *right here* you will be treated to a surprize picture. I must warn you, it has tits showing, so be careful at work.
More to come...
