As you can tell from the 'Pros' and 'Cons' list at the top of this page we rather liked the Canon EOS 5D Mark III. It is indeed a great camera and for current 5D Mark II users or other owners of Canon full-frame lenses the all-important question 'Should I buy one?' is an easy one to answer.
The 5D Mark III is in almost every aspect a better camera than its predecessor and an extremely enjoyable photographic tool. Competing models like the Nikon D800/E have a few unique tricks up their sleeve (36MP capture and an option to record uncompressed video footage) but for most people, most of the time, the differences wouldn't be important enough to warrant swapping systems.
However, for those who haven't bought into a camera system yet the issue is a little more complicated. The Nikon D800 and its supposedly higher-resolution sibling the D800E are the 5D Mark III's only real rivals in the full-frame enthusiast camera bracket of the market and their whopping pixel count of 36MP make them arguably better choices for studio work and any other application that requires maximum amounts of detail. It's worth noting, too, that the D800 is currently $500 cheaper than the 5D Mark III.
On the other hand the Canon offers faster burst shooting, which makes it more suitable for capturing fast-moving action. It's also got a wider ISO range and offers greater customization when it comes to certain areas of its feature set. Both cameras' AF systems are very sophisticated, offer a lot of customization options and very high tracking reliability of subjects that move across the frame.
Ultimately, both the D800 and 5D Mark III are excellent photographic tools. Which one is best for you is a question that only you can answer, but if you do go for the Canon EOS 5D Mark III you know you've not only got yourself a very capable camera, you've also got one that is a lot of fun and exciting to shoot with.
Originally Posted by dpreview
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