Which One is Better? The Canon EOS 5D Mark III or the Nikon D800?

Canon 5D Mark III

(Image Credit: usatoday.com)

Following the introduction of the Canon EOS 5D Mark III, industry watchers immediately made some comparisons between the Canon DSLR with the Nikon D800, which was announced earlier.

The two devices are upgrades of their respective full-frame DSLRs with the Canon EOS 5D Mark III an upgrade from the Canon EOS 5D Mark II while The Nikon D800 serves the replace the Nikon D700.

Among the first comparisons that observers will immediately see is the megapixel count. The Nikon D800 features a 36MP sensor compared to the 22MP sensor for the Canon EOS 5D Mark III. This has given the Nikon D800 a huge advantage over the Canon EOS 5D Mark III.

However for some industry watchers, the more notable distinction between the two devices is their lens mount. The main advantage of the Nikon D800 over the Canon EOS 5D Mark III is the fact that the autofocus of the Nikon device will continuously work while a video is being recorded. Users of the upcoming Canon device will have to click on a button each time they will want to re-focus while shooting a video.

Nikon D800

(Image Credit: dpreview.com)

But the Canon EOS 5D Mark III is faster in terms of continuous shooting as t offers a six frames-per-second continuous shooting rate compared to the four frames-per-second for the Nikon D800. The ISO setting for the Canon device reaches ISO 102400 on its expanded mode. The Nikon D800 is only limited to ISO 25600 while on an expanded mode.

Although the Canon EOS 5D Mark III and the Nikon D800 are full-frame cameras, the eyepoint of the Canon device is longer compared to the Nikon D800, which will facilitate shooting for users who wear glasses. The Nikon D800 has the advantage of featuring a USB 3.0 port which is faster compared to the USB 2.0 port that is found on the Canon EOS 5D Mark III.

However whichever camera a user will acquire will basically depend on personal preference. Some photography enthusiasts are lifetime Nikon users while others are die-hard Canon enthusiast. In the end both the Canon EOS 5D Mark III and the Nikon D800 will offer a number of features that are definite upgrades compared to the devices they are replacing.