Canon DSLR Video Reviews and Advice Blog for 5D2,7D,550D,600D and 60D

Canon 5DIII - 5D Mark 3 Spotted Testing on Shoot?

2012-01-28T18:01:00.001Z

It looks like the Canon 5D Mark 3 might finally have been spotted out being put through its paces on a shoot. Blog "Aperture Academy" has images of an unidentified Canon camera being used with two new lenses.

There are two camera bodies in their images, one looks like it could be the 1DX as it has an integrated battery grip and second display. The other has a separate battery grip which may be the Canon 5DIII or could be a Canon 7D replacement although the 5D3 looks more likely as the camera body pictured doesn't have a built in flash.

http://blog.apertureacademy.com/2012/01/canon-200-400mm-and-600mm-prototype.html

Hama Defender Lens Case / Camera Lens Bag

2012-01-22T17:09:00.002Z

With a few top end lenses the manufacturer supplies a lens pouch case with them, for many other lenses they are supplied in the box and packing but with nothing to protect once you have taken them out of the box. The Hama Defender Lens case is an ideal way to protect your valuable lenses that didn't come with a manufacturer supplied case.

The Defender lens case has a sturdy zip to keep the lens in place and is extremely well padded around the body of the case. The Canon lens bags are very flimsy in comparison and offer virtually no protection in the event of dropping the bag. I haven't tested it (!!) but from its construction I would imagine that a lens in the Hama lens case will survive a reasonable drop intact due to the padding and build.

Although the packaging of the case shows a Canon white pro lens (it appears to be the 70-200 f2.8) this wouldn't fit in the case as it is too long and wide for it. The case does fit the Canon 50mm f1.4 with lens hood, the Canon 85mm f1.8 and the Canon 24-105 f4 without hoods.

Canon 70-200 f2.8IS lens case side by side with Hama Defender

Camera lens case -
DSLR camera bag -

Eastman Kodak Files Bankruptcy Protection

2012-01-19T22:46:00.000Z

Sad news today that Eastman Kodak has filed for Bankruptcy Protection in the USA. My first camera was a Kodak Brownie Reflex as seen here

Kodak was also one of the first companies selling a full frame DSLR at 14 megapixels when the competition at the time were around the 6Mp mark with APS-C size sensors.

Sadly it didn't manage to capitalise on that leading position and shortly afterwards stopped selling any DSLRs.

Wells Camera Scam - Review of Complaints about Fake Bargain Camera Shop

2012-01-04T19:32:00.001Z

There is very little to review abouts Wells-Camera.com as it is Scam. Wells Camera is cleverly using the address of a legitimate business in Tunbridge Wells Kent to scam people into sending money to a Barclays Bank account for cameras at ridiculously low prices. Once you send your money you won't see the camera or your money ever again. If a camera price seems too good to be true - then remember the saying - it is! Complaints by customers who have sent money and never received their cameras are many.

This is a map showing the real shop that is at 5 Monson Road called Red Box Cameras. They are a genuine camera dealer who has nothing to do with the scam using their address. This is exactly the same sort of scam that multizoneav.eu carried out earlier last year using the genuine name of Multizone AV

Redbox Cameras
5 Monson Road
Tunbridge Wells
Kent
United Kingdom
TN1 1LS

View Larger Map

It has been brought to our attention that the web site named above claim to trade at the same address as Redboxcameras and also are in some way connected. This is NOT the case. Redbox Cameras has no connection or involvment in any way with Wells-Cameras.com

Hama Maxi Multi Card Case Review

2011-12-30T09:17:00.002Z

The Hama Maxi Multi Card Case is a storage wallet for your compact flash and SD memory cards as well as batteries and memory sticks. The case has plenty of space for memory cards and will fit 8 CF (Compact Flash) cards as well as up to 12 SD cards inside.

The case has plenty of space for memory cards and will fit 8 CF (Compact Flash) cards as well as up to 12 SD cards inside.

The Hama Multi card case also allows you to store up to 5 AA or AAA batteries inside as well as the CF cards giving flexible storage options when carrying equipment in your camera bag.

There is also a net pocket that can store other small items of equipment such as a filter in its case or smaller flat batteries.

The whole case zips up to protect the contents and prevent them falling out loose in your bag.

Memory card case

Camera cases

Is SLRHut a Scam? Review of SLRHut.co.uk Complaints

2011-12-28T16:08:00.001Z

We've been asked for reviews about a retailer called SLR Hut and if they are a scam. There are very few reviews of the SLRhut website and it is hard to find information to check if they are genuine or not although the complaints appear to be that their prices are not genuine and increase when you place the order.

SLR Hut are not a UK company. They are not registered with Companies House so although they show a UK address they operate and send goods from the USA. Electronic goods sent from the USA would not have a European warranty, are likely to be grey imports and possibly may also be used.

The company have a website www.slrhut.co.uk and claim to have been operating in the USA for 10 years although strangely the SLRhut website address was only registered to a STEVEN ASSOULIN in March 2011; indeed both the .co.uk and .com addresses were registered at the same time. Maybe slrhut were trading in the USA under a different name for 10 years but their website makes no mention of what that name was which is strange when companies normally are proud of their history.

Even more curiously the USA version of the website and UK version are identical with the slrhut.com site immediately redirecting to the UK version. This seems very odd for a company trading in the USA having the same site showing UK prices in pounds as the USA version, rather than showing dollar prices which would cause complaints from US customers.

A review of prices on the SLRhut website shows they do not include tax and duties so when you get to the checkout the price with duty is much higher that the apparent site prices.

SLRhut.co.uk show a UK address on their website, however this is not a showroom or office, purely a mail box as can be seen from the photo on Google Maps, between Lucky Fishbar and Cartridge World. Rather misleading to call this "a physical presence now in London"

Despite the London address it appears that the phones for SLRhut are directed to the USA and the phone number given is not in UK format as 203 514-9372 . All the times for their customer service line appear to be based on East coast USA office hours and they are also shut on Saturdays. eg: Monday: 2.30pm to 11.30pm BST

It has been suggested that SLRhut are associated with bait and switch companies in the USA. This is a tactic where when you order from them at the low price, the cheap goods are out of stock or you have to buy expensive accessories in order to place the order. The goods sent from the States are likely to be grey imports that do not have UK/European warranties.

If you are considering using SLRhut then we would advise you to be very cautious and make sure you know exactly what you are buying before you proceed. If you are phoned back to verify your order make sure that you do not end up paying large amounts for insurance or accessories that would negate your saving on the initial price.

Check the price of the cameras on Jessops or Ebay with trusted retailers such as Digital Rev where you can compare realistic prices knowing they are a genuine trader where you can return goods if they are faulty. Customers are likely to complain that returns are subject to a 7.5% deduction plus £31.

Examples of prices - Canon 7D on SLRhut.co.uk is £739.68 (not including import duty and taxes) yet the best price showing on Camera Price Buster is £1049

http://www.camerapricebuster.co.uk/prod1170.html

This kind of price difference is in the realms of "too good to be true". The person who registered SLRHut also registered another website called fumfie.com, again the same sort of complaints were made about them.

http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1018&message=30842724

SLRHut UK Offices

If you have any concerns whether SLR hut is a scam and want to read some reviews of SLR hut then check this link

http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/readflat.asp?forum=1018&message=39197106&changemode=1

The poor quality posting by the Business Development Director of SLR hut should be sufficient to make up your mind about how good they are!

The main site that appears to have reviews of slr hut is Trustpilot.co.uk however a quick scan of the reviews reveals that they may not be all they appear at first glance and that at least a few seem to be fake such as female posting photos with a male name and reviews with only a review of slrhut.co.uk

One complaint in a review of slr hut states:

Ordered a Nikkor 55-300mm lens that was advertised at a ridiculously low price. Recieved a phone call to inform me this was a website error,

Not exactly a great sign that their website advertises camera prices lower than they will deliver at - beware if this is a standard tactic from SLRhut.co.uk

Beware of another scam we have been alerted to by Wells Camera .com

Photo Editing in 1900s - Before Photoshop - Darkroom Photo Manipulation

2011-11-22T23:29:00.001Z

Photo Editing in 1900s - Before Photoshop - Darkroom Photo Manipulation

I was contacted recently by someone selling a postcard of Berengrave Lane Rainham on Ebay that was virtually identical to one that is on the Rainham History site. Nothing strange there you might think - except on closer inspection the majority of photo is completely identical - all the people are in the same poses and same positions but with the addition of 2 young lads in the foreground.

There are a couple of possibilities. Firstly that 2 shots were taken and the lads wandered into one shot. The other that the lads were added or removed in the darkroom at a later date which looks to be the more likely possibility as everything is identical otherwise between the shots!

Have a look and see what you think!

Samsonite Photo DF50 Colt Camera Bag Review

2011-11-06T23:07:00.001Z

The Samsonite Photo DF50 Colt is a compact camera bag suitable for entry level cameras such as the Canon 1000D, 550D or 600D. Due to its copmact size it is not suitable for larger cameras such as the Canon 5D or 1D series.

Canon 600D Case
Camera Cases

The Canon 600D fits snugly inside the Samsonite Photo DF50 Colt giving a good level of protection against knocks and scratches. The bag has some very useful pockets to the front and the side that allow you to store a spare battery and memory cards when you take the camera out.

Overall the Samsonite DF50 Colt is a very handy compact DSLR bag that is ideal for carrying your Canon 550D or Canon 600D to protect it from knocks and scrapes but without taking up masses of room or being very bulky to carry unlike some other bags.

Canon 600D Case

Camera Cases

Canon 1DX Shutter Speed Test - Sound of the 14fps frame rate continous shooting

2011-10-28T22:07:00.001+01:00

Hands on the Canon 1DX to see how fast the frame burst rate is in real use. The speed of this camera is amazing! Not only can it shoot at 14 frames per second but it can also shoot at up to ISO 204,800 which is a level that was unheard of for digital cameras

Canon 1DX Hands On - The Shutter Speed and High ISO King!

2011-10-28T21:29:00.001+01:00

Yesterday I got my hands on the Canon 1DX to test in London. Unfortunately we were unable to get images from the Canon 1DX to test the high ISO performance and image quality at ISO 204800 but the ISO range on the back of the camera settings is phemonenal. To see an ISO range that goes from 100 to 51,200 in normal mode and with H1 and H2 settings of 102,400 and 204,800 is incredible. This is certainly one area where digital has now surpassed film by some considerable margin.

Canon 1DX Hands on - incredible frame rate and shutter speed

Canon 1DX High ISO - massive ISO range to 204,800

Canon 1DX hands on testing

The Canon 1DX is released in the UK in March 2012 so we still have a little time before we can get hold of this camera for use in the field or the studio

STS (Stage Theatre Society) Les Miserables Rainham School for Girls

2011-10-21T17:08:00.001+01:00

Stage Theatre Society Drama at Rainham School for Girls- Les Miserables - I Dreamed a Dream by ...

I Dreamed a Dream by Gemma Scholes from Les Miserables

STS (Stage Theatre Society) will be performing the musical Les Miserables at Rainham School for Girls from 26th to 29th October 2011

This promotional video was shot on the Canon 5D Mark 2 with the Azten external microphone for Canon DSLR.

Canon 1DX - The Megapixel race is over?

2011-10-18T20:22:00.000+01:00

Canon have announced the new Canon 1D X DSLR camera to replace both the Canon 1D Mark4 and Canon 1Ds Mark 3. Interestingly the new Canon 1D X has 18 Mp replacing the Canon 1D4 that had 21Mp.

We will be having a hands on look at the Canon 1DX this week and will post a review of the findings plus hopefully a few photos after the event.

Despite the numbers the actual difference in pixel count between 18Mp and 21Mp is minimal so it could be a good sign that finally image quality and noise performance are more important than the headline grabbing mega pixels. Does this mean that the megapixel race is finally over and features other than the sensor pixel count are starting to be more important. Certainly from a photographic point of view an ISO range up to 200,000 is of more use than a few extra pixels especially for low light wedding shots and the massive files generated by big pixel counts are a negative for long term storage.

Does this mean that the Canon 5D Mark 3 will feature less pixels than the Canon 5DII? As the 1Ds3 featured the same sensor as the Canon 5D2 we could speculate that this new 18Mp sensor will find its way into the Canon 5DIII when it is released.

Composition: The Importance of Backgrounds

2011-10-15T17:19:00.001+01:00

A Lesson in Composition and How to Avoid Poor Backgrounds in Your Photos

I was at a competition recently where a few images show had issues with the backgrounds and the judge commented that a slight movement would have vastly improved the images by removing background clutter. This gives some advice on how to remove background objects from your photos.

It is crucially important to always look at the background behind the subject not just the subject themselves. A slight change in position to the left or right, up or down can often make all the difference to a photo looking professionally composed or being just a snapshot.

The two example shots below show how easy it is to recompose a shot to remove background clutter and to give a nice neutral out of focus background to your photos.

shots were taken with the Canon 600D and the 35-80 USM lens.

These shots of our cat were taken in the garden at home. The first shot above shows the legs of the children's climbing frame that are distracting and ruin the shot. The shot below was taken from a very slightly different viewpoint by raising myself slightly up thus giving a different angle towards the cat. This mean that the climbing frame was no longer in shot and all the background behind the cat is a nice soft neutral colour.

shots were taken with the Canon 600D and the 35-80 USM lens.

So as you can see above it is very easy to adjust the position for taking a photo that will vastly improve the background and make the subject stand out as they should. These shots were taken with the Canon 600D and the 35-80 USM lens.

How to copy slides using a Digital Camera

2011-10-13T17:17:00.001+01:00

How to Copy Slides using a Digital Camera

Are you looking to copy your old slides into digital photo format but can't afford to invest many hundreds of pounds in a high quality slide scanner? Or are you finding that the copying of slides using a scanner is not fast enough and are looking for a quicker way to copy slides to digital images?

If so then there is a very cheap solution that allows high quality copying at the standard resolution of your camera. You can buy a slide copier for a few pounds on Ebay or elsewhere that attaches as a lens to the front of your full frame camera and allows you to copy the slides directly to the card in the camera at the resolution you choose. So on a Canon 5D Mark2 it means you can scan slides at up to 21.8 Megapixels, far higher than most dedicated slide scanners.

I picked up my Ohnar Zoom slide duplicator copier on Ebay a few years ago having previously owned one some years for its original pre-digital purpose of copying slides to enable you to crop out unwanted objects or to recompose a slide. It is important to note that the original slide copies were designed for film cameras so they are only suitable for full frame DSLR cameras. If you use a slide copier on a crop sensor that it is not designed for then the crop factor will mean that you lose part of the slide image.

I've just checked Ebay and there are still bargains to be had - this Ohnar Slide duplicator to copy slides onto your digital SLR camera sold for £1.24 plus £4.50 P&P - an absolute bargain to get high resolution, very fast copies of your slides into a digital photo format and much quicker and better value than a dedicated slide scanner.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/OHNAR-ZOOM-SLIDE-DUPLICATOR-/170698333419?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item27be69dceb#ht_500wt_1413

Canon 24-105 Lens Shows Error 01 on different cameras

2011-10-03T20:11:00.001+01:00

If you have suffered from Error 01 on your Canon 24-105 Lens, shown as a message on your camera as Unable to Communicate with Lens or similar then you may like to see what causes the error. This error is particular prone to occuring on the Canon 24-105 f4 EF lens.

These shots are of the internal iris mechanism that had failed on my Canon 24-105 f4 lens on my Canon 5D Mark 2 and was giving error 01 on multiple cameras.

The point of failure is the cord that attaches the iris mechanism to the lens body. With the constant motion of the lens barrel for zooming and focus it can fracture or fray and the communication error Canon Error 01 is generated with Canon lens 24-105 f4.

Canon Camera error 01 problem with 24-105 f4 lens

It doesn't even need a complete break in the cord to generate error 01 in your Canon lens, sometimes it can occur at certain points in the zoom range when the cord is either stretched or compressed more which causes the fracture to widen and break the communication link.

Photos of 24/105 lens with Canon error 01

Canon 24-105 lens error 01 Canon 5D2

How to Copy Slides to Digital Photos without Scanner using your Canon 5D/Nikon D700 or Sony A900

2011-09-25T15:44:00.000+01:00

Using a Canon 600d in a photography studio for a Model Shoot

2011-09-18T15:41:00.001+01:00

Is it possible to use a Canon 600D in a photography studio? The answer is a definite yes. There are a few ways to fire the studio flash lights, either with an infra red trigger that sits on the hot shoe, a radio trigger again via the hotshoe of the Canon 600D or using a cable. The Canon 600D does not have a PC socket so you would need an adapter to fit on the hot shoe to convert it to a PC socket. These adapters are readily available for a few pounds at photo shops or online.

These photos were taken on a Canon 600D in our photography studio as a trial of different lenses. You can use any EF or EF-S lenses on the Canon 600D in a photography studio but the distance between subject and camera may be an issue with longer lenses due to the 1.6x crop factor on the Canon 600D.

Taken using a Canon 600D in a photography studio

Model photo using a Canon 600D in a photography studio

Kodak Brownie Reflex 20, 620 Film Camera

2011-09-18T15:36:00.001+01:00

My first camera was an old Kodak Brownie Reflex 20 Camera that I was given from a jumble sale. It took 620 film and produced square photos, unusual for a 10 year old compared to friends with their 110 cameras. I guess it was released in the 1950s due to the style of images on the box. The big difference was the quality of the photos though, the 110 photo were generally very poor as the negatives were so small but the photos from the Kodak Brownie Reflex 20 were pretty good due in part to the very large negatives. I searched high and low for a flash gun for the camera but without success. Eventually the camera got sold and I moved on to a Lubitel and Zenit TTL cameras.

A few years ago when I was in the States I spotted a Kodak Brownie Reflex 20 for sale on Ebay. I managed to aquire it for the princely sum of $5 and this one came fully boxed and with the flash gun.

The Kodak Brownie Reflex 20 is a twin lens reflex camera so unlike the current SLR cameras there is a separate lens for the viewfinder. The viewfinder is also on the top of the camera and you look down into it to compose the shot.

Photos of the Kodak Brownie Reflex 20

Kodak Brownie Reflex 20 Outfit in box

Kodak Brownie Reflex 20

Kodak Brownie Reflex 20 camera

Kodak Brownie Reflex 20 viewfinder

You can download the manual for the Kodak Brownie Reflex 20 as well as many other Kodak cameras on this website
http://www.brownie-camera.com/manuals.shtml

Stage Theatre Society present their production of Les Miserables

2011-09-11T22:51:00.003+01:00

Shot on the Canon 5D Mark 2, this video of I Dreamed A Dream performed by Gemma Scoles is from the forthcoming STS production of Les Miserables.

Stage Theatre Society present their production of Les Miserables at Rainham School for Girls

26th - 29th October at 7.30pm (Sat Mat at 2.30pm)

Tickets are £10, and £8.50 for concessions. Ring 07791 359939 to book your tickets.

Les Miserables by Stage Theatre Society - I Dreamed A Dream performed by Gemma Scoles

First Video shot on Canon 5DII - Motorway Fire

2011-09-04T20:30:00.001+01:00

M2 Motorway Lorry Fire Video shot on Canon 5D2

My first video shot on the Canon 5D Mark2 of a lorry fire on the M2 motorway has now had over 150,000 hits on YouTube. I've been amazed at the quality that the 5D2 can shoot and even on YouTube the exceptional resolution can still be see. You can view the video here

Video of M2 Motorway fire - Car transporter lorry fire with Kent Fire & rescue

Update: 22 October 2011, the video has now had 219,000 hits on YouTube, an incredible 70,000 more views in just 2 months!

Canon develop 120Mp Megapixel Sensor

2011-09-03T12:34:00.001+01:00

Canon has announced it has successfully developed an APS-H-size CMOS sensor that delivers an image resolution of approximately 120 megapixels (13,280x9184 pixels) the world’s highest level of resolution for its size.

http://cpn.canon-europe.com/content/news/120_megapixel_apsh_format_cmos_sensor.do

When the 18Mp sensor of the 600D produces files that are 20+ Mb in size and the 21Mp sensor of the Canon 5D Mark 2 produces files of nearly 30Mb just imagine the storage and processing power that your computer will need to edit the files from a 120 megapixel sensor.

I guess it won't be coming soon but shows what can be done. When the first Canon D30 DSLR was released with 3Mp sensor and the top of the range now has 21Mp (7x the size)around 10 years later, it is entirely possible that we will see 120Mp sensors in the not too distant future as it is "only" 6x the current sensor resolution.

Canon 35-80mm f4 - f5.6 USM Lens Review & Info

2011-09-03T11:24:00.002+01:00

I've written in this blog previously about the Canon 35-80mm f4 - f5.6 and what a great lens it is for the money.

There are a number of different versions of the Canon 35-80mm lens that have different characteristics and value. The main variants are the mark I, mark II and mark III versions of the lens but in addition there is also a very rare and far more useful USM version of the Canon 35-80mm that uses the Canon Ultra Sonic Motor for focus rather than the standard micro motors, making it much smoother and quieter to focus.

Overall although this is a very cheapie lens, it is excellent value and as you can read in the review of it on this blog at 9x6" print size it is impossible to see any difference in quality between this and far more expensive lenses.

Canon 35-80mm f4 - f5.6 USM - verdict: an absolute bargain!

Canon 35-80mm f4 - f5.6 USM lens

Canon 35-80mm USM Lens Review

Canon 35-80mm f4 - f5.6


Canon 35-80mm f4 - f5.6 lens

Canon 100mm f2.8 Macro Lens - Which Version? Mark 1, Mark 2 or Mark 3?

2011-09-03T11:04:00.004+01:00

There are now three versions of the Canon 100mm f2.8 EF macro lens, the mark 1, 2 and 3. All have different characteristics and unless you know which version you are buying you may not get what you were looking for.

The Canon EF 100mm f2.8 macro lens mark 1 was released along with some of the very early EF film cameras. It has a 52mm filter thread and the lens extends as it focuses which can cause issues when shooting very close up. This lens is not USM which is one of the differences between it and the Canon EF 100mm f2.8 macro lens mark 2. If you see a Canon EF 100mm f2.8 macro lens advertised that does not have the distinctive gold USM banding around the lens barrel then it is the mark 1 version.

Photo of Canon 100mm f2.8 macro MARK 1 (Note no USM logo)

Canon EF 100mm f2.8 macro lens mark 2 was released in the mid 1990s to replace the mark 1 version. Unlike the mark 1 it features a USM motor and internal focus so the lens length does not vary as you focus.

Canon EF 100mm f2.8 L IS macro lens mark 3was released in 2009 and is the first Canon lens to feature their new IS Image Stabilisation mechanism. This is an L series lens unlike the first two versions and with a price tag to match.

Either the mark 2 or the mark 3 versions of the Canon EF 100mm f2.8 macro lens are ones I would recommend. The mark one version has too many drawbacks and is too close in price to the mark 2 to make it worthwhile in my view.

Land Rover Range Rover Spy Shots - What are the disguised test vehicles?

2011-08-27T09:15:00.002+01:00

As you may have read in my previous blog post I spotted a disguised Range Rover being tested near Warwick, West Midlands a couple of days ago.

Having loaded the details to my blog I thought I would check the number plate details using the MyCarCheck app for my iPhone. There were 4 different number plates that have been seen on disguised spy shots of the Range Rover 2012 model and surprisingly they all generated information using this app.

All vehicles are registered as Land Rovers which confirms the Range Rover identification. The variants are both petrol and diesel and despite the zebra patterns are registered as both black and brown models. The engines are 3000cc diesel (heavy oil) and 5000cc petrol. The one piece of information that is missing is the model name - LandRover are clearly trying to keep this bit secret still.

Canon 5D Mark III Rumours - Announcement Sept 2011?

2011-08-26T17:42:00.001+01:00

There seem to be some fairly strong rumours circulating that Canon will be announcing a new camera in Sept 2011 which could well be the long awaited Canon 5D Mark III. It is now 3 years since the Canon 5DII was launched and 6 years since the original Canon 5D so on the same 3 year cycle a new Canon 5D3 is due now.

I've no inside knowledge from Canon but based on the Canon 600D that I am currently testing I would fully expect the following features to all be part of the Canon 5D Mark 3 when it is announced.

Tilt/rotate LCD screen
Flash controller built in as per the Canon 600D
Video zoom up to 10x
Video modes to include 50fps/60fps at full HD
Additional JPG modes for smaller size files
Convert RAW to JPG in camera applying various settings
ISO up to 102400

Resolution of the Canon 5D III is likely to be an increase given that the Canon 600D is 18Mp and the current Canon 5D2 is 21Mp but I guess that the ISO performance is more important to most photographers than increasing the resolution above the current camera. Personally I still use my original Canon 5D in preference to the Canon 5D2 for some shoots as I just don't need the higher resolution and the subsequent slower response to opening the CR2 files on my PC.

As the Canon 5D was the first affordable full frame DSLR and the Canon 5D Mark II was the first DSLR to feature full 1080p HD video there is also likely to be an additional feature in the Canon 5D Mark III specification or spec sheet that is completely unexpected.