Specifications#
- Brand
- Canon
- Model
- EOS 5D Mark III
- Camera type
- DSLR
- Released
- 2012-01-01
- Lens mount
- Canon EF
- Sensor size
- 36.0 × 24.0 mm (Full frame (35 mm))
- Crop factor
- 1.00×
- Resolution
- 22.3 MP (5,760 × 3,840 px)
- Continuous shooting
- 6 fps
- Weight
- 860 g (30.3 oz)
- Sensor type
- CMOS
- Storage
- Dual slots: CompactFlash (CF) card Type I (UDMA-7 supported) and SD/SDHC/SDXC card
- Viewfinder
- Eye-level pentaprism with 100% coverage and 0.71x magnification / Electronic (Live View)
- AF points / area
- 61 AF points (41 cross-type AF points) with High-density Reticular AF
- Metering
- TTL, full aperture, 63 zones
- Exposure modes
- Scene Intelligent Auto, Program AE, Shutter priority AE, Aperture priority AE, Manual exposure, Bulb exposure, Custom (3×), Movie
- Shutter
- Electronic focal-plane
- Flash
- External
- Battery
- Li-Ion LP-E6 Rechargeable (1800 mAh); also works with LP-E6NH (2130 mAh); 1 x lithium battery CR1616 (time/date)
- Dimensions
- 152 × 116.4 × 76.4 mm
- Lens
- Interchangeable
- Successor
- Canon EOS 5D Mark IV, Canon EOS 5Ds
- Predecessor
- Canon EOS-5D Mark II
- Launch price
- US$ 3499.00
- Drive
- 6.0 fps for 65 JPEG frames or for 13 RAW frames
Specifications merged from Wikipedia, Wikidata, Lensfun and openMVG. Spot an error? Tell us.
Sensor size compared#
Focal length equivalents & field of view#
Multiply any focal length by 1.00 to get the full-frame field of view. Angles are for a rectilinear lens focused at infinity.
| Lens on this camera | Full-frame equivalent | Horizontal | Vertical | Diagonal |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 mm | 10 mm | 121.9° | 100.4° | 130.4° |
| 12 mm | 12 mm | 112.6° | 90.0° | 122.0° |
| 14 mm | 14 mm | 104.3° | 81.2° | 114.2° |
| 16 mm | 16 mm | 96.7° | 73.7° | 107.0° |
| 18 mm | 18 mm | 90.0° | 67.4° | 100.5° |
| 20 mm | 20 mm | 84.0° | 61.9° | 94.5° |
| 24 mm | 24 mm | 73.7° | 53.1° | 84.1° |
| 28 mm | 28 mm | 65.5° | 46.4° | 75.4° |
| 35 mm | 35 mm | 54.4° | 37.8° | 63.4° |
| 40 mm | 40 mm | 48.5° | 33.4° | 56.8° |
| 50 mm | 50 mm | 39.6° | 27.0° | 46.8° |
| 56 mm | 56 mm | 35.6° | 24.2° | 42.2° |
| 70 mm | 70 mm | 28.8° | 19.5° | 34.3° |
| 85 mm | 85 mm | 23.9° | 16.1° | 28.6° |
| 100 mm | 100 mm | 20.4° | 13.7° | 24.4° |
| 135 mm | 135 mm | 15.2° | 10.2° | 18.2° |
| 200 mm | 200 mm | 10.3° | 6.9° | 12.3° |
| 300 mm | 300 mm | 6.9° | 4.6° | 8.2° |
| 400 mm | 400 mm | 5.2° | 3.4° | 6.2° |
| 600 mm | 600 mm | 3.4° | 2.3° | 4.1° |
| 800 mm | 800 mm | 2.6° | 1.7° | 3.1° |
Depth of field table#
Total depth of field at each subject distance, using a circle of confusion of 30.0 µm (the 0.030 mm full-frame standard scaled by the crop factor). Detailed tables: 24 mm f/1.8, 24 mm f/2.8, 35 mm f/1.8, 35 mm f/2.8, 50 mm f/1.8, 50 mm f/2.8.
| Focal | Aperture | 50.0 cm | 1.00 m | 2.00 m | 3.00 m | 5.00 m | 10.0 m | Hyperfocal |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22 mm | f/1.8 | 5.3 cm | 22.1 cm | 92.8 cm | 2.24 m | 8.03 m | ∞ | 8.98 m |
| 22 mm | f/2.8 | 8.4 cm | 35.0 cm | 1.56 m | 4.23 m | 34.1 m | ∞ | 5.78 m |
| 22 mm | f/4 | 12.0 cm | 51.5 cm | 2.58 m | 9.74 m | ∞ | ∞ | 4.06 m |
| 22 mm | f/8 | 25.1 cm | 1.27 m | 103 m | ∞ | ∞ | ∞ | 2.04 m |
| 43 mm | f/1.8 | 1.3 cm | 5.6 cm | 22.9 cm | 52.2 cm | 1.48 m | 6.35 m | 34.3 m |
| 43 mm | f/2.8 | 2.1 cm | 8.7 cm | 35.8 cm | 82.1 cm | 2.37 m | 11.4 m | 22.1 m |
| 43 mm | f/4 | 3.0 cm | 12.5 cm | 51.6 cm | 1.20 m | 3.59 m | 22.2 m | 15.5 m |
| 43 mm | f/8 | 6.0 cm | 25.2 cm | 1.09 m | 2.70 m | 11.0 m | ∞ | 7.75 m |
| 73 mm | f/1.8 | 0.4 cm | 1.9 cm | 7.8 cm | 17.8 cm | 50.1 cm | 2.03 m | 98.8 m |
| 73 mm | f/2.8 | 0.7 cm | 2.9 cm | 12.2 cm | 27.7 cm | 78.1 cm | 3.21 m | 63.5 m |
| 73 mm | f/4 | 1.0 cm | 4.2 cm | 17.4 cm | 39.7 cm | 1.12 m | 4.71 m | 44.5 m |
| 73 mm | f/8 | 1.9 cm | 8.4 cm | 35.0 cm | 80.5 cm | 2.33 m | 11.2 m | 22.3 m |
| 120 mm | f/1.8 | 0.1 cm | 0.7 cm | 2.8 cm | 6.5 cm | 18.3 cm | 74.2 cm | 267 m |
| 120 mm | f/2.8 | 0.2 cm | 1.0 cm | 4.4 cm | 10.1 cm | 28.5 cm | 1.16 m | 172 m |
| 120 mm | f/4 | 0.3 cm | 1.5 cm | 6.3 cm | 14.4 cm | 40.7 cm | 1.66 m | 120 m |
| 120 mm | f/8 | 0.6 cm | 2.9 cm | 12.5 cm | 28.9 cm | 81.9 cm | 3.39 m | 60.1 m |
Equivalent aperture#
Exposure is identical at the same f-number on any format; equivalence only describes depth of field and total light.
Diffraction & pixel pitch#
With 6.25 µm pixels, diffraction starts to soften pixel-level detail around f/9.3. For maximum sharpness keep landscapes between f/5.1 and f/9; stopping down further trades detail for depth of field.
| Aperture | Airy disk diameter | Spread over | At 100% view |
|---|---|---|---|
| f/2.8 | 3.8 µm | 0.6 px | sharp |
| f/4 | 5.4 µm | 0.9 px | sharp |
| f/5.6 | 7.5 µm | 1.2 px | sharp |
| f/8 | 10.7 µm | 1.7 px | sharp |
| f/11 | 14.8 µm | 2.4 px | slight softening |
| f/16 | 21.5 µm | 3.4 px | visibly soft |
| f/22 | 29.5 µm | 4.7 px | visibly soft |
Maximum print sizes#
At 22.3 MP the Canon EOS 5D Mark III produces 5,760 × 3,840 pixel images. See the 24 megapixel guide or the print size calculator.
| Resolution | Typical use | Inches | Centimetres |
|---|---|---|---|
| 300 DPI | Photo-lab quality | 19.2 × 12.8 in | 49 × 33 cm |
| 240 DPI | Fine-art inkjet | 24.0 × 16.0 in | 61 × 41 cm |
| 200 DPI | Wall print | 28.8 × 19.2 in | 73 × 49 cm |
| 150 DPI | Poster, viewed from 1 m+ | 38.4 × 25.6 in | 98 × 65 cm |
Night-sky exposure limits#
Longest exposure before stars trail. The NPF rule accounts for pixel pitch and is stricter than the classic 500 rule — use it for pin-sharp stars on high-resolution sensors.
| Focal length | 500 rule | NPF f/1.8 | NPF f/2.8 | NPF f/4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 mm (14 mm eq.) | 35.7 s | 17.9 s | 20.4 s | 23.4 s |
| 20 mm (20 mm eq.) | 25.0 s | 12.5 s | 14.3 s | 16.4 s |
| 24 mm (24 mm eq.) | 20.8 s | 10.4 s | 11.9 s | 13.6 s |
| 35 mm (35 mm eq.) | 14.3 s | 7.2 s | 8.2 s | 9.4 s |
| 50 mm (50 mm eq.) | 10.0 s | 5.0 s | 5.7 s | 6.5 s |
Handheld shutter speed guide#
The reciprocal rule uses the equivalent focal length. High-resolution sensors may need one stop faster than this for pixel-sharp results.
| Focal length | No stabilisation (1/equiv. focal) | With 3-stop IS | With 5-stop IBIS |
|---|---|---|---|
| 24 mm | 1/25 s | 0.3 s | 1.3 s |
| 50 mm | 1/50 s | 1/6 s | 0.6 s |
| 100 mm | 1/100 s | 1/13 s | 0.3 s |
| 200 mm | 1/200 s | 1/25 s | 1/6 s |
Lenses for the Canon EOS 5D Mark III#
Native Canon EF lenses in our database (267 total). Also adaptable: T-mount (T2), M42 screw mount, Deckel (DKL), Tamron Adaptall, M39 / LTM (Leica thread).
- Samyang 8mm f/3.5 Fish-Eye CS 8 mm
- Samyang 10mm f/2.8 ED AS NCS CS 10 mm
- Laowa 12mm f/2.8 Zero-D 12 mm
- Samyang 12mm f/2.8 Fish-Eye ED AS NCS 12 mm
- Canon EF 14mm f/2.8L II USM 14 mm
- Samyang 14mm f/2.8 AE ED AS IF UMC 14 mm
- Samyang AF 14mm f/2.8 14 mm
- Sigma 14mm f/1.8 DG HSM | A 14 mm
- Laowa 15mm F/4 Wide Angle Macro 15 mm
- Canon EF 16-35mm f/4L IS USM 16–35 mm
- Samyang 16mm f/2.0 ED AS UMC CS 16 mm
- Samyang 20mm f/1.8 ED AS UMC 20 mm
- Canon EF 24mm f/1.4L II USM 24 mm
- Samyang 24mm f/1.4 ED AS IF UMC 24 mm
- Samyang T-S 24mm f/3.5 ED AS UMC 24 mm
- Sigma 24mm f/1.4 DG HSM | A 24 mm
- Sigma 28mm F1.4 DG HSM | Art 28 mm
- Viltrox AF 33mm f/1.4 XF 33 mm
- Sigma 40mm F1.4 DG HSM | Art 40 mm
- Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 50 mm
- Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II 50 mm
- Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 STM 50 mm
- Viltrox AF 56mm f/1.4 XF 56 mm
- Laowa 60mm f/2.8 2X Ultra-Macro 60 mm
- Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM 70–200 mm
- Sigma 70-200mm F2.8 DG OS HSM | S 70–200 mm
- Samyang 85mm f/1.4 IF UMC Aspherical 85 mm
- Sigma 100-400mm F5-6.3 DG OS HSM | C 100–400 mm
- Sigma 100-400mm f/5-6.3 DG OS HSM | C +1.4x ext. 100–400 mm
- Sigma 105 mm F1.4 DG HSM Art 105 mm
- Samyang 135mm f/2 ED UMC 135 mm
- Sigma 4.5mm f/2.8 EX DC HSM circular fisheye 4.5 mm
- Canon EF 8-15mm f/4L Fisheye USM 8–15 mm
- Sigma 8-16mm f/4.5-5.6 DC HSM 8–16 mm
- Sigma 8mm f/3.5 EX DG circular fisheye 8 mm
- Samyang XP 10mm f/3.5 10 mm
Similar cameras#
Other Full frame (35 mm) cameras from around the same time.
- Leica M-E 2012
- Nikon D4 2012
- Nikon D600 2012
- Nikon D800 2012
- Nikon D610 2013
- Nikon Df 2013
- Sony α7 2013
- Nikon D4S 2014
- Nikon D750 2014
- Nikon D810 2014
- Sony α7R III
- Leica M Monochrom 2012
Frequently asked questions#
What is the crop factor of the Canon EOS 5D Mark III?
The Canon EOS 5D Mark III has a crop factor of 1.00× relative to 35 mm full frame (diagonal 43.3 mm vs 43.3 mm).
What size is the Canon EOS 5D Mark III sensor?
36.0 × 24.0 mm (Full frame (35 mm)), an area of 864 mm² — 100% of full frame.
Is the Canon EOS 5D Mark III full frame?
Yes — its sensor is the same 36 × 24 mm size as 35 mm film.
How many megapixels does the Canon EOS 5D Mark III have?
22.3 megapixels (5,760 × 3,840 pixels), enough for a 19 × 13 inch print at 300 DPI.
What lens mount does the Canon EOS 5D Mark III use?
The Canon EOS 5D Mark III uses the Canon EF (flange distance 44.00 mm).
How long can I expose the night sky with the Canon EOS 5D Mark III?
With a 20 mm lens (20 mm equivalent) the 500 rule gives 25 s and the stricter NPF rule at f/2.8 gives 14 s.
Sources & licences#
- Wikipedia: Canon EOS 5D Mark III — CC BY-SA 4.0
- Wikidata Q65054 — CC0
- Lensfun camera database — CC BY-SA 3.0
- openMVG sensor width database — MPL-2.0
Last updated October 03, 2026 · How we calculate · Sources