Canon 1D Mark III vs Nikon D5

Nikon D5 advantages over Canon 1D Mark III

• Larger sensor
  35mm vs APS-H
  More sensor area. Bigger is (generally) better.
• Shoot 4K video
  4K (UHD) vs No
  Make sure you have a fast computer
• Touchscreen
  Touch vs No touch
  Interact with your camera just like your smartphone
• Better color depth

  Better color depth

  Color depth refers to the number of unique colors that a sensor can faithfully capture. Cameras with better color depth will demonstrate smoother transitions from one color to the next, and avoid "banding" in areas with subtle shading. (Blue skies are an example of where you might see color banding.)

  More color depth is generally better, but you'll struggle to notice a difference between two cameras with less than 1 bit of difference. Color depth above 22 bits is considered excellent.

  Want to learn more? Head over to our full glossary entry on color depth

  Color depth test data courtesy of DxO Mark.

  D5 test data on DxO Mark 1D Mark III test data on DxO Mark
  25.1 vs 22.7 bits
  Capture richer, more accurate colors
• Higher effective ISO

  Higher effective ISO

  Maximum effective ISO is an estimate of the highest sensitivity at which a camera can capture excellent quality photos.

  Cameras with higher effective ISO will be better choices for indoor photography, night shooting, and indoor sports photography, especially if you intend to make large prints.

  You can learn more at our glossary entry.

  Maximum effective ISO test data courtesy of DxO Mark.

  D5 test data on DxO Mark 1D Mark III test data on DxO Mark
  2,343 vs 1,078 iso
  Take photos in low light with less noise
• Longer stills battery life
  More info

  Longer stills battery life

  Cameras with longer battery life can take more photos before exhausting their batteries.

  Special note: The measurement standard for battery life stipulates that if a camera has an internal flash, it must be used for 50% of photos taken. For this reason, comparisons of one camera with an internal flash to another without will not be comparable

  3780 vs 2200 shots
  Capture more photos
• External Mic Jack
  Jack vs No jack
  Improved sound fidelity when shooting video
• More cross-type AF points
  99 vs 19
  Cross-type AF points improve autofocus performance
• Pentaprism viewfinder
  Pentaprism vs Pentamirror
  Much better viewfinder picture fidelity
• Newer
  9 years vs 18 years old
  Newer cameras often support more advanced features
• HDMI out
  HDMI out vs None
  Use HDMI output to monitor or review video
• Shoots 24p video
  Yes vs No
  Gives your movies a big-screen feel
• More dots on screen
  2359k vs 230k dots
  Can mean greater resolution or a brighter screen
• Shoots 1080p video
  Yes vs No
  You'll want this if you shoot video
• More viewfinder magnification
  0.72x vs 0.58x
  Get a bigger view of the scene through the eye-level viewfinder
• More pixels
  20.8 vs 10.1 megapixels
  Higher resolution photos
• Shoots 60p video
  Yes vs No
  A faster framerate can give you more editing options
• More AF points
  153 vs 19
  More AF points improve autofocus
• Headphone jack
  Yes vs No
  Monitor audio recording while you shoot video
• Faster JPEG shooting
  12.1 fps vs 9.9 fps
  Faster JPEG shooting (burst mode)
• Bigger JPEG buffer
  200 vs 12 shots
  Take more JPEG shots before waiting (burst mode)
• Higher extended ISO
  3276800 vs 6400 ISO
  Higher extended ISO can give more low-light flexibility