5D3 vs. D800 for Wedding/Portrait photography

Title says it all. Would the 5D3 or the D800 be a better body for portraits, modeling, and wedding photography?

All the reviews basically say that there is little to choose between the two, and the 5D3 is perfectly capable of producing world-class wedding photos (let's face it, in the right hands, a Rebel would do the job) so given you already own a set of Canon lenses, why would you go for the Nikon?

RyanM wrote in post #15127315
Title says it all. Would the 5D3 or the D800 be a better body for portraits, modeling, and wedding photography?

Why not consider a d600? I shot a whole wedding this last weekend with one when my d800 crapped out. Nice file size and great dynamic range. High iso is just a tad better than the d800.

You can't go wrong with either the d800, 5dmkiii or the d600 imo.

no matter what your brand is. The important things is the photographer

If you have the Glass I would stick with the 5D mark III, if you can wait till it goes down to 2400 ish. Great camera, but I think Canon was a bit lofty when the pricing first came out.

The D600 is the "deal" of the year in DSLR I would say.

Both are great, but for weddings the better 5D3 AF will give it an edge. For portraits, the D800 may have an edge with the huge files.

Like the 5d2, Canon positioned the 5d3 for the reportage wedding/portrait users. The file size is right on the sweet spot for workflow. AF is excellent too.
Currently there are far too many issues with the d800 to be considered as a reliable camera. All-Time Nikon fanboy Thom Hogan has dropped his recommendation of this camera.

I've used the d600. It is in my mind a terrible camera to use ergonomically speaking. Worse than the d7000. It seems that new generations of Nikon cameras are designed for baby squids. I don't mind buttons but placement is important. In this case the d600 is just insane to use. They are not intuitive. Some functions like changing the Av requires you to keep pressing a button with your right index finger while turning the main dial with your middle finger. Seriously?! I believe exposure is also a 2-finger operation. I do not know why Nikon is doing this. But it is down right frustrating to use when during fast changing situations like a wedding. Needless to say after the event, I was so happy to hand the camera back to its owner. I was at one point considering to just use the greenbox! My poor right index finger sure had a serious workout!

As much as I am not a fan of the 6d, it is a better choice than the current 2 Nikons if you cannot afford the 5d3.

delhi wrote in post #15400996
Like the 5d2, Canon positioned the 5d3 for the reportage wedding/portrait users. The file size is right on the sweet spot for workflow. AF is excellent too.
Currently there are far too many issues with the d800 to be considered as a reliable camera. All-Time Nikon fanboy Thom Hogan has dropped his recommendation of this camera.

I've used the d600. It is in my mind a terrible camera to use ergonomically speaking. Worse than the d7000. It seems that new generations of Nikon cameras are designed for baby squids. I don't mind buttons but placement is important. In this case the d600 is just insane to use. They are not intuitive. Some functions like changing the Av requires you to keep pressing a button with your right index finger while turning the main dial with your middle finger. Seriously?! I believe exposure is also a 2-finger operation. I do not know why Nikon is doing this. But it is down right frustrating to use when during fast changing situations like a wedding. Needless to say after the event, I was so happy to hand the camera back to its owner. I was at one point considering to just use the greenbox! My poor right index finger sure had a serious workout!

As much as I am not a fan of the 6d, it is a better choice than the current 2 Nikons if you cannot afford the 5d3.

Sounds like you need a lesson on the d600 because i have no idea what your talking about. I'd suggest reading the manual and at least reverting all settings to default before you start to blame a camera because it was set up by someone who doesn't know what they're doing.

Nikon apologetics unite!

You might have a point. The idiocy of the d600 was mind-boggling. So perhaps the camera was set up wrong. Irregardless, looks like Nikon fanboy Ken Rockwell seems to agree that the d600 has ergonomic issues.

You already said- your title says it all... Well, I'd be remiss if I didn't point out that this is the Canon Digital Photography Forums--- so the answer HAS to be - yep-- you got it-- Canon..

IMO, the Canon is great for weddings. File size is just the right size, I could even crop it and it's still great.

Haven't tried the D800, so can't comment on that, but if you need the huge files, then there's not much options short of going MF. That said, never found the 5DIII files to be limiting.

I would look at something more than picking between one of the two company's bodies. On paper they are both really similar and their performance is awesome. Nikon doesn't have some lenses the Canon has. For instance the 85mm f/1.2. Their 135 f/2 is also not as good as the Canon's. They don't have a 50mm f/1.2 with AF. For this reason, I chose the Canon.

SiaoP wrote in post #15405297
I would look at something more than picking between one of the two company's bodies. On paper they are both really similar and their performance is awesome. Nikon doesn't have some lenses the Canon has. For instance the 85mm f/1.2. Their 135 f/2 is also not as good as the Canon's. They don't have a 50mm f/1.2 with AF. For this reason, I chose the Canon.

They do, however, have a cracking 200-400

*cough, cough - Canon, WHERE IS IT?

Nikon 85 1.4 is nothing to sneeze at

OP, I've shot 4 or 5 weddings now with the MK3 and it's a great body. AF and speed of operation just insure that you will have all things covered. Of course I also shot a wedding with a D4 and a D800 and that was a sweet combo as well, but I can't stomach putting out $9K at this juncture. I need to hit the lotto or be discovered by a long lost relative's lawyer

Hardcore wrote in post #15127369
Why not consider a d600? I shot a whole wedding this last weekend with one when my d800 crapped out. Nice file size and great dynamic range. High iso is just a tad better than the d800.

You can't go wrong with either the d800, 5dmkiii or the d600 imo.

How did your D800 crap out? Just curious.

Also (this is not directed at you, but someone else above)...I wonder when people will let go of the notion that Ken Rockwell is a Nikon fanboy. The guy absolutely LOVES some of his Canon stuff (5D2, 100 f2, 135L, etc) and compares them very favourably against Nikon gear.

LowriderS10 wrote in post #15405407
How did your D800 crap out? Just curious.

Also (this is not directed at you, but someone else above)...I wonder when people will let go of the notion that Ken Rockwell is a Nikon fanboy. The guy absolutely LOVES some of his Canon stuff (5D2, 100 f2, 135L, etc) and compares them very favourably against Nikon gear.

The sub-mirror assembly blew up. Mirror was loose. Fixed, and still af is way out. Received a new camera from Nikon Canada and the new one is awesome!