I’m SO excited about having the 5D Mark III! Like I wrote in my Instagram post, I have been DREAMING about owning this camera ever since I started loving photography. As soon as I walked through the door and saw my camera all boxed up, I probably screamed for a good 30 seconds before I was able to find something to rip apart its packaging. I don’t think I’ve ever been so excited to open a package.

With each photographers’ blog I stalked years ago (and still do), my envy for owning this camera grew and grew, and I wondered if I would ever save up enough to buy my own. I specifically remember researching for my first DSLR, seeing the Mark III, and thinking “hahaha I’ll never be able to get that.” It seemed so impossible, but I FINALLY have it now!! Hard work and SAVING pays off!! I wasn’t really planning to buy it this soon, but I kind of bought it in a what-the-heck moment, and numbly went through the checkout as fast as I could so that I wouldn’t chicken out.  I was planning to buy it eventually within the next few months anyways because I needed a backup camera for shoots and weddings. So now, I’ll have my Mark II as a backup, and I’ll shoot with my Mark III! It is SO important to have a backup camera at your shoots. What if your camera randomly stops working for no reason, and you have to send your clients home? Or worse, if you are shooting a WEDDING and your camera breaks down. That would be an absolute nightmare and SO unprofessional. It is almost impossible to predict these things, so having a backup ENSURES that you’ll be prepared for whatever when you’re with your clients!

After testing out this camera yesterday, I noticed its amazing focusing capabilities right off the bat. It’s impossible to notice this when your just looking at pictures because the only pictures that viewers see are the ones that are successfully focused, but when you’re SHOOTING with this camera, you can totally tell the difference. The Canon 5D Mark II is still an AMAZING camera (seriously – I will still be shooting with this guy), but it can’t even compare to the Canon 5D Mark III’s focusing system. The Mark II only has ONE cross-type focus point (basically one reliable focus point), which makes it really hard to successfully focus and get well composed shots. With the Mark II, I would have to focus using the middle point, and then quickly recompose the shot before I pressed the shutter. While I still got sharp images most of the time, there were still some I totally missed because the lack of cross-type focusing points. This was especially the case with moving subjects because by the time I had focused and recomposed, the subject would likely have moved from where I originally focused him/her. The Canon 5D Mark III has FORTY ONE cross-type focusing points, which makes shooting and focusing MUCH more reliable!! I LOVE my Mark II, but I can’t wait to start using my Mark III!

After I got my Mark III, I immedietly texted some of my friends letting them know that I needed to test this beauty out, so I went over to my friend’s house and took pictures of her adorable little brother, Cubbon (CUB-in). Man, I love this little guy.

My friend has this brand new tree house in her backyard, so Cubbon and I decided to climb up so that he could show me “his corner” and I could grab some shots.

“This is my corner”

This is the expression Cubbon made when I asked him to show me his best “vogue” face.

Meanwhile, Natali decided to try my friend Eleanor’s backyard zipline.

Not before too long, we made our way over to the trampoline because trampolines only result in fun shots. Also, it would be a perfect time to test out the focusing system. This is where I became AMAZED with the focusing capabilities of the Mark III. There were times that I pressed the shutter and automatically thought “there is no way I caught that,” only to look down at my LCD and see that it was perfectly focused! While we were on the trampoline, I also used focsuing points other than the middle, and they worked out better than I could imagine.

“Cubbon and his sidekicks”

Cubbon has an adorable habit of wrapping his legs and arms around you when you are trying to walk.

Friekin obsessed with this.

After Eleanor left for her Lacrosse scrimmage, Natali and I just chilled with Cubby a little longer.

The hair.

“Siri, how was your date last night?” “I’m just glad to have come back alive.”