Nikon D800 vs. Canon EOS 5D Mark III specs comparison

Here is a quick specs comparison between the Nikon D800 and the new Canon EOS 5D Mark III:

Model Nikon D800 Canon EOS 5D Mark III
Effective Pixels 36.3 million  22.3 megapixels
Sensor Size 35.9mm x 24mm 36 mm x 24mm
File Format Still Images JPEG: JPEG-Baseline Compliant with fine (approx 1:4), Normal (approx 1:8) or Basic (approx 1:16) Compression

NEF (RAW): lossless compressed 12 or 14 bit, lossless compressed, compressed or uncompressed

TIFF (RGB)

JPEG: JPEG-Baseline-Compliant; can be selected from Size Priority and Optimal Quality
 JPEG, RAW (14-bit Canon Original)

M-RAW

S-RAW

RAW+JPEG

M-RAW+JPEG

S-RAW+JPEG
Picture Control Landscape

Monochrome

Neutral

Portrait

Standard

User-customizable Settings

Vivid
Auto

Standard

Portrait

Landscape

Neutral

Faithful

Monochrome

User Defined 1-3
Storage Media CompactFlash© (CF) (Type I, compliant with UDMA)

SD

SDHC

SDXC
CF Cards (Type I)

Compatible with UDMA CF cards

SD, SDHC, and SDXC Memory Cards
Card Slot 1 CompactFlash (CF) card and 1 Secure Digital (SD) card  1 CompactFlash (CF) card and 1 Secure Digital (SD) card
Viewfinder Frame Coverage FX (36×24): 100% Horizontal and 100% Vertical Approx.

1.2x (30×20): 97% Horizontal and 97% Vertical Approx.

DX (24×16): 97% Horizontal and 97% Vertical Approx.

5:4 (30×24): 97% Horizontal and 97% Vertical Approx.
 Approx. 100% vertically and horizontally

(At approx. 21mm eyepoint)
Viewfinder Magnification 0.70x Approx. 0.71x Approx.
Lens Compatibility at a Glance*** AF-S or AF lenses fully compatible

Metering with AI lenses
Canon EF Lenses (excluding EF-S Lenses)
Fastest Shutter Speed 1/8000 sec. 1/8000 sec.
Slowest Shutter Speed 30 sec. 30 sec.
Top Continuous Shooting Speed at full resolution 4 frames per second High-speed: Maximum approx. 6 shots/sec.

Low-speed: Maximum approx. 3 shots/sec.

Silent continuous shooting: Maximum approx. 3 shots/sec.
Exposure Compensation ±5 EV in increments of 1/3, 1/2 or 1 EV  ±5 stops in 1/3 or 1/2-stop increments
ISO Sensitivity ISO 100 – 6400

Lo-1 (ISO 50)

Hi-1 (ISO 12,800)

Hi-2 (ISO 25,600)
SO 100-25600 (in 1/3-stop or whole-stop increments)

ISO speed expansion possible to ISO 50, 51200, and 102400
Dynamic AF Mode Number of AF points: 9, 21, 51 and 51 (3D-tracking)  61-point (up to 41 cross-type points)

One to five cross-type AF points at f/2.810 to 20 cross-type AF points at f/4

and 15 to 21 cross-type AF points at f/5.6
Focus Modes Auto AF-S/AF-C selection (AF-A)

Continuous-servo (AF-C)

Face-Priority AF available in Live View only and D-Movie only

Full-time Servo (AF-A) available in Live View only

Manual (M) with electronic rangefinder

Normal area

Single-servo AF (AF-S)

Wide area
One-Shot AF

Predictive AI Servo AF

AI Focus AF

Manual focus
Maximum Autofocus Areas/Points 51 61
Built-in Flash Yes No
Flash Compensation -3 to +1 EV in increments of 1/3, 1/2 or 1 EV ±3 stops in 1/3- or 1/2-stop increments
White Balance Auto (2 types)

Choose color temperature (2500K–10000K)

Cloudy

Direct Sunlight

Flash

Fluorescent (7 types)

Incandescent

Preset manual (up to 4 values can be stored)

Shade
Auto (AWB)

Daylight

Shade

Cloudy

Tungsten light

White fluorescent light

Flash

Custom (Custom WB)

Color temperature
Live View Shooting Photography Live View Mode

Movie Live View Mode
 Photography Live View Mode

Movie Live View Mode
Movie HD 1,920×1,080 / 30 fps

HD 1,920×1,080 / 24 fps

HD 1,280×720 / 30 fps

HD 1,280×720 / 24 fps

HD 1,280×720 / 60 fps
1920×1080: 30/25/24fps

1280×720: 60/50fps

640×480: 30/25fps
Monitor Size 3.2 in. diagonal 3.2 in. diagonal
Monitor Resolution 921,000 Dots Approx. 1.04 million dots
Monitor Type TFT TFT
Playback Functions Auto Image Rotation

Full-Frame and Thumbnail (4, 9, or 72 images or calendar)

Histogram Display

Image Comment

Movie Playback

Movie Slideshow

Playback with Zoom

Slideshow

Highlights
Single image,

Single image + Image-recording quality/shooting information

histogram, 4- or 9-image index

magnified view (approx. 1.5x-10x)

rotated image (auto/manual)

image jump (by 10/100 images, index screen

by shooting date, by folder)

two-image comparative display

slide show

star rating
Battery Life (shots per charge) 900 Battery Life (shots per charge) (CIPA) Approx. 950 (Viewfinder Shooting, At 73°F/ 23°C)

Approx. 850 (Viewfinder Shooting, At 32°F/ 0°C)
Approx. Dimensions 5.7 x 4.8 x 3.2 in. (144.78mm x 121.92mm x 81.28mm)  6.0 x 4.6 x 3.0 in. (152.0 x 116.4 x 76.4 mm)
Approx. Weight 31.7 oz. (900g) body only 30.3 oz. (860g) body only
 Price $2,999.95 $3,499.00