Does the 5diii and 1Dx have the 3-10x digital zoom like on the Canon T3i and Panasonic GH2?

From every spec I have read it does not and I have read just about everything out there about all the video features. I really wish that it had that, that is an awesome feature, eventhough it does bring down the quality just a little. If you can live with the minor quality loss, its cheaper than buying a 70-200.

I couldn't find it when I had a 5DIII in my hands this week. I did have a very extensive look through the menus & I already own a 5DII & 600D/T3i & a GH2 come to that so if it was there I think that I would have noticed. It would have been a really nice feature. Canon first introduced it on the 60D but only 640x480 whereas the 600D/T3i 3X HD crop mode is Full HD 1920x1080.

I'm surprised that the 5D3 doesn't have it, given that Canon sells less expensive cameras with that feature.

Then again, without crop, Canon can sell more cameras/lenses...

Yeah, I have some 70-200s, but sometimes I need more reach...especially when it's a full frame (compared to a 7D).

How does the digital zoom lose quality? I thought since the sensor has so many mp and full HD is only 2mp, you wouldn't lose quality?

There have been several discussions about the quality loss in digital zoom mode. Some seem to think there is no loss, but me and others have argued there is. It's not enough for me to not use it. I use it at every wedding I shoot, and I love the feature, its really a great tool. However, I do see a little bit of image degradation when I use it compared to my other shots where I don't use it. But I think to each eyes his own, lol. I was just going back and forth with a few members the other day that said there is no difference in 5d footage and t3i footage except for lowlight!

from what i've mostly read, there is no real quality drop at 3x, but zooming any more than 3x degrades the image. Regardless, the feature is great.

my question is: could it be implemented by a firmware update?

If you need to crop then shoot 4K and do it in post. I can't see why you would need this "feature" in a camera like the 5DM3.....

Daniel Weber

If you need to crop then shoot 4K and do it in post. I can't see why you would need this "feature" in a camera like the 5DM3.....

Daniel WeberAside from the fact that there is no alternative 4K camera the HD crop mode on the 600D/T3i is not about cropping in post (the recorded image is still 1920x1080). It's about being able to use the central 1920x1080 portion of the sensor so effectively one has a small sensor camera so that the field of view is that of a lens 3x the focal length. It's like having a free telephoto lens.

It's like having a free telephoto lens.

and maybe that is exactly why Canon didn't implement it...

It makes sense that it would be a 1.6x feature, not a full frame feature.

It makes sense that it would be a 1.6x feature, not a full frame feature.

could you explain this?
my technical knowledge is severely lacking, but wouldn't a larger sensor actually be better for this? could there not be more pixel real estate for perhaps another level of zoom between the full frame and the 3x- like a 1.5x zoom?