Canon EOS 5D Mark III tipped for March 25

The highly anticipated Canon EOS 5D Mark III may start shipping at Best Buy stores and possibly other retailers on March 25. The rumored date comes from a leaked photo of a Best Buy inventory screen sent to Engadget by a tipster. Canon had previously revealed that its new flagship DSLR would go on sale sometime towards the end of March, but had not given a specific date.

The Canon EOS 5D Mark III sports a 22.3-megapixel full frame CMOS sensor with a DIGIC 5+ Imaging Processor, 61-point autofocus, and up to 6fps continuous shooting. It supports 1080p Full HD video recording, capable of 1080/24p, 25p, and 30p as well as 720/60p with H.264 compression. It's also the first EOS model to offer a headphone jack for real-time audio monitoring.

The camera offers an ISO range from 100 to 25,600, but also an iOS 50 option for studio and landscape use as well as ISO 51,200 and 102,400 for special applications. For more details you can check out the official announcement here or you can examine the leaked PDF manual. The camera is priced at $3,499 for the body only and $4,299 for a kit that includes the EF24-105mm f/4L IS USM zoom lens.