The New Canon 5D Mark II

As a Nikon shooter myself, I have only one thing to say when Canon launched their latest camera on Tuesday, the Canon 5d Mark II, and the one thing I can say is, “Wow!”.

Here are the specs below.

  • 21 megapixel CMOS sensor (very similar to the sensor in the EOS-1Ds Mark III)
  • Sensor dust reduction by vibration of filter
  • ISO 100 – 6400 calibrated range, ISO 50 – 25600 expansion (1Ds Mark III & 5D max ISO 3200)
  • Auto ISO (100 – 3200) in all modes except manual
  • 3.9 frames per second continuous shooting
  • DIGIC 4 processor, new menus / interface as per the EOS 50D
  • Image processing features:
    • Highlight tone priority
    • Auto lighting optimizer (4 levels)
    • High ISO noise reduction (4 levels)
    • Lens peripheral illumination correction (vignetting correction)
  • RAW and SRAW1 (10 MP) / SRAW2 (5 MP)
  • RAW / JPEG selection made separately
  • Permanent display of ISO on both top plate and viewfinder displays
  • AF microadjustment (up to 20 lenses individually)
  • Three custom modes on command dial, Creative Auto mode
  • Image copyright metadata support
  • 98% coverage viewfinder (0.71x magnification)
  • 3.0″ 920,000 dot LCD monitor with ‘Clear View’ cover / coatings, 170° viewing angle
  • Automatic LCD brightness adjustment (ambient light sensor)
  • Live view with three mode auto-focus (including face detection)
  • No mirror-flip for exposures in Live View if contrast detect AF selected
  • Movie recording in live view (1080p H.264 up to 12 minutes, VGA H.264 up to 24 mins per clip)
  • Two mode silent shooting (in live view)
  • New jump options in play mode
  • HDMI and standard composite (AV) video out
  • Full audio support: built-in mic and speaker, mic-in socket, audio-out over AV (although not HDMI)
  • IrPort (supports IR remote shutter release using optional RC1 / RC5 controllers)
  • UDMA CompactFlash support
  • New 1800 mAh battery with improved battery information / logging
  • New optional WFT-E4 WiFi / LAN / USB vertical grip
  • Water resistance: 10 mm rain in 3 minutes

Overview given on Canon’s website:

High Performance for High Expectation
Canon’s update to the wildly popular full frame EOS 5D is here, and it’s better than ever. The EOS 5D Mark II has a stunning 21.1-megapixel full-frame CMOS sensor with DIGIC 4 Image Processor, a vast ISO Range of 100-6400 (expandable to ISO L: 50, H1: 12800 and H2: 25600), plus EOS technologies like Auto Lighting Optimizer and Peripheral Illumination Correction. It supports Live View shooting, Live View HD videos, and more. It can shoot up to 3.9 fps, has 9 AF points plus 6 AF assist points, a new 98% coverage viewfinder, a 3.0-inch Clear View LCD (920,000 dots/VGA) and a rugged build. Full-frame shooters rejoice!

Again, these specifications are just amazing and there are already several comparison shots at high ISO between the Canon 5D Mark II and the Nikon D700. Other than that would be the ability to record videos especially now that you would have a range of lenses to use to record those videos. That means shooting videos at f/1.2 and have such amazing shallow depth of field.

Personally, still way too expensive for my taste! I guess I better start poisoning Alex and Grace to get this awesome new piece of hardware pretty soon 😛

Sources: Dpreview & Terry White

0 thoughts on “The New Canon 5D Mark II”

  1. Sorry man, I'm already poisoned 🙂

    The only thing I still would have liked Canon to have done would be to have done a Nikon and put in their 1-series AF as the D700/D3… The video is cool though, can imagine some use at weddings and e-session shoots!

  2. I think the email capabilities will change the industry some what as well. But the features are just awesome. I was reading another site that it is just awesome that now most stock photographers don't have to spend a bomb to get 20+ megapixel images.

Leave a ReplyCancel reply