Last Updated on January 13, 2019
This in-depth Canon EOS-5D Mark II review will show you the perks of this DSLR, as well as the noticeable upgrades from the older cameras in the EOS line.
When it was released, the Canon EOS-5D Mark II managed to up the standards of all cameras belonging to the EOS product line. This was due to the fact that it was Canon’s first DSLR camera in the EOS line that offered both video and still capture. In addition, the 5D Mark II includes the software and hardware upgrades that Canon introduced in its 50D.
Of course, such upgrades are most welcome. After all, even if the older Canon 5D was at the lead in terms image quality, it still got left behind in certain key areas. However, most of these inadequacies were covered and improved on by the 5D Mark II.
Not many would consider 12.8 megapixels as insufficient, which is what the older Canon unit had. But it goes without saying that the newer sensor of the 5D Mark II at 21.1 megapixels will surely be a welcome change, most especially for professional photographers who have already use the older 5D. And though Sony’s A900 DSLR upped the stakes for high-end camera performance in terms of resolution, the 5D Mark II manages to outperform the A900 when it comes to noise-to-detail ratio when at high ISO.
The high-resolution sensor of Canon for its 5D Mark II takes on that of Nikon’s D700 and D3, but with an ISO that’s been expanded to a 50-25,600 range. The aforementioned Nikon cameras also have expanded ranges, at 100-25,600 as a matter of fact, but they only do so at 12.1 mp resolution. Then there’s the new DIGIC 4 processor that Canon has included in its 5D Mark II, which can handle extremely large RAW images at 14-bit – and that’s at a high speed of 3.9 fps.
Furthermore, the Canon 50D’s 920,000-dot LCD was carried over to the Canon 5D Mark II, which is a necessary step as rival DSLRs also have this feature in their arsenals. The Live View features of the 50D have also been shared to the 5D Mark II, along with silent shutter modes and contrast-detect AF.
Many other 50D features are also part of the Canon 5D Mark II’s repertoire. However, a major functionality that’s absent in the 50D but is present in the 5D Mark II is the HD video capture. Yes, this DSLR not only takes still shots, but also captures video footage at 30 frames per second at 1920 x1080 pixels.
As this Canon 5D Mark II review shows, this particular DSLR is quite the camera. In fact, some photographers see it as trumping the two other full-frame DSLR cameras that’s in the same price range (the Nikon D700 and Sony A900). Of course, some would argue with this statement, considering each photographer, whether amateur or pro, has his or her own preferences when it comes to cameras.
When it comes to our say in the matter, the 5D Mark II certainly pulls out all the stops for a camera in its category. After all, it has revolutionized the combination of still and video capture for its time, although there are now other DSLRs that have the same feature nowadays. Still, it’s certainly a classic, as far as our Canon 5D Mark II review goes, with an appeal that certainly hasn’t faded.
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