New Canon EOS 5D Mark II – a worthy upgrade?

After a long period of waiting and speculation in many forums and on many websites, the new Canon EOS 5D Mark II is finally out.

Let’s look at the important features of the EOS 5D Mark II and see if it really is a worthy upgrade from the old EOS 5D.

21 megapixel sensor

This is a huge increase from the 12 megapixel sensor of the old EOS 5D. The sensor is similar to that in the Canon EOS 1Ds Mark III but with some improvements. It is supposed to offer the best image quality of all Canon EOS cameras so far. The 5D Mark II is also supposed to offer the lowest noise of all Canon EOS cameras. The ISO can be adjusted up to 25.600. If this is usable or was just included to have the same number as Nikon with the D3 remains to bee seen.

If the camera is as good as Canon says, then I think this alone will make the camera very popular for studio and landscape photographers and for everyone who shoots in low light conditions. I hope the first tests confirm this.

Sensor cleaning

All new Canon EOS DSLRs offer sensor cleaning. It really works very well with my EOS 40D. It was no surprise than the EOS 5D Mark II also offers this feature.

3.9 frames per second

This is only a small increase from the 3 fps of the old EOS 5D. But given this huge increase in resolution, I think 3.9 fps is not too bad.

98% viewfinder

It’s not 100% but close. Many non professional DSLR only have a 95 or sometimes smaller viewfinder. This can be annoying when you want to make sure that there are no distracting elements or colors at the side of the image. With a 98% viewfinder this should no longer be problem.

Movie recording

After the Nikon D90 introduced video functionality, it was clear that other cameras would follow. The EOS 5D Mark II provides movie recording with a resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels. You can record movies up to 12 minutes in lenght (in VGA mode up to 24 minutes). This is more than the Nikon D90.
Some people think this is useless, others are very excited about it. I think most future DSLRs will provide movie recording.
No matter if you like it or not, it is definitely a step forward from the EOS 5D.
It’s a little strange that the recently introduced Canon EOS 50D does not offer movie recording. Maybe Canon wanted to keep the prices down.

Sound recording is supported in both mono (built in) or stereo mode (via an external stereo microphone).

LCD with large resolution

The new 3 inches LCD has a resolution of 920,000 pixels. This is a huge step forward from the EOS 5D and seems to be the same display as in the new EOS 50D.

Autofocus with nine AF points and six Assist AF points

The autofocus system of the EOS 5D Mark II is similar to the EOS 5D. New features are micro adjustments and the ability to detect the color temperature.

I think the new AF system is not much of an improvement. After all I’ve read it still works only up to f5.6 which means if you have an f4 lens (like many wildlife and sport photographers with their 4/500 and 4/600) lenses, you won’t be able to autofocus with a 2x extender.
If you shoot shy animals and small birds, using a 2x extender is often necessary. It’s a disappointment that the new EOS 5D Mark II does not support AF up to f8.

Live view

If you like live view, the 5D Mark II now supports this feature including autofocus while using live view.

Conclusion

These are not all of the improvements. For a full list, see the links below. But these are what I think the most important improvements compared to the old EOS 5D.
Overall I think the EOS 5D Mark II is a real upgrade to the old EOS 5D. The much higher resolution and the (according to Canon) even better image are a huge step forward.
The very attractive price of US: $ 2,699 (EU: € 2,499, UK: £ 2,299) is way below the EOS 1Ds Mark III and also below the Sony A900 and the Nikon D700.

The new camera is not the right tool for everyone.
I think the EOS 5D Mark II is for photographers who want a high resolution but don’t shoot a lot of action. That makes the EOS 5D Mark II very interesting for studio and landscape photographers.

The situation is different for photographers who shoot a lot of action scenes. The AF is not very exciting (although probably not bad) and the 3.9 frames per second are good but not great if you shoot moving subjects like sports or flying birds.
If you want a faster camera for wildlife and sport photography, the new EOS 50D or the 1D Mark III are better suited. As is the Nikon D700 which has “only” 12 megapixel but a better AF and can shoot up to 8 frames per second.

I think Canon has shown that they are still one of the leading manufacturers and I am sure this new Camera will be a huge success among landscape and studio photographers who want high resolution, great image quality and don’t want to spend more than 6.000 Dollars or Euros for a 1Ds Mark III.

Further information

For a detailed coverage of all the features of the new Canon EOS 5D, please use the following links:

anon EOS 5D Mark II Hands-on Preview at dpreview.com

Canon EOS 5D Mark II at robgalbraith.com

Preorder from amazon.com

Body only	with 4/24-105