The things I love about the 5Dmkii

[wickidwombat]

with all the AF bashing some of us give the 5dMkii

I though I would list some of the things i love about the 5dMk2

1) Size Its a great size I am really enjoying not having the bulk of the integrated grip the 1 series have makes it alot easier to carry in a smaller bag if you want to travel light.
2) Smaller battery means takes up less room, light easy to carry
3) I am getting used to the button layout now and I quite like it, fairly intuitive and well spaced, infact button layout is something i really prefer on the canons compared to Nikon
4) The sensor - It really is a wonderfull sensor, I havent run into the banding i've read about, I'm very happy with the IQ that comes out of it.
5) Value for money - you really do get ALOT of camera for a relatively cheap price
6) ISO everything up to ISO 1600 is usable I always try stay as low as possible but at 1600 shots are still very useable especially with some PP noise reduction I try to avoid going higher than 1600 though

[willrobb]

with all the AF bashing some of us give the 5dMkii

I though I would list some of the things i love about the 5dMk2

1) Size Its a great size I am really enjoying not having the bulk of the integrated grip the 1 series have makes it alot easier to carry in a smaller bag if you want to travel light.
2) Smaller battery means takes up less room, light easy to carry
3) I am getting used to the button layout now and I quite like it, fairly intuitive and well spaced, infact button layout is something i really prefer on the canons compared to Nikon
4) The sensor - It really is a wonderfull sensor, I havent run into the banding i've read about, I'm very happy with the IQ that comes out of it.
5) Value for money - you really do get ALOT of camera for a relatively cheap price
6) ISO everything up to ISO 1600 is usable I always try stay as low as possible but at 1600 shots are still very useable especially with some PP noise reduction I try to avoid going higher than 1600 though

I second all of that. I've never had an issue with AF or banding either.

Personally I find 3200 very usable, depends on lighting though. The higher the ISO goes up the worse the quality gets.

Also, I really think the IQ from the 5DmkII is pretty amazing, I'm always very happy with it, possibly the best of the current high end EOS series? Can't say from experience though as I have never owned any of the 1D series cameras.

[pulsiv]

personally, I would have been satisfied with a classic 5d with just a raise in resolution... because I loved the old 5d... I still think, its somewhat cooler than the mkII. but as the nerd that I am, I needed the upgrade...
(the low-light capabilities... you gotta love it... making party-photos with no flash, just a 1.4 lens and the mkII... awesome)

[mreco99]

I also love the size, bit for a different reason.... its BIGGER than the rebels, it actually fits in my hands properly.

I love the optical view finder, the day the EVF become standard (as they have been talking about) i will be disapointed.

I just want to point out one negative thing (even though this is a love thread), the on / off switch, what a terrible position and design that was, oh man. When i turn a camera on and off, i want to use my thumb on my right hand, which a quick natural flick, this is a stretch and it should at least turned round.

[briansquibb]

Stunning IQ - even in the dark

5dII, 70-200L IS f/2.8 II, iso800, f/5.6, 25sec

[Old Shooter]

Very nice! Did you use any of the in-camera, long exposure NR? Or do you switch that off and take care of it in post?

[briansquibb]

Very nice! Did you use any of the in-camera, long exposure NR? Or do you switch that off and take care of it in post?

It is turned off on the camera - very little done in pp - DPP only adjustments. PSE used to clone our some leaves that crept in on the edge.

[sb]

Last week I was stuck using 7D instead of my usual Mk2 and it really made me appreciate the Mk2 even more. I mean 7D is a great camera, in some ways better than Mk2, but some things just drive me nuts so I figured I'd list things that are so awesome on Mk2 and yet so uninspiring on the 7D:

- The main scrolling wheel on 7D seems like a crappy plastic toy compared to the Mk2 one. I just can't believe how flimsy it feels when scrolling through pictures.
- The focus points are smaller on Mk2 and I love that. Large 7D points just make me feel imprecise (and I do actually make a lot of focusing errors with it - it's not just in my head)
- The idiotic decision to print the symbols and letters on the buttons themselves ( instead of next to the buttons like on Mk2) I just dont understand. It took exactly 1 month of 7D usage for those icons to start fading away from finger sweat, and now 1 year later you can't tell what each button does anymore because the symbols are gone. Not a biggie since I know what the buttons do, but it looks ugly.
- The colour is just off sometimes with the 7D (not always). Colours produced by Mk2 are beautiful, and images from 7D sometimes look slightly greenish for no apparent reason (even during sunsets!) I think something screwy is going on with WB.

I could talk about MK2 forever :-)

[Mt Spokane Photography]

Each camera has its stong points and its weaknesses.  The 5D MK II is no exception, its just that the strong poiints overshadow the weaknesses for many users by a large amount.

I'm looking forward to a MK III, my extended 3 year warranty expires December 5.  Mine was in the first batch to be delivered to Adorama in Dec 2008.

[neuroanatomist]

-The focus points are smaller on Mk2 and I love that. Large 7D points just make me feel imprecise (and I do actually make a lot of focusing errors with it - it's not just in my head)
- The colour is just off sometimes with the 7D (not always). Colours produced by Mk2 are beautiful, and images from 7D sometimes look slightly greenish for no apparent reason (even during sunsets!) I think something screwy is going on with WB.

Agreed on the color - the 5DII delivers richer, more pleasing colors - analogous to the difference between an L vs. non-L lens, IMO.

But - FYI, the AF points in the 5DII and the 7D are exactly the same size. Yes, the boxes in the viewfinder that represent those points are smaller on the 5DII - but in both cases, the actual AF points are larger than those little boxes (much larger on the 5DII, a bit larger on the 7D).  Even with Spot AF on the 7D, the reduced effective size of the actual AF point is still slightly larger than the box (the regular box, not the smaller inset box that indicates Spot AF).  In both cameras, the sensor lines are identically-sized, and since the crop factor doesn't affect magnification, a similarly-sized subject will cover exactly the same space on the AF sensor.

[KurtStevens]

I have the first 5d, its great and all, but already after a year of ownership I feel as if I must upgrade.  5d2 looks good and all, and shooting at intervals of 160 I feel that 2500 is def. useable as well as 5000 (or even 6400).  I've been debating buying the 5d2 now and saying I want it because of low light capabilities and video and all the other greatness, or sticking with my 5d1 (which 1250 iso is just barely useable) and waiting til 5d3 comes out.  I do agree, the 5d2 is pretty amazing for what you get, I feel the price however, is still too high for a 3 year old camera.  If it was  1800(1900) it would be justified.

[pwp]

I love the optical view finder, the day the EVF become standard (as they have been talking about) i will be disappointed.

The day EVF becomes standard it will be so brilliantly refined, configurable, fast & flexible we'll wonder how we ever coped with those old optical viewfinders. True, they're not there yet. But look to the quality gains in the past few years...

When peerless quality EVF eventually beds in as as the industry default, that will be the death knell of the current DSLR form factor with the bulky prism & mirror with its associated shortcomings and constraints.

Maybe there will be a hybrid rangefinder for the nostalgic photographers among us. Oh wait, it's called the Fuji X100!

Yet there can't be too many people mourning the photographers black cape disappearing into history, or the waist level finder on a twin lens or Hasselblad? Or assessing overpriced Polaroids on commercial jobs vs tethered shooting? And what of the few still carrying the torch for film or handheld light meters? Bless their little cotton socks.

Like it or not, eventually it will be the same with the current optical prism finder. Consigned inexorably to history.

Paul Wright

[Meh]

@pwp +1

Every technology will eventually be superseded by some new or improved technology even if it's not a real improvement over the old (at least not to all people, that's not possible).  For fun, who has an idea about something in photography that will never be replaced... technology only.

[Picsfor]

OK, as some one who leads the charge on the failures of the AF - i'll chip in:

Love the size and ergonomics of the body; i have on with and without battery a battery grip attached (2 5d2's?)
Love the sensor - amazing IQ
Love the layout of the menu and buttons - have got them down pat
21mp sensor leaves lots of crop options
High ISO - for me 6400 gives a certain 'grainy' look i used to get in days of film with 1600 asa film. Have even used 25k without too much fear - better to have 'a' shot than 'no' shot
Life of a fully charged battery - do they ever run out?
Live view - such a useful focusing aid

Things i dislike:

The AF - and really, that is my only gripe - i've learned to live with it, not like it!

[Jettatore]

I prefer the size of the 5D FF to that of the larger FF's.  I avoid battery grips, I don't need them at all for shooting vertical portrait and the battery life for stills on a standard pack is amazing without needing any extra help for my uses, and carrying a second small battery in my pocket is easy enough.

Video is obviously a big feature for a lot of people on this model as well.  But I don't think there really is any great excuse not to weather proof the camera as good as possible.  Also, just to throw this out there because it's been on my mind.  Having a single camera that does both stills and videos is amazing for a lot of people.  Just think snowboarding for a second.  Carrying two sets of gear and handling it on a mountain would be pretty unrealistic.  But a stills and video combo bouncing back and forth between taking amazing snaps of both tricks and the awesome wilderness, as well as having a video camera handy to capture a friends jumps is just awesome.  All the more of an excuse to weather-proof the upcoming camera better than the last model.