5D mk II still a viable option?

[erakepio]

Hi All,

posting this on behalf of a colleague who does not have internet at the moment. However he wants to upgrade from his 550D to one of the xD range of cameras.

He would like to know if shelling out for a new 5d II is still a good option? The 5d III is out his price range and he believes the 7D might not suit his needs.

He does a lot of landscape, low light (high exposure), some sports photography.

I went with the 7D as it suited my needs more. however I can't seem to convince him!

 

[NormanBates]

I definitely wouldn't consider the 5D3 right now, unless you desperately need the improved AF or the clean video
personally, that's not enough for me to pay so much more ($3500 vs $2200), and therefore my decision right now is either 5D2, or switch over and get a D800

and given all this, in the end I'm just waiting to see if the 5D3 falls in price, as previous "losing models" have done (D700<5D2, 60D<D7000)
http://www.canonrumors.com/forum/index.php?topic=6539.0

 

[7enderbender]

Hi All,

posting this on behalf of a colleague who does not have internet at the moment. However he wants to upgrade from his 550D to one of the xD range of cameras.

He would like to know if shelling out for a new 5d II is still a good option? The 5d III is out his price range and he believes the 7D might not suit his needs.

He does a lot of landscape, low light (high exposure), some sports photography.

I went with the 7D as it suited my needs more. however I can't seem to convince him!

I don't see how that would be a problem just because a newer version has hit the market. If he wants full frame and a really good Canon camera then this is a great time to get a brand new 5DII while their still available. It's a great all purpose camera with outstanding image quality.

 

[awinphoto]

5d2 is a viable option as long as you dont mind focusing with the center point and recomposing AND OR manually focusing because the AF is horrid compared to the 7d... the 5d3 is a much better all around camera but the 5d2 is good if a full frame is a must... otherwise the 7d is almost a better all rounder camera compared to the 5d2.

 

[Loswr]

He does a lot of landscape, low light (high exposure), some sports photography.

Landscape and low light will be excellent with the 5DII. Sports will be a challenge with the 5DII's rather poor AF system (AI Servo tracking, in particular) and the relatively slow frame rate. Still, it's a great camera.

 

[michi]

I have both the 7D and 5DII. The low light shots coming out of the 5DII shooting RAW are amazing. Not sure about the sports aspect though, a 7D might be more suited with better AF, higher frame rates and crop to zoom in. Tough choice there.

 

[lonelywhitelights]

As a 7D owner who has attempted landscape work I wouldn't really recommend it but for the sports aspect I can't really fault the 7D - apart from the low-light performance which is famously poor - my landscape work is usually ND filter, long exposure work so I'm never shooting higher than ISO100 anyway

but for regular landscape stuff I wouldn't want to use my 7D unless I had excellent weather.

the 5DII is far superior when it comes to low-light work since it's full-frame sensor isn't totally crammed with MP likes the crop sensor of the 7D. It's has been a long time favourite with landscape photographers - sure the 5DIII is out now but the average joe can't dig out that amount of cash.

I've seen a fair amount of excellent sports/wildlife work coming from 5DII shooters so the camera isn't exactly bad when it comes to shooting birds in flight or sports even if it's frame rate is lower and the AF system isn't all that great.

Buying a 5DII used is a great option, I bought my 7D used at around £800 ($1,200) for the body and I couldn't be happier - I'm currently looking to get a used 5DII this year as the used price will be dropping gradually.

Personally, if it were me buying and I didn't already have a 7D right now, I would go for the 5DII

 

[Mt Spokane Photography]

The 5D MK II is a excellent choice, its still up to date and very well supported by third party manufacturers. CF memory cards are standard, and its compatible with even the 128mb cards. Even the original 5D is still popular.

i'm probably going to buy another when they come into stock at the Canon Refurb store.

 

[arioch82]

i'm only an amateur and i don't shoot any sport but i was in the same situation and i decided to go with a second hand 5d mark ii for $1500, i'm loving the fullframe and i would never go back to crop!

 

[davidbellissima]

I own the 5D Mk I, ii & iii camera bodies. The Mk I will be going to a new loving home shortly. They are all extremely capable cameras and while each have their well documented individual benefits, they all offer value. Especially the Mk i which is now dirt cheap on the used market. In the UK the cost of new Mk ii bodies is holding firm meaning used bodies are also still holding firm. The price differential between the Mk ii and Mk iii is too large for the release of the Mk iii to impact Mk ii prices, in my opinion.

Yesterday I was reminded of the fantastic quality of the Mk ii. I hadn't blogged a shoot I did last year with the Mk ii, and having been using the Mk iii for a couple of months now, these images just made me realise how fantastic the Mk ii is and I am more than happy for this to be my backup camera to the Mk iii. Here are some images:

http://www.bellissimaphoto.co.uk/london-engagement-photography/london-engagement-photographer.html

I do agree that for sport or any sort of photography that places more demands on the focus system, I would seriously consider the 7D over the 5D Mk ii.

 

[fotoworx]

The 5DMKII is still going to be a great camera 10 years from now.

 

[Marsu42]

He would like to know if shelling out for a new 5d II is still a good option?

At the moment, the 5d2 is the much better option when shooting video because it runs magic lantern - a look at the hdr video samples on vimeo should convince anyone, it's the absolute killer firmware. And even for standard still shooting it's extremely handy (automatic hdr which selects how many shots are needed, focus stacking, focus trapping, ...). It'll take quite some time until it is ported on the 5d3, my guess is at least a year.

http://magiclantern.wikia.com/wiki/Unified

 

[Richard8971]

One of our photography buddies just upgraded to the mark III. He offered us his lightly used mark II (21K clicks) with battery grip for $1600.00. My wife and I love it so far. We have shot with the XT, XTi, 40D, 50D, T1i and our new 7D. The Mark II blows them all away as far as image quality goes. We couldn't be happier with our purchase.

I bet you are going to see lots of Mark II's for sale as the III's get into the hands of more photographers.

D

 

[UngerPhotography]

The only downside I have found with the 5D II is the AF. However, the camera is meant as a studio/landscape body and for those uses i have never complained about the AF. The camera is not ideal for sports or action shots, but I have gotten amazing sports shots with it. http://www.flickr.com/photos/erik_unger/sets/72157629822941650/

I did recently purchase a 7D specifically for sports and wildlife, but I see no reason to upgrade my 5D II for my landscape and portrait needs. I would love to have a 5D III, but I certainly don't need it.

 

[vbi]

If he is looking for IQ, particularly in low light, as well as detail, then the 5D2 is an excellent camera. For sports use the centre AF point and crop later if necessary. IQ wise, the 5D2 as with all full frame systems, is noticeably superior to the 7D.

 

[briansquibb]

The only downside I have found with the 5D II is the AF. However, the camera is meant as a studio/landscape body and for those uses i have never complained about the AF. The camera is not ideal for sports or action shots, but I have gotten amazing sports shots with it. http://www.flickr.com/photos/erik_unger/sets/72157629822941650/

I did recently purchase a 7D specifically for sports and wildlife, but I see no reason to upgrade my 5D II for my landscape and portrait needs. I would love to have a 5D III, but I certainly don't need it.

The centre AF point is very accurate on the 5D. Use that and you will get consistantly good results

 

[UngerPhotography]

The only downside I have found with the 5D II is the AF. However, the camera is meant as a studio/landscape body and for those uses i have never complained about the AF. The camera is not ideal for sports or action shots, but I have gotten amazing sports shots with it. http://www.flickr.com/photos/erik_unger/sets/72157629822941650/

I did recently purchase a 7D specifically for sports and wildlife, but I see no reason to upgrade my 5D II for my landscape and portrait needs. I would love to have a 5D III, but I certainly don't need it.

The centre AF point is very accurate on the 5D. Use that and you will get consistantly good results

No doubt. It is the main reason I was able to grab such great sports shots. I guess the other downside is the low FPS. Not terrible, but there are some sports where you want to catch more moments in the action.

You can certainly can do sports with the 5D II, but it is not ideal. Just like you can do portraits and landscape with the 7D but is not ideal. They each are great cameras and have their specialties.

 

[briansquibb]

You can certainly can do sports with the 5D II, but it is not ideal. Just like you can do portraits and landscape with the 7D but is not ideal. They each are great cameras and have their specialties.

At least if you get the shot the image is superb

 

[bdunbar79]

To answer the OP's original question, YES, the 5D Mark II is certainly a viable option. I've considering getting one just so I could have the 5D Mark III, 1D Mark IV, and 5D Mark II as a backup. The one I used to own took great photos!

 

[hectorjr]

Any photographer with good enough skills can work around the limitations of the camera to get the job done. Coming originally from a 3rd world country I've encountered countless photographers who use the 7D for everything (portraits, landscapes, weddings, sports etc.) because the 5D2 and L lenses were just too expensive, and ROI would take too long to be lucrative.

I have used the 5D2 extensively myself and have shot everything under the sun with it. Although I have to admit fast action shooting can be a challenge, but not impossible! The jaw-dropping images it produced made its shortcomings seem not at all that big a deal (your mileage may vary). Canon themselves seem to be disparaging the 5D2 so you'd shell out for the 5D3 instead, but make no mistake about it: the 5D2 is a GREAT camera.

Whether or not the price difference between the 5D2 vs the 5D3 is worth it is up to the individual I guess. For me it wasn't.