Canon announces EOS 5D Mark II, rest of world yawns
Canon have finally released details of their much-hyped EOS 5D replacement, the 5D Mark II.
Headline features are a full-frame 21.1mp sensor, and ISO expansion up to 25,600.
Our biased analysis is that they’ve taken what made the 5D so special (the sensor), thrown it away, and kept all that was not good - the AF, body, speed etc remain largely unchanged.
Check back later for a full comparison.
September 20th, 2008 at 7:24 pm
From the samples i’ve seen the sensor is in fact special, excellent quality, and IQ wise it beats all previous EOS and Nikon SLRs.
But then the d3 sensor is over a year old now….
September 21st, 2008 at 10:25 pm
You can’t knock the Canon 5D MKII’s guts, it also has the video capture feature, but i do wonder sometimes about prolonged and continual usage and wear on the sensor for these video clips. Both have high ISO capability - but yes i agree, that same plasticy, toy body has got to go. This has always bothered me about Canon’s choice of body types - i know it’s partly psychological that if you pick up something that looks like a toy - you may drop the toy and break it. The D700 just feels more secure in my hand - and i’d feel better about handing it over to my wife of 8 year old son to pop a picture.
Nikon obviously turns more heads in terms of overall aesthetic value. The D700 is still not a slouch! there is something to be desired in both - so what, Nikon D700 doesn’t have HD video capture…that makes it more of a traditional camera and less of these freaky hybrid-like cameras that are about to saturate the market. Just get the D-90 body as a $1000 back up camera and be done with it already! I think i’d much rather preseve the sensor on my $3000 camera anyway by using it much less and leave the video recording to a lower model.
Keep in mind that everything bright, new and shiny this year will be old, and funky next year…some more than others!
September 27th, 2008 at 3:00 pm
I wonder if this is another expensive “pro” Canon that doesn’t qualify for CPS. The Rebel type body convinced me to stay away.