I have had the new Canon 5D MKII for a month now, and let me just say, WOW! I will preface this by saying that I don't shoot test charts, and I have only used the camera in real world photographic situations. It has been used for engagement shoots, several studio shoots, a Star Wars characters shoot with my class, and chasing my kids around. It continues to impress me with it's low light capabilities, and obviously it's large file sizes are a pleasure to work with. Here are my impressions:
The low light capabilities are awesome, and I haven't even utilized them that much. See my prior blog post of model Rachel Rankin and Star Wars images for the proof, they were shot hand held, and after 8:00pm. With just a slight tweak to the white balance, I was able to create what I feel is an otherworldly appearance, exactly what I was hoping for. For a Canon shooting wedding photographer, this camera has got to be high on your list of must haves.
I have had my old 5D for over 3 years, and one of my biggest complaints has always been the poor LCD screen and it's very blue tint. That has finally been resolved, the new LCD screen is beautiful, and much better and accurate for judging color tones in an image.
The large file sizes are a blessing, and a curse. If you tend to shoot loosely, they leave a lot of room for cropping. But when opened in Photoshop, they open to 60mb's. Add a layer or 2, and you better have some serious horsepower to work on the images, or expect a painfully long wait while filters or actions are running. And expect to add hard drive space quickly and often. But the images will handle a bunch of manipulation.
This camera is also very critical of the lenses you use with it. As a father, when chasing my daughter around at soccer or her horseback riding lessons, I like to use my 70-300mm IS lens. It works amazingly well on the old 5D. On the new MKII, the camera out resolves the capabilities of the lens. Expect to need L series lenses. The 24-70 2.8, 70-200 2.8 IS, and 135 F2 all work beautifully on the camera though.
I have not experienced the low light hunting that many have been complaining about on the net, although that could be due to my familiarality with the old 5D. I will say that this is probably the weakest part of the new 5D though. I really wish Canon would steal a page out of Nikons book, and upgrade the 5D series autofocus to it's sibling 1D series system.
Another feature that I would love to see is the ability to remotely fire your speedlights from the camera without having to buy a master unit or the STE-2 trigger. Just sayin...
I didn't get this camera for it's video features, so I can't speak to that. I only shot 1 small video, and it looks impressive, but I am in no way an expert there.
I also didn't get this camera for it's speed. This camera is not a speed demon, Canon has other models for that. It is not the camera you will see on the sidelines at sporting events, it doesn't do 10 fps, this is a portrait shooter or studio shooters camera.
You can see alot of images I have shot with it here on my blog, (Star Wars, Brian & Michelle Engagement) and on my Flickr site, here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/frankwise/
As a special note for iPhone/Canon users, you can get your camera manuals on your iPhone through iTunes, a handy feature while your out in the field with a new camera.
Another feature I love is the ability to assign custom settings to the command dial using C1, C2, & C3. Like to shoot b&w's occasionally, but don't want to dive in to the menus? Set up C1 with your favorite B&W set up, and it's a dial turn away.
I am still undecided on the high light priority setting, I have shot several samples with it on & off, and haven't pixel peeped deep enough to see a noticeable difference, and it locks you in to using ISO 200 as the lowest setting.
Expect this post to be added to in the future.
Pros: Low light, better screen, large files, great color rendition, beautiful skin tones, easily customizable.
Cons: Autofocus system hasn't been upgraded, requires use of L glass (is that really a con?)
I also have a barely broken in 40D for sale if anyone is interested. It has only been used as a 2nd body during wedding shoots. If interested, send me a shout.
Frank
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