I made some calls, sent some e-mails, and assured the wife I was not maxing out our credit card for a 5DII (I did just buy a Leica M8, for the third time)! I had no idea how I was going to get a hold of one but I was determined. Weeks went by with nothing and then a genuine miracle happened.

I received an e-mail from a super cool bitchin’ dude who saw my 6 WAYS TO HELP THIS SITE link and offered to rent me his 5D II for as long as I needed. I then rented a couple of lenses from a very cool online rental shop! I was in business!

I was stoked! You know how it is...you await the Fed Ex man and can not wait to crack open that package! This was good. I had a 5DMKII on the way with two KILLER lenses, the 35L 1.4 and 85L MKII 1.2! I have owned an 85L in the past, but never the 35L. I was getting ready, preparing and getting pretty excited to shoot the camera.

It arrived on a gloomy rainy day, so for that day I studied the manual, charged the battery, and took some test shots in the house. Yep, that classic 5D look was there in spades. Smooth, creamy, subdued colors and great high ISO shooting. I have been used to shooting my Leica M8, and the 5D is HUGE in comparison! My wife said “HOLY COW! IT LOOKS LIKE I AM LOOKING INTO A CYCLOPS” when I shot her with the 85L.

It was like Deja Vu. To my eyes, at first glance, it seemed like I was still shooting the original 5D! Hell, it even SMELLED like the old 5D. I knew there were a few improvements that Canon made, so I shot more and more every day, and finally started to process the shots for this review. When I did this, I noticed some differences between the original and the MKII. More on that later, for now let’s see what Canon has changed or added.

SO WHAT HAS CANON IMPROVED WITH THE 5DII?

1. ★ A new 21.1 Megapixel Sensor! High resolution baby!
   

2. ★ New 3” LCD. A Hi Rez Beauty.
   

3. ★ New weather seals which makes it more resistant to rain, moisture and dust.
   

4. ★ You can now adjust/calibrate your lenses for your body. Just like Nikon, if your lens back-focuses or front-focuses you can adjust in camera. No need to send in your lenses for adjustment.
   

5. ★ ISO now ranges from 100-6400 with the ability to go as low as 50 and as high as 25600. Are you ready for the night? You will be with the 5DII!
   

6. ★ Shoots HI Def video in 1080P. Use your canon glass to shoot movies with better quality than a camcorder. Manual focus only though.
   

7. ★ Almost 4 frames per second shooting.
   

8. ★ New picture style button on the back to choose your style. Great for JPEG shooters.
   

9. ★ Better built in sensor cleaning.
   

10. ★ New Digic IV processing.
    

11. ★ HIGH capacity battery, which is awesome. REALLY!
    

So canon made some improvements in some ways, and kept it the same in others. I was disappointed in the viewfinder as it is still not sealed well and collects dust as well as my coffee table during a dust storm! This 5DII was filled with dust and what looked like a hair or two inside the VF. This was an issue with the 5D MKI, and its the same as the MKII.

The body is just about the same as the 5D. Still feels the same to me. Big, bulky, clumsy and hollow. I am NOT knocking the body, just giving you my honest opinions after shooting with it. The Nikon D300, D700, and D3 bodies are all superior to the 5D MKII, ergonomically speaking. Again, that is my opinion. You may feel differently. If you have been a Canon shooter for a while, you will feel right at home with the 5D MkII as its identical to the 5D MKI in its size and feel. No real change here.

So here I am now writing this report/review/write up, whatever you want to call it. Let me state right now, this review is not going to be a technical one full of the stats, specs, and jargon usually associated with detailed camera reviews. I usually write about REAL world use, and share my experience shooting the camera. I am not interested in how sharp the camera is at 100%, as any DSLR made today is capable of lovely HUGE prints. I am usually not a pixel peeper, BUT you will see some 100% files and comparisons in this review as I know many of you want to see this. Plus it is helpful when deciding if you should plunk down $big bucks$ for a camera body, and this one is not exactly cheap :)

I like to write for those shooters who want an easy enjoyable read on a camera or lens they happen to be interested in. I always ask myself a few questions about the camera I am using. Is it enjoyable to use? Does it inspire? Does it give good quality with color and dynamic range? Most importantly, the final image. How does the final image look when all is said and done? I have found that each camera I have used has their own “signature” and the 5DMKII is no different. It has that classic 5D look to its files. You will either love it, or hate it.

Me, being used to and spoiled by my M8’s insanely crisp, detailed shots the 5DMKII was kind of a let down in a few ways during my first outing.

Ohhhh, I have your attention now I bet! What am I saying here? A 2 year old digital camera performs better than the latest and greatest in sensor design? Go to page 2 to read on...

HOOD ORNAMENT - CANON 5DMKII WITH 35L

CLICK HERE TO GO TO PAGE 2 OF THE REVIEW

CANON 5D MARK II REVIEW - PAGE 1 - PAGE 2 - PAGE 3

Back in 2005, Canon finally introduced what many digital SLR shooters were asking for. A semi affordable, FULL FRAME sensor camera with great image quality. Canon had it’s flagship series, the 1Ds series, which offered the pro shooter every possible feature they could ask for in a huge and heavy brick like body. I owned an original 1ds and never did bond with that camera. Not sure what it was, but it was sold a month after purchase, and I remember that day well as I took a heavy hit financially for that decision! OUCH, that one hurt. BAD!

Back to the original 5D. Once it (the 5D) got in the hands of pros and amateurs, the floodgates opened. All of the photography sites had tons and tons of 5D samples, and I remember seeing a few that made my jaw drop at the time. Yea, I wanted a 5D and crazy me ended up getting three of them over a 2 year span!

The 5D set the bar for quality, high ISO noise, and beat out just about every Nikon (at the time) and even Canon’s own flagship 1Ds was lagging behind. Nikon had the D200 which was not even close to the power of the 5D. The 5D soon became the wedding photographers preferred camera.

Canon had HUGE shoes to fill with a 5D replacement, and it took them a while to do so. Every year people would eagerly await an announcement, but nothing came until 2008 when Canon introduced the 5D Mark II.

When the 5D MKII was finally released and in the hands of users, some were upset, some were happy, and some were just saying “It’s a good upgrade”. I do not think I have seen anyone jump for joy with the 5DII like I saw with the original. Why is that? Probably because the original was so damn good!

Basically, the new Mark II is a 5D with a new sensor and some new features. It is for the most part a souped up hot rod 5D. The focus is still slow, but much more accurate in low light. When I say slow, I am comparing to a Nikon D700 (see my mini review of the D700 here). It is plenty fast enough for most applications.

Being a HUGE fan of the old 5D, I knew i had to get a hold of a MKII for myself to see how it stacked up against the KING OF THE NIGHT TIME WORLD, the original 5D. (see my 5D review here)