This one’s been a long time coming, but we wanted to make absolutely sure you had quite enough reading material to make the most informed decision on this incredibly expensive (albeit quite valuable, as you’ll soon find out) DSLR. Reviews the web over shout practically the same thing: the EOS 5D Mark II is astounding. In most every important area, the device simply excelled. Image quality was remarkable, the 1080p video capture was stellar (though the lack of Auto Focus was a legitimate knock against it) and low-light performance was simply awesome. Hailed as a respectable upgrade from the original 5D, it was found to strike “a great balance between resolution, quality and performance,” and most outlets found it worthwhile even if you’re not interested in capturing video. Frankly, we can’t even begin to scratch the surface of all the nuances here, but we’ll certainly point you in the right directions to get all the knowledge you need.

Read - PhotographyBLOG (5 out of 5)
Read - PopPhoto (”lives up to the hype”)
Read - ArtByPhil (”an amazing deal”)
Read - Digital Journalist (”a superb still camera, at a reasonable price”)
Read - CameraLabs (”one of Canon’s most powerful DSLRs to date”)
Read - CameraTown (”a revolutionary camera”)

Filed under: Digital Cameras

Canon EOS 5D Mark II review roundup originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 20 Dec 2008 13:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It’s been released, unboxed, and adored by many. But, like other eagerly anticipated bodies from Canon, the 5D Mark II hasn’t been entirely trouble-free for the early adopters. The company is at least stepping forward and confirming that the new model’s two most commonly reported problems do indeed exist — but isn’t going so far as to fix them just yet. The first issue is called the “Black dot” phenomenon, where bright point light sources (like streetlights at a distance) result in a grouping of dark pixels immediately to their right, as seen above. The second issue is ugly vertical banding, apparently appearing only in sRAW1 mode. Canon has no advice on the first problem, but says you can avoid the other one simply by not shooting in sRAW1. Surely millions of photogs are wondering why they didn’t think of that.

[Via Digital Photography Review, image courtesy of Stephan Hörold]

Filed under: Digital Cameras

Canon acknowledges, doesn’t fix black dot and band problems on 5D Mark II originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 19 Dec 2008 09:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Digital Cameras

You may think you know everything there is to know about Canon’s marvelous EOS 5D Mark II, but have you heard of this tidbit? Hailed as the first DSLR to “manage” multiple batteries, this here camera includes technology to read up to six separate LP-E6 batteries and display data about them right on the rear LCD. The LP-E6 cell includes an embedded microchip with a unique 8-character serial number; after it’s installed once and “registered” in your EOS 5D Mark II body, the camera then displays each cell’s serial number, the last time it was charged, the number of shots taken since the last charge, its remaining capacity in 1% increments and its recharge performance. It’s a small inclusion, sure, but for pros who go 18+ hours on a single set, we can imagine this coming in handy when trying to select which battery to use on the next excursion.

[Thanks, Peter]

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Filed under: Digital Cameras

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Filed under: Digital Cameras

If you’re a camera fan waiting for the next tiny, juicy, delicious morsel of information to leak out on the Canon 5D Mark II — you’re in luck. According to the cats and kittens over in the forums at Digital Photography Review (who claim this information is “105% accurate,” the pricey (yet affordable in its range) DSLR will head out on September 8th for $2,399.95 packing a 16 megapixel sensor, 6 FPS shooting, ISO to the ridiculously high 25,600, full weather sealing, and a VGA-resolution display. The leaker also mentions a lot of features it won’t have (pop-up flash, HDMI-out, no video mode), though right now this is all hearsay — don’t go making any final decisions till this thing actually drops.

[Via The New York Herald]

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Filed under: Digital Cameras

As rumors go, the Canon 5D Mark II is one of the more venerable of those back-room whispers to grace these pages. Now we’ve got the Canon EOS 5D Mark II Digital Field Guide on Amazon making a duplicate appearance on the publisher’s website. You know something we don’t Ms. Charlotte K. Lowrie? Guess we’ll find out in November-ish.

[Via Photography Bay]

Read — Amazon
Read — Publisher listing

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Filed under: Digital Cameras

Here’s a sure fire way to set rumors in motion: list an unannounced, though hotly rumored camera in a pull-down list on your website. Right there you’ve got the Canon 5D Mark II. That’s it, just a name in a list on a reputable software vendor’s bug tracking page. Legitimate leak, idle speculation, or dastardly ploy to drive traffic to PhaseOne — that’s the real question. Proof? Hardly, unless you’re already a believer.

[Thanks, Eric]

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