Отзывы о Фотоаппарат Canon EOS 5D Mark II Body

I cannot say enough good things about this camera. As a former photographer getting back into the game, this camera blows me away. This will absolutely be all the camera most people will ever need.I have to qualify that by saying that I am primarily interested in landscape photography. The Mark III will be the better choice for sports, events or wildlife photographers. If you can afford it.There is currently a 1000 to 1500 dollar price difference between the Mark III and Mark II bodies.You really have to consider what you are going to use it for.For me. The Mark II consistently excels.PS: I bought my Mark II with the 24-105 L IS lens last year in August for less than you can currently get it anywhere online. What does that tell you?Yeah. It's becoming more scarce but there is still strong demand because it's a classic.I also have to issue a warning. If you own this, you might also succumb to L lens lust.I have, and it's very expensive, but very gratifying.

Having made the transition from medium format professional film cameras to cropped sensor digital (i.e. the T2i), I was looking forward to upgrading to professional digital equipment. Canon's 5D Mark II has dampened my enthusiasm for going into the full frame world.Fully understanding that the Mark II has a less densely packed sensor than do cropped frame sensors, it is natural to anticipate that the Mark II images will be a little less sharp. Of course, the trade off was supposed to be that the larger Mark II sensor would allow for greater enlargement without pixilation or noise while delivering a flattering portrait image. That was the theory.It must be assumed that my copy was defective and therefore not typical of Mark II quality overall, nonetheless the fuzziness of so many of the images was grossly disappointing. Originally guessing that maybe the 24-105 f4 L was the culprit I purchased additional lenses (e.g. 50mm f1.8, 70-300, 28-70). Some improved the sharpness situation (which did not speak well for the f4 L), and some did not. Even making the AF micro-adjustments did not help.Ultimately, I concluded that the AF was performing erratically. That problem coupled with an apparently very soft copy of the f4 L and the less-dense full frame sensor, the net outcome was a great number of unusable out-of-focus images. This was particularly acute on shots beyond 15 feet.What are my five Mark II disappointments? Defective AF, overly soft copy of the 24-105 f4 L, heavy weight of the Mark II, no real gain over the T2i in image quality when enlarging images, and the loss of my esteem for the quality control efforts of Canon on their professional line.However, Canon should get credit, in the form of 2 stars, for making a less expensive full frame DSLR. They also get some credit for the bright viewfinder on the Mark II and its large LCD.I have returned the Mark II and its companion f4 L lens (my appreciation to Amazon for their integrity and standing behind their sales). Instead of upgrading to the full frame line I am just going to buy another T2i (through Amazon) and hope that it will also be as tack-sharp as the one I already own. Of course the good part of this experience is that the EF lenses I bought for the Mark II are still useful on the T2i because of Canon`s foresight in making the EOS mounts substantially interchangeable.

I love the camera it is a big upgrade from the my T3i. The images are great and the video is awesome. I added a battery grip to the camera that works fine.

I was looking for a back-up camera and it was either another 5D Mark II, or 5D Mark III. I went with the Mark II again, and here is why:1. Even though the Mark III has 51 Auto Focus points, vs the 9 points on the Mark II, I use the center focus anyway, so that was not important.2. Mark III has 6 fps, vs 3.9 on the Mark II. This is not important to me either, since I don't shoot sports, or things I need that type of burst rate.3. 1.2 more megapixels per shot. No biggie, since I already shoot at medium size raw files. I'm not sure how many people actually shoot at 21, but I hope they have large externals! lol4. Mark III has better video capabilities. Since I don't use my camera as a camcorder, (and I can't imagine doing it anyway, but I'll probably end up doing so, since that's how it goes when I'm like, "Why would anyone do that...") it nothing to me.5. You can now do HDR with the Mark III. Nothing special to me, since I use NIK HDR anyway, and on top of that, I can handhold the Mark II for the 3 shot exposure and do just fine without alignment problems. I used to be so careful to always use a tripod and move to manual focus after setting focus, but now I see it's a waste of time. Anyway, no need for HDR for me.6. A much higher ISO with the Mark III. But again, I rarely shoot over 800 ISO; and the bad news for the Mark III is that there is no difference in noise from the Mark II to the Mark III at up to 800 ISO.7. You are going to pay $1300 more for the Mark III, and if you are in my shoes, get no better camera. I took that extra $1300 and bought the 135mm 2.0L with a nice B&W 72mm triple coat UV filter, and still had $200 left in my pocket to buy some other equipment!Hope this helps, and please don't take this as a slam on the Mark III. It's just not worth the money to upgrade for me (and if money were no object, I'd have done it. Heck, I'd have gone with the 1D). For some people, it will be worth it.

I'm sure you've read through review after review, so I won't bore anyone with technical specs. I wanted to upgrade to a full frame and couldn't decide which to get. At the time the new 5D Mark III just came out and the 6D was on it's way. Amazon had this for a great price and I couldn't pass it up. Obviously you can't go wrong with this camera and I've been completely happy with it!

I bought this a year or two ago before the 5DmkIII was released and it's the only camera I use out of a small pile of Canon bodies. The only reason I still use a crop sensor camera is for the EF-S 17-55mm and extra distance out of my 400mm.

I assume if your reading this, you're not that knowledgeable about cameras yet, which is fine. The Canon 5DII is a professional camera. Part of why it's expensive is that it's built tough; you know you have something in your hands. It's used in Hollywood to shoot low budget movies (with professional movie lenses). It has more features than most can ever use. Autofocus is instant. With a good lense, it's all you would ever need in a digital camera.

Let me start out by saying I've owned this camera for a year & a half and have shot thousands of images with it. I "upgraded" to this camera from the original 5D & at first was in love, but that quickly faded and over the past year has grown into a frustrating experience.Pros:-Video. The video is STUNNING and one of the only reasons why I'm not selling this immediately. It's gorgeous when coupled with a "L" lens & produces professional videos with the right video equipment.-LCD screen is fabulous & a huge step-up from the 5D.-ISO. High ISO capabilities with little to no noise. A HUGE improvement from the 5D. Reason #2 for me keeping this camera.Con:-Focusing system. Seriously, one of the WORST I've ever seen. Images are constantly out of focus, and even images that are "in" focus are lacking a little bit of "uumph" that I get with my 5D (see below). Nothing is ever tack sharp or creamy. I even sent the camera back to Canon for them to tell me that no, nothing is wrong with the focus system even though I'm constantly getting out of focus images with my L lenses. Yep, even sent the L lenses back to Canon too for them to be check, all with the same prognosis that "no, nothing is wrong with them."-HORRIBLE focusing is really the only con to this camera, but it's a huge con that totally ruins my love and respect for this camera. I'll explain more below.A little story...As I mentioned above, I've been using the MKII for over a year. I've had the focus problems but continued using the camera because I shoot a lot of brides in dark rooms & loved the high ISO capabilities. I had enough images "in-focus" for me to continue using the camera, just thought that maybe the issue was me not getting everything in TACK sharp focus.Fast forward to yesterday, when a friend was shooting a promo video for me & used my MKII for the video. It was a just a "fun" photo shoot, so I used my 5D to take the portraits while my friend shot video on the MKII. I didn't think anything was out of the ordinary with the images until I looked at the images on my computer. Most of the images were TACK sharp. The colors were super bright, super crisp, super creamy and almost edible. The images were a world's difference from the softness of images from my MKII. Now I know it's not a problem with me or my lenses -- the problem is my MKII and it's beyond HORRIBLE auto-focus system. I told a couple friends about this & they also said they recently did a focus test with their 5D vs. 5D MK II and the 5D came out way ahead. I'm now switching my 5D to be my main camera & my 5D MKII as my backup camera & for use in high ISO situations. Such a bummer and letdown on a $2,000+ camera. As soon as the replacement comes out I'll be ditching this.So, the camera gets 3 stars. One for video, one for ISO, and one for better construction & weather sealing. It is useable and has the potential to produce amazing images, but after looking at images from my 5D, it's just not the best out there.Take my advice and PLEASE wait for the replacement version of this camera. The auto-focus is really unacceptable for professionals -- such a shame to waste the video & other amazing features of this camera. Please fix this soon Canon.

So far I have had a great experience with the Mark II. My only complaint would be that the focus for action photography could be better. I know this has been talked about a million times in other reviews so I will leave it alone.

This camera has been on my list a long time. My only regret with this camera is that I didn't make the jump sooner. My previous (now backup) camera is an EOS Rebel XT, so I had AEB and RAW access, though, with the 5D I finally converted to 100% RAW shooting.I still use the AEB quite a bit for HDR photos, though the only drawback with Canons is the 3-shot limit compared to Nikon's 5/7/9. Not needed for most photos, but there are situations in HDR that would benefit from more exposures. To compensate, it is really simple to take 3, then adjust the bracket without moving the camera a noticeable amount and add another 3/6 the delete the overlaps in post production.LOVE the HD video though I haven't experimented with it enough to fully appreciate it. Did an HD shoot where I quickly grabbed some HD video and that was sweet/effortless with all the quality.Obviously I am benefiting from the full sensor and L series lenses. So nice to shoot in low light, handheld without a flash. And even my timed exposures need considerably less time, resulting in less movement/greater ability to shoot in wind. Being on the ocean, wind is almost always a factor.But the BIGGEST JOY I have found with this camera is LIVE VIEW mode. I use it on nearly every shot and because of it, I now shoot almost exclusively manual focus, especially for landscape/product shots. I now have utmost control to decide on a small detail to focus on the subjects front/back edge or square in the middle. This is the first time since the 80/90 days of film that I feel the post-production focus was as tight as I envisioned during the shoot.Last night, I picked up the Rebel to teach the kids and I was amazed how small the Rebel LCD screen was so, clearly, I am happy with the 5D LCD - it's easy to take the size/quality/clarity for granted.I also bought the Zeikos ZE-CBG5DII Multi-Power Battery Pack for Canon 5D Mark II and love it with the 5D. The 5D's battery indicator menu is excellent showing both batteries, remaining power and shots used for each. In the past full month, I shot 1000-ish RAW shots (plus some light video) in heat/cold on 1 charge each so I am very happy with battery life.Best camera I've owned/used to date.

I've been looking at the Canon 5D Mark II for a long time - since before it came out in late 2008. It's taken a while but I finally pulled the trigger.My first Canon SLR was the EOS 650 - the autofocus SLR that "started it all". Then in early 2000's I got the Digital Rebel, then an XTi and quickly after that the Canon 40D.I've liked all the digital SLR's I've used to date but only the 40D reminded me of the build quality and "heft" that my original 650 had. And although you get used to it, the 1.6 crop factor of the sensor size is really a big difference on the wide-angle side.Over time I also upgraded my lenses to the 17-40 F4L, the 24-105 F4L, the 70-200 F2.8L and the 100-300 F4.5-5.6L - with IS in all but the 17-40.I guess I'd call myself an "advanced amateur". My usual approach to photography is to compose a good shot and then crop later to a better composition to get my "keepers".With the 40D and my outfit of lenses I can pretty much do it all - especially on the telephoto side. However, I noticed that when you crop significantly a 10.1MP image, the end result can have significantly reduced image quality.So - I determined a little more megapixels to work with would be helpful.Next, the 40D's max ISO is 1600 but at 800 the noise can be a bit of a distraction. The simple solution is to stay below 800 but that requires a flash or photos of stationary objects in darker settings.So - I determined that something with better light sensitivity would be helpful.I noticed that some of my lenses were sharper than others on the 40D. I sent the body to Canon with my 24-105 to get the focusing "matched" and the results were good. But it was a one-size fits all solution.So - I determined that something that offered lens microadjustment would be helpful.I watched and waited patiently for the "brouhaha" of enthusiam for the 5D MarkII to settle down as I'm not the sort of sucker that pays more than MSRP for anything. I knew my time would come, I'd get my 5DMarkII - even if my wife said no. Now the MSRP is $200 less!Finally, along comes this blasted Canon 7D to totally ruin my plan. It solves my megapixel issue, it solves my ISO issue, it has lens microadjustment (as does the 50D) it even offers an advanced video capability and "new and improved" autofocusing system. And it's $800+ less expensive. What a quandary.... now what?With much consternation and angst I debated over and over the 7D or 5DMII. On the one hand, on the other had - you know the drill. Is the 5DMII worth it?I put my 17-40 lens on the 40D and then on my EOS650 and like I said - the difference is huge between a full frame and cropped sensor. I'm not a video-enthusiast and I'm not really sure what the big deal is about "24p" vs "30p" so that wasn't too important. I believe with autofocusing - "it's not the arrow, it's the indian" and unless something's out of wack your images should be focused or you're making a mistake.So, I took the plunge and purchased the 5D Mark II.It's awesome.The look and feel is very EOS-like. Not too different than my 40D - probably a little better in fact. I like the Creative Auto mode a lot and the menu on the LCD is great.The ISO range is totally worth it. I take shots routinely at 3200 and they look like 400 on the 40D (very minimal noise / graininess). When I use a flash - the results are amazing.I microadjusted the camera for all the lenses I own, and as expected the settings for each were slightly different. Now my images are spot-on, unless I screw up (again - it's not the arrow, it's the indian).To top it all off - Canon is coming out with a firmware update to add 24p (et al) to the 5DMark II.The Live-view mode is much simpler than on the 40D and focusing is very easy.The 21 Megapixels is way more than I really need but when I crop my images I get great results so I'm delighted there. I delete images I don't like so my storage constraints are limited.Finally - the full-frame sensor gives me all the image my considerable lens investment can provide and offers me opportunity on the wide angle side that the 7D couldn't. It's a big deal and not to be discounted (although you can get an EFS 10-22 to make up for it on a cropped body).I'm sure the 7D is an awesome camera too and I bet the autofocus system is an improvement. However - if you're like me, you've got great lenses, you've been patiently waiting for the hysteria to calm down, and you're ready to change camera bodies then I totally recommend going full frame and getting the 5D Mark II.

I bought this about a year after getting my 7D. Yes, the focus system is not as sophisticated. This camera came out earlier, and thus its video controls aren't dedicated. Beyond those 2 things, this camera is my favorite in every other way. If I'm going somewhere and I'm taking 1 camera, this is the 1. It does make you want better glass, as it's using the corners more and the higher resolution benefits more from sharper glass. The video from it is fantastic, though focus is hard to attain at larger apertures. I have just ordered a Z-Finder in hopes it will make focusing easier. I love prime lenses and shallow depth of field and for those purposes, this camera is the clear choice over the 7D. If you are looking for sports and wildlife (particularly birding) the 7D may be the better choice. This camera can still provide great results in those conditions, but I don't think those things were a focus when they were designing this camera. Scratch up another $1500 for the new 5D Mark III if you want it all. If you want the best results for portraits, candids and landscapes that you can get for a reasonable hobby-ist price, this thing is the way to go.A few reasons I pick this up over the 7D are:- slightly better overall image quality.- slightly better depth of field control.- about 1 stop better (lower) noise at high ISO's.If these things are a consideration for you, I don't think you'll be disappointed picking this over the 7D. Like I said, if you can afford it, I'm sure the 5D3 is the best of both worlds. But for less money, I've got 2 bodies that do everything I need. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this for the conditions I outlined above.

The Canon Mark II is great camera but the item pictured here by Amazon is a Mark III... I intend on buying the Mark II but not at the Mark III pricetag. ;)

This camera was an upgrade from the original Canon EOS 5D 12.8 MP Digital SLR Camera (Body Only) which I loved. I never thought the image quality could be improved upon enough to warrant $2,500 to upgrade, but I was wrong. It was still painful to plop down this much money since I am only a serious amateur, but it turned out to be SO worth it. I'm not ready to completely give up my old 5D though and still use it as a 2nd camera body.First off, the image quality has to be seen to be believed when coupled with "L" quality lenses (non-L lenses will show numerous flaws). Low light performance alone makes the upgrade worth it: Virtually noise-free up until ISO 800 (barely noticeable), starting around ISO 1000 (acceptable) and really doesn't become bothersome until around ISO 4000 or so. If you use a good noise control program like Noise Ninja or others, you can get away with even higher ISO's.I coupled this camera with a Lexar Professional Series 16 GB 300x UDMA CompactFlash Memory Card CF16GB-300-381 and the write speed is almost instant, even though the camera is moving 20+ MB of data with each shot. I would recommend a card reader though, because going directly from camera to computer can be slow.The new menu system is 100 times better than the old one, very easy to go from tab-to-tab rather than all the scrolling of the old menu system, and you can find your selection much faster. The true VGA LCD screen on the back is a VERY welcome change. Larger and brighter, you'll notice it self-adjust the brightness when you're outside too. Live-view is awesome! I've been using it in my macro and studio work for razor sharpness and it's made my poor eyes much happier than all the squinting. I had a pirate eye-patch for doing that work with my old 5D.The dust-reducing facilites are another welcome change. I had to clean my sensor before every important shoot with the old model. I've had the 5D MK II for about 3 months now and have yet to clean the sensor on it. Dust will still adhere to the underside of the focusing screen, but easily blown off with your Giottos AA1900 Rocket Air Blaster Large (Black).Finally the resolution. I've been able to take wildlife shots at some distance, and crop out the subject and still have a superior quality photo. It's really added a lot of flexibility for composition in post-production. I have successfully printed up to 24x36 with absolutely no distortion at all using Alien Skin's Blow-UP 2 Software. It's my belief you could easily do a perfect 11x14 or 12x18 straight out of the camera though.Some people love the Digital Photo Professional software that comes with it, but my personal preference is Photoshop. Note that if you're still using CS3 or before you will need to convert the CR2's from the 5D MK II using Adobe's DNG converter (free download from Adobe) or upgrade to at least CS4.I am currently using this camera with the optional Canon BG-E6 Battery Grip for Canon 5D Mark II Digital SLR and 2 batteries in the grip. Battery life with this combination is amazing. I can easily go weeks between charges, and an easy menu on the camera gives detail on battery life. The incremental battery life indicator on the top window is a lot more accurate than the old 5D.It's just my preference but I disagree with the reviewers who say there should be a pop-up flash on camera. This camera is pro level quality and as any serious amateur or pro will tell you, built-in flashes are useless. In combination with my Canon Speedlite 580EX II Flash for Canon EOS Digital SLR Cameras it's a winning combination for flawless flash photographs with no red-eye and no harsh shadows when bounced. If you're going to spend this much on a camera, a good speedlight is a must.The latest firmware version 2.0.4 fixes some bugs and improves movie performance so if your new model doesn't have that version, it's a free download from Canon. I do not have experience with movie mode yet, so I will update this review later on that.I'm still have a bit of sticker-shock, but after using this camera awhile, it seems more an investment. Once you see the quality, it should alleviate your pain.

I just graduated from a 60D to a 5D mark II. This is one of the best full frame cameras on the market. I will continue to use this camera for years to come.

I upgraded from a t2i to this camera. Things to notice if you also have a t2i:the auto focus on the 5d seems slower and worse in low lightthe iso performance to 6400 is incredible on the 5d, not so good on t2imaximum AUTO iso on t2i is 6400, on mark ii its 3200 and you cant change itmagic lantern is on t2i and coming to 5d5d is a lot heavier and slightly larger, but feels like a rock compared to the plastic t2ithe LCD screen on the t2i is leagues better for reviewing images.t2i batter lasts longer*****t2i recognizes when you are looking through viewfinder, and turns off lcd to preserve battery5d resolution is higher and its full frame(no 1.6 crop)buttons on t2i are place betterno flash on 5d60 FPS in 720p on t2i vs 30fps 1080p 5d2CF cards on 5d are extremely expensive and harder to find______EDIT____I have only used the 5d2 for a few days when I wrote this review from lots of testing but realize I was technically wrong for the battery life. Since the t2i auto turns off screen when you look through the viewfinder(and 5d2 doesn't), the t2i saves a lot of battery.But after playing around with the top lcd on the 5d2, I found that it displays all you need in a very basic way. It lets you view the iso, shutter speed, f stop, metering mode, battery and pictures left which is all you really need. You have to memorize the different symbols for metering mode though. After getting comfortable, I just turned off the LCD on the 5d2(which makes it black/turned off but turns on after you take pictures or when you want to review).The results were quite incredible. Paired with the 30 second auto turn off time, I started taking pictures at 8am and it lasted until 1:30am with 50% life left. I even shot with a 32GB card and took 700~ pictures with no flash and in low light(with in camera noise reduction enabled).The only thing I miss is the camera mode on the top LCD. I taped my camera so none of the white parts appear to make it more subtle(instead of a big shiny camera with white reflecting all over)

I already had a Canon 5D body that I have used for about six years and have loved. This was just an upgrade...which I am already starting to thoroughly enjoy. I haven't had it much more than a month but so far no surprises. It is a great up grade for me.

I previously owned a T1i (500D), having upgraded to a full frame, I can say two definitive things:1. The view finder is _much_ bigger and brighter. I still feel my father's canon film slr (FtB) has a better viewfinder, but this is a big step up over the cramp and dim viewfinder in the T1i. This is especially noticeable for someone wearing glasses, as the extra distance often removes the stats on the bottom of the viewfinder from view.2. Better ISO performance. When I view at 100% crop, the difference isn't that great. But when viewing the whole image, I can tell this gives me 2-3 stop of extra ISO before the noise ruins the image. So now I can confidently go from 800 on the T1i to 3200-6400 on the 5D as my default indoor/low light shoot. It's very necessary as I just went from a 17-50 2.8 to a 17-40 f/4 lens, so I lost a stop of light along the way.Otherwise, I think the AF is a little worse, it can't focus in low contrast very well, even on f/1.4. The extra setting is nice to play with, like color temp adjustment, extra custom settings that you get with the 6XD and 7D as well.

I've had my Cannon 5D Mark II with the kit 24-105 lens for over 2 years now...and I've loved it.The images I get are really beautiful...owing more to the camera than my skills as a photographer.It handles low light extremely well so I don't even own a flash for it.That big 21.1 megapixel full frame CMOS produces huge raw images...so you can zoom in quite a bit on them and crop and still have a large, high resolution image.The video quality is excellent...which just makes this camera all the more valuable...it's like getting 2 for the price of one.Like anything there are downsides of course. And as other reviews have already pointed out...the 5D auto-focus often won't work at all in very low light situations...and then won't allow a picture to be taken. So you'd have to be in manual focus to get an image.Then the 5D leaves manual focusing up to what you see in the viewfinder or screen. Since my vision ain't perfect, and especially in low light, this means I struggle to find focus.I had a Nikon that had focus rings in the lens as an aid for focus...that really helped and it's one thing I miss with this camera.Otherwise there is little else to really quibble about.I struggled 2 years ago making the decision about spending so much on a camera...but now 2 years on...it was a good decision about a great camera.If you'd like to see some images I took with this camera...see my Amazon profile and follow the link to my website where I've posted a few.

This camera is my favorite, go-to camera. It's light, well-designed and durable and of course takes extremely high quality pictures.

First, you can buy the body for 2600 from most stores/online, I dont know why Amazon is charging 3K.Let me give a quick rundown so you know where I am coming from. I am a serious amateur, did film photography (developed my own film:-) ) for 1 year in HS, then took 5-6 years camera free, and the last 3-4 years with a 30D. I like to shoot anything really: landscapes, macro and plants (my favorites), followed by animals, birds (70/30 rest vs flight), and people/portraits. No sports. I prefer B&W. I use the camera for my own enjoyment/photography practice and at parties and school club events, and lots of travel. It gets a pretty well rounded tour of duty. I had from a 30D before, which I loved. So let me get to the nitty gritty.(BTW, if you are looking for pixel peeping, you won't get it here. I'm looking to add a more detail and subjective feel of using the camera, and answer the questions I had before I bought. I shoot primes and have 2Ls, so IQ is limited by my skill. I have slightly more money than sense, and I am very anal about noise and IQ.)I've had the 5D mkII for about 2-3 weeks and have only taken about 100-150 images with it I would say. Sorry, I've been busy!#Image Quality/MegapixelsOut of this world. The images look very, very real. I don't know what else to say. Smooth colors and grades. Deep blacks. Colors comes out just how I remember them. Noise performance is great, super clean until 800, even 1600 ISO (by my standards. I used to hate anything above 400).. It is clearly aimed at people who like to print large, hi-res, fine art style work. Unfortunately the noise is that weird Canon stuff, but its not as bad as I feared, and could pass for film grain. I can shoot handheld indoors with very good results. 21 megapixels is WAY more than I want; but I can crop to my hearts content and still print big! I can actually crop images to "the exact same" frame that my 30D would have taken and have more MP... thats actually what pushed me over the edge to buy. Unforutately my 2.4 Ghz imac converts the RAW files very slowly. Editing is still fast enough. There is some debate online that as printers are able to print at higher and higher dpi, higher MP counts may make a difference. I agree with this, but only insofar as a medium format vs 35mm difference; 8mp will always look great at the common print sizes. PS: Canon, hire some of Nikons engineers to fix the look of your noise....#AF systemIt would have been nice to have new one, but my 30D AF never really failed me, and this is basically the same. For the money I would have REALLY liked to have the upgrade. Yet since it never hindered me before, and I don't shoot sports or BIF often, it's ok by me. People really complain about this, but seriously...the nine points system IS old, but it works and works well enough. To be honest I would rather have the last iteration of a proven AF than the first generation of a new one.#Build qualityThe slightly bigger size feels much more balanced, and "right", than the 30D. My 30D went shooting at glaciers, rain forest, jungle, and forests and in snow, rain, heavy fog, sand etc etc and didn't miss a beat, albeit in only 3 years. With upgraded seals, I have no doubts about this 5DII. The "real" weather seal of the 1D would be great, but I don't go shooting in downpours or sandstorms.#Full frame vs 1.6I really miss my 1.6 free zoom factor, especially when it comes to macro. A lot of my shooting is "screwed up" now, and I have to readjust. But it feels good to be so wide and landscapes are looking great. I'm gonna pick up a long zoom and I should be fine. It is mostly hard to adjust because the 100mm macro on the 1.6 was a real joy to use (BTW, that lens has given me the most keepers per dollar of anything, buy one if you are debating it).#Movie mode/live viewLive view is great for macro. The video capability is great and very fun, and it is easy to focus manually with the large screen. I was concerned about having to focus in movie mode, but I like it more than the AF. Even on camcorders the AF isn't great. I guess I might use it video once in a while sitting in the airport or for Grandpa blowing out the candles. The video looks great, having the lens capability and shallow DoF is cool...but I barely have enough time to edit my photos, let alone a video. All jokes aside, its useful and nice and a welcome addition; its better to have than not, especially for quick little moments.#Odds and Ends-The viewfinder is great. I really feel like I am looking through the lens; my 30D feels like a peephole now.-The AF matrix looks smaller to me, but I can't be certain. I don't know if the spread stays the same as the sensor size increases, but it certainly feels like it.-AF micro adjust lets me be sure my lenses are spot on (5/7 were), the dust shake is nice too.-RF remote capability is a plus-Rear screen is sharp sharp sharp!-Its great to have more battery bars; the life is excellent, and now more accurate.-Finally, I don't have a

I have been a 5D owner since it came out about 5 years ago. It is still a wonderful camera today. I purchased the 5D MKII mainly for it's video capability. Before I even started using the video, I put it to work in my domain, architectural still photography. To my surprise even without a grip it felt better for some reason. The viewfinder is sooooo much better. I was aware of some other changes with the CMOS sensor. One of my first shots made me a believer. Deeper and richer dynamic range. I feel it's a step closer to a more film like rendition. The menu is a bit more of a curve than I anticipated.. All in all of the photo options and improved quality are a valid improvement. The price on Amazon was one of the best I could find for a reliable supplier after much research. The following is not a review but a warning! I was on DPReveiw and a list of vendors came up while reading the review of the 5D MKII with a note to support our sponsors. I clicked Best Price Photo Com. The price was offered in the $1,879, I checked Resellers Ratings Com and they had an excellent rating so I ordered the 5D MKII from them. 2 days later they called to "verify" my order and "skillfully" as in slickly offered some other add ons which I declined. Then he slickly asked why I ordered the import model. I said I didn't, he said I did. My screenshots confirmed that they DID advertise the USA model number. Heres that catch about Resellers Ratings. They don't post information about cancelled orders. Best Price Photo is aware of this and they know that anyone with a brain will cancel once they are aware of the scam and not be able to post a negative review about them on ResellerRatings. BTW, BPP did offer me a special price for a USA model that was less than what I paid for here at Amazon. So why did I pay more? I can answer it in one word "Trust", Amazon Yes, BestPricePhoto NO! My recommendation buy this camera from a reputable company.

very nice my daughter very much so loved it,with all her heart yes, I'm so glad i took the timeto search it out to find the best possible price thanks so much we have nothing but the best fromyou,thanks so very much

I gave this 4 stars because the video suffers from moire and noisy iso in low light conditions. It also has no headphone jack!!!!It might cost more, but the new Canon EOS 5D Mark III does have a headphone jack, better low light capabilities, in camera HDR, more focus points, less shutter lag, shoots faster, and has two storage slots, instead of only one in the Mark ii.Believe me you'll be happy you bought a Mark III instead of a Mark II!!!

The 5D Mark II represents the future of digital SLR photography/videography. I was fortunate to purchase my kit with the EF 24-105 f/4L at its actual list price of $3,499 through Amazon and sold by 6 Ave Electronics on December 29, 2008. That offer was only available for about 6 hours. Now that I have used the camera for 6 months, I would even now pay a significant premium over the list price to have it. In my opinion it is worth much more than the list price in terms of advancements in low-light, low-noise and quick exposure setting features. It also has markedly improved picture quality over all other Canon DSLRs with the exception of the 1Ds Mark III ($7,000 street) which it at least matches.This camera isn't perfect. The 5D Mark II does have a lower frame rate than some other very fine cameras at 3.9 frames per second. Nevertheless, this frame rate has been fine for my purposes, including wildlife and bird photography. I am able to catch hummingbirds in flight. Unless you are a professional sports or action photographer there is simply no need to consider the much more expensive 1 series camera bodies.I would have preferred more focus points than the 9 visible and 6 invisible points this camera provides, though in normal lighting conditions there has been no problem getting fast, accurate focus. In very low light where the shot requires an ISO of 3200 or 6400 and no flash, the camera does sometimes have trouble, especially with moving or flat, low-contrast subjects. But considering that we wouldn't even be able to get an essentially noise-free image with another camera at these settings it seems a small criticism.This camera also lacks an internal flash. Some people may feel this to be a loss, but with the extraordinary low-light capability of the 5D Mark II I haven't missed this feature at all. When I want to use a flash I can easily attach one, and that seems to be a rare event now. The ability to capture low light images without the exposure problems flash often causes is an enormous improvement for me. And when I need a flash I always have my 580 EX II available, though it does add some weight to this body.The high resolution of this camera will show up flaws in any attached lens. Thus, you are going to have to use high quality glass to get the most out of the body. Those who are not able or willing to make an investment in "L" quality lenses would probably be just as happy with a 50D or similar bodies from other manufacturers. On the other hand, this camera's ability to register most Canon lenses and eliminate problems like peripheral illumination has proven remarkable during my use.Notably, there are many other improvements over the original 5D, which was a wonderful camera that many people would still be very happy with. The Mark II's new display is outstanding; while a few other cameras now offer the same 3 inch high resolution LCD, the new display allows the user to enlarge the image enough to get a very good idea of what the final image will look like in print. When using auto ISO settings the camera makes very good choices to capture the best image possible. In fact, the algorithms this camera's DIGIC 4 processor uses for all its settings seem superior to any of the others I have looked at. And if you don't like the choices the camera makes, it is completely customizable, including 3 user settings on the main control knob.Then too, you do have to read the manual and take time to learn the many controls and settings that are available. I am convinced that several of the negative reviews on this site are simply the result of not understanding the full capabilities of this camera. For example comments about the "sharpness" of photos fail to take into account that the camera comes with certain sharpness settings by default, but that these can be changed and images sharpened to an almost garish degree. Other comments about supposed failings of different portrait mode settings or white balance adjustments likewise seem not to recognize that nearly every setting on this camera can be modified to match the operator's desires. This is a highly advanced instrument which requires some study before taking it out into the field.One way to judge a camera body is by the people who choose to use it. The outstanding professional photographer and professor of photography, Pete Souza was named official Whitehouse photographer earlier this year; his history-making first digital official Presidential portrait of President Obama was made using a 5D Mark II. Numerous photo journalists, wedding and event photographers and others who make their living with their equipment are using 5D Mark II bodies. I am also seeing this camera being used more and more by sports photographers, despite its 3.9 fps rate.I have said nothing about the video capability. This was not a reason for my purchase, but I have been impressed by the quality of the videos this camera produces. I did not at first recognize what a game changer high

I recently upgraded to the 5d Mark II from a Rebel T3i. I was considering purchasing the mark III, but the added cost was a large part in my decision to buy the II. I usually use the center AF point to focus an then recompose, and am not a sports photographer so the AF system on the mark 3 was not a huge plus. There are several other small things that are a little annoying that are fixed in the mark III (mic jack) but not enough to justify the additional $1400 premium to get them.

Anyone who knows about this camera knows its great! Bought this to use for more professional jobs like weddings and portraits and I cant say enough how much better this is that what I previously had! Yes I could have bought the 5d3 or 6d but for the price with a lens I at 2499 I was more than happy and will be for a long time. Oh and it was more fun buying this brand new and opening it and being the first person to use it (I used to only buy used camera equipment)

I purchased this camera to upgrade my gear. At the time I was shooting with a Canon Rebel Xsi. A few years with that, I was looking for something with lots more power and control... Without spending Mark III money.I can't see myself going back to a cropped sensor camera. This camera is a solid build. Feels great to hold. The images look fantastic, sharp and clear. This camera is great for low light situations too.

If you are a canon user with a significant investment in L-Glass from previous crop bodies, you will want to consider getting this camera or the next iteration of it. This is a full frame camera that provides great resolution for awesome cropping or wide angle shots. Although the current AF system is old, it is still very good. You will need to make sure your glass and body are at their optimum calibration as it is possible that even new out of the box to be slightly off. The factory will calibrate any Canon products within the first year for free. I suggest that you take them up on the deal. The only cost is your shipping to them. They are fast and good at what they do. Be aware that every lens can be off in either direction from zero being a front or back focussing issue. The body itself can be off, so do make sure the setup is right before doing any comparisons. All EOS models now offer micro adjustments to limit the need for sending out for calibration if you don't have the ability to part with your equipment for a few days.The 5D Mark II takes stunning crisp photos. I've tested with 24-70 2.8L USM, 70-200 2.8L USM, 50mm 1.4, 85mm 1.8 with very good results. The HD video is a bonus. The lack of autofocus is not the worst trade off. The option to take clips of video when needed is nice though.If you are on the fence about brand to choose and have not invested to much in one brand or another, do look into both Nikon, and Canon for the best options for you. The extra focus points are really nifty on the d700, but the lack of resolution and HD video option on the canon side is a big plus. Those moving up from existing Canon Digitals will appreciate the faster and more accurate focus that comes with all 9 points being in focus with hidden focus point assisting the crisp focus to the corners. I'm very pleased with this model and the options for indoor and outdoor shooting. ISO is so good that 3200 is better than 1600 on my 50D. The only issues I've had are with the slower continuous shooting FPS, and the flimsy shutter sound that does not inspire confidence in comparison to my 50D's fast and bold thuds. Ironically, the 5D2's capable of locking on to the targets in low light even with a delayed shutter will capture action more reliably than the 50D. I shoot a lot of indoor night shots in poorly lit gyms that the 5D2 outshines the 50D on the keeper rate with the identical lenses. The 50D has become my outdoor maximum reach tool. Even then the crops from the 5D2's are better. Its just the case where I carry the contrasting distance lenses to avoid missing shots altogether.A great camera that is up there with the really high end SLR's with a much lower entry level. Glass is still expensive but you can keep that for ever if you take care of it.Edit:After several years of pure magic from this camera and replacing the 50D with a 7D. The 7D is the next best thing to the 5D2 when the 5D3 is not an economical addition to your gear. The 5D2 has an incredible ISO range with such great image clarity, even with action shots in less than perfect lighting. Shooting side by side with the 7D has me wishing I just had 2 5D2's. This camera is the most affordable professional Full Frame camera on the market. It is still that great after all these years. Lenses go up in price, while bodies come down in price. Always get the glass first.

Yeah she started photography a couple years ago and we think that now it was the right time for here to get a great SLR.The 5D Mark II makes wonderful pictures! I really doubted that this camera would make such a big difference but it proved me wrong!!I would by it again!

I love this camera! The image quality is truly superb. Low light image sensitivity is excellent. May need to manually focus in demanding low light situations, but gives great results!Only wish shutter were quieter, but will live with it happily for all other benefits!

I bought this camera a couple of weeks ago. I already owned the first version of the EOS 5D, but I thought it would be handy to have High Def video in the same unit. Many consumer grade handy cams have the ability to shoot stills, but their still photo resolution leaves much to be desired. I would have to carry both a high quality SLR and a handy cam to be ready for both situations. When the 5D Mark II came out I saw the opportunity to get high def both ways in a single camera.Indeed it does that, but the video capabilities of the 5D Mark II are not nearly as convenient to use as almost any consumer grade camcorder at 1/3 the price. Let me be clear about what I am saying. The quality of the high def video that the 5D Mark II shoots exceeds any consumer grade camcorder I have ever seen. Capturing that video however requires both hands whereas almost any handycam is a one handed breeze due to the ergonomic placement of the controls. Not so with the 5D Mark II.You would think that to start shooting video you simply select "movies" on the mode dial and click the shutter with your right index finger and everything happens automatically from that point. Not so. Not even close. With the 5D Mark II, first you press the "live view" button. The mirror flips up and the image appears on the LCD screen. Then you find the part of the image you want to be in focus and press the AF-ON button (assuming you are using auto focus). Step 3, you press the "set" button to start recording video.In the high def mode, the camera will record up to 12 minutes in a single run while making a digital file on the memory card of about 4GB. Think about that. 4 GB for 12 minutes! One 12 minute clip would completely fill a standard single layer DVD. That's a whole lot of data! In fact neither of my Windows based computers can play it back smoothly. Even the built-in playback within the camera itself is jerky. The more motion there is in the scene, the more frames that are dropped. Even the Canon web site acknowledges that the playback "MAY" be jerky unless your computer has a certain minimum configuration. To be fair, I will say that Apple computers seem to be much better playing back these huge movie files smoothly. This camera records movies in .MOV file format. That is Apple's Quicktime software. Even though Quicktime does run in a Windows environment, it seems to work much better on a Mac. A recent test I conducted showed that a current model Macbook Pro with a 2.53 GHz Intel CPU did a very smooth playback job using Quicktime.Speaking of focus, you would hope that you simply set the camera to the full automatic mode and your auto focus lens takes care of the rest for the duration of the clip. Once again no. It doesn't work that way. The only way I found to make this camera track the focus in movie mode is to set the mode dial to one of the non automatic positions, and set the focus to the "servo" position as though you were trying to capture still images of a moving subject.Zooming? Ah yes, that is another capability that is far less convenient. Most handy cams have a built-in powered zoom that is easily operated with one finger on the same hand that is holding the camera. With the 5D Mark II, as with any quality SLR, zooming is done by reaching around to the front of the camera and rotating a lens ring. Needless to say, that can't be done smoothly if you are hand holding the camera with your other hand.With all the buttons to push and settings to remember, this is not the camera you want for shooting candid spontaneous footage in a hand held situation. To be sure it does a great job shooting video in a controlled environment mounted on a tripod with a fluid head. Without a steady mount however, this camera is best for stills if hand held.

I have had a Canon Rebel for T1i for a couple of years, before that I had a couple of the Canon G series cameras. As I have slowly worked my way up through different levels of Canon camera, I felt as if I made a huge leap from the Rebel to the 5D MkII. I decided to skip the xxd series and the xd series and go right to the top, wanting a camera that I could grow into and use for many years to come. I do not know a whole lot about cameras, but I absolutely LOVE this one! I have gotten some terrific shots already - the ISO performance truly stuns me after the T1i. I have a long way to go on my road in photography but I truly feel I have the right tool to grow with. I bought a great guide for this camera David Busch's Canon EOS 5D Mark II Guide to Digital SLR Photographyand just learning it a little at a time.I was afraid of the weight, especially with the 24-105mm lens; but it hasn't been so bad. I purchased a different neck strap Crumpler The Industry Disgrace (Brown)to help distribute the weight of the camera much better than the included strap. My biggest fear was that this would be 'too much' camera for me, but it truly is not. It has some beginner modes and the guide and information available online has gotten me a great start.So don't be afraid to go for this one - there will be no regrets if you do.

When I first heard a 21 megapixel camera would be coming out at a reasonable price (ie. not a ridiculous price like A$12,000.00) I couldn't wait to buy it. My previous camera was the EOS 1V film camera which had under-exposure problems and suddenly died a year after the warranty expired. I've had the EOS 5DII for three months now and recently took about 300 garden and landscape photos on a trip to Japan using a 28-70mm zoom. I had to work quickly because a lot of the sites we visited were very crowded. The 21 megapixels alone make this camera worth it - being able to zoom in and in and in and still use the full resolution with only a bit of sharpening is really something to behold. However, like my 1V, this camera isn't perfect and I had to fight it to get my shots exposed correctly and in focus.Other people have said that their 5DII's exposures are perfect every time but mine gave inconsistent exposure on nearly every shot I took and it seemed to favour over-exposure rather than under. If I had used a tripod I could have tried the live view mode with exposure simulation function before shooting - but for hand-held work next time I'll have to autobracket. None of the exposure modes (Evaluative, Partial, Spot, or Center-weighted metering) seemed to help in my quest to get correct exposure in one shot. Every photo had to be taken again at least three to four times for me to get the exposure right. I nearly always had to meter from the brightest part of the scene because of the light meter's tendency to over-expose but with some scenes the bright parts were too bright and I ended up under-exposed.The only downside to using 21 megapixels is that I became aware of auto-focus problems at full resolution. All of my lenses were either forward or back-focusing (at least when viewed at full resolution). Although you can fix this problem with the AF Microadjustment function for dedicated lenses like the 50mm f1.4, it will not work consistently across the entire range of a zoom lens (ie. you might be able to get it perfect for wide-angle shots but it will be out of focus on mid to telephoto shots). If you like pixel-peeping, want super-sharp focus and have the time, I would recommend that you use this camera with a tripod, set the screen to live view mode and focus manually at full resolution because auto-focus is just not accurate at high resolution.Another problem revealed by 21 megapixels is camera shake. In my case I found this particulary when using auto-ISO with aperture priority. Many of my hand-held shots with the 28-70mm zoom in low light were blurry at full resolution because of the minimal shutter speeds chosen by auto-ISO. The auto-ISO consistently chooses a shutter speed that is a little too slow for the focal length used in my opinion (ie. for my 28-70 f2.8 zoom, the auto-ISO set the shutter speed to 1/70 of a second when the lens was zoomed to 70mm). I still got camera shake and blurred photos even though theory says this shouldn't happen if the shutter speed matches the focal length of the lens. I think Canon need to update the auto-ISO on their larger megapixel cameras so that it chooses a slightly faster shutter speed. I know a lot of landscape photographers will be very critical of auto-ISO but while travelling I thought this would be a good feature to use to help save time as we often had to move quickly, taking pictures indoors and out under varying lighting conditions and this feature would have been useful - I imagine wedding photographers would be interested too.I think that digital cameras are undergoing a rapid evolution at the moment - on the one hand we have point-and-shoot models and the new "bridge" cameras which meter and auto-focus directly from the sensor and on the other we have the older SLR designs which use a mirror to reflect the image to separate auto-focus and exposure chips - a design which worked well back in the days of the first auto-focussing film cameras but which now seems out of date and ill-prepared to handle the new high resolutions on offer. Which is why Canon and others have added live view as compensation but it still has a way to go I think.Anyway, I still think I will have no trouble getting my money's worth out of this camera in the years to come.** As an update to this review - I took my 5DII to my local Canon service center where they sent if off to check the light meter. It came back recalibrated and is now exposing correctly and I'm very happy with it.

This top of the line Canon Camera along w/ the L Type lens will make any photographer into a pro in no time. Great combo price!

From all the reviews posted here recently, you know a lot of consumers complained about Canon 5D Mark II's quality and features. As a previous owner of Canon T1i,7D, and now the 5D mark II,I can say clearly that you DON'T need to "upgrade" to 5D Mark II until you REALLY know what you need and what you don't. 5D Mark II is NOT suitable for everyone. Actually, in most conditions, it's just a "downgrade" choice especially for 7D owners. For shutter speed, build-in flash, autofocus, metering, menus and a lot of advanced new technical specifications, 5D feels like an old generation toy, it's not even comparable with 7D. I'd suggest that you should seriously consider 7D rather than 5D Mark II, if you are the one who likes shooting sports, social events, family activities, travel and normal landscape pictures. That's say, 7D maybe the BEST camera for 90% photo enthusiasts. But 5D Mark II is solely for the "rest of us" who are searching for the camera of best available picture sharpness and best color capture at an relative affordable price. I'd say 5D Mark II is NOT made for general consumers, is made for serious landscape, architecture, advertising, commercial, publishing photographers and advanced amateurs. 5D Mark II lacks a lot of cutting-edge features which are very important for most customers, if you are one of them, you'll certainly not satisfied with its old generation of functions; but for me, all the cutting-edge features are not as important as 5D mark II's full frame sensor which enables me capture the widest range of lights and colors when I meet the once in a lifetime scenery. Other than the FF sensor, I think the 2nd most important feature of 5D Mark II is that I can now take full advantage of my L lenses, I don't need any more to consider the 1.6x crop factor which reduces enormously the ultra wide angle features when using 7D. In short, 5D Mark II's Pros and Cons in my opinion: Pros: 1. Full Frame Sensor - As good as 1Ds Mark III; 2. Possibility To Take Full Usage of L Lenses At Their Original Focus Range. 3. Very Good Low Light Performance And Usable Higher ISO Until 3200; 4. Much Better Dynamic Range - With just one shoot of RAW you can get a very good HDR. Cons: Almost All Other Features Are Inferior To 7D even 60D. So the most important thing before to buy it, ask yourself if you REALLY need 5D Mark II?Update 12/29/2010: After almost 2 months use of 5D Mark II, I'm absolutely satisfied with its picture quality(sharpness,color saturation, low light performance). A lot of my landscape pitctures taken with 5D Mark II look like Pro class postcards and I feel more confident to my ability even I'm only an amateur. It's absolutely an invaluable investment.

This camera is amazing. I shoot 90% video and the low light quality is very impressive. You can't go wrong

In real world and in the studio, I'm shocked at the image quality difference from my old 5D I bought 4 years ago. I'm kicking myself for not buying this earlier. Color fidelity, contrast, sharpness, color balance, focusing all better. I'm surprised that the extra resolution really did help. The large files have a lot of headroom for mistakes.While most reviews for this type of item are rationalizing a large purchase, here it goes anyway. When I first purchased the camera, I had cold feet and was ready to return because of the price. But after 2 months, I would buy it again even if I broke it.Alternatives are really overrated. Nikon has a far more aggressive marketing team than in the past that exaggerates differences, so take what you read with a grain of salt. Lots of people are drinking Nikon Kool-Aid right now and defend them to the death. Overall Canon is a better SYSTEM, although I openly admit things I like better about Nikon: button layout, viewfinder, body design, built in infrared flash control, built in flash, and the 14-24mm lens. But other things: low resolution alternatives, poor third party support (pocketwizard and adobe raw), overprices lenses with no midprice alternatives, poor video or no video, etc. For instance, Canon makes a 17-40L for much less than the 16-35L. A 70-200 4 IS or no IS, 70-200 2.8 IS or no IS. Nikon only makes the expensive versions, which is why I always see Nikon owners with cheap lenses or mid-prices Sigma Lenses. Canon owners almost always have Canon lenses. Anyway:Pros:-Outrageous RAW headroom for mistakes, far beyond the 5Dmk1. In outdoor portraits with strobes, I can still get a high quality images when the strobes don't fire and leave me with a -2ev shot. When making outrageous changes in Photoshop, files respond beautifully. RAW files are monstrous, however.- Picture quality out of camera saves serious time in photoshop.- The screen is finally useful in judging exposure. You can clearly see if the skin tones are over and under exposed, hotspots in a poor lighting setup, etc. You'll still see more detail in shadows on the computer, however.- ISO sensitivity: one of the best today. I shot out of a car window at twilight in a spooky looking town and got amazing shots at 6400+. I shoot more for fun since I've had this camera.-Great customization and cool menu controls.-I laughed at video but am starting to use it regularly at weddings. Amazing quality of expensive video cameras. Tricky to learn with autofocus. Must use a tripod.- Even more detail out of my lenses (except 100-400)- Everything improved from old 5D- Much better image quality than 1Ds Mkii and iii.- Canon lenses a much better value than Nikon.Cons- MINUS ONE STAR - second position of power switch was broke when arrived, so I couldn't use any manual features. Had to order a new one.-Pre-planned obsolescence; just look at the 7D with built in speedlight control, extra video switch, auto-focus system, pitch-leveler, 1.0 viewfilder, etc. The sensor on this thing is still WAY better, and I needed another camera body now. But, it has features such as video that are way ahead of the competition.- File size is getting ludicrous, especially when you need to export to TIFF, but WORTH IT. Unlike 7D and others, however, that extra file size actually has way more detail. Other high MP cameras can't justify their file sizes. sRaw not much smaller.-My 100-400mm L Canon lens cannot keep up with this high mp, full frame camera. Your worst glass will look REALLY BAD with this camera. Even sigma lenses look better. Looks much better on an APS-C.-I still sometimes miss the focusing system on my old 20D. Maybe I'll buy a 7D for bird shooting. People really exaggerate the differences in focusing systems, but it honestly could use improvement.-Viewfinder not as good as Nikon's or Canon 7D.Notes: shoots with 17-40 4L, 24-70 2.8L, 70-200mm 2.8 IS L, 100-400mm L, Lensbaby, Sigma 12-24mm fullframe,

I shot 35mm film ages ago, but stopped when the cost of purchasing film and processing fees became prohibitive. I have been a photographer in one form or another for nearly 20 years. I decided that I definitely wanted to go digital, but was not happy with any of the cropped sensor bodies available at the time (early 2000's). When the 1Ds and 5D models first became available, I drooled, but couldn't justify the amount of money. So I waited. Along came the 5D Mark II (or as we say in the software industry, version 2.0) The price was lower than the original 5D and the quality and speed were even better then the now-three year old model. I saved my pennies and nickels for a while and finally purchased one!From the moment I picked up the demonstrator model in the store, I knew this was the camera for me. Well balanced, large view-finder, and *gasp* video! I'm not much of a videographer, but seriously, taking HD clips with a prime lens on a full-frame sensor is just insane!Pros:- Low-light performance has to be seen to be believed. I'm sure you have heard the hype, but it's not hype. You really can take reasonable pictures in much darker rooms than you ever thought possible.- Well balanced in your hands- Simple menu system that does not require an engineering degree to use.- Image quality (IQ) that simply blows away everything else in its class.- Price is actually reasonable for what you get; hundreds less than the competition.- Video!Cons:- The IQ is _too_ good. You can actually tell the difference between pictures taken with "L" glass and those that were not.- Frame rate isn't great for sports. If this is your intended use, look at the 7D or 1D.- Video limited in odd ways. Then again, this is a DSLR, not a camcorder.In spite of what I just said about taking pictures with "L" glass, this camera is perfectly serviceable with regular lenses. Just realize that they are "consumer" grade and will have issues when shot wide open or when at the minimum or maximum of the zoom range. That said, the "nifty fifty" (50mm f/1.8) that sells for around $100 takes astonishingly good pictures.If you're just starting out, the lenses that I would recommend buying with this body are:17-40mm f/4 L - Eye-popping landscapes. The 16-35mm f/2.8 L is a stop faster, but neither lens will see much indoor use as you would have to be mere inches away from your subject to fill the frame. The extra stop also doubles the price with little benefit in the scenarios that it is likely to be used. At 2.8 the faster lens is quite soft, and the image quality in general is not quite as good. Save your money and get the 17-40. You won't be sorry!24-70mm f/2.8 L - Fantastic walk-around lens. The 24-105mm f/4 that comes in the 5DMkII kit has more reach and is image stabilized, but I still prefer the speed of the 24-70. You can do more with it in lower light sitations.70-200mm f/2.8 L - The IS version of this lens is silly expensive, but the standard version shares the same glass with its brother. For portraits and weddings, you cannot have a finer lens. The f/4 cousins are smaller and lighter. If you plan to shoot outdoors most of the time where there is sufficient light, then you should be fine with it. Indoors you will find yourself using a flash more often, even with the IS version of the f/4. The bokeh from the f/2.8 is noticeably better too.50mm f/1.8 or f/1.4 - The "L" version of this lens is f/1.2 and about $1k more. It's soft at f/1.2 and shoots its best at f/1.4 and higher. The "L" glass _is_ better than its cheaper cousins, but is it really worth it? This is one of the rare cases where there is little need to buy the "L" version. Buy the f/1.4 for $350 or the f/1.8 for $100 and enjoy it.

First the good...If you're looking for an excellent, full-frame DSLR, the 5D Mk2 is very, very good. It's at least 1 full F-stop more sensitive to light than my Canon 1DS Mk2. A setting of ASA 800 or 1000 yields about the same noise level as my older camera at ASA 400. It's autofocus system is very fast and accurate on single shot mode. (I don't think EF-L series lenses are capable of faster focus action.)The new LCD screen is gorgeous. 3" diagonal with 900,000+ pixels. It's possibly the best quality LCD screen ever put on a DSLR. The menus are easier to understand and navigate than the 1DS Mk2's menus. "Live View" is an excellent way to do critical focusing. If you've never used a DSLR with live view, you'll love it. The only negative of live-view is that it really drains your battery and it can only be used for a certain length of time before the CMOS imager circuitry heats up, adding noise to the image. (In real-life typical shooting, overheating is not a problem and besides the camera will auto cancel live-view if it senses an over temperature condition.)The huge 21 mega-pixel RAW images are excellent. The camera uses an updated variant on Canon's .CR2 RAW format so if you use an older version of Adobe's Lightroom or Photoshop for image processing, you'll need the latest Lightroom 2.2 or Photoshop CS4 to get the proper RAW converter. I've personally never liked the included software for RAW image processing, but many people are happy with it.The auto-exposure system seems very accurate... more accurate than my 1DS Mk2.I never experienced any "black dot" phenomenon. But I've only shot RAW images at less than 1200 ASA. The "black dot" sample images that I've seen on the internet look like simple, in-camera, over-enhancement of highlights. Besides, unless you're shooting sports at night or are part of a CSI team, who shoots at 3200+ ASA anyway? If you're doing a night shot of a city use a tripod, a longer exposure, and a lower ASA. This will yield rich, clean blacks and much higher detail in highlights. Also, although JPEG's are much smaller, every professional photographer that I know shoots only RAW images.I ordered the camera with the optional BG-E6 battery grip. This grip makes the camera taller and easier to hold. It allows simultaneous use of 2 Canon lithium batteries or 6- AA alkaline or rechargeables. It's a very valuable accessory to consider.Now the bad...I primarily purchased the camera for its ability to shoot great looking 1080P HD video for commercial TV projects. I thought it would be a great source for "B-Roll" cutaways and inserts.The biggest single problem in the video mode is that you have no control over iris, ISO setting, or shutter speed. There's an exposure lock button that will lock the exposure variables to whatever the LCD displays at the time you press the button. There are no on-screen indicators that show the settings that the camera has chosen for you. The only control you have is the color temperature setting. Basically, you pan the camera around in the scene and let the brightness float up and down. When you see what you think is a good exposure on the rear LCD screen, you press the lock button. Since the exposure lock resets after each scene or take, chances are you won't have consistent exposures over multiple takes of a particular scene.Working with the auto exposure system can sometimes be difficult. I was shooting with my 85mm F1.2 lens. By looking at the iris, it appeared the camera had decided to only open the lens to about an F2.8 and use a much higher ISO setting than necessary to achieve proper exposure. By pointing the camera to some very dark shadows, the iris fully opened. I then panned back to my original scene which appeared to be much cleaner and free of noise. You really need to be able to manually set the ISO & F-stop when shooting video.I adjusted the camera's custom settings to lower the detail enhancement and contrast. These controls effect the quality of jpeg stills but seem to have no effect on a video recording.The camera only records at 30.00fps, not 29.97fps. This tiny .03fps difference means that you have to alter each file's header, using a program such as Apple Cinema Tools, before you can edit 5D footage into a normal, broadcast 1080P/1080i, 29.97fps timeline. Failure to do this header alteration requires setting up a 30.00fps timeline or rendering every 5D scene on your 29.97fps timeline which yields periodic skipped frames.There is no 24P (23.98) setting. As far as I'm concerned, there is no logical reason that Canon chose 30.00fps instead of 29.97fps. No broadcast TV or film standard operates at 30.00fps. Maybe Canon will correct this with a future firmware update. Please note that if you're only shooting high quality videos for web release, the 30.00fps speed won't present a problem.To simulate the film-like cadence of a movie camera's 180 degree shutter at 30.00fps, the 5D Mk2's shutter should be set to 1/60 of a second exposure time. There

If you are heavily invested in Canon and own lots of their lenses, then your decision will be whether to buy the Canon 5D 1, or the new Canon 5D 2. In this regard, I would say the 5D 2 is the way to go because of increased ISO sensitivity, higher resolution, etc etc.VIDEO?PLEASE do not buy this camera because of the video because you will most assuredly be disappointed. I too was wowed by watching the various videos circulating on the web... but beware that the best quality video is that taken with fast prime lenses (e.g. max aperture f 1.4). The camera in indoor lighting often prefers to open the aperture wide allowing more light in... sounds great... problem is that its all manual focus.. so you have a paper thin depth of field.. which can create artistic effects, but for any real home video, you would spend all your time concentrating on focusing back and forth. If you are the type of person who is interested enough to spend a lot of time and effort to create short video clips (e.g. commercials etc), then this is nice... but if you're thinking, great, I won't need my camcorder... you're going to have one sore focusing finger.Not only that, I used to think the rolling shutter artifact was just people whining.. beware that it is not a minor artifact that bothers videophiles, it is a very real strange video artifact that can sometimes be very distracting and it can be present not just in panning, but also on still video.Shutter is still loud as hell, same as the 5D 1. AF is still very obsolete, like the 5D 1.That said, it is a great camera with wonderful quality, excellent resolution, and if you are a Canon guy/gal, you want this.----If you are NOT a Canon guy/gal, consider the alternative. The Nikon D700. The advantage of the D700 is primarily in the greater more sophisticated 51 point 3d autofocus, which is essential for taking pics of moving objects well, such as kids. Even the most advanced camera in the world will be ridiculed if it can't focus well (ahem, 1d mark iii initially).Problems with the D700, choice of lenses is somewhat less than for Canon but obviously there are still plenty of lenses to choose from.. no video, that is minor since the video from the 5dii is not tremendously easy or useful.PROS 5D II:High megapixel for printing large postersStunning HD Video when its goodWide choice of lensesCONS 5D II:HD video difficult to use due to manual focus, all other settings autoLoud shutter, hard to blend into background when shutter is that obnoxiousAF horribly obsolete, same as old 5D, shame on you CanonPROS D700:Advanced modern AF, same as on top modelsQuiet shutterReviews show better build quality and better ergonomics (I find both to be almost equal though)CONS D700:Lens choices slightly less"Only" 12 megapixel, only problematic for very large postersNo video-------------------In the end, I returned the 5D mark ii and bought a D700 because I take pictures of live moving subjects, and AF is crucial. I have been very pleased.Picture quality of both cameras is equal (given that they are in focus). Before buying, please read other web reviews regarding 5DII ability to autofocus.UPDATE 8/2011After looking at a lot of the comments I decided I needed to clarify some things that may have been ambiguous.1. VIDEOMy comments above speak to the average person who does not shoot for a living and is not taking video of carefully scripted situations, and is not willing to spend a lot of time to produce small clips of video. I assumed pros don't really read Amazon reviews anyway, the intended audience is the average homeowner like myself who is a camera enthusiast and may have thought that it could replace a camcorder for home video (which we all agree, it cannot).2. SHUTTER NOISEThis is obviously a very subjective thing. One common praise for Leica cameras is how "sexy" the shutter sounds. The D700 is no Leica, but the 5DII is at least double or triple the noise level (my subjective evaluation). Will a pro care, of course not. Why the heck would a pro read my review anyway? This was a very minor point that I had not seen mentioned in other reviews, and I thought it worth mentioning.3. AUTOFOCUSI have to say, after a couple years of shooting the D700, even though it's autofocus is far more advanced than the 5D1 or 2, e.g. 3D continuous tracking, I still tend to shoot and recompose with just the single point focus 80-90% of the time. When shooting older kids adults and inanimate things, this is especially the case. When shooting at 1.4, I'm also tending to even go for manual focus when possible... so while the extra abilities are definitely nice to have, they aren't quite as important as I originally thought they would be.

As a rule I work with a Canon 1D and 1Ds. I've long had my eye on the 5D, though have purchased the Rebel XTi and XSi as in the field back-up cameras and for assistants to use. I remember the same rush with price gouging by Amazon and other distributers when the XTi and XSi first became available; much less noticeable because they are lower priced cameras. It is obvious to me, at least, that the presence of price gouging taking place now over the Canon 5D is in part due to the manufacturers marketing stratagem. Such stratagem, however, may under the present economic conditions seriously back-fire. I was considering purchasing a 5D Mark II to add to my arsenal of equipment, but what about the "black spot issue", surfacing reports by new owners that the 5D Mark II picture quality is not equal to that of the original 5D even with the greater megapixel count, and adding a marginally usable video capability to what purpose? I've growing doubts about the 5D Mark II besides a profound dislike for such marketing stratagems that creates superficial demand etc. and it appears others share the same concerns. The 5D is a major product line for Canon and I'd hate to see it fail but I and others no doubt, are beginning to think Nikon! ``````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````` Addendum (2/2/09): Several months have passed and the initial storm over the new 5D mark II has passed... And the retail price of the camera has settled at around $2,7000. (body only), about $250 more then the initial retail price announced before the release of the camera. And, so you see, the price gouging continues though it's comparatively modest in the case of most reputable retailers. I doubt that the price of the camera will drop to it's original retail price until demand completely falls off and a total end of back orders comes about which may take more then a year. Note: (body only) Amazon price is 2,699 with super saver shipping and after tax (NY) totals $2,914.92...``````````I must admit to have placed an ordered for a 5D Mark II recently, myself. For the following reasons;``````````1) The "black dot" phenomenon appears to have been resolved during manufacturing before shipping. ``````````2) While some owners of the original 5D feel the Mark II's image isn't as fine as the originals', tests by periodicals are reporting that image quality is even better then that of the 1Ds Mark III, (of course there remain many reasons why the 1Ds is a superior camera, for me, most of all the advanced AF and metering system). ``````````3) With all the Canon equipment I have besides camera bodies it's impractical to switch over to Nikon besides Zeiss prime lenses for example are beginning to become available for Canon EOS cameras with EF bayonet mounts. ``````````4) A use for a 21.1 megapixal camera. (note: Eight megapixal is more then fine for most photo work. But for oversize prints and a lot of playing with RAW images a larger megapixal camera is desirable. And, for commercial reproduction, four color offset litho printing for example, at least a 12 megapixal image is required, with a need for even greater megapixil images for high quality and large to huge reproductions). ``````````5) My use for a 21.1 camera dose note require AF and in camera metering, I've other cameras for such work (I'm sure the 5D Mark II's AF and meter are probably just fine, but I've become accustomed to working with a 1D and 1Ds and the AF and metering systems of the lesser Cannon camera models, to me seem totally inadequate now). 6) Price; to be honest I can't afford the 1Ds Mark III at present but I can afford the 5D Mark II, now...! (I have a feeling that a 1Ds Mark IV is on the horizon with it's image quality tweaked at least to equal the 5D Mark II's or more likely surpass it. I think I may wait for it before purchasing another 1Ds). ~~~~~~ For the uses I have in mind the only real draw-back for me is that the 5D Mark II must be run on batteries, a Canon BG-EG Battery Grip is going to be a must have with extra sets batteries at the ready.``````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````addendum 4/6/09: I learned of the Canon ACK-E6AC Adapter Kit for the 5D Mark II, from members of Canon Forums and have ordered this AC adapter. This adapter removes the last vestiges of reservation I had, had when I first considered purchasing a 5D Mark II. Like with 1D and 1Ds cameras, this adapter allows the 5D Mark II to be powered by AC power, which saves costly batteries during long hours of in studio work while using a tripod and also during the long hours when the camera is connected to a computer for downloads, etc.~~~~~ By the way, the superior picture quality as reported by periodical reviews is true, at least my own use of the camera would in my opinion suggest it to be so. ~~~~~ At this point if it were possible I'd change my star rating of the camera to a four and a half or maybe even

This camera is a bargain at its current price - even before when I bought one. High resolution, simple menu, light, user friendly; shoot jpeg or RAW with better lenses and you can print big.

I went from a film SLR to a few of the early point-and-shoot digitals to a 10D and now a 5D Mark II. In the early days I wasn't willing to buy high-end digitals due to the ridiculously fast pace of the technology progression. The 5D II finally sold me.Generally speaking I am quite happy with the camera. It took some fiddling to get the picture quality I wanted. My 100-400mm F4 L works incredibly well and has no AF issues. My 28-105 (stock) F4 L was consistently soft on the AF but the fine focus adjustment CF fixed the issue. It was surprisingly easy to calibrate, just switch between live-mode focusing (which is very slow but perfect) and standard AF and adjust the fine focus until they match. I had go all the way to +12 on my 28-105. On a pixel-by-pixel basis there is still some slight softness looking at the raws, but it looks unavoidable considering how the RGB matrix works on a sensor, plus noise reduction (depending on the ISO one is shooting at), and it is unnoticeable on prints or reductions. Still, I can only give Canon 3 stars on the AF because while it is always perfect on zooms sometimes it is just too wonky at wider angles, and the camera's automatic AF point selection is a roll of the dice. Fortunately the AF point can be easily selected. Finally, I also noticed that the AF sometimes got in the way of shooting with the zoom or tele, where I would hit the shutter button on a fast-moving subject that was never-the-less still in focus, and the camera would decide not to take the picture. Possibly it was just the AF mode I was in, but it seemed a bit inconsistent.The only way to go is to take full RAW photos and clean them up in post-production. Canon isn't known for good auto-white-balance but it's a minor inconvenience in post. The 14-bit ADC has wonderful dynamic range. I had no problem cleaning up wedding photos taken in horrid lighting conditions (beige walls, mix of fluorescents, flash).I also purchased the wireless file transmitter (WFT-E4A). The WFT is incredibly convenient. No cables, no fuss... even if I'm not shooting in an area with internet access it's amazing how convenient it is to get it into the computer back home when I do get into range of a base station, or even once I get home.Battery life is excellent compared to earlier models. I have no complaints on that front. Both lens are excellent. I upgraded my flash as well. The 580ExII flash is excellent, far better then the 4xx series I had on my 10D. Big CF cards with UDMA are expensive but mandatory. This is not a cheap camera even if you don't count the lens. The RAWs hit 30MB and you will be unhappy if you aren't using 16G UDMA CF cards. The camera has no problem taking 500+ full blown shots on one set.Finally I am very impressed with the video capabilities. It took some messing around to get it figured out but I finally hit upon the '+' button to zoom the live-view, making manual focusing while shooting possible. Being able to adjust the exposure w/ the new camera firmware is wonderful, too! The quality is insane, I'll have to buy a faster computer to process it. It is not a camcorder so don't expect it to behave like one. It definitely works best when the subject is at a fixed focal point. Taking video with 100-400mm in stabilization mode 2 just blew me away.One thing I would love to have on this camera is the ability to set a specific auto-ISO range (e.g. 100-800, 400-1200, 800-3200, etc) and then be able to fix both Av and Tv and have the camera only adjust the ISO and flash exposure. I'm a bit miffed that Canon hasn't done something like that yet. The current auto-ISO does not work very well in any mode other then Av. So that lack plus the AF issues cause me to drop the review to 4 stars even though I think the camera's only competition is the high-end Nikon (and Nikon has its own issues).-Matt

Canon 5D Mark IINever Ever: Rent, borrow or use the Canon 5D Mark II, if you do, you will have to own it. It's that good!Pros:Crazy high ISO performanceFantastic amazing image quality you have to see to believe!Great menus, sharper, brighter, easier to read then 40DVideo, did someone say video? I love it! You will need a tripod!Fantastic rear LCD that you can check actual photo sharpnessSuper low light high ISO photographic tool with 25,600 ISO!!!Feels great in your hands, the grip texture is easy to hold and is well balancedLow 50 ISO allows photos at F/1.2 aperture out in bright sunlight for shallow DOFCons:No Built in popup FlashA little slower shooting then the 40DVery demanding of lenses, high end L lenses are a must haveHuge files: you will need larger memory cards and a larger hard driveUltra large bright sharp viewfinder makes my 40D finder seem dim and tinyHum... I'm thinking..Intro:I have had my Canon 5D Mark II for a little over two weeks now. And I'm having a hard time putting it down.I tried switching back to my Canon 40D and the very first thing you notice is how small, dim and fuzzy the viewfinder on the 40D is compared to the 5D Mark II. Especially if you are older you will really appreciate being able to easy see and read information in the viewfinder not to mention you can actually manually focus with it. It reminds me of my switch from the Canon Rebel XTi to the 40D. It's that big a difference.The Images are huge and quite simply stunning. Plus I find that I can get away with very low noise all the way up to 3200 ISO on the 5D Mark II where the 40D was very noisy. In fact I would not hesitate to say the 5D Mark II photos has less noise at 9,600 ISO then the 40D does at 1600 ISO.Lenses:I have never had the pleasure of owning a Camera that is this demanding of the lens you use. It's like an instant lens test. I haven't seen much in-depth lens as used on 5D Mark II information on the other reviews and decided this would be good to be included in my review.All of these lenses are brighter in the viewfinder and focus much better on my 5D Mark II then on my 40D.So, with that said after several hundred photos I can give you a rundown of my most used, most favorite, best performing and least used lenses that I have used on the 5D Mark II and a few un-expected surprises along the way.1. Canon 200mm F/2 IS L lens. This lens is my new master of resolving power. Even wide open at F/2 it is sharper then any other lens I have ever used. I could go on and on but here's a few highlights: Lightening fast auto focus, F/2 speed at 200mm, unbelievable perfect 10 Images, public attention hog, otherworldly image stabilization, great build quality, weather sealed, fantastic perfect buttery smooth Bokeh and what a lens case! If you crave attention and demand the absolute best there is the do what ever it takes to get this lens on your Canon 5D Mark II. If you do not like public attention you may want to skip to number 2 in this list as I have never been asked so many questions about a lens as this one. But it's all worth it as the clarity, sharpness, Bokeh and colors are: otherworldly, insane, impossible, rare, perfect, out of sight, crazy!!2. Canon 85mm F/1.2 II L lens. Without a doubt at F/4 (after the Canon 200mm F/2 of course) this lens delivers the clearest sharpest and most resolving power onto any photograph you care to take with the Canon 5D Mark II. The clarity has to be seen to be believed. At F/1.2 the Depth of Field (DOF) is scary thin and the edges are super soft which is great for female portraiture. The super soft creamy dreamy Bokeh at F/1.2 is much smoother on the 5D Mark II over my 40D. But stop this lens down to F/1.8 and it gets scary sharp and clear. Step it down to F/4.0 and it's at its sharpest and the only lens I have that gives you 100% pixel peeping razor blade edge to edge top to bottom perfect clarity in every single area of the photo. For some reason this lens is even sharper on my 5D Mark II then my 40D or Rebel, don't know why but it is. Guess it's getting the full resolving power to the 21 megapixel sensor.Looking at a photo on my iMac taken with a 5D Mark II with this lens stopped down to F/4 is like standing there looking through an open window at the actual scene! You feel like you could actually open up the computer screen like opening a window and climb in!!!The 85mm F/1.2 is your low light monster on the 5D Mark II, I don't have to harp too much on what an F/1.2 aperture and an ISO 25,600 can do for you at night. Let's just say you can go out into what appears to be a dark night and do hand held photos.Not all is perfect as it's: expensive, heavy, and hard to focus wide open, focus lock does not work and it eats camera batteries at twice the rate of my other lenses. Also it doesn't focus as close on the 5D Mark II as it did on my 40D so you can't get head filling close ups. This isn't really a problem, as with 21 Mega Pixels I can crop no problem. However, all t

I will only write a short review about this camera because others have already written very extensive reviews about it. For an even more comprehensive one, I would refer you to the website DPReview.After thinking about this camera for 6 months, I finally convinced myself to buy it. I am not regretting the decision at all. This is an excellent camera for my needs and the picture quality and resolution from its 21 megapixel sensor is simply mind boggling. In my mind, the main advantage of all those megapixels is the ability to do an extensive crop without sacrificing the image quality. I owned a 30D and if I crop files from it just a little bit, the sharpness suffers.Let me now talk about the high ISO performance of the 5D Mark II. It is definitely amazing. Different people have different tolerances as far as image noise but for me it is excellent up to ISO 1600. I went to an indoor place with Christmas lights display and shot ISO 3200 and I was still happy with the results. I did have to clean up half of the files with the Noise Ninja software. But guess what, the files clean up very easily with the noise reduction software. Images from my 30D did not clean up as easily.The only reason why I did not give this camera 5 stars is because of its autofocus (AF) system. Now, I mainly shoot portraits and nature. I don't do much sports. And for subjects that are father away, I mainly use the center AF which is extremely adequate. However, when I shoot portraits at closer distances and shallow apertures, I like using specific AF points (to avoid blur). In these instances, I can't help but feel that there should be more focus points.How about using the camera for moving subjects? I don't think it was designed to be a sports camera. It can take 4 frames per second which I don't think is very adequate. Although I've seen pictures from very talented photographers from DPReview take amazing pictures of birds in flight with this camera so it can be done. (Google "liquidstone pbase" and you will be amazed.)While I love this camera and will use it for many years, I advice you to also read about the alternatives. I will list them below.If you are a Canon user and have Canon lenses, another alternative is the 7D. The 7D is not a full frame camera but an APS-C (cropped sensor) camera. The 7D is superior to the 5D in terms of its autofocus system (faster frame rate, more sensitive AF points, and more AF points) and features (better LCD, bigger viewfinder, electronic grid, customizable buttons) but inferior to the 5D in terms of image quality and ISO performance.If you are starting from scratch or if you are willing to switch, you also should consider the Nikon D700. As far as image quality and high ISO performance, I think both cameras are at par. Canon is superior in terms of having a higher resolution (21 vs 12 megapixels) and 1080p video. But Nikon is superior in terms of build quality, weather sealing, and autofocus system. The D700's autofocus system is really more advanced than the 5D2's. It has 51 AF points (15 of which are the more sensitive cross-type kind) and a frame rate of 5 FPS without the battery grip and 8 FPS with the grip.So which should you buy, the D700 or the 5D Mark II? If you will use the camera mainly for sports, then you should definitely go for the D700. Otherwise, it's a matter of preference. If you prefer a higher resolution camera with 1080p video, go for the 5D Mark II. If you prefer a more robust camera with excellent weather sealing and a pro-autofocus, then go for the D700.

I bought this used 5D with a little trepidation. It's a lot of money and I'd be nervous is it weren't used. Anyway, short of it being a little dirty and the screen being a bit scratched it's in great shape and so far I love it! Only downer was that the seller did not mention it came with a battery and a charger. That's not really a down side it's just that I bought both thinking I would need both. I guess back ups are always good!

Not that impressed. Images look good, by and large. Full-frame sensor is nice. Continuous shooting and focusing is slow and makes you miss shots.