I find it interesting that in the first few pages, there's a ton of complaints about the lack of weathersealing. It is then revealed that it has fairly substantial weather sealing (not quite 1 series, but pretty darn close from the sounds of it) and now it's just glossed over as unimportant. Speaks to a lot of things, in my opinion.
Jman13 wrote:
I find it interesting that in the first few pages, there's a ton of complaints about the lack of weathersealing. It is then revealed that it has fairly substantial weather sealing (not quite 1 series, but pretty darn close from the sounds of it) and now it's just glossed over as unimportant. Speaks to a lot of things, in my opinion.
Hmm, I don't think I have seen anyone talk about weather sealing as unimportant, care to point to the posts you are thinking about?
a serious question for anyone thinking about getting a 5DII or currently shooting with a DsIII... what kind of computing power do you need to effectively use a Lightroom/Photoshop workflow and still be able to manipulate the images from a full day's worth of shooting 21.1MP images?
My system bogs down with my 20D images. What are you guys using to support these cameras from a CPU/RAM standpoint?
ulrikft wrote:
Hmm, I don't think I have seen anyone talk about weather sealing as unimportant, care to point to the posts you are thinking about?
I was really talking about the complete lack of posts about it. No one seems to care that it's pretty well sealed, now that it's come out. But before that was known, it was a hot-button topic of discussion.
Pixel Perfect wrote:
Yikes, the AF points are are already too widely spaced. But I think you mean larger coverage, which would mandate more AF points. I think for FF 15 points (not 9 + 6) is a minimum.
This is the weakness of what could almost be the perfect all-around camera for me. I'm not dissatisfied with the 5D's AF system overall, but it is definately lacking in peripheral coverage and the outer AF sensors are not exceedingly good in low light.
On the other hand, my Elan II only has 3 AF sensors....
Unlike others, I don't really have a problem with the 9 AF points. What I just cannot understand is why they again refused to scale them to cover the frame in a similar manner as with the xxD bodies.
The 5DII seems to be a very remarkable camera IQ wise, kudos to Canon. But in 2008 I am not spending $2700 for a prosumer camera that effectively only has a center AF point.
Fresh from reading DPReview, anyone notice that batteries, chargers and grip are all new so can't be used together with a 5D? That's crap, means it's a pain in the arse to shoot with one of each. No legacy carryover. Even the focusing screens are different. No doubt it will need a new RRS L bracket as well .
Happy to see that the camera does have Silent Mode (big boon to wedding shooters shooting candidly) and some weather sealing. 3 C modes is also nice though the auto ISO is very simple, I don't know how many people can come close to handholding 21 megapixels at 1/FL except by fluke.
Having the buttons on the left is good, don't like the 40/50D layout. Wish the power switch had been moved though, I turn that thing off at least 10-15 times a wedding with shirt buttons.
brainiac wrote:
Like I said in B&S, all offers considered, but remember, I am in the UK, where the new 5D2 will sell for 4117 US dollars.
Thanks for the hint, Richard - but I said One day! Heck, I just got my 1dm2n in January! and I made the mistake of totalling up what I spent on equipment this year...
a serious question for anyone thinking about getting a 5DII or currently shooting with a DsIII... what kind of computing power do you need to effectively use a Lightroom/Photoshop workflow and still be able to manipulate the images from a full day's worth of shooting 21.1MP images?
My system bogs down with my 20D images. What are you guys using to support these cameras from a CPU/RAM standpoint?
8GB of ram and quad core for me.......
64bit vista, with 64bit Lightroom.......works like a charm
Marcus Watts wrote:
Let us not assume that this 9 point autofocus won't be a vast improvement than the one in the original 5D either.
It is generally accepted also that the best low noise for high iso camera hitherto has been the 1D's mk3 with digic3. So it is reasonable to expect that the 5Dmk2 will be better again.
For $2600 this is quite a camera. I can't wait to get it.
Good point, Marcus. It could well have gotten some needed "tweaking", especially if the high-ISO capability of the camera turns out to be very good.
While Nikon has adopted the 51pt autofocus in the D3/D700, I remember seeing a "torture test" where the Nikon AF was compared to the 1DIII and the nikon had considerably more out of focus frames than the canon. So in reality, 51pt AF sounds good but in real world shooting it is still behind canon. I think nikon's AF has improved over their previous models and will continue to get better. I think by all accounts the 5D2 will be a great camera. I still think Canon still has something else in the works and would be surprised if it is the only announcement. The high ISO performance is a really big deal that will allow many more creative opportunities when shooting under poor light assuming the sensor/digic4 can deliver low noise. All in all this is a good camera - could have been better with an AF improvement - but it still has a lot of new features and hopefully the IQ to match that many will want it.
On a side note for those wanting smaller files - how would SRaw compare in terms of IQ? I haven't really shot with SRaw and was wondering about the pros and cons.
The U.S. Presidential elections have aptly been referred to as "the silly season," where the trivial becomes important and the important becomes trivial. It seems the release of new camera models is similar to our "silly season."
I think being dissatisfied is in the genes of photographers. Nikonians are content at this moment, but, I'm sure pixel mania is just around the corner with the announcement of the 5DII.
For heavens sake, what motivation could canon POSSIBLY have for carrying over the crippled, so-so AF of a three year old camera into their brand spanking new $2700 5DII when they have a much better AF already developed and in the $1500 50D?
The lack of logic is just mind numbing. Westfall could have very well meant (as I suspect he did) that the *layout* of the AF points is identical to the original 5D - and it is. When you have very reputable sites all over the place saying the new AF is all cross-type then I am inclined to believe it. Unlike westfall's statement, the "9 cross type" moniker is NOT a mistake or oversight that is easily made.
Zara wrote:
What I just cannot understand is why they again refused to scale them to cover the frame in a similar manner as with the xxD bodies.
It's difficult to create an AF system that is spread out across a full frame sensor. The layout of the AF systems from Nikon D3, EOS 1Ds3, and Sony A900 aren't any more "spread out" than the 5D's. That's one of the real advantages of using cropped sensor cameras, I guess.
Jman13 wrote:
I was really talking about the complete lack of posts about it. No one seems to care that it's pretty well sealed, now that it's come out. But before that was known, it was a hot-button topic of discussion.
Well I'm happy that it seems far more weather sealed than the first reports indicated. If it indeed can handle a pint or five, I'm more than happy, now I just have to wait for x-mas to get one
. 
Heck, I just got my 1dm2n in January! and I made the mistake of totalling up what I spent on equipment this year... 