RDKirk wrote:
The 5D2 autofocus is quite chipper compared to a Mamiya or Hasselblad.
I don't know how it's being marketed elsewhere, but Canon USA is marketing the 5D2 to the people who are otherwise in the market for ~20mp digital backs. The 5D2 is extremely competitive in that market.
This is how i'm looking at it. I'm not into justifying product shortfalls in some misguided sense of loyalty to a company, but this 5D2 is almost exactly what i want in a camera.. 1DS3 IQ, without paying for all the features the 1DS3 has that are completely meaningless in a studio.
Camera needs to take a lens, accept a flash sync, and output the highest quality digital raw possible with the minimum of fuss. I'm being given this for circa £2k, when 1DS3/Digital backs and the like are WAY out of my price range. I'm more than happy to suffer on the AF
jcbenner wrote:
The files look like 1DsIII files. Not sure what you mean by that "dreamy" look, but the files look like top quality low noise full frame files (a category I would place 5D files in as well). If you like the 5D, you will likely be happier with 5DII files.
I know what he means - yep creamy like butter. I'm pretty happy with mine IQ wise.
I should have my 5D II tomorrow! Very excited about the upgrade to say the least. I plan on doing mostly landscape and portrait with the camera, much like my original 5D, so I'm not too bummed about the lack of af upgrade.
AdrianRogers wrote:
I finally got my hands on one today! Unfortunately not mine, but this awesome camera store near me let me wonder around the shop with it till i filled my CF card (Which took no time at all with Jpegs, Raws, and a little video on a 2GB sandisk)
Suffice to say this has only reinforced my want for this camera! I'm being told early January, shucks.
hmm, get your priorities straight man, forget about taking home the 5D MkII, did you get her #?
abam wrote: "The 5D-era AF, however, is no longer competitive...
In low light, the Canon is downright sluggish, and in extremely low light (EV -1 and -2), it's inconsistent and sometimes fails to focus.
...the 5D Mark II's old-fashioned AF system can't keep up with the cutting-edge imaging power."
this to me says 'studio and landscape camera.'
Except that, according to Pop Photo, the 5DII(2820 lines) sits almost exactly in the middle between the Nikon D700(2350 lines) and the Sony a900(3230 lines) regarding resolution. So, it's not the resolution king which is something highly desirable by both landscape and studio users. The 5DII offers outstanding high ISO image quality for its resolution yet, ironically, would not be able to AF in many of the situations that call for high ISO's. It offers incredible video quality yet suffers from extreme usability issues in that mode (no AF, auto everything unless you trick it, limited recording time). The camera just seems to be almost there in so many ways. It really would not have taken Canon that much to fix the areas where the 5DII falls short compared to it's competition. Heck, just giving it better AF would have done wonders for its low light focusing ability and allowed it to take advantage of that terrific high ISO IQ. Given what the 5DII turned out to be (or rather not be), I expect Canon will finally release something along the lines of the fabled 3D in the coming year.
skibum5 wrote:
although, the AF doesn't seem to be as bad as I had feared beforehand
I use a 1Ds. I have been testing a friends 5D, and I find no issues with that AF system for general commercial use, models, annual report style people, etc. Works fine.
With the state of the ecomony, it seems the 5DMKII is the only way to go here.
Plus, based on the hilarious YouTube about the price of the new D3X Nikon, even Hitler stated that even he didn't have enough machismo to spend $7,000 or $8000 when $3000 gets the job done.
I started out with a Leica IIIC, and everone is worried about autofocus in really low light? I am thankful to have autofocus and frankly the one in my 5D has worked all over China, Tibet, Nepal and on and on and has rarely let me down. I was able to focus by candlelight in Tibet. I mean it did it all and faster than my IIIC, 4X5, M2, or any of my Canon manual focus cameras that were relied on for years.
jamato8 wrote:
I started out with a Leica IIIC, and everone is worried about autofocus in really low light? I am thankful to have autofocus and frankly the one in my 5D has worked all over China, Tibet, Nepal and on and on and has rarely let me down. I was able to focus by candlelight in Tibet. I mean it did it all and faster than my IIIC, 4X5, M2, or any of my Canon manual focus cameras that were relied on for years.
Of course, rangefinders in general excel in low light conditions as opposed to manual focus SLR's. I pretty much used manual focus exclusively with my 5D. The one area I found this difficult was in low light situations, exactly where I really needed accurate AF and did not have it. Pick up a Canon 1D series, a Nikon D700 and even the Sony a900 and you will be amazed at how much better AF is compared to a 5D series. If you don't have proper AF, I suppose you figure out ways to work around it and make do with what you have...but why should you have to? The point is you should not have to.
I think the harping on the AF before and after people actually got their hands on the camera is pretty silly. Nobody remembers a time before AF? The AF is more than sufficient for 85% of its intended usage. Besides, if you want (need really, and need because you make a living shooting in low low light conditions) the AF of a 1DS III, you buy a 1DS III... What do you want for $2800, a camera that does your dishes, washes and dries and then prepares your taxes?
jamato8 wrote:
I started out with a Leica IIIC, and everone is worried about autofocus in really low light? I am thankful to have autofocus and frankly the one in my 5D has worked all over China, Tibet, Nepal and on and on and has rarely let me down. I was able to focus by candlelight in Tibet. I mean it did it all and faster than my IIIC, 4X5, M2, or any of my Canon manual focus cameras that were relied on for years.
I started with a Nikon F (before they had numbers after the "F"). Manual focus was really fine with the Nikkor 50mm F1.4 and the split image focus screen. Also had a Canon FT. That camera had a microprism center in the focus screen, and it made manual focus an absolutely precise operation.
The 5D2 has interchangeable focus screens, yet the Canon lineup does not include one with a split image or microprism focus aid. I'm sure there's a logical reason for that. Anyone know what it is? Maybe there's a 3rd party screen with that feature? There must be some drawback to it, though, since modern SLRs have only a half-silvered mirror, and maybe the image is too dark for microprism?
Nobody asked but it seems like the battery life is very good with the 5D mkII. I have 916 actuations, 90% were RAW and 10% the infamous sRAW, have taken 4 short video and the camera still shows 30% charge left. I have the camera set to go to sleep after 4 minutes and a review time of 4 sec which I will be turning to off.
I like the battery info quite a bit but I guess we pay for it with the price of the batteries.
AnthonyRhoades wrote:
I think the harping on the AF before and after people actually got their hands on the camera is pretty silly. Nobody remembers a time before AF? The AF is more than sufficient for 85% of its intended usage. Besides, if you want (need really, and need because you make a living shooting in low low light conditions) the AF of a 1DS III, you buy a 1DS III... What do you want for $2800, a camera that does your dishes, washes and dries and then prepares your taxes?
Get mine (finally) on Wednesday!
For anyone that is concerned about AF performance (center point).. Read this thread. I have posted AI servo samples from various hockey games and have been quite impressed.. Even side by side with my 1Dmk3. The FPS is very slow by comparison, but the AI-Servo (center point mind you).. is very good.
jjlphoto wrote:
Yes! And in a French Maid outfit as well!
Thank you for your interest. I can add your name to the pre-order list. I'll just need your size and credit card # to hold your place in line. You should have the outfit 3 days after we receive the outfits from the manufacturer which should be sometime in January.........2011 Canadians will incur a 30% markup for, well, being Canadian.
