As far as I know, there are no 5D II production copies anywhere. You must have tried a pre-production copy. Not a fair comparison. Ah well ....
ulrikft wrote:
I have to admit that I got discouraged by the 5d mkII and got a d700 today (i still have my 30d though :P ).
I tried both the 5d mkII and d700 quite extensively (for 2 hours) in the store, and the 5d mkII outer points are innacurate and slow. It was consequently oof when using low dof-apertures and the outer points. The d700 was conseqently in focus on the outer points. I used the nikon 50 1.4 and canon 50 1.4 on the test, using a dress-up-dummy with a uniform, helmet etc. The image quality of the canon 5d mkII from iso 400 (did not use a tripod) up to 26500 is quite similar to the d700. I have a lot of similar crops if anyone are interested. ...Show more →
It seems like you are taking this a bit personally bobby? It was the fairest comparison I was able to perform at the current moment. The 5d mkII had a 95% oof when using the outer points, I guess that can be improved on the production model, and I hope and believe it will for all the good canon users out there, but the d700 had 100% in focus when using the outer points, and one bird in the hand.. etc.
Agreed that the 200-400 f4 VR is a spectacular lens at a spectacular price ~$ 5200 and weight ~ 7.2 lbs. Not in the same league or catagory with the 300 F4 IS for a field lens. If I pay 5 grand for a lens I wont have enough money left for a porter to carry it. .
Bottom line. D300 is still the superior camera for field wildlife use at a reasonable cost but lacks the light field telephotos with VR. 1D MkIII is overpriced now and plagued with AF problems. Sony A700 still doesn't have the lens line up or availablity. Oly E3 is a solid camera with a stunted sensor, Pentax K20D has potential but needs better AF and lens line up. Canons 40D/50D still have a crappy AF system but solid otherwise. Nikon or Canon need to come out with a 400 f5.6 with IS/VR and a close focusing capability 1.5 to 2.0 Meters, and a reasonable price. In the end all are tools and it's more the photographer then the camera but it is frustrating to watch manufacturers focus on gimicks rather than real enhancements in reasonably priced camera [bazillion noisy megapixels, the endless parade of slow consumer zooooms, direct print buttons, face detection - hooah couldn't wait for that - wish it worked on warblers!, AND STILL - clunky MLU, no AF with f8 lenses (like the EOS3 of 10 years ago), crappy viewfinders (they don't need to match slide frames anymore folks - give us 100% everytime), no manufacturer replacement screens with focusing aids (split image/mircro prism), no focus bracketing (except oly 300) - another missed potential, slow flash synch speeds, and on and on. It looks to me like only Nikon has real photographers working on their camera designs, maybe Oly also but 4/3 will always be at a disadvantage - except micro 4/3.
Justin D wrote:
I will. (Actually, I have, decided to preorder while the Aus dollar is strong).
It has:
1) Self cleaning sensor - huge for me. The no. 1 feature. This is primarily a travel camera, and it's a pain to carry fluid and swabs while travelling. I know it's not foolproof, but it will be better than I'm used to by miles.
2) Video - I was considering buying a (very) cheap video cam. No longer. Didn't see this coming, either. This seems like I might even be able to make vaguely credible moving images, something I have missed since I moved on from the film industry 5 or so years ago.
3) Liveview. Not for quick shooting, but will help.
4) Extra MP. Not for printing or resolution (I don't need 21 MP for prints), but a good 35 @ 21MP can also be used as a decent 50 @ 12MP. So primes become zooms (kind of) if you can train yourself not to be limited by what you see in the viewfinder.
5) Hopefully, it has everything I need to STOP thinking about gear for the next 5 years and learn some of the things a gear fetish leads you away from. I think it does.
As a tradeoff, I'm seriously considering getting rid of all but 4 or so lenses. Which ones, I'll decide when I see how they respond to this kind of resolution. ...Show more →
I will for basically similar reasons, but I will... wait.
(1) Self cleaning sensor - Great!
(2) Video - Not critical but, why not!?
(3) Live view - Good for my tilt/shift and closeup needs. Good for difficult angles. Even better for those who do macro I guess.
(4) Extra MP for crop - Why not?
(5) But, 5D-ii is gonna force or seduce me to upgrade everything - super resolving lenses, memory cards, hard disks, operation systems, computers, monitors... Even though I will need these sooner or later, this won't happen all of a sudden altogether. I think 5D-ii lacks everything I need to BEGIN shooting happily.
my favourite lens is back in business :P 
It was the fairest comparison I was able to perform at the current moment. The 5d mkII had a 95% oof when using the outer points, I guess that can be improved on the production model, and I hope and believe it will for all the good canon users out there, but the d700 had 100% in focus when using the outer points, and one bird in the hand.. etc. 
.