Canon EOS 5D Mark II

Review based on a production EOS 5D Mark II with firmware 1.0.7

August 2009 - Updated to reflect the additional manual control over video exposure introduced with firmware 1.10.

Back in August 2005 Canon 'defined a new DSLR category' (their words) with the EOS 5D. Unlike any previous 'full frame' sensor camera, the 5D was the first with a compact body (i.e. not having an integral vertical grip) and has since then proved to be very popular, perhaps because if you wanted a full frame DSLR to use with your Canon lenses and you didn't want the chunky EOS-1D style body then the EOS 5D has been your only choice. Three years on and two competitors have turned up in the shape of the Nikon D700 and Sony DSLR-A900, and Canon clearly believes it's time for a refresh.

So here is the 5D Mark II, which punches high in terms of both resolution and features, headlining: 21 megapixels, 1080p video, 3.0" VGA LCD, Live view, higher capacity battery. In other words, a camera that aims to leapfrog both its direct rivals, either in terms of resolution (in the case of the D700) or features (in the case of the DSLR-A900). Full detail below.

Key features / improvements

21 megapixel CMOS sensor (very similar to the sensor in the EOS-1Ds Mark III)
Sensor dust reduction by vibration of filter
ISO 100 - 6400 calibrated range, ISO 50 - 25600 expansion (1Ds Mark III & 5D max ISO 3200)
Auto ISO (100 - 3200) in all modes except manual
3.9 frames per second continuous shooting
DIGIC 4 processor, new menus / interface as per the EOS 50D
Image processing features:
Highlight tone priority
Auto lighting optimizer (4 levels)
High ISO noise reduction (4 levels)
Lens peripheral illumination correction (vignetting correction)
RAW and SRAW1 (10 MP) / SRAW2 (5 MP)
RAW / JPEG selection made separately
Permanent display of ISO on both top plate and viewfinder displays
AF micro adjustment (up to 20 lenses individually)
Three custom modes on command dial, Creative Auto mode
Image copyright metadata support
98% coverage viewfinder (0.71x magnification)
3.0" 920,000 dot LCD monitor with 'Clear View' cover / coatings, 170° viewing angle
Automatic LCD brightness adjustment (ambient light sensor)
Live view with three mode auto-focus (including face detection)
No mirror-flip for exposures in Live View if contrast detect AF selected
Movie recording in live view (1080p H.264 up to 12 minutes, VGA H.264 up to 24 mins per clip)
Two mode silent shooting (in live view)
New jump options in play mode
HDMI and standard composite (AV) video out
Full audio support: built-in mic and speaker, mic-in socket, audio-out over AV (although not HDMI)
IrPort (supports IR remote shutter release using optional RC1 / RC5 controllers)
UDMA CompactFlash support
New 1800 mAh battery with improved battery information / logging
New optional WFT-E4 WiFi / LAN / USB vertical grip
Water resistance: 10 mm rain in 3 minutes



Canon EOS 5D Mark II specifications

street price (body only)	• US: $ 2,699 • EU: € 2,499 • UK: £ 2,299
List price (EF 24-105 L kit)	• US: $ 3,499 • EU: € 3,299 • UK: £ 3,049
Body material	Magnesium alloy
Sensor *	• 36 x 24 mm CMOS sensor • Full 35 mm size frame • RGB Color Filter Array • Built-in fixed low-pass filter (with self-cleaning unit) • 22.0 million total pixels • 21.1 million effective pixels • 3:2 aspect ratio
Lenses	• Canon EF lens mount (does not support EF-S lenses) • No field of view crop (1.0x)
Dust reduction	• "EOS Integrated Cleaning System" • Self-cleaning sensor unit (filter in front of sensor vibrates at high frequency at start-up and shutdown - can be disabled) • Dust Delete Data - Data from a test shot is used to 'map' dust spots and can be later removed using Canon DPP Software
Image processor *	DIGIC 4
A/D conversion	14 bit
Image sizes (JPEG) *	• 5616 x 3744 (21.0 MP) • 4080 x 2720 (11.1 MP) • 2784 x 1856 (5.2 MP)
Image sizes (RAW) *	• 5616 x 3744 (21.0 MP) • 3861 x 2574 (10.0 MP) • 2784 x 1856 (5.2 MP)
File formats *	• RAW (.CR2; 14-bit) • JPEG (EXIF 2.21) - Fine / Normal • RAW + JPEG (separate files) • sRAW1, sRAW2 (see above) *
Auto focus	• 9-point TTL CMOS sensor • 6 "Invisible Assist AF points" • Centre point cross type F5.6 or faster • Center point additionally sensitive with lenses of F2.8 or faster • AF working range: -0.5 - 18 EV (at 23°C, ISO 100)
Focus modes	• One shot AF • AI Servo AF • AI Focus AF • Manual focus
AF micro adjustment *	• Adjust all lenses by same amount (effectively body adjustment) • Adjust up to 20 lenses individually
AF point selection	• Auto • Manual
Predictive AF	• As close as 8 m (with 300 mm F2.8L lens at 50 kph)
AF assist	No (only with external flash)
Metering	• TTL full aperture metering 35 zone SPC • Metering range: 1.0 - 20 EV
Metering modes	• Evaluative 35 zone (linked to any AF point) • Partial (8% at center) • Spot metering (approx. 3.5% at center) • Center-weighted average
AE lock	• Auto: One Shot AF with evaluative metering • Manual: AE lock button
Exposure compensation	• +/-2.0 EV • 0.3 or 0.5 EV increments
Exposure bracketing	• +/- 2.0 EV • 0.3 or 0.5 EV increments
Sensitivity *	• ISO 100 - 6400 • 0.3 or 1.0 EV increments  • Auto ISO (100-3200) • Expansion options: ISO 50 (L1) ISO 12800 (H1) ISO 25600 (H2)
Shutter	• Focal-plane shutter • 150,000 exposure durability • 30 - 1/8000 sec • 0.3 or 0.5 EV increments • Flash X-Sync: 1/200 sec • Bulb
Aperture values	• F1.0 - F91 • 0.3 or 0.5 EV increments • Actual aperture range depends on lens used
White balance	• Auto • Daylight • Shade • Cloudy • Tungsten • Fluorescent • Flash • Custom • Kelvin (2500 - 10000 K in 100 K steps)
WB bracketing	• +/-3 levels • 3 images • Blue / Amber or Magenta / Green bias
WB shift	• Blue (-9) To Amber (+9) • Magenta (-9) to Green (+9)
Picture style	• Standard • Portrait • Landscape • Neutral • Faithful • Monochrome • User def. 1 • User def. 2 • User def. 3
Custom image parameters	• Sharpness: 0 to 7 • Contrast: -4 to +4 • Saturation: -4 to +4 • Color tone: -4 to +4 • B&W filter: N, Ye, Or, R, G • B&W tone: N, S, B, P, G
Image processing options *	• Highlight tone priority • Auto lighting optimizer (4 settings) • Long exposure noise reduction • High ISO noise reduction (4 settings) • Auto correction of lens peripheral illumination (vignetting)
Color space	• sRGB • Adobe RGB
Viewfinder *	• Eye-level pentaprism • 98% frame coverage • Magnification: 0.71x (-1 diopter with 50 mm lens at infinity) • Eyepoint: Approx. 21 mm • Interchangeable focusing screen (3 other types optional) • Dioptric adjustment: -3.0 to +1.0 diopter
Mirror	• Quick-return half mirror (transmission:reflection ratio 40:60) • Mirror lock-up (once or multiple exposures)
Viewfinder info *	• AF information: AF points Focus confirmation light • Exposure information: Shutter speed Aperture value ISO speed (always displayed) AE lock Exposure level/compensation Spot metering circle Exposure warning AEB • Flash information: Flash ready High-speed sync FE lock Flash exposure compensation • Image information: White balance correction CF card information Monochrome shooting Maximum burst (2 digit display) Highlight tone priority (D+)
LCD monitor *	• 3.0 " TFT LCD • 920,000 pixels • Automatic 3 level brightness adjustment plus 7 manual levels • 170 ° viewing angle • Dual anti-reflection ('Clear View')
LCD Live view *	• Live TTL display of scene from CMOS image sensor • 100% frame coverage • 30 fps • Real-time evaluative metering using CMOS image sensor • Best view or exposure simulation • Silent mode • Grid optional (x2) • Magnify optional (5x or 10x at AF point) • Three AF modes - Live mode / Quick mode / Face Detection • Live histogram (Luminance or RGB) • Remote live view using EOS Utility 2.0 (via USB or WiFi/Ethernet using WFT)
Movie recording *	• Available optionally during Live view mode • 1920 x 1080 (16:9) up to 12 mins (Quicktime 1080p H.264; 38.6 Mbits/sec) • 640 x 480 (4:3) up to 24 mins (Quicktime 480p H.264; 17.3 Mbits/sec) • Max file size 4 GB • Quicktime MOV format (H.264 video, PCM sound) • 30 fps
Record review	• Off • On (histogram via INFO button) • Display mode same as last used Play mode • 2 / 4 / 8 sec / Hold
Playback modes	1. Single image with exposure, file number, storage slot 2. As 1 but also image count and quality 3. Detailed exposure information, thumbnail and luminance histogram 4. Less detailed exposure info., thumbnail, luminance and RGB histograms
Playback features	• Optional blinking highlight alert • Optional AF point display • Magnified view (up to 10x) • 2x2 or 3x3 thumbnail index • Jump (by 1, 10, 100 images, screen, date, folder, movies, stills)* • Delete / Protect
Flash	• No built-in flash unit • E-TTL II auto flash / metered manual • Flash compensation +/-2.0 EV in 0.3 or 0.5 EV increments • X-Sync: 1/200 sec • Hot-shoe & PC Terminal
External flash	• E-TTL II auto flash with EX-series Speedlites • In-camera flash configuration (currently only 580 EX II) • Wireless multi-flash support • PC Sync
Shooting modes	• Auto • Creative Auto * • Program AE (P) • Shutter priority AE (Tv) • Aperture priority AE (Av) • Manual (M) • Custom 1 • Custom 2 * • Custom 3 *
Drive modes	• Single • Continuous: 3.9 fps * • Self-timer: 2 or 10 sec (2 sec with mirror lock-up)
Burst buffer	• Large/Fine JPEG: 78 frames (310 with UDMA card) * • RAW: 13 frames *
Orientation sensor	Yes
Auto rotation	• On (recorded and LCD display) • On (recorded only) • Off
Custom functions *	25 custom functions with 71 settings in 4 groups
Menu languages *	• 25 Languages • English, German, French, Dutch, Danish, Portuguese, Finnish, Italian, Norwegian, Swedish, Spanish, Greek, Russian, Polish, Czech, Hungarian, Romanian, Ukrainian, Turkish, Arabic, Thai, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Korean and Japanese
Firmware	User upgradable
Portrait grip	• Optional WFT-E4 (WiFi / LAN / USB mass storage) • Optional BG-E6 battery grip
Connectivity *	• USB 2.0 Hi-Speed • AV out (video & audio *) • HDMI connector * • Microphone input * • PC Sync flash terminal • Communication terminal on base for WFT-E4 • InfraRed *
Storage *	• Compact Flash Type I or II (inc. FAT32) • Supports UDMA cards * • Copyright metatag support • Canon Original Data Security Kit supported ("Original Image Data")
Power *	• Lithium-Ion LP-E6 rechargeable battery (supplied & charger) • CR1616 for date & settings • Approx. 850 shots at 20°C • Battery indication 6 levels & percentage (memorized)
Dimensions *	152 x 114 x 75 mm (6.0 x 4.5 x 2.9 in)
Weight *	• No battery: 810 g (1.8 lb)
Accessories	• Viewfinder: Eyecup Eb, E-series Dioptric Adjustment Lens with Rubber Frame Eb, Eyepiece Extender EP-EX15, Focusing Screens Eg, Angle Finder C • Wireless File Transmitter WFT-E4 • Battery Grip BG-E6 • All EF lenses (excludes EF-S lenses) • Canon Speedlites (220EX, 380EX, 420EX, 430EX, 430EX II, 550EX, 580EX, 580EX II, Macro-Ring-Lite, MR-14EX, Macro Twin Lite MT-24EX, Speedlite Transmitter ST-E2) • Remote control with N3 type contact, Wireless Controller LC-5, Remote Controller RC-1, Remote Controller RC-5 • Original Data Security Kit OSK-E3

* Changes or additions compared to the EOS 5D

Canon EOS 550D Camera