Canon EOS 5D Mark II – The Perfect Camera for Wedding Photography?
It’s been nearly three years since the launch of Canon EOS 5D and finally we get the details of it’s upcoming replacement. Pre-Photokina 2008 Canon has released the Canon EOS 5D Mark II.
It’s predecessor has become a favorite among wedding and portrait photographers because of its moderate size, full-frame capability, and outstanding image quality; the new EOS 5D Mark II’s outstanding feature set makes the long wait well-worth it.
The new dSLR offers a full-frame 24 x 36mm, 21.1MP CMOS sensor and continuous shooting at 3.9 fps for an unlimited number of full-resolution JPEGs to the capacity of the memory card (or up to 14 RAW images in a single burst when using a UDMA CF card).
Also new are an ISO range of 50-25600, full 1080p HD movie recording, live view, 3.0″ Clear View LCD, DIGIC IV processor, increased battery capacity and sensor dust reduction.
The EOS 5D Mark II is equipped with a high-performance, high-magnification optical viewfinder providing 98 percent coverage, or what Canon likes to say: “what you see is what you get”. An enhanced shutter provides 150,000-cycle durability.
ISO What?
Did I write 25600? Yes, I did! The EOS 5D Mark II camera provides ‘true’ ISO speeds from ISO 100 up to ISO 6400 in 1/3-stop increments, along with two high-speed settings – H1 and H2 – of ISO 12800 and ISO 25600, respectively, as well as a low-speed setting of ISO 50. The settings ISO 100 up to ISO 6400 result from amplifier gain while the higher and lower ISO settings (50, 12800, and 25600) are calculated on the DIGIC IV chip from the nearest primary setting.
HD Video Capability
The EOS 5D Mark II is capable of recording 16:9 Full HD video capture at 1920 x 1080 pixels and 30 fps as well as 4:3 standard TV quality (SD) video capture at 640 x 480 pixels and 30 fps, both capabilities appearing for the first time in a Canon SLR camera. Video capture is part of the camera’s Live View function, using the Picture Style that has been set for Live View still image shooting. When recording video, the camera’s rear LCD screen can be letter-boxed by a semi-transparent border to match the aspect ratio of the movie recording size.
Focus and Metering
The EOS 5D Mark II includes a 15-point autofocus (AF) sensor. Nine selectable AF points are supported by 6 additional invisible assist AF points located inside the spot-metering circle to optimize subject tracking performance in AI SERVO AF mode. For accurate exposure readings in difficult lighting conditions, the spot metering circle covers 3.5% of the frame.
Peripheral Illumination Correction
The EOS 5D Mark II dSLR automatically conducts peripheral illumination correction when shooting JPEG images, a function that previously could only be accomplished through post-image processing using software such as Canon’s Digital Photo Professional. Peripheral illumination correction evens brightness across the image field, making an image of a blue sky even toned throughout and reducing light fall-off at image edges.
Small RAW Formats
The EOS 5D Mark II dSLR camera offers two file size options with sRAW1 and sRAW2 recording formats. At the sRAW1 setting, resolution is 10.0MP with a file size that is approximately 25 percent smaller than a standard 21.1MP RAW image. With the sRAW2 setting, resolution is 5.2MP at less than half the file size of a standard RAW image. The small RAW files retain all of the flexibility and creative possibilities associated with full-size, conventional RAW images.
EOS Integrated Cleaning System
The EOS Self-Cleaning Sensor Unit for the EOS 5D Mark II has been upgraded with a fluorine coating on the low-pass filter for better dust resistance. Adding the Self-Cleaning Sensor Unit to the EOS 5D Mark II camera means that the entire Canon EOS camera product line is now equipped with the EOS Integrated Cleaning System.
Pricing and Availability
The Canon EOS 5D Mark II Digital SLR camera is scheduled for delivery by the end of November. The price for the body-only is US$2,699 (MSRP). The kit version with the EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM zoom lens is price at US$3,499 (MSRP).
Canon EOS 5D body-only: go here for Amazon UK. For Amazon USA and eBay, see below.
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13 suppliers – prices from USD 2,280.00
Canon EOS 5D Mark II Digital SLR Camera Body 3 Lens USA
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US $2,399.99 End Date: Thursday Mar-11-2010 9:20:57 PST Buy It Now for only: US $2,399.99 Buy it now | Add to watch list |
I am after the canon 5D Mark II and heading to Singapore, wondering if you know the current price of the body only in Singapore shops.