CANON 5D MARK II FIRST IMPRESSIONS

The Canon 5D Mark II arrived just in time for the weekend, but the timing and weather did not work out well. So here are some quick first impressions about the 5D Mark II handling, build quality and image character:

1. •Overall the Canon 5D Mark II feels refined compared to the original 5D.
   

2. •The new paint texture feels good and the rubber grip is comfortable.
   

3. •When turning the front control wheel, the hollow tinny resonating sound is gone.
   

4. •The shutter button feels identical to the Canon 1Ds Mark III - solid, smooth stroke, no clicky-ness.
   

5. •Viewfinder is probably nicer than the 5D, but not as bright, large or crisp as the 1Ds Mark III.
   

6. •Rear LCD is nicely integrated, looks sharp and clear.
   

7. •Upper portion of the body feels good, the lower portion feels cheap with the plastic base plate.
   

8. •The mode knob is okay; it could be nicer with a higher quality knurling.
   

9. •The viewfinder status displays plenty of information, but washes out in sunlight.
   

10. •Selecting AF points with the thumb stick is dodgy; I am using the control wheels instead.
    

11. •Auto focus is generally pretty quick; some hunting with the outer auto-focus points.
    

12. •Evaluative metering is okay; clipped highlights are still a problem and often require some EC.
    

13. •The +/- 2 exposure compensation (EC) range is too small; it needs be at least +/-3, or preferably +/-5.
    

14. •Changing settings, reviewing images and general operation is smooth and responsive.
    

15. •Image review is very quick, for all intents and purposes it is instantaneous.
    

The 5D Mark II feels as expected and there is not anything that feels wrong or poorly designed. The Nikon D700 felt more solid, but I did not like how the control wheels were place and the increment / decrement directions were not intuitive. That can be changed in the D700’s custom functions, but for whatever reason even after trying the different options, setting the aperture, EC adjustment and shutter speed always felt as if the value directions contradicted each other.

From my perspective after spending $7,999 on a 1Ds Mark III a year ago, the 5D Mark II is amazing value at $2,699. I wish Canon would have skipped the video function and put those R&D dollars into weather sealing, a brighter viewfinder and a sensor with more dynamic range.

CANON 5D MARK II IMAGE QUALITY

Image quality is what I am mostly interested in at this point. There are no deal breakers when it comes to the 5D Mark II’s build quality or handling. The Leica M8 is beautifully crafted and the Canon 5D Mark II is a completely different design philosophy. Likewise, the Mamiya ZD simply does not have all the bells and whistles of today’s dSLRs. Where the rubber hits road is image quality, and after some quick snaps with the Canon 5D Mark II:

1. •ISO 100 is similar to the 1Ds Mark III - clips the highlights too easily.
   

2. •ISO 1600 is amazingly clean and there does not seem to be much loss in dynamic range.
   

3. •ISO 3200 is good, ISO 6400 is usable but noisy for my taste.
   

4. •Detail is not there. The M8 and ZD easily win in the 100% crop race.
   

I feel like Canon decided to concentrate their efforts on upper ISO performance and the feature list. Compared to the 1Ds Mark III, I think 5D Mark II may have better upper ISO performance; ISO 1600 certainly seems cleaner. On the other hand, I feel the 1Ds Mark III files have more color depth and hold up better in Photoshop. In terms of sharpness, the 1Ds Mark III and 5D Mark II are similar.

100% CROPS AND SAMPLES

The following images are not intended to be a scientific test. The picture at the top of the page is two images; the left side was the ZD, the right is the Canon 5D Mark II; and here are the 100% unedited crops:  from the Mamiya ZD and from the Canon 5D Mark II. When comparing different systems and different size sensors, there is not a good way to go about it. All the same, it is amusing to compare out output:

1. •Leica M8 with 75mm Summilux-M:
   

2. F2 Full Size JPEG
   

3. F4 Full Size JPEG
   

4. F8 Full Size JPEG
   

5. •Mamiya ZD with Mamiya 80mm F2.8 D:
   

6. F2.8 Full Size JPEG
   

7. F4 Full Size JPEG
   

8. F8 Full Size JPEG
   

9. •Canon 5D Mark with Contax 100mm F2 Planar:
   

10. F2 Full Size JPEG
    

11. F4 Full Size JPEG
    

12. F8 Full Size JPEG
    

There are focus differences, so the F8 images are the best to review. All files were processed in RAW Developer; the Canon files required the most editing to recover highlights and then the shadows were boosted to make the images relatively consistent with the M8 and ZD. The ZD files needed no editing; the ZD easily managed the dynamic range.