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Product Description

Compact, lightweight with environmental protection, EOS 5D successor boasts a newly-designed Canon CMOS sensor, with ISO sensitivity up to 25,600 for shooting in near dark conditions. The new DIGIC 4 processor combines with the improved CMOS sensor to deliver medium format territory image quality at 3.9 frames per second, for up to 310 frames. Triggered from Live View Mode, HD video capture allows users to shoot uninterrupted at full 1080 resolution at 30fps -- for amazing quality footage with outstanding levels of detail and realism. The integration of HD movie capability into a high-end 21.1-megapixel camera opens a multitude of new possibilities for photojournalists and news photographers. With its full frame CMOS sensor and outstanding ISO performance, the EOS 5D Mark II will appeal to any photographer in search of the finest camera equipment available -- from studio and wedding to nature and travel photographers.

Compact, lightweight with environmental protection, EOS 5D successor boasts a newly designed Canon CMOS sensor, with ISO sensitivity up to 25,600 for shooting in near dark conditions. The new DIGIC 4 processor combines with the improved CMOS sensor to deliver medium format territory image quality at 3.9 frames per second, for up to 310 frames.

Triggered from Live View Mode, HD video capture allows users to shoot uninterrupted at full 1080 resolution at 30fps -- for amazing quality footage with outstanding levels of detail and realism.

The integration of HD movie capability into a high-end 21.1-megapixel camera opens a multitude of new possibilities for photojournalists and news photographers. With its full-frame CMOS sensor and outstanding ISO performance, the EOS 5D Mark II will appeal to any photographer in search of the finest camera equipment available -- from studio and wedding to nature and travel photographers.

Other improvements to the EOS 5D include:

• Addition of Canon's EOS Integrated Cleaning System, with a new Fluorine coating on the low-pass filter
• Larger 3.0-inch Clear View LCD with VGA resolution, a 170-degree angle of view and anti-reflective coatings
• Improved menu system including Quick Control Screen for more direct access to common settings
• Automatic peripheral illumination correction, utilizing detailed EF lens information to optimize JPEG images straight out of the camera
• Magnesium alloy construction with additional environmental protection
• UDMA memory card compatibility

• EOS 5D Mark II Body
• Canon EF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM lens
• Eyecup Eb
• Wide Neck Strap EW-EOS5DMKII
• Stereo Video Cable STV-250N
• USB Interface Cable IFC-200U
• Battery Charger LC-E6
• Battery Pack LP-E6
• EOS Digital Solution Disk
• Software Instruction Manual

Customer Reviews:

• Mark II 5D vs Rebel T1
  Now that the new Rebel T1 is out and some of the features of the Mark II, such as video (yes 720p only) and low light capability have trickled down, that makes my choice a little more difficult as an interested hobbyist. While I do understand that the new Rebel doesn't have the same sensor (and what that means), I ask myself if the additional weight of the Mark II will bother me. Obviously, that is a subjective factor, but I'd be interested in opinion from those who have purchased the Mark II or the T1 (just out for a few days, so there may not be many of you out there yet). The new Nikon 5000D muddies the waters even more. Of course, which camera to buy is not a REAL problem, it's a luxury problem. Any commentary on similar choice welcome....more info
• My Camera hangs when trying to transfer the pictures
  Hi,
  I love the pictures this produces but the transfer hangs when connecting the cmaera to the computer. I have updated the fireware, tried different cards and I have 3 computers; it does the same thing with all of them etc I am using a 16gb extreme iv card from sandisk and that works fine in a media card reader. Anyone else seen this issue?
  
  Chris...more info
• Love at first sight
  I became adicted to photography with my 40D and after a year or so I started to see it's limitations. So I made the leap and bought the 5Dm2 and have been in love ever since. There are many technical reviews here and I recommend reading them all. This camera is not for everyone.
  
  Who this is for (in my humble opinion):
  - Those that primarily shoot in low light situations.
  - the benefits from full frame and the 5D's amazing ISO
  capabilities are amazing. I have pics at 3200 ISO with no noise.
  - Portrait photographers.
  - The picture quality is unbeatable (unless you tack on an
  additional couple grand or more for the 1D)
  - The 21.2 Mp gives you so much room to play with
  
  Those who this may not be the best option:
  - Sports photographers!
  - I still use my 40D for those senarios where I want a lot
  of fps. and reach. While the picture will always be better
  with the 5Dm2, 3.9fps is very slow in my opinion. Just
  something to consider.
  - The full frame vs crop factor is interesting and you will
  see it first hand when you put your lenses on this baby.
  My 70-200 just became a walk around lense and has forced
  me to beg my wife to buy the 100-400 and a 2x extender. My
  17-40 just became an amazing wide angle.
  
  Maybe it's just me but it seems that all of my lenses are so much sharper than before.
  
  So, that is my humble opinion. This camera is all that it's cracked up to be and I haven't even talked about the video capabilities. Definitely worth the money....more info
• Amazing camera, STOP GIVING IT ONE STAR
  This is an amazing camera. STOP GIVING IT ONE STAR for just the vendor.
  
  My only gripe is with the audio while shooting video. It's a very good mic, and picks up sound clearly, which is its downfall. I had to purchase an external wireless mic so it wouldn't pick up the sound of me changing the focus or zoom level. Oh well, still worth it. You can get an excellent wireless mic unit from BH Photo for about $150.
  
  Oh, and I wish they'd made it more than 3.9 FPS, if even at a lower resolution. If it were higher, it'd be one less reason to need a 1D....more info
• Absolutely PERFECT!
  I own the 5D, and decided to upgrade for the added megapixels and quality. The 5D is awesome...the 5D II is AMAZING!!!! I am sure this review is not going to make someone buy this camera...you have probably done tons of research about all the details. If you are wondering whether all you read is accurate and the camera is worth the money - YES! I feel this is the best bang for your buck in a compact, full-frame, semi-pro level camera. I use the camera mainly for landscape photography...the images captured are stunning. I recently enlarged a print to 20x30 and could not believe the quality and detail. This is not just an increase in megapixels, but rather an increase in QUALITY megapixels. The camera is not extremely large and expensive like the "Pro" level series. The camera's size makes it perfect for traveling and hiking into remote locations. I have not used the HD video yet, but that is not the intended use of the camera. The new batteries seem to last almost twice as long as those in my 5D.
  
  One note...either buy extra memory cards or a back-up drive to dump photos onto...the files are huge in RAW which is what I shoot. If you plan on any HDR or panoramas or a week in the field, a couple of 8gb cards will be full quicker than you expect. The file size will be more than welcome once you enlarge or crop a photo - like I stated earlier...stunning....more info
• Amazon pricing too high
  I've been an Amazon customer for quite a while but the price of $4k for this camera and 24-105mm lens seems excessive when ritzcamera offers the same package for $500 less....more info
• Beware the 5D MARK II and lense are up to snuff
  My D5 Mark II with EF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM had a focusing problem in Auto and manual modes
  
  I thought maybe I was missing a setting or something, but after many dozens of test pics and several readings of the manual I can promise you that: indoors or out, zoomed in or out, high F or low, AF or Manual, this camera couldn't take a clear picture. Every image is slightly out of focus.
  
  Canon support offered to repair it but can't exchange for new. Pavillion is giving me an exchange.
  
  There are too many good reviews to say it's the design. Must be quality control.
  
  I'll let you know how it goes.
  ...more info
• Disastrously unreliable
  Canon EOS 5D Mark II 21.1MP Full Frame CMOS Digital SLR Camera (Body Only)Canon EOS 5D Mark II 21.1MP Full Frame CMOS Digital SLR Camera with EF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM Lens
  
  After a few months of trial and light use, I took the 5D Mark II I bought in December abroad with me on a critical project. The 5D Mark II failed completely on the first day of the project, under good conditions and normal use. Canon Tech Support confirmed that the "blue screen of death" on the LCD screen indicated the camera was completely nonfunctional, and informed me that my only alternative was to wait until I returned to the U.S., and then ship the 5D Mark II to Canon for several weeks of repair.
  
  I informed Canon Tech Support that the total failure of a new 5D Mark II was not what I expected from that camera or from Canon. According to Tech Support, the failure of my 5D Mark II was "the luck of the draw", "everything fails", and while I travelled abroad in past years with functioning Canon DSLRs "someone else's Canon failed on the first day of their trip". This is not comforting.
  
  Although I had a (yes, Canon) backup camera, it does not have the low-light capabilities which are the distinctive marketing points of the 5D Mark II, and which were needed in some settings where I could not bring flash or tripod.
  
  The unreliability of the 5D Mark II is extremely disappointing. It remains to be seen what Canon is able or willing to do to correct the problem.
  
  
  
  
  
  ...more info
• lacking critical features, robustness
  Great stills quality. Good ISO (but not excellent like the D700 or D3)
  HD video mode sounds enticing but is practically unusable for pros/artists who demand precise control of the camera gear.
  
  Is this camera built to shoot home videos? or for creative professionals? Please take away the Full Automatic video mode and give us control over aperture and shutter speed and ISO! ...more info
• Amazing Camera!!
  The Canon 5D Mark II is absolutely amazing! It is worth every penny and I am very pleased. I purchased this camera primarily for the Hi-Def video feature. I do professional video work and I can't say anything negative about this camera. This camera shoots video strait to an uncompressed Quicktime .mov file. It is not AVCHD, there is no conversion needed. These video files can be placed directly on to a Final Cut timeline without any conversion or rendering. (This saves soooo much time. i.e. no log and capture and no log and transfer and no conversion in any way!!) Picture quality is amazing. I only wish I could merge the features of the Canon XH-A1 video camera with the video quality and file format of the 5D!!!! I have never really been interested in still pictures . . . until now. I took a photo of some friends from 20 feet away, when viewed in photoshop with the zoom feature set to "actual pixels" the detail was as if I had used a macro lens from 2 feet away (This is due to the 21 mega pixels). Everyone who sees the stills is amazed and I have already made money as a professional photographer!! (That's a first!)
  Ok . . . the only thing about this camera I would change is I would give it XLR inputs and a manual gain control feature and a meter to visually monitor audio levels. I imagine that if Canon did this they would lose business because no one would need to buy a pro video camera, they could just buy this! Otherwise, the audio pick up is decent . . . it's good enough to sync with the audio from other cameras, and it worked just fine with a shotgun mic and a wireless lapel mic....more info
• Never Ever: Rent, borrow or use this Camera, if you do, you will have to own it!
  Canon 5D Mark II
  
  Never Ever: Rent, borrow or use the Canon 5D Mark II, if you do, you will have to own it. It's that good!
  
  Pros:
  
  Crazy high ISO performance
  Fantastic amazing image quality you have to see to believe!
  Great menus, sharper, brighter, easier to read then 40D
  Video, did someone say video? I love it! You will need a tripod!
  Fantastic rear LCD that you can check actual photo sharpness
  Super low light high ISO photographic tool with 25,600 ISO!!!
  Feels great in your hands, the grip texture is easy to hold and is well balanced.
  
  Cons:
  No Built in popup Flash
  A little slower shooting then the 40D
  Very demanding of lenses, high end L lenses are a must have
  Huge files: you will need larger memory cards and a larger hard drive
  Ultra large bright sharp viewfinder makes my 40D finder seem dim and tiny
  Hum... I'm thinking..
  
  Intro:
  
  I have had my Canon 5D Mark II for a little over two weeks now. And I'm having a hard time putting it down.
  
  I tried switching back to my Canon 40D and the very first thing you notice is how small, dim and fuzzy the viewfinder on the 40D is compared to the 5D Mark II. Especially if you are older you will really appreciate being able to easy see and read information in the viewfinder not to mention you can actually manually focus with it. It reminds me of my switch from the Canon Rebel XTi to the 40D. It's that big a difference.
  
  The Images are huge and quite simply stunning. Plus I find that I can get away with very low noise all the way up to 3200 ISO on the 5D Mark II where the 40D was very noisy. In fact I would not hesitate to say the 5D Mark II photos has less noise at 9,600 ISO then the 40D does at 1600 ISO.
  
  Lenses:
  
  I have never had the pleasure of owning a Camera that is this demanding of the lens you use. It's like an instant lens test. I haven't seen much in-depth lens as used on 5D Mark II information on the other reviews and decided this would be good to be included in my review.
  
  All of these lenses are brighter in the viewfinder and focus much better on my 5D Mark II then on my 40D.
  
  So, with that said after several hundred photos I can give you a rundown of my most used, most favorite, best performing and least used lenses that I have used on the 5D Mark II and a few un-expected surprises along the way.
  
  1. Canon 200mm F/2 IS L lens. This lens is my new master of resolving power. Even wide open at F/2 it is sharper then any other lens I have ever used. I could go on and on but here's a few highlights: Lightening fast auto focus, F/2 speed at 200mm, unbelievable perfect 10 Images, public attention hog, otherworldly image stabilization, great build quality, weather sealed, fantastic perfect buttery smooth Bokeh and what a lens case! If you crave attention and demand the absolute best there is the do what ever it takes to get this lens on your Canon 5D Mark II. If you do not like public attention you may want to skip to number 2 in this list as I have never been asked so many questions about a lens as this one. But it's all worth it as the clarity, sharpness, Bokeh and colors are: otherworldly, insane, impossible, rare, perfect, out of sight, crazy!!
  
  2. Canon 85mm F/1.2 II L lens. Without a doubt at F/4 (after the Canon 200mm F/2 of course) this lens delivers the clearest sharpest and most resolving power onto any photograph you care to take with the Canon 5D Mark II. The clarity has to be seen to be believed. At F/1.2 the Depth of Field (DOF) is scary thin and the edges are super soft which is great for female portraiture. The super soft creamy dreamy Bokeh at F/1.2 is much smoother on the 5D Mark II over my 40D. But stop this lens down to F/1.8 and it gets scary sharp and clear. Step it down to F/4.0 and it's at its sharpest and the only lens I have that gives you 100% pixel peeping razor blade edge to edge top to bottom perfect clarity in every single area of the photo. For some reason this lens is even sharper on my 5D Mark II then my 40D or Rebel, don't know why but it is. Guess it's getting the full resolving power to the 21 megapixel sensor.
  
  Looking at a photo on my iMac taken with a 5D Mark II with this lens stopped down to F/4 is like standing there looking through an open window at the actual scene! You feel like you could actually open up the computer screen like opening a window and climb in!!!
  
  The 85mm F/1.2 is your low light monster on the 5D Mark II, I don't have to harp too much on what an F/1.2 aperture and an ISO 25,600 can do for you at night. Let's just say you can go out into what appears to be a dark night and do hand held photos.
  
  Not all is perfect as it's: expensive, heavy, and hard to focus wide open, focus lock does not work and it eats camera batteries at twice the rate of my other lenses. Also it doesn't focus as close on the 5D Mark II as it did on my 40D so you can't get head filling close ups. This isn't really a problem, as with 21 Mega Pixels I can crop no problem. However, all this is forgiven when I get back to my iMac and view the results. This is the very first lens I will reach for when using the 5D Mark II and the one that's on it 90% of the time. If I could have just one lens for a Canon 5D Mark II this would be the one!
  
  2. Tie! Canon 135mm F/2 L. It's small light and stealthy and has fastest and best auto-focus of any lens I have ever owned (after the Canon 200mm F/2 IS L). It even focuses pretty close on the 5D Mark II. This lens is amazing, the Bokeh looks like sweet candy and it's sharper wide open then the Canon 85mm F/1.2 II L lens is wide open and stop it down to F/2.2 and it's as sharp as any lens I have. It's not a zoom so it's not as versatile but it's a great waist up portrait lens out in public and in larger studios. It's one of my most used lens at outdoor public events along with the 85mm F/1.2 II L (renaissance festivals etc.) where I'm photographing people. For some reason this lens is a little sharper on my Canon Rebel and 40D I guess because I'm using the center of the lens and it's sharper on these cropped sensor cameras.
  
  3. Canon 100-400 F/4.5 - F/5.6 IS L lens. This is the second most used lens in my 5D Mark II arsenal. This lens was my biggest surprise of the group. Its Ok wide open but it's a monster of clarity at F/7.1 like it never was on my Canon 40D. It also becomes useable on the 5D Mark II in wider shot situations where on the 40D it was only usable as a longer lens. Sporting the longest zoom range of any Canon zoom this lens has to be without doubt the finest Zoo lens ever made. You can frame almost any animal in almost any exhibit perfectly. This is also my lens of choice for taking photos of people at events with the 5D Mark II and is the King of versatility on a full-framed sensor camera. This is my sharpest and clearest zoom lens by a long shot (no pun intended. It's as close to the you are there feeling of the 85mm F/1.2 lI lens as any zoom lens I have. It's only drawbacks are it's a little heavy, is slow aperture wise (that's Ok with the 5D Mark II high ISO capability) and it gets a huge amount of attention out in public. I don't care it's all worth it this is a must have lens with the 5D Mark II. Again, for some reason this lens is even sharper on my 5D Mark II then my 40D or Rebel, don't know why but it is.
  
  5-26-2009 100-400 update: So I came back from the Riparian Bird Preserve yesterday where it was rather dusty and I noticed that my sensor and mirror box were full of dust. I decided to do a test on my 100-400 lens and sure enough it does pump dust into the camera body.
  
  If you turn the zoom friction ring all the way loose and zoom in and out with the bottom end cap off there is no resistance. If you put the bottom end cap on tightly and zoom you can feel resistance. Then if you loosen the end cap just a little you can actually feel air being sucked in and out around the end cap as you zoom in and out.
  
  Thank God for my FIrefly digital sensor cleaning system! And be forewarned if you own this lens.
  
  4. Canon 17-40 F/4 L lens. This is my sleeper lens. A so so walk around lens on my 40D becomes a wide angle monster on my Canon 5D Mark II. This lens is soft wide open at F/4 but sharpens up noticeably at F/4.5 and becomes a super wide angle take it all in landscape and interior monster when stopped down to F/9 on a Canon 5D Mark II. This is a lens I always carry with me now since I never know when I might see a wide angle opportunity. Doesn't have the you are there feeling when viewing the photos on my iMac as much as the above three lenses but it's closer to perfection then you will ever see on a cropped sensor camera. I keep hoping that Canon will make a wide angle zoom that matches the performance of my Canon 100-400 IS L zoom lens. This lens has a similar sharpness on both the Canon 5D Mark II and cropped sensor cameras like my 40D.
  
  5. Canon 70-200 F/2.8 L lens. This lens is actually about even with my Canon 100-400 IS L Lens in the zoom sharpness and clarity department but it's no where near as versatile on my 5D Mark II as the 100-400. Still it's a must have lens when shooting weddings when you need the super Bokeh background melting power of an F/2.8 aperture and lower light power of an F/2.8 aperture. The sharpness and clarity at F/2.8 that was Ok on the 40D is much improved for some strange reason on the 5D Mark II. And the Bokeh is much smoother creamier and richer on the 5D Mark II.
  
  6. Canon 24-70 F/2.8 L lens. This is the lens I reach for when I'm shooting closer photos at a wedding and I need the versatility of a zoom. It's also the lens I reach for when shooting videos with the 5D Mark II. If I could shoot all day with the Canon 85mm F/1.2 II L I would. But at a wedding where you can't always zoom with your feet I reach for the Canon 24-70 F/2.8 L. Its good on the 5D Mark II but not as good as the 17-40 L but has better reach then the 17-40. But it does not have that uncanny you are there feel of the first three lenses on my list. The Canon 5D Mark II clearly out resolves this lens and that is very disappointing for an L lens that costs over a thousand dollars. Thank GOD for the auto peripheral as this lens is a Vignetting monster when shot wide open on a 5D Mark II, it was not on the 40D. With the Vignetting control built into Digital Photo Professional (DPP) and the on-board 5D Mark II auto control it's perfect and Vignetting is not a problem. This lens is also very fragile and has required sending back to Canon for recalibration but is a must have in my arsenal only because I do weddings. I'm hoping Canon will come out with an Image Stabilized improved version that has that you are there feel of the 100-400 zoom. Once again it seems like this lens may be losing it's calibration and I am starting to lose my patience. If you need this lens then get it just beware of possible maintenance problems.
  
  7. Canon 50mm F/1.8 II lens. This lens which was pretty decent on the 40D and Rebel XTi comes completely apart on the 5D Mark II. No surprise since it's only $89. I guess the surprise was how well it had worked on a Canon 40D and Rebel XTi. If you own a 5D Mark II then don't bother. If you own a cropped sensor camera its a great little lens.
  
  8. Canon 17-50mm F/2.8 EF-S L lens. Why am I mentioning this lens here? It's a shame this cropped sensor only lens can't be used on the 5D Mark II. It's one of my most used and sharpest lenses on my Canon 40D and Canon Rebel XTi. In fact it's my daughter's favorite lens on those two cameras. Because it's such a great sharp low light monster because of the Image Stabilization (IS) it would be fantastic on the 5D Mark II. Canon please make us a wide angle L lens with IS. It's been very reliable un-like my 24-70, I highly recommend if you have a cropped sensor camera!
  
  9. Canon 15mm Fisheye! This lens is a hoot on the 5D Mark II. A full 180 degrees of wide angle fun! Put it on and shoot the inside of a small car, or airplane, or take it to your local baseball diamond or anywhere you would love to see a 180 degree shot. And the curved effect on a full frame camera makes everyone who sees one of these photos go oooohhhhhh yeah cool shot. I listed this lens last because its one of those lenses you don't want to over use but one that you just have to just have to have. It's pretty sharp wide open but gets sharper at F/4 and reaches maximum sharpness at F/8. It has the old style focus system that's a little noisy and slow but it really doesn't matter as there isn't much focus range anyway everything is close to infocus at 15mm.
  
  Three old 5D complaints answered:
  
  1. Vignetting or peripheral lighting issue
  2. Dust on the sensor
  3. The rear LCD
  
  1. Vignetting:
  
  You can either have the 5D Mark II auto-correct peripheral illumination on board for JPEGs or adjust images using Canon's Digital Photo Professional (DPP) software that came with your Mark II. I have noticed on the full framed 5D Mark II my Canon 24-70 F/2.8 L lens with the peripheral illumination correction turned OFF the 5D Mark II images will severely vignette or be dark in the corners when shot wide open (F/2.8). It's almost like looking through a dark tunnel. It's especially noticeable shot wide open with the sky as a background. Auto-correct to the rescue!! With the peripheral illumination correction turned ON it's almost magical the darkening in the corners is gone! If you want you can even shoot in Raw mode and adjust the amount of Vignetting or darkness in the corners for effects such as when shooting portraits and you want to emphasis the person in the middle of the photo. Just open the Raw photo in DPP and click on the NR/Lens / ALO tab and select Lens Aberration Correction Tune and adjust the peripheral illumination to suite by dragging the slider or entering and amount. Or select all the photos in a directory and you can correct all your photos at once.
  
  2. Dust on the Sensor:
  
  The old 5D was a dust hog, no-one ever said it was not. The new one though now as a new fluorite coating and ant-dust shake. I did get some dust on my sensor after going out and switching lens in the field shooting birds but un-like my 40D I successfully blew off all the dust using my Firefly Digital Dust sensor cleaner. This new fluorite coating must make it much harder for the dust to stick to the 5D Mark II sensor then the sensor on my 40D.
  
  3. Rear LCD
  
  This has to be seen to be believed. The rear LCD is so sharp and so bright its shocking. The one on the 40D is now just OK. And I could never be sure if I got the shot or not. On the 5D Mark II you can zoom in an check fine focus. The only thing you may want to turn off is the auto light level adjuster so when walking in and out of shaded areas the brightness level does not change when the ambient light levels change. Some people may like it some may hate it. I like it myself as I can now see the image out in the sunlight unlike on the 40D where it's totally washed out. Thing is Canon lets you decide and you can turn it on or off. When off it stays the same no matter the ambient light.
  
  
  LOW ISO:
  
  Holy cow 6400 ISO I can shoot at F/4.5 in a dark room!!!! Took some night shots in and outside of the house and downloaded. Booted up DPP and WOW!
  
  Photos are great at 3200 ISO even in Raw mode with standard noise reduction. Once you apply the correct amount of noise reduction and converted to 17inch JPEG's the 3200 ISO photos are AWESOME!!! The night shots of my Christmas tree at 3200 ISO on my 40D are almost unusable. But with the 5D Mark II they are fantastic. But my 24inch iMac seems a little slower looking through the photos... In fact it seems to be crawling! I ended up having to upgrade to a Firewire 800 external hard drive to fix the problem.
  
  Black Dots:
  
  I finally got a single photo with black dots by shooting at 25,600 ISO at night around some Christmas lights. You have to zoom in to 200% and pixel peep to see them. That's one shot out of several hundred night shots! Still haven't found any dots in day time photos.
  
  Memory Storage:
  
  I'm going to have to buy larger Compact Flash Cards my 8GB card only holds about 267 shots when the 5D Mark II is set to Raw only. But it's worth it especially for high ISO shots. At times I'm hard pressed on-screen to tell 1600 ISO from the 5D Mark II to the 100 ISO out of my 40D. It's that GOOD!
  
  Video:
  I for one never thought I would be in this love for video. But this camera is awesome, low natural light great Bokeh low depth of field video. Just in time for the holidays. The only thing is after viewing the videos back on my iMac computer no matter how steady you hands are you will need a tripod. The tiniest movements when playing back on a computer or TV seem to be magnified no matter how steady I try and hand hold the camera.
  
  40D to 5D Mark II transition:
  
  Well, it looks a lot like my Canon 40D but the controls on the back are on the left instead of the bottom.
  
  Has a similar feel and weight to me at least maybe just a touch bigger and heavier then a 40D. Focus is better in low light for sure. Looks great with a Canon 17-40 F/4 L lens mounted. Maybe a little more rubbery grip on the grip.
  
  This will be a much easier transition coming from the Canon 40D to the Canon 5D Mark II then my transition from the Rebel XTi to the 40D as the control placement and use are very similar unlike when I switched from the Rebel to the 40D and everything was in a different location.
  
  Setup:
  
  Put the strap on while I'm waiting for the dead battery to charge.
  
  Ok battery is charged now, put it in, turn it on and set the time and date.
  
  Then plug into the Mac and set my preferences under the styles and choose my lenses under the peripheral illumination correction. Very nice and very easy.
  
  Put in the owners Information and copyright info. Gotta love that it's automatically on every photo now!
  
  Menus:
  
  Menus are a little different, but hey they are much sharper, this LCD is really sharp and bright!!!
  
  Who the heck put 10 images as the default for skipping on review!!! That's another one of the first changes to go!
  
  Bottom line:
  
  Bottom line is if you own a big L lens collection and do any shooting at all in the dark without flash and don't have a full framed camera the 5D Mark II is a must have addition!
  
  1-11-2009 Update:
  
  I installed firmware update 1.0.7 which is supposed to correct the black dot problem and now I can't get it to make a black dot photo at all. So hopefully this was the fix we were all seeking.
  
  This full framed sensor camera continues to impress me and the sensor continues to be dust free!
  
  4-1-2009 Update:
  
  This full framed sensor camera continues to impress. Just got back from shooting the 2009 Arizona Renaissance festival where I shot both the 40D and 5D Mark II and looking at the photos the 5D Mark II just walks all over the 40D in image quality. So much so that I don't reach for the 40D much any more the 5D Mark II is that much better. Got one spec of dust from lens changing at the Renaissance but it was easily blow off with my FireFly sensor cleaner. You can see a lot of the photos I took with the 5D Mark II at http://www.flickr.com/photos/grantbrummett/sets/72157613644226357/
  
  4-27-2009 I just got back from photographing the World Premiere of X-Men Origins: Wolverine and once again the 5D Mark II was awesome. I ended up mainly using two lenses the Canon 24-70 F/2.8 L zoom and Canon 100-400 IS L zoom lens. When you have only one chance to get Hugh Jackman riding by on his Harley you want to make sure you have reliable quick focusing equipment. You can see my photos from this shoot at http://www.flickr.com/photos/grantbrummett/sets/72157617413952332/...more info
• Great Camera. Ordered from B&H
  I just called B&H and seems like they got some shipments today. Although its not available via their website, by calling them, they are accepting orders. I placed my order for $2699.95 and will be receiving it on Dec 24th by free overnight shipping. Although I am a loyal Amazon.com customer, in this case B&H Rocks....more info
• Good camera but consider alternatives
  If you are heavily invested in Canon and own lots of their lenses, then your decision will be whether to buy the Canon 5D 1, or the new Canon 5D 2. In this regard, I would say the 5D 2 is the way to go because of increased ISO sensitivity, higher resolution, etc etc.
  
  VIDEO?
  PLEASE do not buy this camera because of the video because you will most assuredly be disappointed. I too was wowed by watching the various videos circulating on the web... but beware that the best quality video is that taken with fast prime lenses (e.g. max aperture f 1.4). The camera in indoor lighting often prefers to open the aperture wide allowing more light in... sounds great... problem is that its all manual focus.. so you have a paper thin depth of field.. which can create artistic effects, but for any real home video, you would spend all your time concentrating on focusing back and forth. If you are the type of person who is interested enough to spend a lot of time and effort to create short video clips (e.g. commercials etc), then this is nice... but if you're thinking, great, I won't need my camcorder... you're going to have one sore focusing finger.
  
  Not only that, I used to think the rolling shutter artifact was just people whining.. beware that it is not a minor artifact that bothers videophiles, it is a very real strange video artifact that can sometimes be very distracting and it can be present not just in panning, but also on still video.
  
  Shutter is still loud as hell, same as the 5D 1. AF is still very obsolete, like the 5D 1.
  
  That said, it is a great camera with wonderful quality, excellent resolution, and if you are a Canon guy/gal, you want this.
  ----
  If you are NOT a Canon guy/gal, consider the alternative. The Nikon D700. The advantage of the D700 is primarily in the greater more sophisticated 51 point 3d autofocus, which is essential for taking pics of moving objects well, such as kids. Even the most advanced camera in the world will be ridiculed if it can't focus well (ahem, 1d mark iii initially).
  
  Problems with the D700, choice of lenses is somewhat less than for Canon but obviously there are still plenty of lenses to choose from.. no video, that is minor since the video from the 5dii is not tremendously easy or useful.
  
  PROS 5D II:
  High megapixel for printing large posters
  Stunning HD Video when its good
  Wide choice of lenses
  
  CONS 5D II:
  HD video difficult to use due to manual focus, all other settings auto
  Loud shutter, hard to blend into background when shutter is that obnoxious
  AF horribly obsolete, same as old 5D, shame on you Canon
  
  PROS D700:
  Advanced modern AF, same as on top models
  Quiet shutter
  Reviews show better build quality and better ergonomics (I find both to be almost equal though)
  
  CONS D700:
  Lens choices slightly less
  "Only" 12 megapixel, only problematic for very large posters
  No video
  -------------------
  In the end, I returned the 5D mark ii and bought a D700 because I take pictures of live moving subjects, and AF is crucial. I have been very pleased.
  
  Picture quality of both cameras is equal (given that they are in focus). Before buying, please read other web reviews regarding 5DII ability to autofocus....more info
• A Star that fizzled
  I enjoy this camera as a still photography camera, but this is not only still photography camera and few who would purchase this camera would regard it as such. This camera is a digital still and motion picture camera that lacks essential features such as Manual Control and 24p. Features easily created, features that were not forgotten or overlooked, but deliberately withheld by the Camera's manufacturer. Companies like Red, Panasonic, Sony, and Nikon all stand to profit from Canon's glaring mistake and Canon has everything to lose in this increasingly competitive market. Simply by withholding features like manual control, Canon has not demonstrated the ability to provide professional solutions in a converging market. I will look elsewhere if these problems are not resolved.
  
  My review is simple. This camera is only half of what it could easily be. If this change is made in a firmware update, I will HIGHLY recommend the camera and L-series lenses to all my professional colleagues. Until then, I will steer them in other directions.
  
  Call Canon to address your Manual concern!
  
  In the USA:
  For toll-free technical support, please call 1 (800) 828-4040 during regular business hours (currently Monday-Friday 8:00 a.m. - 12:00 midnight. EST, Saturday 10:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m., excluding holidays)....more info
• not fully compatible with earlier EOS D-SLRs
  great camera, for sure, but I am extremely annoyed by the incompatibility of some of my EOS-parts with this one. For example, the battery/charger has been made slightly different than that of e.g. 20D...why????...more info
• THE BEST CAMERA IN THE ENTIRE UNIVERSE!
  I just picked up the body today and good god this is the best camera ever!
  
  The video is AWESOME!
  The image quality is AWESOME!
  The 21mp is AWESOME!
  The high def LCD is AWESOME!
  The full frame sensor is AWESOME!
  The high ISO is AWESOME!
  The auto focus is alright.
  
  I NEEEEEEDDSSS IT, MY PRECIOUSSSSSSSSS!
  
  Thanks for reading this review because its AWESOME!
  ...more info
• errors with frequent sequential shots
  I have had numerous Canon dSLRs over the years such as the 20D, 40D, Mark IIDs and rebel. I looked forward to the 5D Mark II with much anticipation and got one of the first ones. It has not lived up to my expectations. If I take several shots in a row I get an error. I suspect it will be fixed with a firmware update, but not before it interrupted a couple photo sessions and some pretty good shots. Its video is noisy and more of a gimmick than a worthy enhancement. I would avoid this particular model - maybe they will get it right with their next iteration....more info
• Sweet I can't wait!
  The previous reviewer was right B&H photo did have the camera in stock. They do not have the body only in stock. They only have the kit that comes with the 28-105 IS L series lens. I ordered it today with overnight shipping and it will be here by Wednesday! Just in time for Christmas....more info
• Impressive!!!
  I just got my 5D mark II today from Amazon (not the cold-blooded 3rd party dealer). My order was Camera plus 24-105 lens kit at $3499 but somehow it came with body only. I need to work out with Amazon later. Anyway. My 1st DSLR is Canon 40D, which is my baseline for the comparison.
  
  Pros:
  1. Full frame = Real wide angle. My 17-40 lens can now work as it's supposed to.
  2. High ISO with amazing quality. The noise level at ISO 12800 (H1) in 5D ~= ISO 1250-1600 in 40D. Noise software (ex: Noiseware) can still produce an acceptable image with 12800. Poor quality in 25600 (H2) is expected, and it can be used just in case. So my upper limit boosts from 1250 in 40D to 6400 in 5D which is a 2-1/3 stop jump (Thanks for Johnny Chan's correction).
  3. High quality LCD with a light sensor, so no need to adjust LCD brightness from time to time. It's neat.
  4. Autofocus microadjustment by lens.
  5. Others such as high pixel, HD video, HDMI port... etc, but those are not really a must to me. Still can get 30x20 printout with 10MP 40D by Photoshop.
  
  Cons:
  1. Sync speed = 200ns in 5D while 250ns in 40D. I use Canon 580EX II a lot for portrait shots. So 1-stop shutter speed matters. (Even I can use high speed mode in 580Ex).
  2. Frame-per-second = 3.9 in 5D but 6.5 in 40D
  
  Overall, it's a great upgrade to me and worth every penny.
  
  ------------------
  12/24/2008 update
  ------------------
  1. After calling/email to customer support, Amazon has refunded $800 price difference in 10 hours. I cannot satify more than this.
  
  2. New RAW from 5D MK II is no longer supported by Photoshop CS3 and earlier versions. That means upgrading to Photoshop CS4 is a MUST if shooting with RAW. It's another "hidden" cost...
  
  3. Just got the battery grip BG-E6 today from Adorama for ~$270. The pros is now it takes 6 AA batteries or 2 LP-E3 (which is also expensive ~$75 and also out-of-stock in most of places)... The cons is too heavy for me along with 24-70mm 2.8L lens. ...more info
• canon service
  There's been enough reviews on this camera so this isn't a camera review it concerns sending my new 5D Mark 2 in for cleaning.
  Canon no longer cleans the sensor, mirror, or focus screen for free if it's still under warranty. They told me they changed that and it is now $100 for cleaning. The California center is less friendly then the east coast center. The main dial on top of the camera, the one for manual, AP, etc was loose as well. They wouldn't tighten it unless I paid for the cleaning, they also wanted to replace the focus screen and wanted 200$ to do that. The focus screen cost 40$ and can be purchased through a number of qualified dealers and changed out by yourself in 10 mins.
  I've dealt with Canon for years and it used to be that the service center charged nominal fees if anything at all, all that has changed.
  It's a wonderful product but be careful if you need to send it in, even if it is under warranty expect a bill. Call them first so you know what to expect.
  Greg Lewandowski
  ...more info