Canon 5D MkII Announced!

[Ryox]

Addition of Canon’s EOS Integrated Cleaning System, with a new Fluorine coating on the low-pass filter

Larger 3.0” Clear View LCD with VGA resolution, a 170° 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, utilising detailed EF lens information to optimise JPEG images straight out of the camera

Magnesium alloy construction with additional environmental protection

UDMA memory card compatibility.

New 21.1 Megapixel CMOS sensor with improved EOS Integrated Cleaning System (E.I.C.S.)

New Full HD 1080 resolution movie recording

3.9 frames per second continuous shooting

High performance DIGIC 4 providing superb image quality

Maximum 310 large JPEG images in a single burst with a UDMA card

3.0” VGA (920k dots) Clear View LCD

ISO 100-6400 (expansion from 50 up to 25,600)

9 AF points + 6 Assist AF points

 

[ksz]

And the price is $2699 in the US. This is just amazing...contingent on the image quality holding up.

A 21MP FF sensor body for $2700!

The last Canon 21MP body was $8000. So much for those who argued that FF sensors would not come down in price any time soon.

If image quality holds up, I will keep my Nikon D200 for DX and purchase the Canon 5D MkII for full frame.

12 minutes of HD video at 30fps (4GB filesize limit), STEREO sound, and MPEG-4.

98% viewfinder.

Will be available end of November.

 

[Westside guy]

If Canon actually provides a decent ISO 25600 in a 21 MP sensor - good for them! I look forward to the photos from the shoot-outs...

And HD movie mode. I guess I still don't get it, but I'm old.

 

[Chundles]

The Powershot G10 has also been announced - awesome P&S to go with the crazy-good 5D MkII.

 

[Westside guy]

AF and shutter seem a trifle underwhelming - but that's Canon being Canon, and protecting its high-end cameras from any possible cannibalization in sales.

It'll be interesting, over time, to see if that new fluorine coating makes a big difference regarding dust on the sensor.

 

[rouxeny]

Sweet!

21 MP, pretty amazing.

The fps is a bit low still, but I guess it's understandable.

Now when's it actually going to be available?

 

[Lone Deranger]

Aah.... the 5D Mk II at last!!

This camera with the newly announced CZ Distagon T* 2.8/21 will make for the ultimate landscape photography kit.

 

[robbieduncan]

Shame the UK price is absolutely ridiculous. £2300! The US price translated to UK with VAT then added is only £1776. I know this is the same gripe as ever but that's a huge markup on the US price.

 

[Hmac]

I was a little surprised at the specs, especially the AF and shutter, no grip, same faulty mirror mechanism at the 5D, etc. It seems like Canon thinks that when it comes to marketing, megapixels are still the name of the game.

We'll have to see actual images, but spec-wise, this isn't the D700-killer that Canon users were anticipating. Disappointment and apologists are running rampant on the Canon forums.

The 5D MkII being a little "low-level", Nikon has to to be wondering what the follow-on is going to be. I don't think they have to worry about the 5D MkII, but they should be wondering what the Mark IV's are going to be like...

 

[OreoCookie]

So the rumors were true and Canon did shift the niche of the 5D from low noise to high MP. The D700 and 5D Mark II don't seem to be competitors. It'll be interesting to see what the noise is like with 20+ MP at ISO25,600 …

@Hmac
What do you mean by `same faulty mirror mechanism'?

 

[robbieduncan]

@Hmac
What do you mean by `same faulty mirror mechanism'?

Quite a few 5Ds suffered mirror failure well short of the expected actuations. The mirrors literally fell off. Something to do with the glue used to attach them!

 

[OreoCookie]

Quite a few 5Ds suffered mirror failure well short of the expected actuations. The mirrors literally fell off. Something to do with the glue used to attach them!

I see.
(Since I'm a Nikon guy, I don't pay so much attention to this.)

So how do we know Canon still uses the same mechanism?

 

[Col127]

supposed to be end of november for shipping! list price for body is $2699 US

Sweet!

21 MP, pretty amazing.

The fps is a bit low still, but I guess it's understandable.

Now when's it actually going to be available?

yeah that looks amazing i wonder how fast it's raw shooting is...

The Powershot G10 has also been announced - awesome P&S to go with the crazy-good 5D MkII.

 

[Edge100]

The 5D MkII being a little "low-level", Nikon has to to be wondering what the follow-on is going to be. I don't think they have to worry about the 5D MkII, but they should be wondering what the Mark IV's are going to be like...

Exactly. While there is still lots to differentiate between a 5DmkII and a 1Ds mkIII, the price gap is so huge that Canon will be forced for come up with something spectacular for the 1Ds mkIV.

Still, we'll have to see what the noise performance is on this thing. If it's passable at >6400 ISO, that will still be a huge stpe forward for Canon.

EDIT: And let's not forget that FF for $2699MSRP is absolutely ridiculous. Hopefully this drives down the price of used 5Ds even more (although this was already in some ways factored into the current price of used 5Ds), and I'll be able to pick up the mkI for ~$1100 or so.

 

[andrewdale]

AF and shutter seem a trifle underwhelming - but that's Canon being Canon, and protecting its high-end cameras from any possible cannibalization in sales.

See, and I've heard so many people say that they didn't want to buy the D700 or D3 because of how similar they were in specs but such a gap in price, all for a full-sized body.

Maybe Canon jips on some specs, but it keeps their business running quite well to my ears.

 

[Digital Skunk]

AF and shutter seem a trifle underwhelming - but that's Canon being Canon, and protecting its high-end cameras from any possible cannibalization in sales.

Agreed. I was upset with the first 5D since it was basically a Rebel with a full frame sensor in it. The update is amazing but that shooting speed and autofocus makes me a bit upset. Also, to those that say the D700 and 5D don't compete, I agree to an extent. The D700 is certainly a much faster camera in AF and shooting speed, great for the journalist/sports shooter and depending on your shooting style a wedding photographer.

It does in a way compete because everyone that can't look beyond the specs will see two full framed cameras and say, "This one's better!" without much thought.

If Canon actually provides a decent ISO 25600 in a 21 MP sensor - good for them! I look forward to the photos from the shoot-outs...

And HD movie mode. I guess I still don't get it, but I'm old.

I don't get it on such a high end camera myself. Glad that it's full HD, but it seems to be another gimmicky feature for the pro shooter. Since the biggest thing to watch for in video is sound, and no SLR will have the proper connections for good audio.

The benefit for having HD video in an SLR is the cheap tele and specialty lenses, but with no good audio all we will have are silent films or crappy skate videos with EMO music playing in the background.

 

[robbieduncan]

Since the biggest thing to watch for in video is sound, and no SLR will have the proper connections for good audio.

The 5DII has an input for external stereo mics...

 

[miloblithe]

Agreed. I was upset with the first 5D since it was basically a Rebel with a full frame sensor in it.

I understand what you mean, but it's not basically a Rebel. If anything, it's basically a x0D with a full frame sensor in it, which is a significant difference.

$1100 for a 5D Mark 1 is still a long way off, I'd wager. More like $1500 at best. It's still a great camera and still has no competition (sub $2000 full frame). For most people, $1000 is a lot of money.

 

[Edge100]

$1100 for a 5D Mark 1 is still a long way off, I'd wager. More like $1500 at best. It's still a great camera and still has no competition (sub $2000 full frame). For most people, $1000 is a lot of money.

Yeah, the reduction in the price of used 5Ds has already taken into account the imminent arrival of the mkII. Not sure we'll see a huge cut in price in the near future beyond normal depreciation. Still, $2600 for FF with substantial new features (again, let's see how good it is at ISO6400 and higher) might make a lot of people sell their mkI.

 

[GoCubsGo]

If Canon actually provides a decent ISO 25600 in a 21 MP sensor - good for them! I look forward to the photos from the shoot-outs...

And HD movie mode. I guess I still don't get it, but I'm old.

I don't get HD movie mode either. Perhaps on the D90, it being considering a "prosumer" camera. On the 5D? Not so much.

Sweet!

21 MP, pretty amazing.

The fps is a bit low still, but I guess it's understandable.

Now when's it actually going to be available?

How is the FPS being low "understandable"? Though as someone already stated, it is Canon being Canon and they need to ensure they won't cannibalize their pro line.

The 5DII has an input for external stereo mics...

Yeah but please! If you need/want to record in HD you're going to want more than 12 minutes of video and this is a digital still camera. Go out and buy a real HD camera. It's a gimmick ... first Nikon and now Canon. Soon enough I guess we're going to buy all-in-one cameras. I'd rather have say less noise than the option to record in HD for 12 whole minutes.

 

[robbieduncan]

I'd rather have say less noise than the option to record in HD for 12 whole minutes.

I don't disagree at all. I was simply posting the facts. The 12min thing is due to buffering/write speed on current UDMA flash cards. The actual hard limit is 29 mins 59 seconds. This is because the EU impose a higher rate of import duty on cameras that can record 30 mins or more

 

[GoCubsGo]

I don't disagree at all. I was simply posting the facts. The 12min thing is due to buffering/write speed on current UDMA flash cards. The actual hard limit is 29 mins 59 seconds. This is because the EU impose a higher rate of import duty on cameras that can record 30 mins or more

Oh I know it wasn't an attempt to somehow make the whole HD recording thing more handsome to consumers. I was just saying that it is ridiculous (not your statement the idea of attaching a mic). That said, I had no idea about the import duty deal. That is equally absurd!

 

[Ryox]

Well I'm buying one

 

[-hh]

So the rumors were true and Canon did shift the niche of the 5D from low noise to high MP. The D700 and 5D Mark II don't seem to be competitors. It'll be interesting to see what the noise is like with 20+ MP at ISO25,600 …

Well, at 21MP, it definitely means that the waning horsepower of my 2003 vintage G5 PowerMac also needs to be included in the total 'upgrade' budget.

And HD movie mode. I guess I still don't get it, but I'm old.

I find it to be interesting on two fronts. The first is that for my UW photography, I've been debating still-vs-video for several years. With my Nikonos malfunction last November and shooting the Kona Manta Ray night dive with the video mode on a P&S, this internal debate/struggle continues, but the 5Dmk2 has the potential to have my cake and eat it too ... well, assuming that I can find an appropriate lighting system that can also do both; I'll have to send an email off to Ikelite

Well I'm buying one

Its the event that I've been waiting for before deciding on how to upgrade to my 35mm underwater camera system. At first blush, it looks very promising and real world reviews of its performance will be available before anyone ships an UW housing, so I have the luxury of letting the initial burst of purchases pass.

FWIW, as per dpreview, the body-only prices are: US: $ 2,699, EU: € 2,499, UK: £ 2,299. While the UK price is underwhelming, at the current $-€ exchange rate, the EU version in US Dollars is interestingly $1666.

EDIT: Oops Alert! Got the exchange rate backwards. € 2,499 would be US$ 3,750.

If I were to buy the camera in the EU, I'd probably have a local VAT on top of that, but as I depart, I can file for a refund on that, correct? From there, it looks like I'd have to pay a US Customs Duty of 3% of the amount in excess of the standard $800 deduction, which would be around $25. If this math works, I'm looking for some 'how to' advice on the practicality of buying it during my next business trip to Europe.


-hh

 

[robbieduncan]

If I were to buy the camera in the EU, I'd probably have a local VAT on top of that

I'm pretty sure that EU prices should include VAT. UK prices certainly do as do shop sticker prices elsewhere in the EU.