I am not sure.
Improvements compared to the old Canon 5D:
- 21.1 megapixel (5,616 x 3,744 pixels), compared to 12.8 megapixels (4,368 x 2,912 pixels)
- DIGIC 4 image processor, compared to DIGIC II
- 100-6400 ISO (expandable to L (50), H1 (12800), H2 (25600)), compared to 100-1600 (expandable to L (50), H (3200))
- 3.9 frames per second continuous shooting (78 JPEG or 13 Raw in a single burst), compared to 3 fps (60 JPEG or 17 Raw)
- Small Raw modes: sRAW1 mode (10 megapixel/3861 x 2574 pixels), sRAW2 mode (5.2 megapixel/2784 x 1856 pixels)
- 98% viewfinder coverage with 0.71x magnification, compared to 96% coverage
- Larger 3.0-inch (76 mm) LCD display with 640 x 480 VGA resolution (307,200 pixels/921,600 dots), compared to 2.5-inch (64 mm)
- 1800mAh LP-E6 battery, compared to 1390mAh BP-511A
New features:
- Movie recording with 12 minutes of full HD at 1920×1080, or 30 minutes of SDTV at 640×480 resolution, up to 4 GB, 30 frames/s (due to FAT32′s limitations)
- Monaural microphone for audio during video recording, speaker for playback and microphone jack for external stereo microphone
- Live preview with contrast-detect autofocus
- HDMI video output for high resolution viewing on an external monitor or TV (via MiniHDMI port)
- Dust reduction system to perform automatic sensor cleaning
- Battery management software
The Mark II has the new 21.1 megapixel full frame CMOS sensor. It is a 8.3 megapixel jump in pixel count from the original 5D. This new sensor is said to be based on that of the EOS-1Ds Mark III (indeed it has exactly the same pixel count) but has several small changes, the hint being that it’s actually slightly better. Well, I looked at countless test images. I haven’t seen a real difference. The old Canon 5D is really good as well. Of course the new 5D allows more cropping. This may be useful in certain situations. Whatsmore, the new DIGIC IV image processor, 14-bit ADC enables various new image processing features (such as lens peripheral illumination correction) as well as dealing with 21 megapixels of data at up to 3.9 frames per second (or 82 megapixels a second).
The 5D Mark II becomes the second Canon DSLR (after the EOS 50D) to feature the new DIGIC 4 processor, by the way.
The 5D Mark II is the first camera in the EOS line to provide video recording functions. Well, this is not really useful for me, to be honest. My job is to capture outstanding wedding photos rather than recording the event. In addition, the biggest single problem in the video mode is that you have no control over iris, ISO setting, or shutter speed. There’s an exposure lock button that will lock the exposure variables to whatever the LCD displays at the time you press the button. There are no on-screen indicators that show the settings that the camera has chosen for you. The only control you have is the color temperature setting. Basically, you pan the camera around in the scene and let the brightness float up and down. When you see what you think is a good exposure on the rear LCD screen, you press the lock button. Since the exposure lock resets after each scene or take, chances are you won’t have consistent exposures over multiple takes of a particular scene.
I don’t really know what to do with the Live preview. I am not sure I would ever use it.
Shutter is still loud as hell, same as the 5D 1. In weddings, during the ceremony, it is rather important to capture everything while there everybody is dead silent. Well, there is no real improvement here, either.
Extra small sRAW / separate selection. You now have three JPEG and three RAW image size options combined with two JPEG compression levels. When selecting quality you now simply turn the front dial to select RAW quality and the main dial (rear) to select JPEG quality. What is this for? I have never understood while would somebody shoot in format which provides LESS image quality. Set your camera to the highest quality JPG or RAW and forget this feature for ever!
What is more useful for a wedding photographer is the ISO 100 – 6400 calibrated range, ISO 50 – 25600 expansion (1Ds Mark III & 5D max ISO 3200). Finally!!!! Nikon cameras have been much superior as far as ISO range concerned! To tell you the truth I even considered to switch to Nikon for that reason. To me this is the most important improvement and the question is that this single improvement is worth $1200 dollars (the price difference between a slightly used old Canon 5D and the new Mark II). I really think that the new Auto ISO (100 – 3200) in all modes except manual can be helpful as well. In weddings sometimes you don’t have time to adjust features. If I start adjusting the settings I often miss a shoot.
Furthermore the new Li-Ion battery which has a 1800mAh capacity. The capacity is not a big improvement but the novelty is that each battery contains a microchip with a unique identifier for reporting charge status and battery health for display on the camera. The 5D Mark II’s ‘Battery Info’ screen can track battery health and shooting history for up to six LP-E6 batteries.
Also, the new 5D has a dust reduction system. This is great! I shoot a lot and it is inevitable that dust gets on to the camera sensor. I often notice the dust and I have to clean the camera censor every two weeks. I also have a 40D with the dust reduction system and it rocks! No dust at all!
Of course, there are other new features which may justify the upgrade, however these features are more for keeping up with Nikon and targeting serious amateurs rather than making a big difference for professional photographers.
If you don’t have expensive Canon lenses already, consider 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).
For the price of the new Canon 5D you can buy two slightly used one. Basically, you could have a second 5D as a back-up camera. To tell you the truth I would rather have two old 5D and put my 85mm lens on one and the 35mm prime lens on the other one and shoot the whole weddings with prime lenses! But it is only me… What do you think?
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