Sunday, March 5, 2017

Canon EOS 5D Mark II in the test

A battery grip (BG-E6) can be bought for the solid magnesium housing of the EOS 5D Mark II if you want to improve the handling in portrait format. In addition, the manufacturer has sealed the new one much better against dust and splash water than was the case with their predecessor. The 5D Mark II has also apparently grown in the quality of closure, as the manufacturer now wants to guarantee 150,000 releases, 50 percent more than before. As with the top model, the 5D Mark II has a sensor cleaning system on board.


Live view with face detection and videos in full-HD


The SLR viewfinder is slightly smaller with 0.71x magnification than with the 1Ds Mark III (0.76x), but still large enough. The image field coverage has been increased from 95 to 98 percent, and the shims can be changed as in the top model. In the TFT monitor, the new clearly has the nose in front, as the resolution has been tripled with the diagonal (3 inches / 7.6 cm) unchanged.


Proven operating concept of the upscale EOS models


Convenient, but can also be switched off if required, is the automatic mode with which the monitor adjusts its brightness to ambient light. Live-view is only available with the EOS-Topmodell in combination with manual focusing, while the EOS 5D Mark II is available for phase and contrast AF, complemented by facial recognition. The digic-4 processor introduced with the EOS 50D delivers the computational power required, which is obviously only one point in the double digic-3 processor of the 1Ds Mark III: the maximum image frequency is "only" 3 for the 5D Mark II , 8 B / s, while the full-featured is up to 4.8 B / s.


When triggered not quite as fast as the predecessor


Buying advice Nikon system: The DSLRs of the middle class D90, D7000 and D300s


Image quality


In addition to JPEGs and RAWs in various quality levels or sizes, the Canon is the first digital camera to record full-HD video with 1920 x 1080 pixels (HDTV standard 1080 p). The currently only competitor with video function, the Nikon D90, is satisfied with a resolution of 1280 x 720 pixels (HDTV standard 720 p). In addition, the Nikon uses the older Motion JPEG codec to compress the video data while the EOS 5D Mark II works with the more efficient H.264 codec. The maximum recording time is therefore at the EOS with 12 minutes more than twice as long as with the Nikon. In addition, the EOS can activate the autofocus in the video mode with the AF-on button, while the Nikon can only be focused manually when shooting. Disadvantage: The roaring of the autofocus is audible in the recording at the EOS. At the very least, you should turn off the beep that signals the successful focus. Even less background noise can be heard if you use an external microphone, which can be connected to the EOS via mini-jack socket.


In operation, the 5D Mark II follows the example of all the upscale Canon models: the large thumbwheel at the rear makes navigating in the menus and changing the picture in the playback menu for pleasure. In addition, there is a small joystick, which replaces the usual 4-way switch. The mode dial for the exposure programs, on the upper left of the housing, has three setting positions (C1-C3) for previously created camera profiles, which can be selected in this way unbureaucratically. CA, on the other hand, stands for a modified automatic system with entry-level access possibilities, for example for more or less sharpening depth in the image.


Buying advice Nikon system: The full-format cameras D700, D800 / E, D3x and D4


To the right of the viewfinder prism is the LC-Display typical for the model series for the display of recording data. The display has four buttons to access the following parameters: ISO setting and exposure compensation, AF mode and drive (single / series, self-timer), white balance and exposure metering method. In addition to the 35-sector matrix measurement, the EOS 50D also allows the option to be used in mid-range, integral (approximately 9% of the viewfinder) and spot (3.8% of the viewfinder) Operating area retracted: Pressing the joystick opens a display panel on the monitor in which camera settings are not only visible but can be changed directly. To do this, use the joystick to navigate to the relevant field to operate with one of the two command dials ("Quick Control Screen")


For automatic focusing, the EOS 5D Mark II uses the AF system of its predecessor with 9 points including a cross sensor and not the more elaborate system of the professional model (45 AF points, 19 cross sensors). However, an AF fine correction for compensating front or backfocus problems is on board both. With the shutter release delay including the AF time, the camera reaches good values ​​with 0.28 / 0.33 s at 3000/30 lux, which were even better (0.18 / 0.24 s) in the predecessor Br>


Purchase advice Sony system: The DSLRs Alpha A850 and A900


An important innovation in the 5D Mark II is the vignetting correction. With the aid of the software delivered to the camera (EOS Utility), the corresponding lens data of up to 40 different Canon lenses can be registered. The vignetting correction, when switched on, takes effect when recording JPEGs in the camera. For RAWs, however, the function is shifted to the external RAW converter and is activated on the computer during post-processing.


At the limit resolution, the EOS 5D Mark II creates a maximum of 1681 LP / BH and thus about 70 LP / BH less than the 1Ds Mark III, but is better with the texture loss without reaching the Nikon models. In the case of noise, very good values ​​between VN 0.5 and 0.9 are achieved - these are the previous reference values ​​of the Nikon D3, which, however, has a significantly lower nominal resolution for the same sensor size. The dynamics are also pleasant: Starting with 10 screens at ISO 100, the EOS does not drop to ISO 1600 more than to 9.5 screens. The bottom line of the EOS 5D Mark II is a new benchmark in image quality, which remains remarkably constant over the range measured in the test lab. In points: 60.5 with ISO 100 and 58.5 with ISO 1600. For comparison: The 1Ds Mark III reaches 61 points with ISO 100, but only 51.5 with ISO 1600.


Canon EOS 5D Mark II

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