Canon 5D mk II official owners/users thread, anything related to the 5D2

Mine arrived from Kerso yesterday! Haven't had a chance to play yet, charged the battery up, thats all! Shame I had a gig last night [I am writing at just past midnight!] and the extra stop or three would have been very useful.
Ist class service from Kerso again and can't wait to try it out at a gig!

Cheers,

Dunc
 
Apologies if this has been covered earlier! I prefer a grip in my mitts, what options/costs am I looking at?

Ta,

Dunc
 
Over a month with no new posts!? Everyone's still got the 5D Mark II love haven't they!!??
 
My Light Craft Workshop 9 Stop ND filter arrived this lunchtime! I'm going to take it out after lunch for a bit of a play!

Any tips on long exposure shots? I'm assuming low-ish ISO, meter the scene then cover viewfinder and put on the filter, calculate the new shutter speed (512x I assume for 9 stop) and fire away? Obv on a tripod. I haven't got a remote yet so 30s should be the maximum I can go for at the moment.
 
Got a 5dmkII 2 weeks ago...... It's a different ball game from my 400D !!

It was a great move though...... Hope I can make the most of it...

Interested to see the results of using the Light Craft Workshop 9 Stop ND filter - I got the Light craft Fader, which needs to be returned due to it giving dark/uneven patches throughout the frame.....

Phil
 
Here are a few test shots from the 9 Stop filter, using the 24-70. Bigger shots are on my Flickr photostream, link in sig.

The first is a 20 second shot, in pretty bright sunlight, f22, ISO 50

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The second is the same shot but only 8 seconds, f16

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The final shot is 10 seconds at f16, again at ISO 50.

4598913208_9c0d16d9f3.jpg
 
Is it my imagination, or is there a consistent darker strip down each photo on the right hand quarter of each image? It looks a bit like there is an ND grad stuck on the right hand side.

In the first two shots the colour of the sea seems to have altered in a peculiar way from left to right.
 
Now you mention it Tim, I think you might be right! I'll do a bit more investigating.

/edit: looking at the original files before I started pp'ing them in photoshop, there does appear to be a cast to the right hand side of the images but it's difficult to tell as it was quite a bit brighter to the south (left) than it was to the overcast north. I'll have to take a few more shots to see if there's a problem.
 
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I'm gonna have to leave the office and get home to view these as work seems to be blocking the photos or where theya re hosted :(

TTFN

Phil
 
I 'think' I might not have screwed the filter on fully for one or two of the shots (I was taking it off between meterings) so that might have been a factor. Other than that I'm stumped. I haven't had chance to do some controlled test shots but a visual inspection of the filter doesn't suggest any difference in cast when held up to the light.

After the reported issues with the Fader I'm now a bit skeptical!
 
tdodd said:
Is it my imagination, or is there a consistent darker strip down each photo on the right hand quarter of each image? It looks a bit like there is an ND grad stuck on the right hand side.

In the first two shots the colour of the sea seems to have altered in a peculiar way from left to right.
Click to expand...

I think that is just the sea reflecting the clouds. :thinking:
 
I think I agree!

I've done a series of test shots and the filter seems fine across the frame.
 
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I've just taken delivery of a Phottix TR-90 C8 Timer Remote. First impressions are very good, it looks to be identicle to the much more expensive Canon TC-80N3. I got it for just under £25 from ebay so it's seems to be great value.
 
just ordered mine from Martin's Camera Shop (cheapest on Camera Price Buster)... does anybody know what delivery is like from there?

I've also got an EOS 500D, 50mm f1.8 lens and generic cable release for sale !
 
cuthbert said:
just ordered mine from Martin's Camera Shop (cheapest on Camera Price Buster)... does anybody know what delivery is like from there?

I've also got an EOS 500D, 50mm f1.8 lens and generic cable release for sale !
Click to expand...

Nice one !

That 50mm 1.8 will fit/work on your 5d, mind you ;)
 
Received delivery of mine yesterday. :)

Can't wait to get out and use it this weekend.
 
i had to cancel my order from "martin's camera shop" unfortunately... they were telling me that i wouldn't get the camera for at least 10 days (out of stock). annoying because they charged my card anyway.

ordered from amazon instead. it does annoy me when these websites give the impression they have stock when they don't.
 
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I need to buy more CF cards for an event I'm shooting and I use Kingston atm. Want to move to Sandisk but are the Extreme III's at 30mb/s fine for continuous shooting at full resolution RAWs? If a RAW file is typically no more than 30mb it should take a second per image which is fine for continuous shooting isn't it?

Anyone on here use the Extreme IIIs on their 5D Mark II?
 
Shooboo, the 5D2 has an internal buffer which can hold up to 13 raw files before it has to write them out to the memory card. So continuous burst shooting is always available, up to a point, with even the slowest card on the planet. As individual files are cleared from the buffer so space is made available to cary on shooting. So if you only shoot short bursts, with gaps in between, or longer bursts with longer gaps then you may find you don't need a super fast card. What you need depends entirely on whether or not you ever fill the buffer and how fast you want to resume shooting once the buffer is filled. If you have a card that can clear files at one file per second then you can judge how soon you can resume shooting and how many shots you can get off before re-filling the buffer and having to wait again.

For a lot of people there is no need for a fast card at all, while shooting, although some seem to feel it is important to be able to download the card to computer as fast as possible and are happy to pay a big premium for that privilege. Personally I use 32GB Transcend 133X cards in my 5D2 and 7D and find them perfectly adequate, even when firing off bursts. I've had them for over 18 months and never had a problem.

I do use a 30MB/s Sandisk Extreme III in my 1D3 (got it as a freebie with my 50D) and don't find it offers any advantage since the odds of me ever filling the internal buffer are approximately nil.

You can find a table of CF card performance figures for the 5D2 here....

http://www.robgalbraith.com/bins/camera_multi_page.asp?cid=6007-9784

My card comes in at a lowly 11.4 MB/s, while a Sandisk Extreme III 30MB/s card comes in at around 22MB/s. Since I don't fill my 5D2 buffer I'm completely happy with that performance and have chosen to spend my money on capacity rather than speed.

YMMV
 
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tdodd said:
Shooboo, the 5D2 has an internal buffer which can hold up to 13 raw files before it has to write them out to the memory card. So continuous burst shooting is always available, up to a point, with even the slowest card on the planet. As individual files are cleared from the buffer so space is made available to cary on shooting. So if you only shoot short bursts, with gaps in between, or longer bursts with longer gaps then you may find you don't need a super fast card. What you need depends entirely on whether or not you ever fill the buffer and how fast you want to resume shooting once the buffer is filled. If you have a card that can clear files at one file per second then you can judge how soon you can resume shooting and how many shots you can get off before re-filling the buffer and having to wait again.

For a lot of people there is no need for a fast card at all, while shooting, although some seem to feel it is important to be able to download the card to computer as fast as possible and are happy to pay a big premium for that privelege. Personally I use 32GB Transcend 133X cards in my 5D2 and 7D and find them perfectly adequate, even when firing off bursts. I've had them for over 18 months and never had a problem.

I do use a 30MB/s Sandisk Extreme III in my 1D3 (got it as a freebie with my 50D) and don't find it offers any advantage since the odds of me ever filling the internal buffer are approximately nil.

You can find a table of CF card performance figures for the 5D2 here....

http://www.robgalbraith.com/bins/camera_multi_page.asp?cid=6007-9784

My card comes in at a lowly 11.4 MB/s, while a Sandisk Extreme III 30MB/s card comes in at around 22MB/s. Since I don't fill my 5D2 buffer I'm completely happy with that performance and have chosen to spend my money on capacity rather than speed.

YMMV
Click to expand...

That's a fantastic response :) I think from what you say I'll get the extreme III as I can get double the capacity for the same price as a IV. I just was conscious of potentially losing a critical shot at an event and as long as I'm using a card that matches the speed of the 5DII I'm happy. Wasn't aware of the internal buffer, so thanks. As for downloading speed, that is less critical for me than writing speed.
 
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There is a table of burst capacities on page 55 of the manual, and a bit more chit chat on pages 56-57. Note as well that the viewfinder includes a display of the number of "burst" shots remaining at any point in time.

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You will see the number reduce as you fire quickly and then increase again as the buffer empties.
 
Got mine today. Holy smeg.

The full frame sensor size gives wide aperture lenses a real dream like quality. It's quite amazing to see how the size of the sensor causes the lens to perform so differently.

Can't really add anything that hasn't been said.

Only thing that's foxing me at the moment is all the buttons are in the wrong place - the location of the power switch is going to take some getting used to.

I went from an SX1 to a 500D - the power button was in the same place on these cameras so it's a bit strange to have it on the bottom.

The LCD panel on the top is a real time saver too - clicking through, changing autofocus point etc etc is much quicker.

Great camera.
 
cuthbert said:
Got mine today. Holy smeg.

The full frame sensor size gives wide aperture lenses a real dream like quality. It's quite amazing to see how the size of the sensor causes the lens to perform so differently.

Can't really add anything that hasn't been said.

Only thing that's foxing me at the moment is all the buttons are in the wrong place - the location of the power switch is going to take some getting used to.
I went from an SX1 to a 500D - the power button was in the same place on these cameras so it's a bit strange to have it on the bottom.

The LCD panel on the top is a real time saver too - clicking through, changing autofocus point etc etc is much quicker.

Great camera.
Click to expand...

It is a bit awkward but I just leave it on. Camera powers down anyway and it doesn't appear to drain the battery.

I only turn it off if it's in a bag where something might touch the shutter release.
 
well, after my first weekend with the 5d2, here are a few observations:

1) concerns about the autofocus are misplaced - the autofocus system in the 5d2 is much better (faster/more accurate) than the 500d. maybe those who were complaining didn't turn on the assist points in the custom function menu? even using a non-centre point is more accurate than the 500d (which were pretty hopeless)

2) although the position of the power switch will throw me for a while, the dials make navigating menus and settings so much easier. changing the active focus point with the little joystick button is so easy, i can do it in a flash and i don't miss a shot.

3) looking through the viewfinder might as well be a trip to the odeon. it's huge, bright and clear. so much better than the 500d.

4) the quality of the recorded images is awesome. i went from an sx1 to a 500d. that was a huge leap. it would say the difference between a 500d and a 5d2 is at least a jump of the same magnitude - especially at iso 400 or greater.

5) images are so sharp. so sharp it's just incredible the amount of detail the sensor is able to resolve. you can keep zooming and there is still detail there. i can't wait to try this with my 100mm macro.

6) i think i would struggle to use a crop camera again. that extra field of view makes it almost like you've stuck a new lens on your camera. i understand that some people would rather have the reach, but the full frame sensor turns my 135 f/2 into something truly magical.

if i get time later, i'll try to post some of my photos from this weekend in the people and portraits forum....
 
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