I Borrowed A Friend's 5D Mark 2

Some of you know that I am desperately in need of replacing my trusty old 1D Mark 2 (non N). I have considered the 1D MK3 and the 50D, but since for at least the next few months have the opportunity to wait I have held off on either. My time frame is to have a new camera by the Holiday season so I can test it prior to an Africa trip in late February.

Well I borrowed a friends 5DMK2 and learned the following.

The detail in the images from the newer cameras is amazing. I really like the deep color tones and overall file quality. FF is nice, but for less than 50% of my shooting is important. I didn't miss the 1.3 crop of my MK2 as much as I thought as I could crop the 21 mp files to be larger than those of my 1D MK2 and still fill the frame as desired.

I really missed a fast frame rate. The less than 4fps of the 5DMK2 is just not up to what I need. I also missed the ability to AF at f8. So my 500 with 2X TC could not AF and since the camera is FF the loss of reach is aggravating. A 1.6 crop would mostly make up for this allowing my 500 to AF with a 1.4 TC.

So, a long post to say that I will not be buying a 5D MK2, but will either get a 50/60D (when the 60D is released)or the soon (I hope) to be released 1D MK4. I believe the detail in the files of the 50/60D and any future 1D will equal the 5DMK2 although not give the large print size in its native resolution.

I did not try the movie mode as it is not a factor to me at this time.

I am just posting my thoughts as they may be of interest to others.

Ed:

A major disadvantage in not buying a top end digital body is that you lose auto focus when using the teleconverters unless you use the trick of taping the contacts which doesn't always work.

If manual focus is OK with you then go for the 5D MK II.

I like the heft and feel of the Mk III and it is sure fast when shooting a burst mode. Some have said that it is like a machine gun versus a pop gun!!

Ed,
I use my 5 years old 1D2 (from new) for BIF shootings. I bought a 50D last April as I was tired of waiting for a replacement body for 1D3; still no sign of it yet! I'm happy with the large file (pixels) and the 6.3 fps for action. AF tracking is good and usable for my intent although not in the same league as my 1D2. Meantime I still keep my 1D2 for those ultimate action shots ...

Ed,

I am in the same boat.. My MKII is long in the tooth and I have a 40D as a backup. I took a MKIII and a DsMKIII with me last year to TX and the image quality was amazing. I have used a 50D and liked it but I am just more comfortable with the pro body design and feel. Not to mention the weather sealing.

I am not normally one to wait but I am hanging on until the new 1 series is released.. Common Canon the money is sitting in the account waiting for you !!

Lou

Same boat here! I have a 1D Mk IIN and was itching for something new. I got the 50D as a back up but I find myself using it the most with the exception of high frame rate situations. The resolution is much better than the 1D and the frame rate and AF is good. But I don't do this for a living, so I have the luxury of waiting things out.

Joseph Martines wrote:A major disadvantage in not buying a top end digital body is that you lose auto focus when using the teleconverters unless you use the trick of taping the contacts which doesn't always work.

If manual focus is OK with you then go for the 5D MK II.

Well you get what you pay for, including no problems with AF using the 300/2.8 + 2xII +5D1 or 2.

philw;

True, you get what you pay for.

It is unfortunate for the consumer that the vendors do not make it easy to find out which lenses work problem free on the various bodies they sell.

You have to really dig to find that information.

Joseph Martines wrote:It is unfortunate for the consumer that the vendors do not make it easy to find out which lenses work problem free on the various bodies they sell.

Joseph, I'm not sure I understand what you mean. What lenses don't work well with what bodies and what is not being disclosed?

It isn't that the lenses don't work well.

Not all lenses will auto-focus on Canon bodies lower then the top end series when using a teleconverter - 1Mk III and 1 Ds Mk III and the whole series of "Pro" bodies.

The 5 D and 5 D II don't sync when you use a teleconverter. I know a friend who has tried a 100 - 400 mm on a 5 D Mk II and the teleconverter did not auto focus.

I know that unless you manual focus a teleconverter does no good on a 40 D and a 50 D.

I don't know how far down the line the teleconverters work with the Nikon series bodies.

The algorithm for determining if a body will auto-focus with a particular teleconverter and lens combination is relatively easy to understand. It goes something like this:

All Canon bodies (save for 1-series) will only auto-focus if the reported lens maximum aperture is f/5.6 or larger. The center AF point on the 1-series will auto-focus on reported maximum lens aperture of f/8 or larger.

The Canon 1.4x TC reports a maximum lens aperture of 1 stop smaller than whatever lens is attached
The Canon 2x TC reports a maximum lens aperture of 2 stops smaller than whatever lens is attached.

So if you have a 300mm f/2.8 lens, you'll get AF functionality on all Canon bodies with both teleconverters
If you have say a 500 f/4, you'll get AF function with the 1.4x TC on all Canon bodies, and with the 2x TC only with the center AF point of the 1-series.

The reason they have chosen to do this is not because the AF sensors are incapable of working at f/8 and beyond but because with the diminished amount of light, the AF will be unreliable, especially in anything but bright light. You can bypass this by doing the 'tape the pins' trick so the camera is tricked into AFing, though the results you get may be hit or miss.

To thedigitalbean:

Thank you for the explanation.

Aravind explained it.

Canon Pro bodies AF to f/8, Canon non-pro bodies to f/5.6. So if you have a lens like the 400 f/5.6 with a 1.4x that is a 560mm f/8 lens so only the 1 series will autofocus. However if you use the 400mm f/4 DO lens, it is a 560mm f/5.6 lens and it will autofocus on all bodies.

Lets take the 500 f/4 - with a 1.4x its a 700 f/5.6 so it will AF on any body. But if you add a 2x it becomes a 1000mm f/8 and it will only AF on the 1 series.

So in short, it's the final aperture that matters.