Canon’s return to form?
Having only just returned from my holiday in Cuba with my girlfriend and a hurricane, I’m mid-picture edit but thought I should post about this morning’s announcement of the new 5dmk2. Having totally changed the field of digital photojournalism on it’s initial release, the 5d’s successor has been the subject of miles of online debate, requests and conjecture for months now with today’s release seeing some proved correct with others WAY off the mark..
The new model is confirmed to have the following new features;
- ISO 50-25600
- Full HD 1080p video
- 21MP sensor
- 3.9 fps
- Larger 3.0″ screen
- Integrated cleaning system
- DIGIC 4 processor
Full information is included below but my first impression based on the details released is that it looks to be a fantastic camera if all goes well! 3.9 frames per second is a little slower than I’d hoped for as it won’t be usable for sport but the inclusion of video certainly makes up for it! 25600 ISO will be incredibly useful having used the high ISO on the Nikon D3 during trials a few months ago.
For those wondering about the sudden inclusion of video in the Canon and Nikon range, apparently Canon were considering putting video into the mk3 until they were told by the Olympic committee that if they did, photographers would be banned from trackside during the event as video was not allowed in the photographers area. They decided against it as they’d rather have their cameras used. It’s only after the Games are over that both Nikon and Canon are now releasing their video-enhanced new toys. Hope that makes sense of the situation to you.
I’ll be trying one out tomorrow so will hopefully have more of an opinion soon! If it’s as good as it could be, I think I know what I’ll be asking the boss for.. 
If you’re not into new toys, normal service will return soon..
Full details can be found on the Canon site here.
Welcome back. Will get back to you about my thoughts with the Canon 5D Mark 11. I am looking forward to seeing your pics from Cuba, though.
I will be very interested in your comments Mr Neal. Don’t suppose we will be seeing the camera down under for a while.
It’s not out over here until November 2008. apparently. I’m sure the one I get to see tomorrow will be pre-production so won’t be the finished article. Will certainly be interesting to see though!
Could this be a preview of what we may expect of a mk4 when it happens?
Yup, time will tell.. There’ll be no mk3n apparently.
Well, I want one and I couldn’t tell you what I’m not willing to do to get one…
Let us know how you like it.
I am impressed by the camera but a little disappointed about the focus on more pixels. I would have been perfectly happy with a 12 or 14mp camera that shot 5 or 6 fps instead. Megapixels seem to be the tool of PR departments rather than being based on what a photographer actually needs. Nikon put 12mp in their top cameras and I’m sure they’re not losing sleep over Canon’s extra 9mp. All the research and development that went into taming that densely packed sensor could have been spent increasing dynamic range, making bigger leaps in ISO capability and general IQ over the Nikons.
There were rumours of a multi-ISO sensor, capable of changing the sensitivity across the sensor to effectively increase dynamic range in an image. Using 50 iso for the brides dress to keep highlight detail but 1600 for the groom’s suit to retain shadow detail for example. I’m sure it’s coming at some point, it’s the next logical step in getting more out of a digital SLR.
The video looks amazing. I’m not really a fan of video in general but being able to use fast lenses to shoot video is luscious. The example video shot with the 45mm TS lens is stunning, almost cinematic.
Anyway, welcome back!
As I said above, I’m sure it’ll just be a pre-pro model so they may not allow us to take away trial images/video. I’ll do my best to slip a card in though..
I know what you mean about lower ISOs but you have to remember that Canon don’t have the same chip technology as the Nikon D3. While the BlackGold can get away with great images from 12MP, it could be that the Canon simply can’t compete. I should have more info tomorrow..
Both the Canon and Nikon bodies go some way towards the multi-ISO technology with their highlight recovery functions. This does what you refer to but having it active dramatically impacts on the buffer. When shooting on the D3 with the function on, I was hitting the buffer WAY too quickly. They’ve addressed this now with their recent hardware upgrade but it’s still an issue. I’m guessing that it would be so detrimental to performance on the current technology that taking it even further would be a real issue. Guesswork but I think it may be close to the truth!
Yeah, the video functions has really got me interested. 400mm f2.8 video? Lensbaby video? T/S video? Bring it on..
PS Cheers for the welcome home!