Canon 5D Mark II, Take II
by AFS on Jan.07, 2009, under cameras
After some frustration and disappointment with the first one, I got a different 5D2 body a couple days ago, and strangely, the image quality is much improved over the first one – I think it may now rival my 1Ds3 image quality in some respects – including sharpness. Though the 1Ds3 images without a doubt still have more life and punch to them. They are just better, even with the same exact lenses. I will know more once I have done another proper shoot with models (next week.) Secondly, this newer body does not introduce banding when the Highlight Tone Priority is activated, which is good because I think HTP can really make some images have a beautiful, creamy quality in the highlights. Thirdly, the auto-focus seems to be better on this new one. Today I conduced a test in a similar situation to the model shoot posted below. I had a model standing in the same location with overcast daylight coming in the window at a similar light level, and the camera did much better at finding focus using the outer focus point. The First 5D2 got around 50% in focus images, and the test I did today got around 65% in focus. [This total was edited Jan 10, 2009] (I used the 85 1.8 lens, as it performed the best in terms of AF on the original 5D2 body.) Importantly, the camera was not as likely to illuminate the in-focus indicator when the camera had not achieved focused. This is still not nearly as good was what I get with the 1Ds3 in the same conditions using outer it’s AF points, but it’s not bad, and probably better than the 5D Mark I.
In any case, so far so good with the newer body, I am much relieved. Still, I wonder how many other people are going around with sub-par $3000 Mark IIs now…
For the record, they each have the same firmware version (1.0.6) and the serial numbers are:
(the bad one – bought sometime in Nov.)
Camera Body No. 0220105xxx
(the better one – bought Jan 5)
Camera Body No. 0320212xxx
Looks like Firmware 1.0.7 was just released tonight. We’ll see if that offers further improvement…
P.S. B+H finally had the S precision focusing screens today, and I got one for the 5D2, and it really makes a big difference. Leaves you with no doubt as to exactly what is and what is not in focus.
P.P.S. Going forward I intend to get back to talking more about photography and lighting and less about busted cameras…
Addendum 1/9/09
I recently read about the 5D2’s new sensor self-cleaning unit that includes a fluorine coating on the low-pass filter for better dust resistance. Perhaps this is responsible for taking some of the life out of the images as compared to the 1Ds3…
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January 7th, 2009 on 11:16 pm
Ron, that’s good news and also bad news. My MkII is serial 0220103xxx… I have felt the same way about the “look” of the files and I also observed some slight banding in regular RAW w/ HTP on in the shadows. Haven’t tried the new firmware yet.
Wondering how you acquired the new camera – did you exchange the old one or sell it?
January 8th, 2009 on 6:45 am
Very frustrating – I’ve had similar feelings about my MkII (serial # 0220101xxx), which I bought from Best Buy online of all places. Good luck convincing them that the the images just don’t “look” as good as they should!
January 8th, 2009 on 8:30 am
Rich, did you try the new firmware and see if that improved the “look”? I have installed it and will shoot some new images today. If it is still not to my satisfaction I will be calling Canon and taking this camera in for an exchange directly.
I am also planning now to go back to the tried-and-true original 5D as well – that is a cam that always was excellent and “film like” as far as IQ goes – I can’t believe the incompetence of Canon. What good is having a great-spec’d camera if you can’t deliver a reasonable level of QC? Very unhappy at the moment.
January 8th, 2009 on 9:47 am
I did install the new firmware last night, but have not gotten a chance to check for differences. Would appreciate it if you let me know how it goes with Canon, should you call them. Thanks.
Rich
richardcaldwellphoto@mac.com
January 8th, 2009 on 10:26 am
I agree that the original 5D is a treasure. I still have two of them. I have not yet gotten the Mark II to look as good. I am about to update the firmware to day…Also the original 5Ds have been the most reliable cameras I have ever owned. Been using them for 3 years, they each have a minimum of a couple hundred thousand frames, and they have never broken.
Also, it looks like Canon is stating that the banding in sRAW on the Mark II is fixed, but they have not stated that banding in normal RAW shooting has been adjusted. I did speak with someone at Canon tech support before Christmas and they were aware of shadow banding when using HTP in normal RAW mode.
January 8th, 2009 on 3:20 pm
Thanks Ron, you are invaluable for Canon and it’s customers. Good to know it’s not only the firmware that can cause trouble.
January 8th, 2009 on 6:46 pm
Out of curiosity have any of you used the Nikon D700? Any comments about the IQ compared to 5D, I or II?
January 8th, 2009 on 10:58 pm
I have not used the D700 extensively. I think it is close to the 5D1, but the Canon wins in terms of absolute sharpness and detail. However, the Nikon has better AF, etc.
The 5D2 will clearly best the D700 in terms of detail, but I am really considering getting either the D700 replacement (D800?) when it arrives. (Though I must say that the Canon 1Ds3 has been an amazing camera on all fronts – image quality, focus, build quality…but like many people, I do not always want to carry a large heavy camera around.)
January 9th, 2009 on 3:44 pm
I shot some initial tests with the new firmware last night. From what I can tell image quality does appear to have improved. So maybe whatever bug was causing the black dots was also degrading the image in a subtle way?
On the negative side I can still see some minor banding in the shadows in RAW with HTP on.
January 9th, 2009 on 4:19 pm
Out of curiosity Babar, which lenses are you using with it?
On a side note, I recently read about the 5D2’s new sensor self-cleaning unit that includes a fluorine coating on the low-pass filter for better dust resistance. Perhaps this is responsible for taking some of the life out of the images as compared to the 1Ds3.
January 9th, 2009 on 9:53 pm
Ron so far I have the 24-105L and the 50 1.4. I’m hoping to shoot some tests with the 50 1.2 and maybe the 85 1.2 next week.
Let us know your thoughts with the new firmware when you can.
Maybe the fluorine coating wasn’t such a good idea after all? Canon should know better than to mess with a good thing…
January 11th, 2009 on 12:13 pm
If you are doing your RAW conversion in ACR/Lightroom, try some of the other camera profiles. The default Adobe RGB profile for the 5Dmk2 is great for nature/landscape stuff but sucky for the fashion/people type photos you shoot.
January 12th, 2009 on 10:00 am
Great article — thanks!
BTW — you wrote above: “[This total was edited Jan 19, 2009]” Pretty sure that date hasn’t happened yet.
January 12th, 2009 on 10:09 am
Errr, date fixed!
November 8th, 2009 on 11:04 pm
So, What’s the current state of 5D2 AF performance? I am interested to get 5D2, but it will be no use to get 21 mp if most of it are not in focus.
I saw the samples on the internet, they’re beautiful, although I found they have some banding in low iso….
Can you give us update about the current situation?
Will D700 focus better than 5D2? What I mean is AF in accuracy, because mostly I found AF Speed comparison between 5D2 and D700 but not about accuracy.
November 18th, 2009 on 12:03 pm
The current state, as far as I am concerned, is that Canon never really fixed the problem with dodgy AF on this camera. Nor did they even acknowledge it. It’s too bad, as there are many who do not trust the camera to focus correctly, when then clearly should be able to. It’s sad when a company this large can;t get the focus correct in this camera, nor some of their more expensive 1 series cameras. I also have the banding in shadows and hot pixels in one of my bodies. When directly comparing the 5D2 to my friends D700 I found that the 5D focuses faster in dim lighting, and the D700 is really not more accurate – just slower. I guess you could say that I look forward to the day when Canon makes a 5D-style camera with 7D style AF. (Though I am not sure the 7D is really more accurate. Anyone know?)