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

Don't know your flash but in Av the camera will try to take an available light shot. Any flash will just be fill flash. M or P is the way to go with flash when you need the flash as the main light source.
 
Ah, now that makes sense. So If I want anything but wide open, then M it is, and re-adjust flash compensation? I guess the Nissin may not talk as fluently to the body as a true speedlight would, but for what I do, it's not an issue. I doubt I'll ever be into using flash that much that I need worry...
 
mark_farrell said:
Mine seems to do some weird things with my Nissin flash (could be the flash mind)

Set to P, everything hunky dory, ISO can be changed, but not aperture etc like usual

Set to AV, dial on narrow aperture, horrendous under-expose, yet flash barely fires i.e. can be corrected when used in manual rather than TTL - surely this is precisely what TTL is for?

Only answer I found was to set shutter to 60, aperture to choice, then trial and error with flash compensation (or use flash in manual)
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Mark, there are some known problems with Nissin although I have no idea if this might be one of them. Phone the distributers and they will upgrade the firmware for free.
 
When I shoot with a speedlite attached to the camera I always tend to use M mode set the aperture/shutter I want to balance flash/ambient and the ETTL does its best to give me a well exposed shot.
 
Have any 5D2 users contemplated the D700 before they bought their 5D2?

I've just sold all my gear ready for an upgrade and was set on the 5D2, as I'm more into landscapes and the wide-angle side of things the 17-40L looks a bit iffy from what I've seen on this cam, the banding for horizons etc at 17 is a right put-off for me.Also the noise, say for very long exposures using the ND110 I've heard there is a lot of noise, this is where the D700 is making it harder for me to choose the right cam, I don't wanna rush like I did for the 50D as it wasn't suited for what I wanted and it didn't feel right.

Also, is there any other UWA lens from say Tokina or whoever else that would do the job on FF? :shrug:
 
Sigma 12-24.

I've just sold all my crop Canon kit and replaced it with Canon full frame stuff. Did I consider the D700? Not really; I like Canon, I know Canon and for my limited skill level Canon kit is more than good enough! Another consideration is that everyone I know uses Canon stuff so I like being able to lend out and borrow different lenses. I think that unless you're a pro or are ridiculously anal about minor differences (and a pixel peeper), then the tiny differences in performance/features between Canon and Nikon kit are pretty indistinguishable.
 
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s7eve.c said:
... as I'm more into landscapes and the wide-angle side of things the 17-40L looks a bit iffy from what I've seen on this cam,............

Also, is there any other UWA lens from say Tokina or whoever else that would do the job on FF? :shrug:
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The 16-35L is excellent :love:
The 5DmkII is fantastic for landscapes - there is so much detail! Every pixel counts and the 5Dmk2's sensor has the best detail of any canon camera to date. A cropping example below! :cool:

ISO 200,
f/11,
1/400 s
24-70 @ 70mm
Jpeg, SOOC

2ags9u.jpg


100% crop
j5jhnr.jpg
 
s7eve.c said:
Have any 5D2 users contemplated the D700 before they bought their 5D2?

I've just sold all my gear ready for an upgrade and was set on the 5D2, as I'm more into landscapes and the wide-angle side of things the 17-40L looks a bit iffy from what I've seen on this cam, the banding for horizons etc at 17 is a right put-off for me.Also the noise, say for very long exposures using the ND110 I've heard there is a lot of noise, this is where the D700 is making it harder for me to choose the right cam, I don't wanna rush like I did for the 50D as it wasn't suited for what I wanted and it didn't feel right.

Also, is there any other UWA lens from say Tokina or whoever else that would do the job on FF? :shrug:
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This is the third major system overhaul I've done, and I've opted for Canon again, with a 5D2. Landscape, portrait, walkabout mainly. Could have gone Nikon, but absolutely no regrets. Six of one, half a dozen of the other TBH.

I think the 5D2's sensor is the best full frame out there. Not that there are any bad ones that's for sure. Nikon may be better at extreme ISO, Canon certainly has more resolution. D700 body has better AF and frame rate that's for sure, better for action. Canon lens range is better.

And what we have now is one thing, the 5D3 will be something else and the D800 something else again. Whatever the differences, they are just a different take on levels of excellence IMHO. I think you have to have a specific need, maybe like long exposure noise (not really looked into that), or sports shooting, or for me the 24-105L 4 IS lens was a big factor - it's going to do at least 60% of my shooting.

You can prefer one against the other from an individual perspective, but to say one is better at everything just doesn't stack up either way.
 
jerry12953 said:
There's a very interesting article in the current Amateur Photographer, comparing crop-sensor bodies and full-frame, with particular reference to the 5Dii and 7D.

They conclude that image quality-wise, there's very little to choose between the two!:eek:
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Interesting. There's probably not a great deal to the average consumer tbh.
 
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Trixster said:
Interesting. There's probably not a great deal to the average consumer tbh.
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They analysed it very carefully.....

"the APS-C-format EOS 7D is capable of resolving almost as much detail as the full frame EOS 5Dii and the results have a similar level of noise...."

"...Perhaps we have reached the point where photographers can choose between fullframe and [crop] on the basis of the type of photography they prefer, rather than because of significant differences in the quality of the images they produce."

That kind of finding might interest more than the average consumer, mightn't it?

As a 5Dii owner myself, I haven't got an axe to grind, by the way.....
 
jerry12953 said:
They analysed it very carefully.....

"the APS-C-format EOS 7D is capable of resolving almost as much detail as the full frame EOS 5Dii and the results have a similar level of noise...."

"...Perhaps we have reached the point where photographers can choose between fullframe and [crop] on the basis of the type of photography they prefer, rather than because of significant differences in the quality of the images they produce."
That kind of finding might interest more than the average consumer, mightn't it?

As a 5Dii owner myself, I haven't got an axe to grind, by the way.....
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I can both agree and disagree with that statement.

Agree if you don't print above A4, and don't want to crop heavily, or only view on-screen. Disagree if you do. And I sometimes do. That's why I got a 5D2 in preference to a 7D.

On the larger 40D vs 7D and 5D2 comparison shots I have done, the difference between the 40D and 7D was negligible. Slightly better noise, slightly better sharpness but you have to pixel peep. Disapointing considering the 80% increase in pixels from the 7D to be honest, although it has to be said both were extremely good. (Lens was the super-sharp 17-55 2.8 at f/5.6.)

But when you get bigger than that, the 5D2 just stands out as fantastically good in every aspect of image quality. You don't have to look for it. Quality is there, deep and suptuous.

The cropping option is also useful to me. I know it's not good practise but I love the ability to pull out a tightly cropped portait that I wasn't able to frame tightly enough at the time of shooting. And for my occasional birding forays, the 5D2 is the equivalent of an 8mp crop format camera (similar to the 40D's 10mp). Full frame is the new medium format :) On the other hand, Micro 4/3rds is the one to watch.

Changing the subject, I found a replacement battery on Amazon for £57 including delivery. Official jobbie with the chip an' all. Better than £80 elsewhere http://www.amazon.co.uk/Canon-Battery-Pack-Lp-e6-Eos/dp/B001ISK0F8/ref=pd_rhf_p_t_3
 
HoppyUK said:
I can both agree and disagree with that statement.

Agree if you don't print above A4, and don't want to crop heavily, or only view on-screen. Disagree if you do. And I sometimes do. That's why I got a 5D2 in preference to a 7D.

On the larger 40D vs 7D and 5D2 comparison shots I have done, the difference between the 40D and 7D was negligible. Slightly better noise, slightly better sharpness but you have to pixel peep. Disapointing considering the 80% increase in pixels from the 7D to be honest, although it has to be said both were extremely good. (Lens was the super-sharp 17-55 2.8 at f/5.6.)

But when you get bigger than that, the 5D2 just stands out as fantastically good in every aspect of image quality. You don't have to look for it. Quality is there, deep and suptuous.

The cropping option is also useful to me. I know it's not good practise but I love the ability to pull out a tightly cropped portait that I wasn't able to frame tightly enough at the time of shooting. And for my occasional birding forays, the 5D2 is the equivalent of an 8mp crop format camera (similar to the 40D's 10mp). Full frame is the new medium format :) On the other hand, Micro 4/3rds is the one to watch.

Changing the subject, I found a replacement battery on Amazon for £57 including delivery. Official jobbie with the chip an' all. Better than £80 elsewhere http://www.amazon.co.uk/Canon-Battery-Pack-Lp-e6-Eos/dp/B001ISK0F8/ref=pd_rhf_p_t_3
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AP reckons that you would not notice the difference between the two cameras when printing to A3, or at low sensitivities up to A2!

Course, they could be wrong....
 
jerry12953 said:
AP reckons that you would not notice the difference between the two cameras when printing to A3, or at low sensitivities up to A2!

Course, they could be wrong....
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Haha yes! They could be wrong. If they are trying to make a point about how good crop format is these days, then that's absolutely true. My 40D was as good as anthing I ever got out of 35mm film, including Kodachrome slides, which is mighty impressive especially considering the ISO.

And maybe with a big print too, if you stick to the 'normal' viewing distance which for an A3 print is at full arms length I guess. But I defy anyone to actually hold a print like that and resist the temptation to take a closer look. Then the difference is obvious. Better than you need maybe, but that's part of the pleasure, and I don't call that pixel peeping.
 
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s7eve.c said:
You don't happen to know anywhere for a compatable wireless remote for the 5DII?

or anyone :shrug:
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The Yong Nuo wireless remote control will work, ebay item number 290369231962.
Alternatively, the Yong Nuo RF602 will also work and will double as a flash trigger. ebay item number 270483007175

I have both, and it is possible to use both together for self portraits with two (or more) flash units. You need to set the camera to normal shutter-button focus first though (if you have the camera set to back button auto focus it won't focus with the wireless triggers).
 
Thanks...

Does anyone use the Kingston Elite Pro CF card, or do you stick with Sandisk?The Kingston seems a canny price for the GB but I've always used Sandisk and they have been very reliable, just wondering if the Kingston is :thinking:

To pop in me new 5dmk2 next week :clap:
 
s7eve.c said:
Thanks...

Does anyone use the Kingston Elite Pro CF card, or do you stick with Sandisk?The Kingston seems a canny price for the GB but I've always used Sandisk and they have been very reliable, just wondering if the Kingston is :thinking:

To pop in me new 5dmk2 next week :clap:
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FWIW I've been using two Transcend 32GB 133X cards in my 50D, 1D3, 5D2 and 7D for 18 months and never had a problem. At a guess that would be for about 40K images in all.

Now that my 5D2 and 7D have hogged the big cards my 1D3 has an 8GB 30MB/s Sandisk Extreme III CF and a Transcend 16GB Class 6 SD. The 50D is retired.

I might add that I've been using memory cards for almost ten years, including brands from Sony, Integral, Datawrite, Kingston, Viking and something I don't remember (Kingmax, I think). One of the Datawrite 2GB CF cards was DOA. Other than that I have never had a card failure.
 
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s7eve.c said:
Thanks...

Does anyone use the Kingston Elite Pro CF card, or do you stick with Sandisk?The Kingston seems a canny price for the GB but I've always used Sandisk and they have been very reliable, just wondering if the Kingston is :thinking:

To pop in me new 5dmk2 next week :clap:
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They are fine as long as you don't shoot quick successions of shots. I had the 16GB which was fine for most things, but when I shot sequences or shot rapid bursts of shots it took a long while to clear buffer.

I sold mine on for that reason, but no probs with it, was a good card just not what I needed.

This was on a 40D though not a 5D2, I too am getting one next week!:D
 
ding76uk said:
They are fine as long as you don't shoot quick successions of shots. I had the 16GB which was fine for most things, but when I shot sequences or shot rapid bursts of shots it took a long while to clear buffer.

I sold mine on for that reason, but no probs with it, was a good card just not what I needed.

This was on a 40D though not a 5D2, I too am getting one next week!:D
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Being mainly landscape use and long exposures I think the heat factor is more of a worry than rapid bursts, I'm on the verge of the Kingston 8gb for now which is the same price as the 4gb Sandisk, being the size of RAW's from the 5DII I think I'll give this one a go (y)
 
I've not got a 5D Mk II but was curious if anyone uses a 85mm f/1.2 II with it and what they think? Was toying with the idea of trading in some gear for both these pieces of kit.
 
Any body else have issues with dead/stuck pixels?

Last week I was out taking some long exposure shots and when viewing the shots on the PC I had a number of very bright stuck pixels (red, purple, green). I know all digital sensors will be have some dead or stuck pixels at some point and many are mapped out in manufacturing. But I was unhappy, compared to the number on my old 350D, which has very few. Given the cost of the 5D2 I emailed LCE and they replied promptly informing me that it was not acceptable and to return it to my nearest branch for it to be sent to a Canon authorised repair company. Could take up to 4-6 weeks, but glad I noticed as it's out of warranty next month.
 
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I am now an owner of this camera and glad i am too
Fabulous
 
ShrubMonkey said:
Any body else have issues with dead/stuck pixels?
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Stuck pixels can be mapped out by the user, there is an undocumented feature where you put the camera into Manual Sensor Cleaning mode for up to 1 minute. That's it. You don't have to clean the sensor and you do this with the lens cap on (or body cap).
 
Stuck pixels can be mapped out by the user, there is an undocumented feature where you put the camera into Manual Sensor Cleaning mode for up to 1 minute. That's it. You don't have to clean the sensor and you do this with the lens cap on (or body cap).
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Correct, this is well documented but does not seem to work for everyone and did not work for me.
 
a question for the 17-40 users that think the lens is too wide.... Have you used the 10-22mm on a crop body? The focal length are approx the same at the wide end and currently thats the setup i have and use it without it feeling too wide.

I maybe getting a 5DII at the end of the month and trading in the 10-22mm for a 17-40mm L to match the wide end. I think it should compliment my other lenses quite nicely!
 
33L said:
a question for the 17-40 users that think the lens is too wide.... Have you used the 10-22mm on a crop body? The focal length are approx the same at the wide end and currently thats the setup i have and use it without it feeling too wide.

I maybe getting a 5DII at the end of the month and trading in the 10-22mm for a 17-40mm L to match the wide end. I think it should compliment my other lenses quite nicely!
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Looks like a perfect match to me. I moved from 10-22 on a 40d to 17-40 on full frame. 17-40L translates to 10.5-25mm in crop format language which is even better for me on full frame. Although there is no such thing as too wide :D I'm really appreciating the overlap from 24-40mm with my 24-105L - saves a lot of lens changing on walkabout.
 
33L said:
a question for the 17-40 users that think the lens is too wide.... Have you used the 10-22mm on a crop body? The focal length are approx the same at the wide end and currently thats the setup i have and use it without it feeling too wide.

I maybe getting a 5DII at the end of the month and trading in the 10-22mm for a 17-40mm L to match the wide end. I think it should compliment my other lenses quite nicely!
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I used a 10-20 on a crop sensor..............i got rid of that for a 17 - 85mm VR because its was to wide - Still had to try the 17-40mm though :D and yes it was still to wide for me :bonk: - tis a loverly lens though and is a perfect replacement for the 10-20mm.
 
HoppyUK said:
Looks like a perfect match to me. I moved from 10-22 on a 40d to 17-40 on full frame. 17-40L translates to 10.5-25mm in crop format language which is even better for me on full frame. Although there is no such thing as too wide :D I'm really appreciating the overlap from 24-40mm with my 24-105L - saves a lot of lens changing on walkabout.
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Dogfish_magnet said:
I used a 10-20 on a crop sensor..............i got rid of that for a 17 - 85mm VR because its was to wide - Still had to try the 17-40mm though :D and yes it was still to wide for me :bonk: - tis a loverly lens though and is a perfect replacement for the 10-20mm.
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thanks both for your replies.... i am glad its going to be that easy if i get my way with the 5DII:woot:. I thought there was something that i was missing. Been looking at loads of images produced by this camera and it seems to be very well matched with the 135mm L from what i can see. maybe a future purchase but right now its the 5DII and the 17-40L thats needs getting.
 
I've ordered a new focus screen today. Whilst trying to remove some dust from the original one with a rocket blower, I noticed what seems to be a scratch on the upper right-hand corner. I don't think this was caused by me when I took the original out as I was very careful and used tweezers to pinch the tab rather than fingers, however I don't remember the scratch/mark being there when I last used the camera, so it must've been done by me today! Obviously it doesn't affect the camera's performance one bit but it's something that's annoyed me so I've ordered a new one.

Now the replacement's on the way I've had a go at washing the original - there's definitely a mark/scratch which cannot be removed by water or very gentle pressure with lens paper. Top tip then - be bloody careful when messing with the focus screen - that little speck of dust may be an annoyance but if you're determined to get rid of it be ultra careful otherwise you might be £30 worse off by the end of the day!

Annoying to say the least.
 
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