but I do miss a built in flash though
D700 doesn't do 21mp. Which gives you an 8mp crop format camera as well
What we really want is the 5D2's sensor in a 7D body. That would be special. I think it might be called the 5DMk3.
And Nikon don't do anything like the 24-105L all-in-one super-lens.
Check out the comparison shots against the 7D in this review and you will feel much better that you made the right choice!
Poor bloke repeated the tests four times as he couldn't believe the results.
I've seen similar difference shooting waterfalls with 40D users; dramatically different amounts of texture in the whites despite using the same framing and exposure.
Nice idea on tips sharing
I've not used mine nearly as much as I should have in the few weeks I've owned it. Thinking that I've got the still use fairly easily sussed I've been experimenting with the video.
So far I've bought a hotshoe microphone.... That means I can have IS on and not hear lots of whirring sounds on the video and the sound is stereo. Sound is now good enough. No plans on external audio recorder type things.
I've realised I need to understand the jpeg settings even though I only shoot raw. The jpeg settings and picture style apply to the video recording and the default settings have clipped blacks etc.
Video focus is by guesswork. You can start off with a focus lock on the subject but if it moves you have to manually refocus. There is a contrast based focussing you can use mid shoot but it is slow and unreliable.
My eyesight close up isn't good enough to focus by looking at the screen on the back. I have an old loupe type thing that was made to let you look closely at the screen on an old camera. Pressing it to the screen on the 5D2 gives me a camcorder eyepiece type view and makes manual focus a lot easier. just need to work out a clip on clip off mount now.
The prettiest video so far seems to be with my 50mm 1.4 not the 24-105.
Video processing is another major learning curve that I've not yet tackled properly. Making the camera mov files into a different format mov file does make them play nicer and is said to make editing easier. Something to do with converting it to all full frames instead of one key frame and a series of changes only frames as compressed by the camera. Could be talking nonsense here... as i said lots to learn
Crossed over from a Nikon APS system which I part exchanged for the 5DII kit. Pictures with the 24-105L are absolutly fantastic, having the extra megapixles is great for wildlife photography being able to crop and still retain great picture quality.
To take advantage of what the camera has to offer you really need good glass, which is expensive when looking at 'L' series lenses, but the images they produce are well worth the outlay.
I went from a 350D to the 5D2. The only lens I continue to use from the 350D days is the 90mm Tamron macro lens, it still seems to produce great results even on the full frame body. I also had to upgrade my PC, editing the mighty RAW files in Photomatix and Photoshop took a painfully long time previously, much better on a Core i5 nowI came from a 20D to the 5dm2. Finding myself needing to up all my equipment- hard drives/pc, lenses etc
What we really want is the 5D2's sensor in a 7D body. That would be special. I think it might be called the 5DMk3.
I am often surprised at what photography kit goes for on Fleabay. I am getting a 5DII soon but would not get one off ebay. I have had a quote from Kerso and am happy with that. I will follow the ebay one out of interest. My guess is 1350-1400!
Cheers,
Dunc
What we really want is the 5D2's sensor in a 7D body. That would be special. I think it might be called the 5DMk3.
Here, Here!
The only downside is that the RAW file sizes can be monstrous which prompted a PC upgrade to cope with PP.
I'm using Dell's bottom-of-the-range Inspiron laptop for processing my 5D2 RAW files - it's now around 18 months old. However I had it tricked out with 4gb RAM, and also downgraded it from Vista to XP.
I can process the RAW files in Photoshop CS4 absolutely fine without the hard disk thrashing - the only thing is processor-intensive operations like complex filters might take a few more seconds than on a top-of-the-line processor. But it's perfectly usable. Memory is the most important thing to have lots of.
A.
What's the score on spare batteries for the 5D2? Are there any third party ones about that also do the chip-trick?
What cards are you guys using?
I use one of these - in the UK £7.99 including charger / car charger - works a treat. When used in the body theres no capacity shown on the display but when its in the grip works fine. As has been said the battery last for ages for for £7.99 you may as well have a spare even if you never use it !