My Mark II n review (kinda long)

Since I’ve been shooting a lot of sports recently, I decided to upgrade to a Mark II N. My 20D is great but I found limitations when it came to shooting sports. I shot a couple of MMA events with it but I would run in to problems when I had to do a burst. I felt that I was missing shots because of the slower frame rate, and the buffer is far too small to shoot sports. So I decided to take the plunge into a Mark II N. I felt comfortable with it since Canon has always made me happy their products.

Here are my thoughts on the Mark IIn coming from a 20D user.
At first glance, the camera is quite intimidating because of the size and weight. To some this could be a problem but I have long fingers and I’m kind of a big guy so the weight and size don’t bother me. In fact the camera fits my hands rather well.

The user controls are a bit odd coming from a 20D. Seems as though every action requires you to hold 2 buttons down. It was odd at first (in fact I hated it) but now I appreciate this safety feature. There have been many times where I accidentally changed a setting on my 20D accidentally (like switching my camera to timer and not knowing why the shutter won’t release). I also like the extra fine adjustments you can make in JPEG size, Saturation, contrast etc… and the 1/3 stop increments with the ISO.
I haven’t used the pre-set picture styles but I have been saving my own presets. The 20D has this as well but the Mark II seems to have much finer adjustments).
Of course the extremely high Frame rate is probably the thing I like the most about this camera. I always use this to impress my friends! The large buffer is great too because I’ve never capped it off to where the camera won’t shoot anymore.

So now onto what I dislike about the camera. I think the biggest complaint I have is with the battery. I mean the battery is great, the charge seems to last forever even when running a lens with IS. But I don’t like that I have to “refresh” the batteries. Also, the charge is really large, about 4x6x2. I use my 20D as my backup camera so when I travel I have to take 2 separate charges and 2 separate types of batteries. It would be nice to have compatible components. I guess I’ll have to get another Mark II

I don’t know if this is unique to my body but there seems to be a greenish tint to the viewfinder. I don’t see this with my 20D.

I like the 45 AF points but they seem rather large compared to the 20D. I also didn’t expect them to be clustered in the middle of frame. It would make more sense to me to scatter them out a little bit more throughout the frame. That’s just my opinion.

All in all I love this camera and after shooting my last event, I have decided to keep it.
For anyone that shoots sports or action, I highly recommend this thing!

you dont need to refresh your batteries EVERY TIME you charge them. It is a good thing for maintenance however. Welcome to the 1 series club.

main question from me is: is the AF really that much faster than the 20D - are you getting more keepers when taking action shots?

racketman wrote in post #2373545
main question from me is: is the AF really that much faster than the 20D - are you getting more keepers when taking action shots?

Well most of the time I keep the camera on 1 shot because I have to shoot through a small opening in a fence. I haven't experimented with the AF too much. But I do get more keepers because of the High Frame Rate.

Think of "refreshing" your batteries like changing the oil in your car vs filling the gas tank.

It is a scheduled maintance measure- not something you do everytime you fill up the tank. I refresh the batteries of my 2n every quarter or so. Works out fine for my usage.

I don't bring chargers with me, I bring extra batteries. My normal loadout is 2 NP-E3's and 3 BP-511a. Even shooting a 12 hour day I haven't gone thru more then a battery and a half for each camera.

But as always, YMMV

Kagemaru wrote in post #2373030
Also, the charge is really large, about 4x6x2.

There is a thread here, about a different brand charger. Might want to check that

Kagemaru wrote in post #2373030
I don’t know if this is unique to my body but there seems to be a greenish tint to the viewfinder.

My 1D2 has this as well.

Kagemaru wrote in post #2373030
I like the 45 AF points but they seem rather large compared to the 20D.

The actual AF point in a 20D is quite a bit larger then the dot in the VF...
Here is the diagram for a 10D from Mr. Chuck Westfall (Canon USA):

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Kagemaru wrote in post #2373030
I also didn’t expect them to be clustered in the middle of frame. It would make more sense to me to scatter them out a little bit more throughout the frame. That’s just my opinion.

Not just your opinion