5Dmk2 questions

So, I'm on a list for one, should get a call soon (after thinking about it for a couple days, I have some quetions before I proceed) for those who have one and have been shooting with it:

*How's the AF in very low light.
*Is the high ISO performance what you expected
*How's the metering
*If you owned another EOS, what was it and how does the 5D2 compare
*If you paid full price plus tax, after shooting with it, do you kinda wish you'd have waited until you could get it a little cheaper and tax free
*Is this perhaps the best DSLR you've shot, by this I mean, everything is bang-on period, no regrets.
* If you owned a 1Dsmk2 or 5D, does this new 5D2 smoke your old bodies as far as IQ.

As time goes by, I'm seeing some good shots with the 5D2, I've read some decent reviews but not hearing too many "WOW's!!!"

Thanks Guys and Gals

thatkatmat wrote in post #6878868
So, I'm on a list for one, should get a call soon (after thinking about it for a couple days, I have some quetions before I proceed) for those who have one and have been shooting with it:

*How's the AF in very low light.
*Is the high ISO performance what you expected
*How's the metering
*If you owned another EOS, what was it and how does the 5D2 compare
*If you paid full price plus tax, after shooting with it, do you kinda wish you'd have waited until you could get it a little cheaper and tax free
*Is this perhaps the best DSLR you've shot, by this I mean, everything is bang-on period, no regrets.
* If you owned a 1Dsmk2 or 5D, does this new 5D2 smoke your old bodies as far as IQ.

As time goes by, I'm seeing some good shots with the 5D2, I've read some decent reviews but not hearing too many "WOW's!!!"

Thanks Guys and Gals

The AF in low light is the same as the 5D, not great.
The high ISO performance is better then the 5D but not by a huge margin, 6400 ISO is only useable if the photo is properly exposed, dark areas show slight banding, which can be seen even in web size.
I have owned a few other Canon SLRs and in terms of high ISO performance the 5D2 is top right now, in terms of ergonomics and AF performance, not the best, same as 5D.
I have no regrets with the price I paid, I think it is worth it.
No the 5D doesn't smoke any other body i've owned, it does better in some areas.
Overall I am happy with the camera either then the banding at 6400 ISO. I don't mind the banding on 12,800 and 25,600 since I will never use those, and if I do it would probably be for black and white photos.

I've never found the 5D AF to limit me... so the 5D2 AF seems great to me.

I've shot a 5D for a while now and still have one as a back up. I don't see myself using it too often though..

Metering so far is very similar to the 5D, I paid full price and I don't regret it one bit.

I shoot A LOT of high iso images.. on the 5D I would regularly use iso 3200.. now I can use 6400 without thinking twice.

The 21mp images are a nice bonus... cropping is fun

thatkatmat wrote in post #6878868
*How's the AF in very low light.

Same as the old 5D

thatkatmat wrote in post #6878868
*Is the high ISO performance what you expected

Better, it's awesome.

thatkatmat wrote in post #6878868
*How's the metering

I use spot metering and shoot in manual, so I think it works fine.

thatkatmat wrote in post #6878868
*If you owned another EOS, what was it and how does the 5D2 compare

I owned and was very happy with the previous 5D, and this camera is very similar, just better

thatkatmat wrote in post #6878868
*If you paid full price plus tax, after shooting with it, do you kinda wish you'd have waited until you could get it a little cheaper and tax free

I say no now, because I have a camera that I can shoot with, but once prices start falling it might sting a bit.

thatkatmat wrote in post #6878868
*Is this perhaps the best DSLR you've shot, by this I mean, everything is bang-on period, no regrets.

The only thing that could be better is the AF, but I was used to it with my old 5D, so nothings changed. All in all it's a nice upgrade.

thatkatmat wrote in post #6878868
As time goes by, I'm seeing some good shots with the 5D2, I've read some decent reviews but not hearing too many "WOW's!!!"

Well, let me say WOW, this camera rocks. Seriously, I'm having a great time with it.

I never had a problem with 5D AF either,I mostly use center AF point..... but I have read the new mk2 is slow to lock in low light. I like to see that "wow" Tim...Thanks for the input guys.

thatkatmat wrote in post #6878868
*How's the AF in very low light. Great. Center point rules in any light, even 6400 and 1.4... But the outerpoints are better than a 40D and much better than a 5D. It just depends on the direction of the contrast, sometimes they won't work, but 50/50, in low light?
*Is the high ISO performance what you expected Yeah, what I expected. 6400 on the 5Dii beats 40D 1600 and is roughly the same as 1600 on the 5D, if it's not better, it easily beats 3200 on the 5D
*How's the metering fine
*If you owned another EOS, what was it and how does the 5D2 compare I've owned a 10D, 1Dii, 5D, XTi, 1D, 40D and now the 5Dii. When I moved from the 1Dii to the 5D it was the best thing I'd done. I sold my 5D 2 months ago to fund the 5Dii and it broke my heart a bit. I have not been let down in the slightest with the 5Dii. I love this body size, and I love FF. For me, the 5D and now 5Dii offer the most accurate AF I've ever used. Not the fastest mind you, but the most accurate. It's also been fast enough for everything I shoot including some auto racing and air shows.
*If you paid full price plus tax, after shooting with it, do you kinda wish you'd have waited until you could get it a little cheaper and tax free I paid 3% under MSRP and feel fine with not waiting. No tax, but ~$20 shipping. I felt $2700 was less than they could have charged anyway (I thought it'd be $3000+ for just the body)
*Is this perhaps the best DSLR you've shot, by this I mean, everything is bang-on period, no regrets. NO CAMERA IS PERFECT, but the 5Dii is about the closest I've owned. It could have less MP and more FPS and better AF, but I need my canon glass and it's the best fit for me (other bodies considered were the 1DsII [I hate 1 series bulky bodies] and keeping the 5D).
* If you owned a 1Dsmk2 or 5D, does this new 5D2 smoke your old bodies as far as IQ. Smoked is a lot to say, but it certainly hangs with a 5D file in terms of sharpness while delivering almost twice as many pixels and 2 stop better ISO performance. I was very hesitant to sell my 5D because I LOVED it's files. But the 5Dii is just as sharp IMHO.

As time goes by, I'm seeing some good shots with the 5D2, I've read some decent reviews but not hearing too many "WOW's!!!" that's because everyone in love with them is out shooting.

...

See bold comments.

thatkatmat wrote in post #6878868
So, I'm on a list for one, should get a call soon (after thinking about it for a couple days, I have some quetions before I proceed) for those who have one and have been shooting with it:

*How's the AF in very low light.
It's pretty good, much like the 5D. I can still attain a focus lock in low light, but it isn't lightning fast by any means. I may also have to lock on to something more "focusable".
*Is the high ISO performance what you expected
Better - I would say much better than the 5D. I guess it depends what you want to do with them, but many of the shots I've taken at ISO-12800 have been very usable, especially after some noise reduction.
*How's the metering
*If you owned another EOS, what was it and how does the 5D2 compare
My previous camera was the 5D. I'm pretty sure all of the differences between the 5D and 5D2 have been mentioned already so I won't bother. It's pretty much better across the board. It also has an AF button beside the * which I like, since I had the 5D set to auto-focus with the * anyways.

Although the 5D gets a bad wrap for its AF, I don't think I've ever had a shot come out OOF that wasn't my own error.
*If you paid full price plus tax, after shooting with it, do you kinda wish you'd have waited until you could get it a little cheaper and tax free
No, I don't like to buy used. It's just a quirk of mine.
*Is this perhaps the best DSLR you've shot, by this I mean, everything is bang-on period, no regrets.
Yes, no regrets. I went from a D40 (returned), to a D80 to a D200 (returned), to a 5D, and then to a 5D MkII. This is definitely the best of them, but I've also shot with a 1D2 and 1Ds2 and like it better than those as well (aside from the obviously better AF).
* If you owned a 1Dsmk2 or 5D, does this new 5D2 smoke your old bodies as far as IQ.
I wouldn't say it smokes the 5D. When I think "smokes", I think exponentially better. It doesnt blow it out of the water in terms of IQ, but it is better. ISO is also better. I avoided ISO 6400 on my 5D, and 3200 if possible, because of noise, but I won't hestitate to use ISO 6400 or even 12800 on the 5d2 (assuming proper exposure). ISO-25600 will be one of those "if I really need to" tools.

As time goes by, I'm seeing some good shots with the 5D2, I've read some decent reviews but not hearing too many "WOW's!!!"

Thanks Guys and Gals

Edit: I forgot to mention, the LCD is great.

Please keep in mind I only picked my body up on Friday afternoon and haven't had a lot of time to play with it yet. But these are my initial thoughts...

*How's the AF in very low light? - The centre AF point is great (comparable to a 1D3), the others are pretty ordinary. I gave up on the outside AF points in low-light, but there's nothing to fault about the centre point. Of course the "cropability" of a 21mpix image means that you can shoot away with the centre point and then compose your shots in post using the crop tool and still end up with a 10+mpix file, not that you'd want to do this with every shot you take.

*Is the high ISO performance what you expected? - Yes, I think maybe?!? I'm still a bit undecided as I've seen conflicting results, but I can definately say it isn't worse than the 1D3. I did some 6400iso test shots comparing 5D2 to 1D3 with identical settings and all NR switched off and there wasn't much difference, but I have a few real-world 6400iso shots from the 5D2 that are much better than any 6400iso shots I've ever got from a 1D3 (better than I expect at 3200iso). I think there's more to this story than first meets the eye, and some of my testing was in unusually high temperatures (38degC) which affects noise levels and may have skewed the results.

*How's the metering? - Great. Really great. In low-light I think it's considerably better than a 1D3. In bright light I think it tends to over-expose just a touch for my taste. This is personal preference however, and I haven't shot in a wide variety of conditions so it's really a bit early for me to tell.

*If you owned another EOS, what was it and how does the 5D2 compare? - Compared to my 30D, there is no comparison. The 5D2 simply destroys the 30D. Compared to my 1D3 it's a tough call. I think the files the 5D2 produces are much better than the 1D3, but the 1D3 is a nicer beast to use. Obviously each body has features that the other doesn't (21mpix + video VS 10fps and 19 great AF points). I'd say they are equal, but not the same. Of course the perfect combo is to have both a 1D3 and 5D2 - you can have the best of both worlds while also having a backup body.

*If you paid full price plus tax, after shooting with it, do you kinda wish you'd have waited until you could get it a little cheaper and tax free? - I was lucky enough not to pay full price (I paid AU$3579 = US$2390, while RRP here in Aus is AU$4200 = US$2800), but I think it is worth every penny and then some.

*Is this perhaps the best DSLR you've shot, by this I mean, everything is bang-on period, no regrets? - I love it, and certainly have no regrets. I love the video quality and this is something I've been waiting desperately to play with, but my only disappointment with the camera is the lack of manual controls for video. I really REALLY hope there is a firmware update that gives the user aperture/iso/shutter speed controls when shooting video.

* If you owned a 1Dsmk2 or 5D, does this new 5D2 smoke your old bodies as far as IQ? - The IQ certainly beats the 1D3 ("smokes" might be a bit too strong), but there will be times when the 1D3 will get the shot that the 5D2 can't. As I said, I think the 1D3 and 5D2 are about as good as each other; just designed for different purposes.

If you're used to the bang on AF from a 1Ds MK II and 1D MK III, what makes you think the 5D MK II is gonna be any better? The 5D MK II AF hasn't changed and if you're a low light shooter that needs faster AF than this body isn't for you. I would get a used 1Ds MK III if you want the better AF but, that's just me.

kombisaurus wrote in post #6879243
Compared to my 1D3 it's a tough call. I think the files the 5D2 produces are much better than the 1D3, but the 1D3 is a nicer beast to use. .

This is a very strong statement, the 1Dmk3 gave me some of the best files I've had the pleasure to PP.

Julian, I've shot pretty much every body except the 1Dsmk3, I love the 5D and don't mind the AF. Having the best IQ in a small form factor is high on my list. I'm done (for now) with 1 series bodies, thus, my questions

jdizzle wrote in post #6879288
The 5D MK II AF hasn't changed

umm, yes it has....

jdizzle wrote in post #6879288
if you're a low light shooter, than this body isn't for you. I would get a used 1Ds MK III if you want the better AF but, that's just me.

it's not as good as a 1 series in low light if you need outer points. That's for sure, but it's still much improved over the 5D (which I couldn't use outer points at all in low light with) and it's better than a 40D in low light at outer points for me (I could sometimes get outer points to work there and eventually gave up and just went with center). It won't always lock using outer points, and it does take a second, but it does work. Basically, go test one in low light and see for yourself. Depending on what you shoot, and how you shoot it might work, it might now.

Certainly a 1DsmIII will do better, but at what cost? Also consider the 1DsII as they're in the same ballpark used, but you trade down to "only" 16mp...

jacobsen1 wrote in post #6879383
umm, yes it has....


it's not as good as a 1 series in low light if you need outer points. That's for sure, but it's still much improved over the 5D (which I couldn't use outer points at all in low light with) and it's better than a 40D in low light at outer points for me (I could sometimes get outer points to work there and eventually gave up and just went with center). It won't always lock using outer points, and it does take a second, but it does work. Basically, go test one in low light and see for yourself. Depending on what you shoot, and how you shoot it might work, it might now.

Certainly a 1DsmIII will do better, but at what cost? Also consider the 1DsII as they're in the same ballpark used, but you trade down to "only" 16mp...

That the same reasoning why I don't want the 5D MK II. I didn't like the outer points and even though it took a little longer, it bugged me to the point that I missed the shot at a wedding. How would you explain that to a client?

thatkatmat wrote in post #6879354
Julian, I've shot pretty much every body except the 1Dsmk3, I love the 5D and don't mind the AF. Having the best IQ in a small form factor is high on my list. I'm done (for now) with 1 series bodies, thus, my questions

I see. If the 5D MK II fits your needs, that's fine with me.

jdizzle wrote in post #6879457
I see. If the 5D MK II fits your needs, that's fine with me.

Ahhh, good, as long as it's fine with you Brother...LOL
Thinking hard about taking my deposit back and grabbing some glass, thanks for everyones input so far.