Any Other 5D MKII Owners Feel A Bit Cheated?

[Feanor]

I have both cameras - the 5D II and the 7D. The 5D II gives me slightly better image quality plus full frame capability. The 7D gives me better focusing options and a faster frame rate. Yes, it would have been nice to see the 7D's focusing features on the 5D II, but that would put the camera close to the 1D range and I suspect Canon deliberately chose to keep their top line cameras - and their price tags - in a class by themselves.


I do not personally feel hard done by. I like the 7D's ergonomics and general usability better than that of the 5D II, but it's not a deal breaker by any means. The two cameras compliment each other very well. I could have waited, added the price tags together, and gone for a 1D IV, but I'm happy to have the two bodies plus the use of my existing EF-S lenses on the 7D.
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Interesting. If you were me, and bearing in mind that I rarely have the opportunity or the time for landscape photography, but am otherwise pretty eclectic in what I like to shoot - birds &amp; nature, people, low light - which camera would you choose? I bought the 5DII mainly for its low light abilities, but the 7D isn't bad in this regard and anyway it's not at the top of my priorities either.

In other words, I think the
reason why the 5D2 lacks fast mechanical parts is due to pricing
strategy (specifically, margin maximization through product
differentiation).


...

I'm hoping that eventually Canikon will start using
features I don't care about to differentiate their high-margin
products. They could give the $3,000 cameras all the important features
(body, autofocus, resolution, etc.), and try to fool the rich folks
with some useless feature, like "platinum-coated alloy results in
better autofocus" or something. I'm not holding my breath, though.

Ah, yes, a very good point . But then again product differentiation is of course a marketing strategy used in many fields, from mobile phones, to computers, even cars. The top-end models always bring in more profit and I'm not sure we can begrudge Canikon for this nor, as nice it would be, do I expect that they'll aim the top models at people who've money to burn on features they don't really need .

[musickna]

Interesting. If you were me, and bearing in mind that I rarely have the opportunity or the time for landscape photography, but am otherwise pretty eclectic in what I like to shoot - birds &amp; nature, people, low light - which camera would you choose? I bought the 5DII mainly for its low light abilities, but the 7D isn't bad in this regard and anyway it's not at the top of my priorities either.

If I had to chose based on the criteria you list, I would go with the 7D. As you say, the 5D II is superior in low light but the 7D is not bad at all. The faster frame rate and sensitive focus helps a lot with moving objects - birds, animals etc. You also have a bit more reach with a telephoto lens using the densely pixel-populated APS-C sensor - also useful for nature shots.


In practice, this is how my own use of these cameras has worked out. I use the 5D II primarily for static landscapes and/or low light situations and the 7D for birds and animals. Carrying these two cameras with me on a nature hike has proven to be a very satisfactory arrangement.

[peety3]

I've honestly got $5k to drop on a camera + new lens right now.. and I'm so tempted to grab a 5DII + 24-70 right now.. but part of me is holding off until at least the end of Sept to see if they do have any big announcements.

Is there a notation on the check that says "holder must purchase a camera and a lens to use this check"? Why not a 1D4 camera?

I could wait until Spring/Summer if I had to.. for a 5D III?? I would love a 7D but it's 1.6 and I want FF.
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Don't hold your breath. 5D2 owners will feel cheated if a 5D3 comes out this summer.

[crosbyharbison]

Don't hold your breath. 5D2 owners will feel cheated if a 5D3 comes out this summer.
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The 5D appears to be on a three year revision cycle. Using this logic expect to wait two years.

[Daniel Browning]

The 5D appears to be on a three year revision cycle. Using this logic expect to wait two years.

I thought they were going to switch to a 18 month or 24-month cycle after the 5D2 had such great sales, but when they announced the firmware update (coming January), I changed my mind. If they had a new camera coming out soon, I don't think they'd improve the existing ones through firmware due to the loss in sales. So now I'm guessing that it will be at least 24-months, probably 30.

[Keith B]

I don't think I've ever really felt cheated. I still think a full frame 21MP camera for $2700 is a pretty good deal. I would have felt better if the AF was as good as my 40D. The banding issue is on my S list right now. I recently ran into the issue but I know how to avoid it in the future.


I am contemplating a 7D purchase though, but not to replace my 5D2, but my 40D. I am shooting surf pics for a company and would like the crop-ability of an 18MP image since I'm shooting with the 100-400. I think I'd rather spend $1800 and crop down than spend $8000 on a lens since I'm happy with the IQ I'm getting from the 100-400.

[Colin]

My occupation is in the professional and consumer audio industry, and it's almost weekly change in technologies is frustrating. Maybe I'm naive in hoping that camera technology would be somewhat "stable". I guess that thinking is so "last-week!". In the early 1970s, I bought a Canon TL 35mm camera while I was in the Army, and it still works fine (providing I can find film for it!).
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As if it wasn't bad enough with DTS coming out with endless formats BEFORE HDMI audio transmission, and HDMI versions 1._______ to whatever. Just make the freaking thing work all the time and not take forever with the handshaking, and screw the unintentional power automation.... Jerks.


I feel you. But, I wish I had a mkii to complain about. My plain old 5D, though, still gets me by, and I love it.

[SupraSonic]

Bring Back the EOS 3 Series.

[Brendan7]

I was thinking about this the other day while looking at Nikon gear out of curiosity. I don't really understand how you can say that the mechanics are the limiting factor to framerate on the 5DII when the D700, which is also full-frame and therefore has the same physical limits, is capable of such fast framerates.

The nikon EXPEED processor is better.


Also, it only has to process 12 mpix images. This makes for a faster burst. you could technically make a FF camera that shot 20 fps at 3 mpix (daniel can correct me on that.) The canon shoots 21 mpix images and so has a slower burst. The 7d has 2 processors so it shoots 18 mpix at 8fps.

[HiFiGuy1]

I think Daniel was addressing the mechanical aspect of speed limitations and reliability more than the data processing aspect. It isn't so much a processing power issue. The 1D Mk IV has a larger mirror than a 7D and a 16 MP sensor, but can still comfortably process 10 fps, whereas the 7D is rated at about 8 fps, so the 1D Mk IV seems to be built to a higher standard. As it should be for $5k. They both have dual Digic IV processors, if I am not mistaken, so the differences lie elsewhere.