Canon 5D MarkII – First impressions
Gadget review – As seen in Timeout magazine – January
Canon 5D Mark II
By Sandesh Kadur
When I was first asked to write about this camera, I couldn’t wait to get started, I knew I’d have a lot to say but also knew I’d be too excited to know where to begin. There’s just so much to talk about - 21.1 Mega-pixel full-frame sensor, live-view, 1080p Movie mode, self-cleaning sensor, broad ISO range… but then I heard it can’t be more than 300 words!
After waiting for nearly three months, I picked up my 5D Mark II from Singapore; being on the wait-list in the US was quite futile. The first order of business: charge the batteries and read the instruction manual. The manual you would anticipate would be much larger, but surprisingly, it isn’t, though it’s very clear, and clinically goes through the functions and set-ups in a simple and user-friendly manner. The first thing I did in the menu was to enable “movie mode” in the live-view set-up. This was the single most awaited feature on this digital SLR, and something that pushed the camera head and shoulders above its competitors. To me, being both a still photographer and a high definition cameraperson, this feature – allowing an already super still camera to have the capacity to shoot top-notch HD video at 1920×1080 pixels was beyond amazing.
I took the camera out and photographed a friend’s wedding at St Patrick’s church [on Residency Road]. Straight out of the box, the camera’s exposure and colours were perfect. The white-balance, both indoors and outdoors, was spot on – no need to be modifying much in post. I was using a 90mm Canon tilt-shift lens, so I wasn’t able to test the auto-focus, but using manual focus, the images even under fairly low-light conditions were razor sharp.
Soon after, I headed to Opus to have a drink with my new baby, and that’s where I put the 1080 progressive frame movie mode to the test. The movie mode operates through the live-view on the brilliant 3-inch LCD screen. Press “set”, and you’re filming in high-definition! With the right lenses and right light, this camera can produce incredibly beautiful and arresting moving images. You have very little control in terms of exposure and aperture control in movie mode, making the use of filters essential. A bit cumbersome, but the resulting images will be well-worth the trouble.
In the end i realized that I don’t really need 300 words to describe this camera, I just need one – Fabulous!
OK, i’ve got to admit this report was to have been posted over a month ago, how time flies…. Anywho, i’ve had a fantastic time with the camera in the North-east and will be posting a video file showing you what the ‘video’ HD camera can do…
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Well, you certainly are making a lot of people (who cannot invest in *another* camera) pretty unhappy right now!
Looking forward to more fantastic images and movies from this camera, too.
And I look forward, one day, to your post that will say, “In those good old days, I was so excited about that ancient 50D with its outdated technology!”
Well I can already talk about the good ol’ days and the Canon 10D – my first digital SLR camera, and the funny part is – it wasn’t even that long ago!! That’s the digital era for you, a few years old translates to – Ancient!
And the second thing with digital – don’t hold on to it for too long – get attached to your lenses but not to the body
Wow… I was excited about the Mark 2, the Mark 11 must be amazing!
hehe, my bad! Yes the mark 11 would be cool and i can’t even imagine what that might be like, but for now we’ll have to settle for a Mark II
What are the latest gadget reviews this month ?:.;
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