The Canon 5D Mark II is far and away the single BEST camera on the market right now. $2500 might seem like a steep price for only a camera body, but the camera itself is worth its weight in gold and if you are serious about photography this is the only way to go.The 21.1 megapixel full frame sensor produces shockingly gorgeous images and perfect mural prints. Fine artists take note! This camera is the best digital alternative to 4x5 film. When paired with a premium piece of glass, there is little this camera can't do. The resolution is gorgeous and I have made prints at 40x50" that are absolutely flawless.
Another significant benefit of this camera over comparable models is its performance in low-light conditions. You can make perfect images at an ISO of 3200 that look just as good as images at an ISO of 2000. This is great for shooting live music events (what I use it for) in dark clubs or bars. Noise is not noticeable in properly exposed images until you hit as high as 6400 and even then it is reasonable.
The only major flaw of the 5D II is the auto-focus. Sometimes it works perfectly and sometimes it seems to be possessed by the devil. I can't make any rhyme or reason out of it, but the beauty of digital is that if you miss one image, you can take another right afterwards and fix your mistakes (the exception is live event or photojournalism, of course). Some people have had no problems with auto-focus, though, so this flaw might be case-by-case. It's just something to be aware of, if you purchase, and I recommend testing this feature out shortly after you take the camera out of the box.
This camera doesn't have a huge frames-per-second rate, though, at only four. If you are very much into sports or performance photography, this could be a downfall. For the average user this won't make a huge difference, but it is something to consider when making the purchase. If you need a higher frames per second rate, I would suggest taking a look at the Canon 7D (although it is a crop-sensor camera).
I use this camera paired with the Canon 24-70 f/2.8 L as a walk around lens and I am consistently able to produce clear, sharp images, even in low light.
This, however, is not a beginner's camera. If you are not familiar with the various camera settings and are not a fan of reading the manual, you'd be better off starting with a consumer-level DSLR before graduating to this body. I started off with a Canon XTi and then moved on to a Canon 50D before I bought the 5D II. There is so much you can do with this body in terms of exposure, but its best to learn how all the functions and features work properly otherwise it will be easy to be overwhelmed.
All in all I think this camera is truly the best option out there in terms of quality and possibilities.
No comments:
Post a Comment