5D mark II - are major issues now resolved ?

[Flying Trotter]

I know a number of people on here have now got 5D mark III's - what is the view a few months into the ownership experience - have the firmware releases adequately addressed "black dot" and other issues - are people generally happy with build quality/reliability/functionality bearing in mind price point

I am thinking seriously about acquiring one - have a 40D which is fine but feel should add in a full frame as interests fairly broad so landscape, family events and macro feature alongside sports and wildlife - does the circa 4 fps operate as a major limitation in practice - can use the 40D for action shots of sport (eg motorsport) and wildlife (especially BIF) but would see the 5D as becoming the main body in general operation

have 24-70L, 100 macro and 100-400IS L

or would the better option be forget full frame and go for a 50D or wait to acquire a 1Ds III when the IV arrives and pro's seek to upgrade ?

[Flying Trotter]

I obviously meant 5D II - not enough coffee !!

[Moonhawk]

It was fixed in a firmware upate. I have the 5D mkII (bought after the firmware update was issued) and have had no problems with it.

I love it - the full frame sensor is great especially when using wide angle lenses and the larger pixels mean less noise - so you can boost the ISO up for shooting in low light. I also have a 30D and i'd say the iso noise on the 5DmkII at iso 6400 is about the same as the 30D at iso 1600. Even at 25600 its useable (especially if you pass the images through noise ninja). I went to Chester zoo a few months back and was shooting hand held in the bat house with an F4 lens.

The other advantage of the 5D mkII if you are shooting in raw mode is the sRaw1 (~10mp) and sRaw2 (~5mp) modes (basically they work like the large, medium and small jpg options - but in raw mode). Sometimes you dont need to shoot at the full 21mp resolution - and having these modes saves significant space and time when dealing with RAW images.

I also use it for astrophotography - so the live view mode with magnification is also useful.

Edited by Moonhawk on Friday 22 May 10:25

[jon-]

Is there a cropped sensor mode on the 5d MK II like on the new Nikons so you can use your EF-S lenses come upgrade time?

[SamHH]

jon- said:

Is there a cropped sensor mode on the 5d MK II like on the new Nikons so you can use your EF-S lenses come upgrade time?

Unlike Nikon's DX lenses, EF-S lenses are actually a different mount so they won't fit on a full frame or APS-H camera.

[Moonhawk]

Apart from the fact that the mount is different - using an EF-S lens on the 5D could actually damage the camera as the EF-S lens protrudes into the camera body further than EF lenses. When you fire your shutter there is a danger that the mirror may hit the back of the lens as it flips up.

Edited by Moonhawk on Friday 22 May 10:50

[jon-]

Moonhawk said:

Apart from the fact that the mount is different - using an EF-S lens on the 5D could actually damage the camera as the EF-S lens protrudes into the camera body further than EF lenses. When you fire your shutter there is a danger that the mirror may hit the back of the lens as it flips up.

Edited by Moonhawk on Friday 22 May 10:50

Nikon certainly got the upgrade path right. It's far easier to go from a cropped nikon to a full frame nikon in stages as it doesn't require buying all your glass again day one.

[Famous Graham]

jon- said:

Moonhawk said:

Apart from the fact that the mount is different - using an EF-S lens on the 5D could actually damage the camera as the EF-S lens protrudes into the camera body further than EF lenses. When you fire your shutter there is a danger that the mirror may hit the back of the lens as it flips up.

Edited by Moonhawk on Friday 22 May 10:50

Nikon certainly got the upgrade path right. It's far easier to go from a cropped nikon to a full frame nikon in stages as it doesn't require buying all your glass again day one.

There's only 7 EF-S lenses anyway, and all EF lenses work on EF-S cameras. It's no big deal as long as you're aware of it.

(although the 10-22 is EF-S meaning you have to go third party for an ultrawide).

[Moonhawk]

Famous Graham said:

(although the 10-22 is EF-S meaning you have to go third party for an ultrawide).

Perhaps not - the 10mm EF-S on a camera with a 1.6 cropping factor is equivelent to a 16mm on a full frame. Canon do a 16-35mm and a 17-40mm zoom.

Edited by Moonhawk on Friday 22 May 11:10

[Flying Trotter]

thanks for the comments - how do you find the build quality ? did you also opt for the battery grip

[Pete Baraka]

I purchased in January, thankfully just before all the recent price rises. The camera had a small crud spot on the focus screen so LCE kindly swapped it for a fresh one which just happened to have the latest firmware updates. The memory card cover was a poor fit on my first one but this issue seems to have been addressed on the newer one. I bought a spare battery in January too & I'm glad I did - these seem to be in very short supply in the U.K.

21 Megapixels and the high iso capabilities are excellent. I do a lot of magazine feature work & I can shoot slightly wider than needed to allow some cropping without killing the quality. It's a great portrait and landscape camera in my opinion, but it's not ideal for action work so I use a 50D sometimes too.

Pete

[stigmundfreud]

After returning one and getting a replacement (all in one transaction via warehouse express - recommended) due to hot spots, I've been running on the original firmware. No black dot issues at all so to answer your question even on the original firmware I dont have a problem

Do not buy from abroad, buy from a reputable UK reseller. The sensors can have dead pixel issues which only appear on high iso (you will always get some tiny hot spots) or on long exposures. Look for my old thread. Warehouse express shipped me a new body and then collected my old one, all inside 24 hours of phoning them. If I had saved 100 quid via hong kong I'd have been donald ducked

[stigmundfreud]

jon- said:

Moonhawk said:

Apart from the fact that the mount is different - using an EF-S lens on the 5D could actually damage the camera as the EF-S lens protrudes into the camera body further than EF lenses. When you fire your shutter there is a danger that the mirror may hit the back of the lens as it flips up.

Edited by Moonhawk on Friday 22 May 10:50

Nikon certainly got the upgrade path right. It's far easier to go from a cropped nikon to a full frame nikon in stages as it doesn't require buying all your glass again day one.

as the only decent canon lenses are EF mount and EF-S compatible its never been an issue. Only if you bought micky mouse cheap as st ef-s only lenses will you have a problem. Its a case of Nikon playing catch up, not the other way round.

[Flying Trotter]

do you consider Kersoe to be in the categorie of dependable reseller like warehouse express ? have had no issues on past purchases - if any issues and best to deal off line PM me

[stigmundfreud]

I only use 2 or 3 suppliers based on teh fact of excellent service/price/and experience

Warehouse Express for pretty much all gear
Karlu for studio stuff
T4 Cameras for bits and bobs that I need (as they are in my town).

There is also a little local shop, but that wont help you as he deals in old film stuff.

Now back to your question, no idea. Sorry. I can only recommend WHE as will many others on here as their prices are usually some of the best but it is the skill of the staff serving you through to the returns process that make them worth every penny

[SamHH]

stigmundfreud said:

as the only decent canon lenses are EF mount and EF-S compatible its never been an issue. Only if you bought micky mouse cheap as st ef-s only lenses will you have a problem. Its a case of Nikon playing catch up, not the other way round.

From what I've read a few of the EF-S lenses are very good; have you tried them all?

[jon-]

stigmundfreud said:

jon- said:

Moonhawk said:

Apart from the fact that the mount is different - using an EF-S lens on the 5D could actually damage the camera as the EF-S lens protrudes into the camera body further than EF lenses. When you fire your shutter there is a danger that the mirror may hit the back of the lens as it flips up.

Edited by Moonhawk on Friday 22 May 10:50

Nikon certainly got the upgrade path right. It's far easier to go from a cropped nikon to a full frame nikon in stages as it doesn't require buying all your glass again day one.

as the only decent canon lenses are EF mount and EF-S compatible its never been an issue. Only if you bought micky mouse cheap as st ef-s only lenses will you have a problem. Its a case of Nikon playing catch up, not the other way round.

From what I've read the 50d was in reply to the D300, which is now over a year old and arguably still the better camera.

Nikon may be playing catchup at your end of the market, now I know a little more about my end of the market I'm starting to wish I'd gone Nikon for the superior flash control and nicer upgrade path (D90 -> d300)

[cirks]

Flying Trotter said:

do you consider Kersoe to be in the categorie of dependable reseller like warehouse express ? have had no issues on past purchases - if any issues and best to deal off line PM me

Assuming you meant Kerso (ie Ian Kerr) then yes, he's got a very good reputation and I've bought many of my lenses from him.

[stigmundfreud]

SamHH said:

stigmundfreud said:

as the only decent canon lenses are EF mount and EF-S compatible its never been an issue. Only if you bought micky mouse cheap as st ef-s only lenses will you have a problem. Its a case of Nikon playing catch up, not the other way round.

From what I've read a few of the EF-S lenses are very good; have you tried them all?

No, I dont bother with micky mouse crippled crop sensor bodies

Seriously though I know there are some good ef-s lenses but the majority of the decent ef-s stuff are actually ef mounts with ef-s capability.