The Canon EOS 5D Mark II is an advanced development of their enormously-popular 5D camera, a segment-defining unit which truly stood the test of time in an ultra-competitive and constantly-evolving industry. The sum of its improvements are indeed impressive; it is a tool that can satisfy the demands of advanced photo enthusiasts built to the specifications needed for professionals.

Continuing with the elegant principle of a 'full frame' sensor in a rather compact body, the 5D Mark II adds many valuable features which have arrived to the DSLR setting since the original 5D's August 2005 debut. Chief amongst these are a much improved LCD screen with a viewing mode on the LCD screen itself, and a movie mode for simulating a camcorder's ability. It also adds a few more 'classic' features that weren't in the 5D, such as a vibrating self-cleaning system for the imaging sensor and a weather-sealed housing.

Working photographers will appreciate the improvements in shutter durability, weather sealing, and autofocus micro adjustment which aim to make the 5D Mk II a viable professional's alternative. Camera enthusiasts who seek the best possible image quality will love the live viewing mode that can also simulate a camcorder; a video shot with an EF 85mm f/1.8 wouldn't be your typical ubiquitous vacation clip by any means, and being able to use an SLR overhead while composing from the LCD screen opens up new possibilities for any shooter.

Perhaps best of all, they managed to pack all these capacities into a camera at a more economical price than its predecessor.

Key Features

• CMOS Sensor has >8Mp more resolution vs 5D (identical resolving power as EOS-1Ds Mark III) and expanded high-ISO range (ISO 50-25600 vs 50-3200)

• DiG!C 4 processor produces ~82 Mb/sec throughput, excellent high-ISO characteristics, & intelligent lens illumination pattern compensation

• Movie recording live viewing mode simulates camcorder with internal microphone, external microphone port, & HDMI video output (16:9 aspect ratio {1920 x 1080} up to 12 minutes)

• Contrast-detecting, 100% coverage autofocus live viewing mode keeps mirror up through successive exposures, reducing shutter lag & quieting exposures (manual focus also possible)

• Sealed magnesium housing (battery chamber, memory card door, LCD screen, and button/dial gaskets) with 150,000-cycle-specification shutter makes for a reliable professional's tool

• Canon "EOS Integrated Cleaning System" reduces dust via automatic or manually-initiated sensor cleanings & dust-mapping data incorporated to images

• Lens-customized autofocus micro adjustment (up to 20 lens-specific customized settings)

• Multicoated, 920,000-pixel 3" LCD screen with 170° viewing angle & seven brightness levels

• Bright, 98% coverage glass pentaprism viewfinder with 0.71x magnification, 21mm eye relief, and -3 to +1 integrated dioptric correction

• Optional 'conventional' BG-E6 Battery Grip for identical vertical & horizontal handling, or WFT-E4/E4A Grips which add wireless (802.11b/g) direct-to-FTP-server communication

• Sophisticated, complete EOS family of lenses, flashes, and peripheral accessories

Image Sensor
36 x 24mm 22.0Mp CMOS Sensor with RGB primary color filters and Low-pass Filter

Effective Resolution
21.1Mp

Color Depth
14-Bit analog/digital conversion

Color Modes
sRGB, Adobe RGB, Monochrome

Image File Formats
RAW (3 uncompressed sizes)
JPEG (3 sizes, fine/normal compression)
RAW + JPEG (simultaneous)

Recorded Resolution
(5616 x 3744), (3861 x 2574), & (2784 x 1856) [RAW]
(5616 x 3744), (4080 x 2720), & (2784 x 1856) [JPEG]

Video Recording
Yes (1080p max. 12 minutes, VGA max. 24 mins per file)

Audio Recording
Yes (via built-in microphone or external microphone socket)

Optics

Lens Mount
Canon EF Mount (EF-S lenses excluded)

Focal Length Multiplier
1.0x

Optical Image Stabilization
Possible with Canon IS Lenses

Focus Control

Focus Type
TTL-CT-SIR AF with 9 points (1 cross-sensor) & 6 invisible supplemental points

Focus Modes
Autofocus, (One-Shot AF, Predictive AI Servo AF, AI Focus AF (automatic switching between One-Shot/Predictive AI Servo AF)), Manual Focus (MF), AF Point Selection (Manual or Automatic selection)

Exposure Control

Sensitivity
ISO 50-25600

Shutter Type
Vertical-travelling, electronically-controlled mechanical focal-plane shutter

Shutter Speed
30 Seconds to 1/8000th second

Mirror Lock-Up
Yes

Exposure Metering
Evaluative (35-segment)
Centerweighted
8% Partial
3.5% Spot

Exposure Modes
Fully-automatic AE
Programmed AE
Creative Auto AE
Shutter speed-priority AE
Aperture-priority AE
Manual exposure
Bulb

White Balance Modes
Auto, Preset (Daylight, Shade, Cloudy/Twilight/Sunset, Tungsten Light, White Fluorescent Light, Flash), Manual (Custom, Color Temperature), White balance bracketing (+/-3 stops in full-stop increments), White Balance Correction (Blue/Amber bias +/- 9 levels or Magenta/Green bias +/- 9 levels)

Scene Modes
Standard, Portrait, Landscape, Neutral, Faithful, Monochrome, User Defined (1, 2, 3)

Flash

Built-in Flash
No

Effective Flash Range
Not applicable

External Flash Connection
Dedicated Hot Shoe, PC terminal

External Flash Control
E-TTL II autoflash with EX-series Speedlites

Maximum Flash Synchronization Speed
1/200th second

Performance

Start-Up Time
0.1 Seconds

Shutter Lag
Not Specified by Manufacturer

Time Between Shots
Not Specified by Manufacturer

Burst Capability
3.9 Frames per second:
- Up to 78 frames (JPEG)
- Up to 13 frames (RAW)
- Up to 8 frames (RAW+JPEG)
(based on Canon's testing standards)

Self Timer
10 Seconds or 2 seconds delay

Interval Recording
Possible with optional timer/remote

Date & Time Stamp
No (Simultaneous recording onto image data)

Memory & Power

Built-in Memory
No

Compatible Memory Cards
CompactFlash (CF) Card (Type I & II)

File Size
RAW: 25.8MB, 14.8MB, or 10.8MB
JPEG: 6.1MB, 3.6MB, 3.0MB, 2.1MB, 1.9MB, or 1.0MB

Battery Type
Lp-E6 Lithium-Ion battery

Power Adapter
ACK-E6 AC Adapter

Input/Output

Computer Interface
USB 2.0 (Hi-Speed)

Direct Print Capable
Yes (CP Direct, Inkjet direct, PictBridge)

Remote Control
N3 type terminal

Video Output
Composite out (NTSC or PAL)
HDMI-mini out

System & Software Requirements
Windows 98SE, 2000, XP, & Vista
Mac OS X (10.1 or later)

Display

Viewfinder
Fixed eye-level pentaprism
98% Coverage
0.71x Magnification
21mm Eye relief
-3 to +1 Dioptric correction
Interchangeable focusing screens (Eg-A standard)

Viewfinder Info
Battery status, Focus confirmation, Shutter speed, Aperture value, AE lock, Maximum burst frames capacity, AEB in-progress, Flash readiness, FE locked/FEB in-progress, High-speed sync, Flash exposure compensation, Exposure compensation, Highlight tone priority, ISO Speed, White balance setting, & Black & white shooting mode

Depth-of-Field Preview
Yes

LCD Display
3.0" 920,000-pixel monitor w/ 170° viewing angle

Information Display
Metering mode, Shutter speed, Aperture, AF mode, ISO, Shots remaining, Drive mode, Battery level, Exposure compensation setting, Flash compensation setting, White balance setting, Image size/quality, Highlight tone priority, & Black & white mode indicator

Language Options
Arabic, Chinese (simplified or traditional), Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Spanish, Swedish, Thai, Turkish, & Ukrainian

Playback Options
Single image, 9-image index, Magnified zoom (approx. 1.5x to 10x), Auto play, Auto play right after shooting, Rotated, Jump, Highlight Alert, Image Protect, Image Erase

Physical

Dimensions (HxWxD)
4.5 x 6.0 x 3.0" (114 x 152 x 75mm)

Weight
1.98 lbs (900g) [w/ battery & card]