Dropped by new Canon Plaza in Nagoya today in order to calibrate my horrid 16-35mm F2.8L USM and had a chance to play around with the new EOS 5D Mark II. I was not allowed to use the CF card I had with me and only able to share this with you in words.
First impressions are very positive:
Start-up is a bit slow, with “Sensor Cleaning” message popping up. Likely to be disabled through Custom Functions, I however did not have enough time to venture there.
Shutter trigger is not spongy at all (something quite a few 5D users experienced). The body is rather heavy especially with the 24-105mm kit lens attached, however very ergonomic. Daily using 350D I struggled to find the power switch to my great embarrassment – I would personally prefer it to be located in a manner similar to 350D/400D/450D bodies, but this is individual.
The menu navigation using the dial and joystick (both located at the back) is a bit tricky at first, but something one can easily get used to after few days of shooting. Although I shot in Full Manual mode, I had to choose neutral preset in the menu to disable all in-camera PP.
The screen is simply great. Initially being sceptic towards the LiveView I found it very handy and am really looking forward to using it in the future.
Image quality (IQ) is great and equally the colour reproduction. It felt as one could almost do A1 prints straight from the camera with no post-processing. The IQ is obviously affected by the lens’s optical quality and the kit EF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM is contributing well.
As I am not interested in the video recording capabilities of the 5D MkII, I haven’t tested it at all.
Overall impression is exciting. I didn’t have a chance to use the original 5D and obviously cannot compare both side by side. I had a chance to compare the 5D Mark II with the 1DS Mark III and must say that my preference is with the first. 1DS MkIII stuns with the price tag, focus points, and AF intelligence (actually less than intelligent as many already experienced) but the 5D MkII has better overall feel to it. Don’t call me on this one – it’s just a personal preference.
I posted previously the official Canon 5D MkII demonstration dates and if you are in Japan around that time you have a good chance to play with it yourself.
