Canon EOS 5D Mark II

The Canon EOS 5D Mark II is well suited to photographers who want to crop in to fine details in their photos, or who just want to shoot and print very large landscapes and portraits. We do wish some of its controls were better implemented, but it's not hard to use once you get used to it.

CANON'S EOS 5D Mark II is a digital SLR camera that's designed primarily for serious enthusiasts, yet it also has plenty to entice new D-SLR users. It's a cut above mid-range D-SLR digital cameras, so it's expensive, but you do get a lot for your money.

It has a 21-megapixel CMOS sensor that's 35x24mm. This is a full-frame sensor, and it is bigger than the sensors in mid-range D-SLRs such as the Canon EOS 50D (which has a 22.3x14.9mm 15-megapixel sensor). It is the same size as the sensor in the professional Canon EOS 1Ds Mark III. The field of view of the sensor makes it a joy to frame wide-angle shots, as well as close-ups, because you get to see so much more than you would with a mid-range camera at the same focal point. Its viewfinder is comfortable to use, and it also has Live View on its 3” LCD screen.

The implementation of Live View on the Canon EOS 5D Mark II is not altogether useful, as the screen does not pop out to allow you to frame shots low to the ground or high above your head. However, it can be used in a studio setting where quick framing of a subject is useful, and focusing can be done either manually or by pressing the AF-On button on the rear of the unit.

Live View also forms part of another feature: video mode. Using the LCD screen, you can shoot videos at a Full HD resolution. Depending on the lens you use, you'll be able to manually zoom in on your subject or create depth of field effects. You will have to manually focus; autofocus functions won't work while shooting video. Videos are captured in the MOV format and they looked great during our tests.

We used a Canon EF24-105mm f/4L IS USM lens for our tests, and it produced clear and natural-looking images. Exposure was accurate and focusing was fast. We used manual mode to expose our shots, but aperture priority and shutter priority are available, too. You'll have to play with the metering modes when using shutter or aperture priority to ensure that highlights are not overexposed.