Canon EOS 5D Mark II

Type	Digital single-lens reflex camera
Sensor	36 × 24 mm CMOS
Maximum resolution	5,616 × 3,744 (21.1 megapixels)
Lens	Interchangeable (EF)
Shutter	Electronic focal-plane
Shutter speed range	30 to 1/8000 s
Exposure metering	TTL, full aperture, 35 zones
Exposure modes	Full auto, programmed, shutter priority, aperture priority, manual
Metering modes	Evaluative, Partial, Spot, C/Wgt Average
Focus areas	9 user points + 6 assist points
Focus modes	One-shot, AI Servo, AI-Focus, Manual
Continuous shooting	up to 3.9 frame/s.
Viewfinder	Optical pentaprism with 98% coverage[1] and electronic (Live View)
ASA/ISO range	100–6400 (expansion from 50 up to 25,600)
Rear LCD monitor	3.0 inches (76 mm), 640 × 480 (921,600 dots)
Storage	CompactFlash (CF) (Type I or Type II)
Battery	Li-Ion LP-E6 Rechargeable (1800mAh)
Weight	810 g (body only)
Optional battery packs	BG-E6 grip allows use of 6 AA cells, a single LP-E6 or two LP-E6 batteries
Made in	Japan

The Canon EOS 5D Mark II is a 21.1-megapixel full-frame CMOS digital single-lens reflex camera made by Canon. It succeeds the EOS 5D and was announced on 17 September 2008.^[2]

On 2 March 2012, Canon announced the camera's successor: the Canon EOS 5D Mark III.^[3]

Improvements compared to original EOS 5D[link]

• 21.1 megapixel (5,616 × 3,744 pixels), compared to 12.8 megapixels (4,368 × 2,912 pixels)
• DIGIC 4 image processor, compared to DIGIC II
• 100–6400 ISO (expandable to L (50), H1 (12800), H2 (25600)), compared to 100–1600 (expandable to L (50), H (3200))
• 3.9 frames per second continuous shooting (78 JPEG or 13 Raw in a single burst), compared to 3 frame/s (60 JPEG or 17 Raw)
• Small Raw modes: sRAW1 mode (10 megapixel/3861 × 2574 pixels), sRAW2 mode (5.2 megapixel/2784 × 1856 pixels)
• 98% viewfinder coverage with 0.71× magnification, compared to 96% coverage
• Larger 3.0-inch (76 mm) LCD display with 920,000 pixels, compared to 2.5-inch (64 mm)
• 1800mAh LP-E6 battery, compared to 1390mAh BP-511A

New features[link]

• Movie recording full HD at 1920 × 1080 and SDTV at 640 × 480 resolution.
• Monaural microphone for audio during video recording, speaker for playback and microphone jack for external stereo microphone
• Live preview with ExpSim LV "exposure simulation" live preview (full exposure preview control utilizing ExpSim LV, a first for video in a DSLR)
• Live preview with contrast-detect autofocus
• HDMI video output for live preview or playing clips and images on an external monitor via Type C MiniHDMI port
• Dust reduction system to perform automatic sensor cleaning
• Battery management software

The 5D Mark II is the first camera in the EOS line to provide video recording functions.^[4] Still photography during video recording is possible, but the camera suspends recording video until the final still frame is captured.^[5]

The Li-Ion battery for the 5D Mark II (LP-E6) has a 1800mAh capacity. Each battery contains a microchip with a unique identifier for reporting charge status and battery health for display on the camera. The 5D Mark II's "Battery Info" screen can track battery health and shooting history for up to six LP-E6 batteries.^[6]

Video recording[link]

A 5D Mark II with follow focus, matte box and other cinematography equipment

The 5D Mark II was the first DSLR to feature 1080p video recording.^[7] The Canon PowerShot SX 1 IS followed with full HD in a bridge digital camera soon after.^[8] The 16:9 aspect ratio portion of the sensor used in video mode is equivalent in sensitive area to a VistaVision 8/35 frame. This large sensor allows videos to be recorded with very shallow depth of field for a "film look". The 21 megapixel sensor is downsampled to HD resolution by only using every third line and 4:2:0 chroma subsampling,^[9] leading to concern about Moiré patterns in recorded video.^[10]

Movie clips can be up to 4 GB in size, approximately 12 minutes of 16:9 HD (1920x1080) or 24 minutes of 4:3 SD (640x480) footage (depending on scene complexity). These limits stem from the 4 GB maximum file size supported by the FAT32 filesystem format used on Compact Flash cards. The camera also imposes a hard maximum clip length of 29 minutes 59 seconds if the 4 GB limit has not already been reached.^[11] Video clips are recorded as Quicktime MOV files with H.264/MPEG-4 (Base Profile @ L5) compressed video and uncompressed PCM audio at 48 kHz. HD bitrate is approximately 38 Megabits per second (4.8 Mbyte/s) and SD bitrate is approximately 17 Megabits per second (2.2 Mbyte/s).^[12] Although the internal microphone is mono, stereo audio is supported through the audio input jack. When recording for long periods, especially in warmer climates, increased video noise may occur due to CMOS overheating.^[13]

Video functionality[link]

The EOS 5D Mark II is capable of video recording in low-light situations and it is sold for a relatively low price, compared with professional video cameras. For the first eighteen months of its release, the camera only had a 30 frame per second (30p) video mode. On 15 March 2010, Canon released a firmware upgrade to add a 25p mode for PAL format compatibility and a 24p mode for compatibility with motion picture film cameras.^[14] The firmware update also modified the 30p mode to record 29.97 frame/s and the new 24p mode actually records 23.976 frame/s to have frame rates compatible with NTSC. Lastly, the update added manual control of the audio record levels and an official way to disable the Automatic Gain Control.

Following the success of the Canon Hack Development Kit (CHDK) for Canon's PowerShot cameras, third party firmware was also produced for the 5D Mark II. The Magic Lantern firmware provides many additional video and cinematography related controls and meters such as zebra stripes for exposure control, depth of field estimates, audio VU meters and disables the automatic gain control on the microphone input (although some of these features have since been added to Canon's official firmware, as noted above).^[15][16]

Independent film and television[link]

In March 2010, Canon released firmware version 2.0.4 for the 5D Mark II, adding 24p framerate and manual audio recording.^[17][18]

Notable film and television productions that used the Canon 5D Mark II include (in order of release):

• The opening title sequence for the 35th season of NBC's Saturday Night Live, first broadcast on 26 September 2009. The camera, alongside the Canon 7D, was used due to its size, which allowed covert shooting on the streets of New York City, and depth of field capabilities, making it a suitable substitute for the series' usual 35mm film.^[19]
• The House episode "Help Me", broadcast by Fox on 17 May 2010, was shot entirely on the Canon 5D Mark II, replacing the drama's usual 35mm film format.^[20][21][22] Portions of the seventh season were also recorded with a 5D Mark II.^[23]
• The BBC Two comedy series Shelfstackers, first broadcast on 4 September 2010, is the first BBC programme to use the camera. The corporation had initially refused its use due to "lack of quality" but were persuaded otherwise by the series' director, Dom Bridges. All six episodes of the series were shot on the camera for a total budget of £160,000.^[24]
• The Road to Coronation Street, broadcast by BBC Four on 16 September 2010, is the first UK television drama to be shot on the Canon 5D Mark II. The drama's director of photography was impressed and plans to use the camera on the seventh series of the BBC One drama Hustle.^[25]
• The rebooted Hawaii Five-0 TV series is currently shot using Canon 5DmkII.^[26]
• Behzat Ç. Bir Ankara Polisiyesi, a Turkish TV series is being shot on Canon 5DmkII.^[27]
• Rubber, a 2010 French horror movie directed by Quentin Dupieux, was entirely shot on Canon 5DMkII.
• Dongala Mutha a 2011 commercial mainline Telugu movie was shot entirely using five Canon 5D MarkII cameras simultaneously. Each shot was captured in 5 different angles at the same time as an experiment.
• The 2012 film Act of Valor was shot with the use of the Canon 5D Mark II.^[28]
• The Avengers (2012 film) is reported to have some Canon 5D MkII shots.^[29]
• Department, a 2012 bollywood movie is reported to have been shot using Canon 5D Mark II^[30]

Third party video, digital cinema, and 3D production rigs and lenses[link]

Several aftermarket vendors have developed professional video accessory packages, to take advantage of the large 35mm sensor, which provided cinema-like depth of field. Redrock Micro, & Zacuto are two of these.^{[citation needed]}

For 3D video shooting Anachrome 3D is offering several dual camera mount packages, which make use of several short focal length Canon prime lenses. Specialized "shifting prisms" compensate for the "too wide" spacing of the pair of cameras. By inverting one of the cameras, the spacing is further reduced. Sync issues are also addressed in these 3D packages, with a "sync comparator" as "gen-locking" two 5DM2s is not readily do-able at this early stage.^{[citation needed]}

A company in Los Angeles, CA, Hot Rod Cameras, is offering cinema style PL lens mounts, which will allow a few of the larger cinema lenses used on Arriflex film cameras to be fitted to the 5DM2. The sensor is actually the size of two motion picture 35mm frames, similar to a 20th century wide-screen process promoted by Paramount Studios, Called "Vista-Vision". This was 35mm film, run horizontally through the taking camera, using twice the area of a normal 35mm cine frame.^{[citation needed]}

Software[link]

The included software package contains the following software: ^[31]

• Digital Photo Professional
• ZoomBrowser EX / ImageBrowser
• PhotoStitch
• EOS Utility
• Picture Style Editor

Firmware updates[link]

Early buyers of the camera reported black pixels appearing in high contrast situations.^[32] In late 2008, Canon officially acknowledged that there was an issue with black dots and vertical banding noise in certain circumstances.^[33] On 7 January 2009, Canon released firmware update 1.0.7 to address these two problems.^[34]

Originally the camera lacked manual control when filming video. On 2 June 2009 version 1.1.0 of the firmware was released which provided control over aperture, shutter speed and ISO while recording video.^[35]

On 17 December 2009 Firmware Version 1.2.4 was released to support the WFT-E4 II wireless file transmitter and to correct an issue where visible noise may appear in photos taken in continuous Bulb shooting.^[36]

On 16 March 2010 Firmware Version 2.0.3 was released to support 1080p at NTSC 29.97 frame/s, 1080p at PAL 25.00 frame/s and 1080p at cinematography 23.976 frame/s. It also added a function for manually adjusting the sound recording level (64 levels), a histogram display (brightness or RGB) for shooting movies in manual exposure, shutter-priority AE mode (Tv) and aperture-priority AE (Av) mode to the exposure modes for shooting movies and changed the audio sampling frequency from 44.1 kHz to 48 kHz. On 17 March 2010 the firmware was found to have some bugs with the audio functions and thus retired.^[37][38]

On 19 March 2010 Firmware Version 2.0.4 was released to solve the 2.0.3 bugs.^[17][18]

On 19 October 2010 Firmware Version 2.0.8 was released to solve several issues related to the camera operations under specific circumstances.

On 30 May 2011 Firmware Version 2.0.9 was released. This update improved performance with certain UDMA cards and solved other issues.

On 14 Nov 2011 Firmware Version 2.1.1 was released. This update fixes a phenomenon where shooting stops after capturing one image when in continuous shooting mode or auto exposure bracketing (AEB) continuous mode. It also corrects wording in the Dutch language menu screen.

On 29 Feb 2012 Firmware Version 2.1.2 was released. This update optimizes the camera’s performance when using certain UDMA 7-compatible CF cards released in February 2012 or later.

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Canon EOS 5D Mark II

• Canon EOS 5D Mark II – Canon USA
• Canon EOS 5D Mark II – EOS website (Japanese)
• Specifications sheet – Canon UK
• Canon EOS 5D Mark II In-depth Review – February 2009 at Digital Photography Review
• Full-length review at DigitalCameraInfo.com
• Canon 5D Mark II video performance review