Posted by Peter Carroll on December 13, 2008 at 9:47 AM
I know many NPNers can't wait to get their hands on the new Canon 5D Mark II. The net, however, has been buzzing the last few days about a problem with the new camera. There have been reports of small black dots appearing next to highlight areas.
Not all blogs and sites on the net are created equal. Some spit out slanted opinions on the age old and extremely tiring Canon vs Nikon debate. In my opinion, it helps all photographers if both companies put out quality products and push the technology envelope by way of honest competition. One site I trust for honest assessment of pros and cons on equipment evaluation is Rob Galbraith's site. I dropped in on his site today and he posts that Canon officially recognise the issue and that there will be an "official Canon comment on this issue in the very near future." Link
Canon better get to the bottom of this PDQ because after the autofocus disaster of the 1D Mark III they can't afford, in these economic times, to have out of the box issues with another flagship model.
Posted by David Rogers on December 13, 2008 at 12:40 PM
I like Ken's response to this issue. Not that I agree that it is or is not a problem, it's just that so many people will not even see it.
Posted by Jerry Greer on December 13, 2008 at 1:37 PM
I just love the pixel peepers that don't even shoot seriously or for a living. Most, as Ken stated, spend their time just testing equipment in very unlikely conditions and post BS remarks. (kind of like when they test a TS-E lens just as they would a fixed lens). Even if you get one of these little dots, it can be handled just as a dust spot. Oh, that's right, most photographers of this day have never shot film and had to spend hours cleaning up a scan! I really don't put this problem in the same light as the focusing problem with the 1DMKIII. The focusing issue is an "all the time" issue, the "so-called" black dot issue is a very remote issue at most.
Posted by Don Miller on December 13, 2008 at 2:33 PM
I haven't seen black dots, but I haven't looked. Since the camera is creating the black dots I don't see a problem they can't fix.
I think a lot of people here are going to like the video feature. Most of the time the images are incredible.
Posted by Robert Fisher on December 13, 2008 at 4:58 PM
As usual, Rockwell has no idea what he's talking about. It's amazing how he can continue to make this stuff up as he goes along. He should write fiction. Oh wait, he already does.
Posted by Todd Caudle on December 13, 2008 at 5:13 PM
While I agree that most people would never notice these black spots unless they went looking for them at the pixel level, it's still troubling that this brand spanking new camera has this kind of flaw, no matter how trivial to the casual, non-pixel-peeping viewer.
Posted by Peter Carroll on December 13, 2008 at 5:26 PM
Like I said, not all blogs or websites are created equal - Ken Rockwell wouldn't be where I would go to get unbiased opinion.
Jerry - I appreciate you're photography experience goes back to film and cleaning up scans (I've done the hours of cloning scans thing too) but I don't think your suggestion of "even if you get one of these little dots, it can be handled just as a dust spot" is going to cut it when people are asked to pay $2700 US at this stage on the digital technology development timeline. Now if the issue only appears at insane pixel peeping levels and doesn't play out in print even for massive commercial applications then who cares. I agree that there are those who just wish to find fault with new equipment and any piece of equipment can be shown to fall off quickly beyond designed use paramenters. I have a degree in Mech Engineering so I'm familiar with the balancing act designers try and pull off sometimes.
We'll all just have to wait for Canon's official answer. Hopefully it's a non issue. The 1DS MarkIII focusing issue was a huge slip up and left lots of people wondering where's the QC if something like that can slip through and appear all the time out of the box.
Posted by Jerry Greer on December 13, 2008 at 8:47 PM
There's always Sony, Nikon, Sigma and many others out there if anyone needs other choices. I've been shooting Canon for years and they've always come through with a fix for any of my problems and they've bent over backwards on repairs (even when I was the one that broke it). I'm certain that they will have a fix for this issue. I just think that everyone just starts looking for issues to bitch about. Look at what the online community is saying about the new and awesome D3x! Now that Canon knows about the issue they'll fix it. (Oh, and we can always just buy a 1DsMKIII, I don't think that it has the same problem) More than likely it is a software issue being that they have the same basic sensor.
Discussion
7 repliesNot all blogs and sites on the net are created equal. Some spit out slanted opinions on the age old and extremely tiring Canon vs Nikon debate. In my opinion, it helps all photographers if both companies put out quality products and push the technology envelope by way of honest competition. One site I trust for honest assessment of pros and cons on equipment evaluation is Rob Galbraith's site. I dropped in on his site today and he posts that Canon officially recognise the issue and that there will be an "official Canon comment on this issue in the very near future." Link
Canon better get to the bottom of this PDQ because after the autofocus disaster of the 1D Mark III they can't afford, in these economic times, to have out of the box issues with another flagship model.
I think a lot of people here are going to like the video feature. Most of the time the images are incredible.
Jerry - I appreciate you're photography experience goes back to film and cleaning up scans (I've done the hours of cloning scans thing too) but I don't think your suggestion of "even if you get one of these little dots, it can be handled just as a dust spot" is going to cut it when people are asked to pay $2700 US at this stage on the digital technology development timeline. Now if the issue only appears at insane pixel peeping levels and doesn't play out in print even for massive commercial applications then who cares. I agree that there are those who just wish to find fault with new equipment and any piece of equipment can be shown to fall off quickly beyond designed use paramenters. I have a degree in Mech Engineering so I'm familiar with the balancing act designers try and pull off sometimes.
We'll all just have to wait for Canon's official answer. Hopefully it's a non issue. The 1DS MarkIII focusing issue was a huge slip up and left lots of people wondering where's the QC if something like that can slip through and appear all the time out of the box.