In Praise of the Canon 5D mk2

I was fortunate to recently acquire a barely used Epson 7800 (24 inch wide) printer at a bargain price. The first print I made was this image, printed at 16 x 32 inches for use in a 24 x 36 poster frame. The image was made at Dead Horse Point during the Spring Fling in 2011. I used a tripod mounted Canon 5D mk2 with the Canon 24-105 lens.

If you take a good look at the canyon depths in the left side center of the image, you'll see some white boulders. In the print (following PP in CS5 and using Nik Sharpener Pro 3.0), those boulders, along with everything else, were sharp and distinct, EVEN WHEN VIEWED FROM 12 INCHES AWAY!

What's even more remarkable is that this image is a 38% crop of the original full frame image! That means the full image would be just as sharp if printed on an Epson 98xx (44 inch wide) printer.

I'll admit to having given some thought in the recent past to switching to a Nikon D800, but with these kinds of results, I really can't see the point of doing that.

P.S. Nikonians needn't take this post as any sort of put down of their choice of equipment. I expect similar results would come as well from a Nikon FF body and quality lens.

I think I remember this shot from Man and Nature possibly? It gives a great sense of scale. Looks like it has too much cyan on my monitor.

Awesome sense of scale. I'm glad to hear that you're happy with the camera. I've held onto my Canon equipment (for now) which includes a 5D Mark II and 24-105/4L IS...they make a great combo.

I expect similar results would come as well from a Nikon FF body and quality lens.

That's exactly true, FF sensors these days are phenomenal. Don't discount your ability to properly capture and process the scene though (and the fact that you used good glass). The 5D2 is quite special because it's been the affordable FF longer and that sensor is awesome, especially for a 2008 sensor design. That camera is $1799 right now, can't beat it with a stick. I think it's no secret I've been one of the annoying 5D2 flag wavers for the last 4 years, so I'm totally biased, lol! But you know that if you had a FF Nikon and eqivalent Nikon lens, you'd have gotten the shot. When I get asked by someone if they should buy Nikon or Canon, I give them two criteria: what do their friends shoot (for lens sharing) and what feels better in their hand. For upper end FF bodies, whatever brand is worse is still better than what we've had just 6 or 7 years ago, and by three orders of magnitude. But at $1799, the 5D2 is still one of the most attractive bodies out there.

I recently sold my beloved 5D2 and got the 5D3, mostly for the video work I now do. I was totally blown away with the AF capabilities it finally now has (irrelevant when shooting manual on a tripod, I know), but the thing that I wasn't expecting is just how much the image quality is improved, especially low-light situations. I don't hear it talked about very much so I wasn't expecting that level of improvement. It may be the upgrade you'd want to pursue eventually, especially with all of the deals popping up (got mine for $2799, way better than the $3499 list obviously!). For me who does landscape, wedding and video work, I dare say (get ready to gag everyone), it's the best camera on planet earth.

And btw, great image! Would love to see it printed.

Wow, that is nice. My 5D MkII is being delivered in a day or two. Can't wait to get my hands on it and do some shooting!

Nice shot, flag it prints big. I am also a recent upgrader to a refurbished 5D2 and have been super happy with what that camera can do.

Morris, I originally posted this image as a follow-up to the Spring Fling ... it won a 2nd prize from Bret Edge in the contest he held. I only re-posted it in this thread to help illustrate the point I was making about the 5D mk2. This image is definitely one of my all time favorites because of the sense of scale, but also because, in this instance, I can honestly say that when I spotted the young lady in the image standing on that cliff, I "saw" this final image in my mind's eye (including the likely need to crop away a significant portion of the original image) even before I set up the tripod to take the shot.

I'm usually guilty of a "newer is better" mentality but after four years with my 5D MKII, I still love it. I'm often amazed at the dynamic range it records and 32" x 48" prints are gorgeous when the original file is nice and sharp. I'll be sad when the day comes that I've got to sell it to fun the purchase of a new camera.

At the risk of sounding weird, it WAS sad letting mine go, it was like parting with a friend (good NIGHT, I'm going whacko, lol!). After 4 years I knew that camera inside and out, could work it in my sleep, and the image quality still amazed. I did a huge print like Bret's, actualy a 30x45" canvas wrap of a shot for a client, and I was worried that it would not be striking in quality. WRONG. Print-quality-wise it came out remarkable (comp I'm not so sure about, lol). The 5D2 is an image data magnet.

So when I got the 5D3, it was nice to get. That's it, no real excitement like when the 5D2 hit the scene and everybody went bonkers for what you got in '08 for that price. No big deal today but quite a stir then. The 5D3 is better than the 5D2 so many ways, I start losing count, but it's not a game changer, it's just a really better version of the 5D2. Is it worth twice the price? Before I said no way, now that I own it, definitely. Image quality and focusing are worth 3x to me, BUT, it ain't the 5D2. Weird, I know. I still assert that while the 5D2 is still only $1799 with the rebate, it is THE camera purchase of 2012, and when they are gone, they're gone. Canon won't keep it around, they released the 6D which is the 5D2 replacement. FWIW, the 6D does have wireless and GPS built in, that's pretty neat.

OK, I think I beat this subject down enough... back to the day job.