Between the 1st May 2010 and 12th January 2011, any photography student who purchases a Canon EOS 5D Mk II can claim £150 Cash Back from Canon. For more information please click here or pick up a leaflet instore.

Canon EOS 5D Mark II with Tamrac 5534 Adventure Messenger 4 bag in grey.

Hands on Review of the Canon EOS 5D Mk II

It’s been 3 long years since Canon launched the ground breaking EOS 5D, a camera that is still widely used by amateur and professional photographers alike for its ‘Full-frame’ CMOS sensor and stunning image quality even at high ISO settings.

Canon has announced the replacement, the predictably titled EOS 5D mkII. This camera continues in the tradition of offering the highest available image quality from a 35mm based system, in a compact body and at a relatively affordable price. Park Cameras was invited to Canon’s launch event today at their UK headquarters to try the new camera first hand so we can bring you our initial impressions of the camera.

The headline feature will undoubtedly be the the new CMOS sensor. At 21 million pixels this camera offers the same sorts of file sizes you would get from the flagship EOS 1Ds mkIII. In the year since the 1Ds mkIII was released it seems that Canon have been working hard to improve the efficiency of the design of their sensors. Due to a new microlens arrangement over the individual photosites Canon seem to have been able to increase the amount of light that each photosite receives. This may seem like marketing speak from Canon’s technicians but you only have to look at the expanded range of ISO settings that the camera is capable of shooting at to see the improvements this has made. With the original 5D and the current 1Ds mkIII the standard ISO range was 100-1600 with 3200 available as a boosted setting. On the new 5D mkII the standard range is 100-6400, with both 12,800 and 25,600 available should you need to shoot during a powercut. During our time with the camera we were able to shoot with a range of different lenses, one of which was Canon’s 70-200mm f/2.8 IS lens. With a model on hand in a bridal dress and veil we were able to see the results with the camera tethered to a plasma TV through the high definition connection.

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Did you know that at Park Cameras we offer a variety of courses on the Canon EOS 5D Mk II? Priced at only £99.99, you can benefit from a day-long School of Photography course designed to ensure that you are able to get more out of this fabulous product. Please see our dedicated training section for more details.