DPInterface Canon EOS 5D Mark II Q & A
Brad Soo - October 8th, 2008

There have been lots of questions surrounding the Canon EOS 5D Mark II and its feature set and such. Since I managed to get my hands on the camera, and also spend quite some time with it, I've made this page to answer questions related to the camera. Here are some of the Q & A content, with more to be listed soon.

Who is in the target market of the Canon EOS 5D Mark II?

Well, based on the 21 megapixel resolution, decent feature set and relatively modest burst frame rate of 3.9 FPS that the EOS 5D Mark II possesses, it's designed for studio and landscape photography as well as portraiture, similar to the original EOS 5D's target market.

The original EOS 5D was known for being the "bread-and-butter" camera of many wedding photographers, combining a 12 megapixel full-frame sensor and a price around $3000 new, which was the lowest priced full-frame camera at the time. And with the new HD movie mode included and improved noise characteristics of this new camera, the 5D Mark II looks to appease wedding photographers even more.

Of course, the 5D Mark II's scope isn't just limited to studios and weddings... any serious photography enthusiast looking for mainly more resolution on their next camera or on the hunt for a backup camera, should put the 5D Mark II on their consideration list as well.

What's the impact of the HD video mode on the battery life of the Canon EOS 5D Mark II?

Well, I'm sure that's what everyone is wondering about since the movie mode is only available when you use Live View mode, which does take a toll on battery life. The 5D Mark II's still shot battery life does go down to the mark of compact cameras when using Live View; that's about 200-300 shots per battery charge. With Live View recording, you can probably do about 60 minutes of video with some juice left for some still photos (my estimate, because I'm a pretty heavy user, most of the time I don't turn it off and leave it on auto off 'standby'), probably more if you're not like me. So with a battery grip with two batteries inside, you can double your recording time (be sure to have a huge memory card with you). Of course, if you're considering the EOS 5D Mark II a lot for video recording, then I would recommend getting a dedicated video camera instead.

Is it possible to inspect sharpness and noise on the Canon EOS 5D Mark II's new LCD display?

Yes, the high-resolution 3 inch LCD combined with the Canon EOS 5D Mark II now utilizing the full 'real' photo, instead of a low-res version during playback makes it possible to inspect sharpness and even noise on the camera's screen. I used the Canon EOS 50D as well, and the same applies to that camera as well. My guess is the DIGIC IV processor makes the display of full-res photos possible on screen.

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