I had the chance to rent a Canon EOS 5D Mark II and put it to use in a professional setting last week. I figured I would publish a few of my thoughts regarding the camera. The job was to second shoot a wedding for my very talented colleague Rob Corbett. I wanted a second camera for the day and since I’ve been shooting with the original EOS 5D for years, I naturally went for the 5D Mark II. Already being familiar with the control system, I was able to jump right in and clock a solid 10 hours of real world shooting with the camera.

While it kills me to write about a camera without including sample images, I’ve chosen not to publish any here since my impressions are based on a single, commissioned job. Perhaps if I pick up a Mark II of my own I’ll write a full, illustrated review.

I would not call this a full review since I only used the camera for a short time. Consider this a quick rundown of my initial impressions and observations. Instead of attempting a thorough write-up, I’m just going to jump through a handful of assorted things that stood out when I reflected on the camera’s performance.

Image Quality

This is the reason I originally chose the 5D as my camera — it had a reputation for excellent image quality. I don’t spend much time shooting sports or fast-moving animals, but my library contains frame after frame of landscapes, portraits, events and candid shots. The majority of these images are shot in low light environments.

The 5D II continues to excel in the image quality department. Just like the classic model, this version produces excellent colors, contrast and sharpness, especially with good glass attached. 84% of the shots I took over the course of this job were with the EF 24-70 f/2.8 L and EF 85mm f/1.2 L II — two lenses renowned for their image quality.

Photos were even impressive with my Sigma 12-24mm lens which, while also being designated by Sigma as a solidly built, professional quality lens, sometimes leaves me wanting a little more in terms of IQ. But with a little extra attention in Photoshop, I was able to get what I wanted out of those shots as well.

Low Light IQ

Here’s where this camera really shines. The original 5D was a great low light performer and the Mark II continues the tradition. I could easily use ISO 400 for wide aperture, available light indoor shots and get wonderful, clean images. The reception was very dimly lit, for which I sat at ISO 1600 with on-camera bounce flash all night. The photos came out better than I had hoped for, extremely clear and sharp with minimal noise.

I went up to ISO 6400 for a few frames in which I need to use a slow lens and while they were acceptable, the noise was noticeable. I can still see shooting at 6400 if the need arises though — careful attention to proper exposure should keep noise levels down, and at the end of the day I’d rather get a grainy shot than a blurry shot, or no shot.

Resolution

The 5D Mark II outputs tremendous 21 MP images. I’m not one for extreme cropping in post, but I do it from time to time and the resolution of this camera really leaves a lot of room to work with. I came across one frame that had a “photo inside a photo”, and I was able to crop a perfectly acceptable image from about 20% of the total area of the frame.

Ergonomics

This is one of the departments where Nikon shooters often boast about having the upper hand over Canon. And while I don’t doubt that Nikon cameras have great ergonomics, and certainly haven’t spent enough time shooting with them to claim otherwise, I will say that I’ve never had a problem with Canon’s design.

The 5D II feels more solid that the original model, even though they are both constructed from magnesium alloy. Both cameras also have the exact same weight of 1.8 lbs. The right-hand grip of the Mark II is sculpted with more indentations to fit the photographer’s fingers.

The button layout is very similar to the original 5D. There is the addition of the AF-ON button for focus control. The 5D classic does not have this button, so focus control can be assigned to the * button. After the first dozen or so frames with the 5DII I kept hitting the exposure lock (*) button when I meant to focus, so I re-assigned focus control to the * button through the custom functions. It would probably take a little more time to get used to the new AF-ON button, and I didn’t have that luxury.

Battery Life

Battery life on the 5D Mark II appears to be very impressive. I went through 1.5 batteries on my 5D classic, and while I did run the Mark II’s charge down pretty low, I never changed the battery.

Auto ISO

This is a really nice feature, one which sometimes make me jealous of Nikon. While I was glad to see that the 5D Mark II can do auto ISO, the implementation could use some improvement. It would be nice to set minimum shutter speeds at which the ISO bumps up instead of leaving that decision to the camera, and I would love to be able to use Auto ISO in manual mode with manual on-camera flash. As it stands, it’s a nice feature to use in Av mode, but I turned it off rather than fight with it for the majority of this job.

Autofocus

Not much to report here. The Mark II as the same AF system as the original 5D, so all the same issues apply. To an extent, you can make the system behave if you know how to work it.

Conclusion

I chose the original 5D because it had a reputation for excellent image quality and low light performance. The 5D Mark II continues that tradition and improves on its predecessor. Some features and finer details could use some work, and the line is in desperate need of a new autofocus system. Overall, this is one of the smartest buys for a Canon shooter who spends a lot of time with people and landscapes, but isn’t tracking fast moving subjects.