Canon EOS 5D Mark II

	Controls Summary
• Shooting modes include full auto, PASM and bulb shooting, plus marginally useful Creative Auto for non-numerical aperture and shutter speed adjustments • Three Camera User Settings on mode dial provide instant access to groups of user-defined settings • Picture Styles work like film type selection; users can create their own via included software • Nine-point autofocus system plus six assist point for tracking moving subjects • Auto Lighting Optimizer attempts to even out backlit subjects, Highlight Tone Priority expands dynamic range: neither produces dramatic effect • Shutter speeds range from 1/8000 second to 30 seconds, plus bulb • 35-zone metering includes evaluative, partial, spot and center-weighted modes • Copyright information can be embedded in EXIF file data
	Hardware	Page 10 of 21	Design & Handling

Shooting Modes (12.00)

You get the basics you'd expect in a high-end SLR, including a let-the-camera-do-the-thinking full auto mode for those occasions when you want to hand the 5D to your mom and get a picture of yourself for a change. The Creative Auto mode seems like a potentially good idea poorly executed, since it's too confusing for absolute novices and worthless for veterans. The headline feature here is three Camera User settings on the mode dial, a very valuable way to tailor settings to three of your favorite configurations without even a sidetrip through the menu system.

Shooting Modes
	Full Auto Mode AI Focus mode, single-shot drive mode, auto flash and Standard Picture Style are mandatory. User can change image size and use the self-timer.
	Creative Auto Mode Joystick-controlled on-screen sliders are added to the Quick Control menu, allowing users to set Background from Blurred<->Sharp, and Exposure from Darker<->Brighter, each on a five-step scale.  It was an odd way to cloak aperture and shutter-speed tweaking when it was introduced on the 50D, and entirely out of place on this more sophisticated camera. Also available in Creative Auto mode: choice of Picture Style modes (Standard, Portrait, Landscape and Monochrome) and single-shot or burst mode shooting.
	Program Auto Exposure Mode The camera sets a combination of aperture and shutter speed to suit the current lighting situation. The Program Shift function lets the user maintain this exposure while adjusting the balance between shutter speed and aperture to achieve the desired photographic effect. Rotating the Main Control Dial left simultaneously raises shutter speed and lowers aperture, and vice versa.
	Shutter Priority Auto Exposure Mode "Tv" stands for Time Value. The user sets the shutter speed using the Main Control Dial, the camera sets the aperture value.
	Aperture Priority Auto Exposure Mode "Av" stands for Aperture Value. The user sets the aperture using the Main Control Dial, the camera sets the shutter speed.
	Manual Exposure Mode The user is free to set both aperture (using the Quick Control Dial) and shutter speed (using the Main Control Dial).
	Bulb In Bulb mode, the exposure continues as long as the shutter remains depressed. Either control dial can be sued to set the aperture value.
	Camera User Settings These three modes allows users to register a group of settings and access them by simply turning the mode dial to the appropriate spot. Nearly all shooting and menu settings can be stored.

Live View (3.25)

Live View is easy to access—a single button lights up the high-res LCD with a bright, clear image—and the screen refreshes perfectly as you move the camera, with none of the stuttering or smearing we found with some early Live View implementations. Still, working with Live View mode is not as smooth and troublefree as we'd like. Yes, you can achieve handsome results shooting in Live View, but the cumbersome focusing procedure makes it inappropriate for subjects with the nerve to move when you're trying to take a picture.

By default, Live View is disabled for no apparent reason: you have to go into the third setup menu and enable it, in either stills or stills-plus-movie mode. After that you can enter Live View mode by pressing the top left button on the back of the camera.

Live View mode is used for shooting both stills and movies. We'll concentrate on stills here; the movie shooting procedure is explained in the separate Movies section above.

The Live View display can be set to two still photo modes via the setup menu. Stills Display mode maintains full brightness at all times, to enhance visibility, while Exposure Simulation mode mimics the brightness of the captured photo at current exposure settings.

Pressing the INFO button cycles through three Live View screen displays. The first is an entirely clean screen, the second adds a white-on-black display at the bottom for aperture, shutter speed, exposure compensation, available shots, ISO and battery status, and the third superimposes information on screen mode, Picture Style, autofocus setting, drive mode, white balance, movie mode and capacity, image size and movie recording capacity. When using Exposure Simulation mode, a fourth press brings up a histogram in the top right quadrant. It's also possible to have a 9- or 20-square grid superimposed over the Live View screen (unfortunately, there's no way to superimpose a grid on the viewfinder display, as you can with the Nikon D700, without swapping focusing screens).

Pressing the top right control buttons while in Live View mode brings up a series of overlay displays showing both the available settings and an icon indicating which control should be used to change these settings. With a single screen dedicated to selecting autofocus mode, focus point and drive mode, those control icons come in mighty handy.

Four focusing modes are available when shooting in Live View. Quick Mode uses the same phase detection focus system used when shooting through the viewfinder, flipping the mirror down briefly to accomplish this and briefly blanking out the Live View display. Alternatively, the system can focus directly off the main sensor using contrast detection autofocus, here called Live Mode. When using Live View focusing, you can move a box that covers 61% of the screen, using the joystick, to focus on the area of greatest interest.

Live View Focus

Moving the on-screen box adjusts the focus area.

Finally, Face Detection mode uses the same system as Live Mode, but attempts to identify a face in the frame and focus on it. The system can detect up to 35 faces, but focus on only one: it picks the closest or largest face in the frame, but you can move the highlight selection using the joystick if the camera gets it wrong. Overall we were satisfied with the results, if not the speed, of the Live View focusing system. Canon is hedging its bets, though, at least in the user manual, which states "If you want to achieve precise focusing, set the lens focus mode switch to <MF> and focus manually." Whether using the automated or manual focus system, a section of the image can be magnified by 5x or 10x by pressing the zoom-in button.

Live View Controls

On-screen icons indicate which control is associated with each changeable setting.

A peculiarity of shooting with Live View that threw us for some time is the fact that simply holding the shutter button down halfway has no effect. Instead, you have to mash down the AF-ON button and keep it down until focus has been achieved, which can take several seconds. While in Live View, metering is always done using Evaluative mode, no matter what setting you've specified.

An interesting bonus feature while in Live View mode is Silent Shooting. Since the mirror doesn't have to clack up and down when you press the shutter, you're able to shoot with less noise than you would when using the viewfinder (though "silent" is certainly an overstatement, since the shutter sound whirr is still quite noticeable). There are two modes for your listening pleasure. The first can be used for either single or burst mode (at a slightly reduced 3 shots per second speed compared to the usual 3.9). The second takes a single shot and then holds off on resetting the shutter until you remove your finger from the button, hence giving you more control over when the inevitable noise will occur.

Scene Modes (0.00)

There are no scene modes on the Canon EOS 5D Mark II. When you spend $2700 on a camera body, you're expected to be able to grapple with shutter speeds and aperture settings on your own.

Picture Effects (4.00)

The 5D Mark II offers a Picture Style feature with six presets and three slots for user-defined styles. Each style is a combination of settings for the following four factors.

Picture Settings
	Sharpness	0: Less sharp outline	+7: Sharp outline
	Contrast	-4: Low contrast	+4: High contrast
	Saturation	-4: Low saturation	+4: High saturation
	Color tone	-4: Reddish skin tone	+4: Yellowish skin tone

Picture Styles
Standard Some sharpening with overall natural color values. Used in automated shooting modes.	Portrait Enhances skin tones, softens image slightly.	Landscape Enhances blues and greens, sharpens noticeably.
Neutral No adjustments; suitable for those who tweak images with computer software	Faithful Adjusts color values if white balance temperature is below 5200K	Monochrome Black and white images, with several tonal variations available (see below)

In addition, specific color ranges can be shifted. We shot our still life in each of the six preset Picture Styles (shown below) to demonstrate their effects. Look closely at the blue and green jellybeans, for example, and you'll see the way the colors are more intense in the Landscape Picture style, and far more subdued in Neutral and Faithful.

The best shorthand way we've found to wrap your head around the Picture Style concept: it's like choosing a particular kind of film for its distinctive reproduction characteristics.

Picture styles are accessed through a dedicated button on the back of the camera, or via the Shooting menu. The provided styles can be customized, or user-defined styles created, in the camera or with more precision using the supplied Picture Style Editor software. Probably more useful for most of us, who may see the Picture Style editing process as a bit daunting, it's also possible to download and install Picture Style files created by others. Several, including Studio Portrait, Nostalgia, Autumn Hues and Twilight versions, are currently available here, at a site maintained by Canon Japan. And these Picture Style files can also be applied to RAW images using the Digital Photo Professional software provided with the camera.

Focus (10.75)

The autofocus system relies on nine primary focus points, including one cross-type point in the center. An additional six focus assist points near the center of the scene are available to help track moving subjects, though the points aren't displayed on-screen.

The six focus assist points are shown in grey in this diagram.

When using one of the two automated shooting modes (Full Auto and Creative Auto), the camera chooses a focus point, which can't be overridden. In any other mode you're on your own, moving the focus point selection with the joystick or by rotating one of the two dials. Instinct would say that using the joystick would be the right call here, since you can point directly to the spot you want instead of running through the focus point range until you land on the right one. In practice, we found that joystick tough to use accurately. With just nine available focus points, the Quick Control Dial was much faster.

Whether you use the automated system or choose your focus point yourself, it lights up bright red in the viewfinder. We found this bold display very useful but, if you disagree, the light can be suppressed through a custom control.

There are three autofocus modes:

Focus Modes
	One-Shot AF Hold down the shutter button halfway, the camera achieves focus and locks it at that point.
	AI Servo The camera focuses and then tracks the subject's movements within the frame as long as the shutter button is depressed.
	AI Focus The camera switches automatically between One-Shot and AI Servo focus modes depending on the subject's movement or lack thereof.

Manual focus is straightforward: flip the AF/M switch on the lens to M and turn the focus ring. There is no focus assist indicator in the viewfinder, as found on the Nikon D700.

Live View mode offers both the standard focus system used during viewfinder shooting and contrast-detection auto focus using the image sensor. The system is detailed in the Live View section above.

Exposure (3.75)

The 5D Mark II offers two automatic exposure modes (Full Auto and Creative Auto) plus aperture-priority, shutter-priority and full manual exposure control. Exposure compensation can be set ±2 stops, in either 1/3 stop (default) or 1/2 stop increments. Three-shot auto exposure bracketing is also available.

There are two features designed to improve results in difficult shooting situations. Auto Lighting Optimizer attempts to compensate for low-contrast and low-light photos, particularly in heavily backlit situations, though Canon warns that image noise may increase. There are three level settings: Standard, Low, Strong and Disable. Auto Lighting Optimizer is on when shooting in Full Auto or Creative Auto mode, and on by default in the other shooting modes.

The other image enhancement option is Highlight Tone Priority, designed to improve highlight detail in high-contrast scenes by expanding dynamic range between gray levels and highlights, without changing the shadow and midtone areas. Here again, Canon cautions that the process may cause an image noise increase. Highlight Tone Priority also limits available ISO settings to the 200-6400 range. There are only two settings, Disable and Enable, and the feature is off by default.

Speed and Timing

The Canon 5D Mark II gets off to a jackrabbit start from power-up to taking your first shot, but its burst mode performance lags the competition across the board.

Shot to Shot (3.81)
Canon claims the maximum burst mode speed shooting full-resolution JPEGs with the 5D Mark II is 3.9 frames per second. In our lab testing we clocked the camera at 3.81 frames per second, well within the margin of error.

Shot to Shot Time Comparison

Drive/Burst Mode (5.75)
There is only one burst mode speed, which Canon clocks at approximately 3.9 frames per second at full resolution. Their figure for maximum burst rate duration differs substantially based on the type of CompactFlash card you're using. With a standard CF card, they figure approximately 78 JPEGs, 13 RAW files or 8 RAW+JPEG shots in a row. Move up to a high-speed UDMA card, though, and the JPEG burst capacity is limited only by the capacity of the card, though the switch to UDMA only increases RAW burst capacity to 14 consecutive frames and doesn't change the RAW+JPEG spec.

The Nikon D700 and Sony A900 both offer significantly faster burst modes. The D700 runs at 5 frames per second, which can be boosted to 8 frames per second with an optional battery grip attached, but that's handling 12.1-megapixel images versus the 21.1-megapixel 5D Mark II output. The Sony A900, on the other hand, delivers 24.6-megapixel resolution and still manages a maximum 5 frame per second burst rate.

Depth of Field Preview (2.00)

Depth of field preview is available for both viewfinder and Live View shooting. Pressing the DOF Preview button stops down the lens to the current aperture setting, previewing the actual depth of field at current settings but darkening the view at small aperture settings.

Metering (8.00)

The 5D Mark II uses a 35-zone metering system with four available modes:

Metering Modes
	Evaluative Metering The camera evaluates the entire scene to create a balanced reading. Evaluative Metering is used for the Full Auto and Creative Auto modes.
	Partial Metering Covers only about 8% of the viewfinder area.
	Spot Metering Covers only the 3.5% of the scene within the spot metering circle.
	Center Weighted Average The center of the image gets priority, but the entire viewfinder area is taken into account.

Shutter Speed (11.00)

Available shutter speeds range from 1/8000 second to 30 seconds, plus Bulb.

Self-Timer (3.00)

The self-timer is accessed through the drive mode controls.

Self Timer Modes
	Ten Second Available in all shooting modes
	Two Second Not available in Full Auto or Creative Auto modes
	Remote Timer For use with a remote control, sold separately

Several forms of remote-controlled shooting are also possible. The optional Remote Switch RS-803N3 or Timer Remote Controller TC-80N3 can be connected to the terminal plug on the side of the camera. There are also two wireless remote controls available, the RC-1 and the RC-5. Most intriguing, though, is the option to connect to your computer with a standard USB cable and shoot stills or video remotely using the included EOS Utility software.

Other Features (2.00)

Copyright Embedding
In a welcome pro-level feature, it's possible to create a copyright notice using the provided EOS Utility software, transfer it to the computer via USB and have the information embedded in the EXIF data of every photo taken. Unlike the Nikon D700, you can't create the copyright message within the camera itself, but since you're only likely to tackle this chore once, this is a minor inconvenience.

Hardware	Page 10 of 21		Design & Handling
Canon EOS 5D Mark II Digital Camera Review Navigation
Intro	Product Tour	Color	Noise
Resolution	White Balance	Sample Photos	Playback
Hardware	Controls	Design & Handling	Video Color & Noise
Video Motion & Sharpness	Video Low Light	Video Features	Canon 50D Comparison
Sony A900 Comparison	Nikon D90 Comparison	Nikon D700 Comparison	Conclusion
Specs & Ratings