Canon EOS 5D Mark II

Noise Reduction (6.90)

We found that, even with the noise reduction system turned off, the 5D Mark II was able to maintain a noise level below 1% up to ISO 800, a very good result. With noise reduction on at the two highest settings, this sub-1 percent performance stretched out to ISO 3200, and even at ISO 6400, the top official setting, never became truly objectionable.

The individual color channels followed the same trend. More on how we test noise.

We found that in the battle against image noise, the Canon EOS 5D Mark II is a warrior to be reckoned with. Compared to the other tested cameras, the 5D Mark II scored identically with the Nikon D700 and just a hair behind the leader in this category, the 12.3-megapixel Nikon D90. Compared to the other high-megapixel full-frame camera, the Sony A900, the 5D Mark II proved significantly lower in image noise.

ISO Options

The 5D Mark II offers an official ISO range from 100-6400, and an expanded range from L (roughly ISO 50) through H1 (12800) and H2 (25,600), all at full resolution.

Focus Performance

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.

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: One Shot, Servo, and Focus (which switch between Servo and One Shot depending on subject movement.

Long Exposure (9.87)

In this test combining color accuracy and image noise performance over long exposure times, the 5D Mark II trailed the other cameras in the comparison group. Interestingly, the primary component in the comparatively weak performance of the 5D Mark II was its color accuracy under low light conditions, which consistently trailed the other cameras. Low-light image noise performance, on the other hand, was roughly equivalent to the other cameras, and clearly superior to the Canon 50D. More on how we test long exposure.

Under low light conditions shutter speeds slow down, image noise inevitably increases and often color accuracy is affected. Above you see the results of our long exposure testing as it affects color accuracy. Below are the results for the same exposure times, detailing the impact on noise performance.

And finally you see the Canon 5D Mark II’s final score for this section versus the competition. Higher scores indicate superior performance.

Video: Low Light Sensitivity (4.96)

Compared to the competition, the Canon 5D Mark II performed quite well in our low light sensitivity test. The camera needed 13 lux of light to reach 50 IRE on our waveform monitor. This is better than both the Canon T1i and Panasonic GH1, which needed 26 lux and 17 lux respectively. It is also slightly better than the Canon HF S100 camcorder did with this test (needed 16 lux). Note: All our video testing on the 5D Mark II was done using a Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM lens.

A lot of factors make up a camera’s low light sensitivity. The quality and size of the image sensor is one aspect, but the aperture settings of the lens is another big component. Since all the video-capable DSLRs offer removable lenses, it would definitely be possible to achieve better low light sensitivity by using a faster lens (or vice versa). We tested the Canon 5D Mark II in Program mode with ISO set to auto. The settings chosen by the camera were as follows: 1/60 of a second shutter speed, f/4 aperture, 6400 ISO. Using the camera’s 12800 high sensitivity setting boosted its low light sensitivity even farther, but the resultant image had quite a bit of noise.

The low light sensitivity of various models are often different when using alternate frame rates. The table above lists the measured sensitivities for each recording mode available on the cameras and camcorder we tested.