Canon EOS 5D Mark II

	Resolution Summary
• Sharpness and overall resolution scores surpass Nikon D700 by significant margin, but trail Sony A900 • Chromatic aberration noticeable in image corners • Unusual three-size RAW file selection a welcome feature • Exceptional dynamic range at all ISO settings
	Noise	Page 5 of 21	White Balance

Resolution (8.55)

In our resolution testing, which factors in both sharpness and chromatic aberration, the 5D Mark II comes up only slightly ahead of the far less expensive 50D (proving again that multiple megapixels do not necessarily result in a better image). The 5D Mark II is actually bookended by its two full-frame competitors, beating the Nikon D700 handily and trailing the A900 by a substantial margin. Click here for more on how we test resolution.

With this review we expand our resolution testing procedure to consider not only the sharpness at the center point of the lens, but across the full breadth of the image. We are also considering chromatic aberration in our testing, as defined below. The key concept that remains constant, however, is the fact that a massive number of megapixels is not a good indicator of the resolution you'll see in your actual photos. Sensor performance is a factor, along with compression algorithms and lens optics. To get to the bottom line, we use Imatest software to analyze the camera's resolution performance on a level playing field, regardless of megapixel statistics.

We shoot with the kit lens provided by the manufacturer at three different focal lengths (the minimum and maximum zoom settings and the point in between), and at three aperture settings (minimum, maximum and middle) for each zoom setting. The resulting images are then analyzed using Imatest to determine distortion (measured but not scored), chromatic aberration and sharpness.

Distortion
Shooting with the kit 24-105mm kit lens at three focal lengths, we found significant barrel distortion at the widest setting and roughly the same degree of pincushioning in the midrange and maximum telephoto. By way of comparison, our 28mm shots using the 28-95mm zoom on the Nikon D700 produced a much smaller degree of barrel distortion (-0.31% versus -3.60% for the Canon), with smaller differences between cameras on the telephoto side.

	Distortion Examples
24mm 2.3%
60mm 1.25%
105mm 1.25%

Chromatic aberration occurs when the lens is unable to focus all the color wavelengths accurately on the same plane. The effect can be visible as color fringing (though fringing can also be caused by inaccuracies in JPEG image compression). Our Imatest procedures differentiate between hardware- and software-based chromatic imperfections.

Chromatic Aberration (8.23)
While the chromatic aberration testing for the 5D Mark II produced an acceptable result, the Nikons were significantly superior. By and large this color anomaly in the 5D Mark II was well controlled at the center and midrange of the lens, but significant problems occurred as we approached the four corners.

Sharpness (8.69)
When testing for sharpness, Imatest factors out raw megapixel count and instead measures line widths per picture height, a reading of the camera's ability to resolve minute details in a defined area. With this system, a lower-megapixel camera will often outperform a higher-megapixel model, since the larger light receptors of the lower-megapixel sensor can gather light more efficiently and suffer from less interference across cells.

We found the 24-105mm kit lens produced its sharpest results at the widest-angle setting, right in the middle of the lens, with 1482 lw/ph measured horizontally and 1780 lw/ph measured vertically. Moving out from the center of the lens, sharpness drops significantly around the midway point, then picks up again as we reach the outer edges.

	Image Sharpness and Chromatic Aberration
	f/4			f/9			f/22
24mm

Next up is the 60mm zoom setting, right in the middle of the zoom range. There is much less chromatic aberration at this zoom point.

	Image Sharpness and Chromatic Aberration
	f/4			f/9			f/22
60mm

Finally, we have the zoom at 105mm, the longest zoom that the lens we tested can achieve. The chromatic aberration makes a comeback here, and the edges are much softer.

	Image Sharpness and Chromatic Aberration
	f/4			f/9			f/22
105mm

Overall, the 5D Mark II was a strong, but not outstanding performer. It had decent sharpness, but the 28-105mm lens that we tested it with had rather a lot of chromatic aberration at both ends of the zoom range, and the images were also rather soft. Both the Sony A900 and the Nikon D90 performed better, with more consistent sharpness and less aberration. Below is our chart comparing the scores achieved by the 5D Mark II and the four cameras that we compared it with. Higher scores indicate superior performance.

Resolution Score Comparison

Picture Quality & Size Options (13.28)

The EOS 5D Mark II offers an unusual variety of picture size options, with three RAW sizes in addition to three JPEG formats.

Each JPEG file size is available at two compression settings. Each of the RAW settings can be shot as RAW + JPEG, with any of the six available JPEG size/compression combinations attached.

Dynamic Range (8.31)

The Canon 5D Mark II proved the top performer in our dynamic range testing, including over a half stop expansion possible by shooting RAW. While dynamic range inevitably falls off as ISO increased, the 5D Mark II starts off quite high at well over seven stops for ISO 100 and 200, and falls off smoothly from there, maintaining over 4 and a half stops all the way to ISO 3200. Click here for more on how we test dynamic range.

Dynamic Range

At low ISO settings, the Canon 5D Mark II manages a dynamic range of over 7 stops, and maintains over 6 stops through ISO 800.

Dynamic Range Comparison

While the 5D Mark II lead the pack overall, at ISO 200 all the cameras performed similarly, and the Nikon D90 was slightly superior. The chart below visualizes the 5D Mark II's dynamic range score across all ISOs against the competition. Higher scores indicate superior performance.

Dynamic Range Score Comparison

Image Stabilization (3.13)

The in-lens optical image stabilization that the Canon 5D Mark II uses did a decent job of compensating for hand shake, but it is far from perfect; at faster shutter speeds and with particularly bad hand shake, we found that it actually made things worse. Click here for more on how we test image stabilization.

Canon 5D Mark II Image Stabilization: Low Shake
Horizontal: Sharpness Vs Shutter Speed Horizontal: Sharpness improvement with IS on	Vertical: Sharpness Vs Shutter Speed Vertical: Sharpness improvement with IS on

Our first test is for a low level of hand shake, such as when you are trying to hold the camera steady with two hands, or braced against a wall. In this situation, there is only a small amount of movement, but still enough to make a picture blurry, especially with a lower shutter speed. In our tests, we found that turning on the IS feature on the 24-105mm L USM lens that we used in this review made a significant improvement with horizontal motion (such as the camera shaking side to side); with a shutter speed of between 1/250 and 1/30 of a second, the images were much sharper. However, the IS feature had the opposite effect with shutter speeds at the ends of the range. At 1/500, 1/15 and 1/8th of a second, the images were less sharp with IS turned on; the correction that the camera is making is actually making the images a bit less sharp. To be fair, though; if you are shooting at 1/15 or 1/8 of a second hand held, you're asking for trouble. We also found that the IS system had relatively little effect with the vertical shake; when the camera is moving up and down, there was very little difference between IS on and IS off.

Canon 5D Mark II Image Stabilization: High Shake
Horizontal: Sharpness Vs Shutter Speed Horizontal: Sharpness improvement with IS on	Vertical: Sharpness Vs Shutter Speed Vertical: Sharpness improvement with IS on

Our next test uses a higher level of shake; about the level you would get if you were trying to take a photo while walking, or while taking a candid shot one-handed. This seemed to be a bit too much for the image stabilization system in the lens: in both the horizontal and vertical directions, the images were either less sharp or no better with IS turned on across the entire range of shutter speeds that we test at.

The bottom line here? It is a good idea to turn the IS on if you are shooting at a shutter speed of between 1/250 and 1/15 of a second, but if you are shooting at higher speeds, turn it off. And if you are shooting at speeds of under 1/15 of a second, either increase the ISO to get a faster shutter speed, or use a tripod, as the Image Stabilization won't help much. Plus, the Image Stabilization won't save you if you have really bad handshake or are trying to take photos while running; it did not compensate well for serious hand shake.

Image Stabilization Score Comparison

When compared with other SLR cameras, the 5D Mark II has middling performance. As the graph above (which shows the low shake, horizontal sharpness improvement for three cameras) shows, both the Sony A900 and Nikon D700 had significantly better performance. Both cameras were more consistent than the 5D Mark II, with improvements in sharpness at all of the shutter speeds we test at.  The Canon 5D Mark II only beat the other cameras at 1/250 of a second; at all of the other speeds, the VR (Vibration Reduction) feature of the Nikon D700 and the SteadyShot feature of the Sony A900 did a more effective job in our tests.

Below are stills from some of our test photos taken with the Canon 5D Mark II, showing an average image from the horizontal test. The target is a slanted line.

	Image Stabilization Comparison Table
	Low Shake IS Off	Low Shake IS On	High Shake IS Off	High Shake IS On
1/500
1/250
1/125
1/60
1/30
1/15
1/8

Noise	Page 5 of 21		White Balance
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