Canon EOS 5D Mark II

Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Pro DSLR Pro DSLR
September, 2008

Summary Canon 5D Mark II

Prices Price
Body only $2,479 With 24-105mm lens $2,699 - $3,000
all 5D Mark II prices
Score Snapsort rank
Within its price range #n/a of 4 Among similar cameras #n/a of 13
details details
Specifications Key specs
Sensor size Help Full frame 36.0x24.0mm Screen resolution Help 920k dots
Megapixels Help 21 MP Movie format Help 1080p @ 30fps
Screen size Help 3.0" Light sensitivity Help 6,400 ISO
see all specifications
Lenses Lenses
Browse all Canon EOS 5D Mark II lenses at LensHero
Canon EOS 5D Mark IICanon EOS 5D Mark II

Replacement

Canon has replaced the EOS 5D Mark II with the 5D Mark III.

Canon EOS 5D Mark III
Canon EOS 5D Mark III announced February, 2012
Cross type focus points Many more cross-type focus points
Low light performance Lower noise at high ISO
Focus points Many more focus points

Compare the new Canon 5D Mark III vs the 5D Mark II

reviewsWhat are people saying about the 5D Mark II

"The original 5D was the first 'affordable' and lightweight full frame camera, and set a standard for low noise at high ISO settings that remains competitive three years later."
dpreview.com | talking about the camera's iso-noise
"the EOS 5D Mark II has an awful lot to recommend it to the serious photographer."
dpreview.com | talking about the camera's overall-performance
"the 5D Mark II is certainly one of the best value for money propositions on the market for image quality - especially in RAW, where you really can see the benefit of all 21 million pixels."
dpreview.com | talking about the camera's image-quality

Videos

Canon 5D Mk II Timelapse of No...

Canon 5D Mk II Time lapse of t...

60d Promo Video and Review Sho...
Canon 5D Mk II Timelapse of Northern Lights
  • Sample video
  • Time-lapse
 Canon 5D Mk II Time lapse of the Milky Way
  • Sample video
  • Time-lapse
 60d Promo Video and Review Shot with Canon DSLRs
  • Review
  • Pro

Browse all Canon 5D Mark II videos

Pros

The Canon 5D Mark II vs other recent DSLRs

Low light performance Low noise at high ISO Help
1,815 ISO
Weather sealed Weather sealed Help
Shoot in extreme weather
Sensor size Large sensor Help
Full frame 36.0x24.0mm
Viewfinder Doesn't use battery, see more detail Help
Pentaprism
Viewfinder size Large viewfinder Help
0.71x
Startup delay Short startup delay Help
400 ms startup delay
Fastest shutter speed Fast shutter speed Help
1/8000 of a second

The Canon 5D Mark II vs other recent pro DSLRs

Size Quite small Help
Professional size 152x114x75 mm
Thickness Thin Help
3"
Lowest price Inexpensive Help
$2,069.95
Popularity Very popular Help
Among snapsort users

Cons

The Canon 5D Mark II vs other recent DSLRs

Dynamic range Narrower dynamic range Help
11.9 EV
Autofocus Manual focus only Help
None
Announced Old Help
September, 2008
Weight Heavy Help
850 g
Built-in flash No built-in flash Help
Professional
Image stabilization No image stabilization Help
Risk of blur
Screen flips out Fixed screen Help
Less flexible
Panorama Lacks in-camera panoramas Help
You could stitch photos in post
HDR Lacks in-camera HDR Help
You could do HDR manually
3D Doesn't take 3D photos Help
No 3d support

The Canon 5D Mark II vs other recent pro DSLRs

Screen size Below average sized screen Help
3.0"
Light sensitivity Poor maximum light sensitivity Help
6,400 ISO
Continuous shooting Slow continuous shooting Help
3.9 fps
Focus points Fewer focus points Help
9
Cross type focus points Fewer cross-type focus points Help
1
Battery life Shorter battery life Help
850 shots
Overall image quality Low overall image quality Help
79.0
Viewfinder coverage Below average viewfinder coverage Help
98%
GPS No GPS Help
Missing geo-tagging
Light sensitivity (boost) Low boost light sensitivity Help
25,600 ISO
Storage slots Fewer storage slots Help
1

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DXOMark

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front photo of the Canon EOS 5D Mark IIback photo of the Canon EOS 5D Mark IIangle photo of the Canon EOS 5D Mark II

Discussion What do you think about the Canon EOS 5D Mark II?

Speech is free, but discussion at Snapsort is moderated! Please discuss your opinion of this camera here, and discuss feedback for Snapsort at our support community.

Showing 17 comments

chiaroscuro (2:21 PM, May 10, 2013)
Caro Stefano,
non ho guardato il confronto, però la EOS 5 MarkII é posteriore a la EOS 1 Mark III. É la Mark IV la sua contemporanea. Le camere professionale si svolgono beníssimo nel suo campo di azione, cioè: sports, news, moda. Altrimenti é meglio utilizzare semi professionali con booster, se serve il grip o il volume. Cordiali saluti.
 
Avatar for Alfan Zakiyanto Alfan Zakiyanto (2:19 PM, February 17, 2013)
that's nonsense, in 30fps the movement will look smoother, that makes it better than 24fps, FYI the 5D Mark II can record a 1080p 24fps movie
 
Ayman Rushdy (3:34 PM, January 13, 2013)
1080p 24fps is better in catching movies, search in youtube and u 'll knew
 
Avatar for ono collonello ono collonello (1:18 AM, June 22, 2012)
i m buy 5 d mark 2 with lens 50mm f1.8 + magic lantern, over 3 week n making video in night, Question is why 5d video same as like slt a 55 ???? in quality picture, noise, grain????????? something wrong in my setting ??? 
 
Stemler (8:03 AM, January 05, 2012)
7D for vídeo because of the cost-benefit. Also, if you're aiming for Stop-Motion, 7D is faster.
 
Lars J (5:33 PM, December 20, 2011)
the D7000 is an EXCELLENT camera but introduces settings that are new, even to the nikon world. the d7000 actually out performs the 5D mark2 in many areas, but the mark 2 is a staple in professional photography and even videography. if you're new i would say go with the D7000 based on price.. if you're not so new go with the 5D mark 2... also keep the canon 7D in mind... canon is offering a more versatile line up than nikon so most serious photographers are making the switch.
 
Toronto R (10:43 PM, November 27, 2011)
do not even thing about the nikon d7000 a had it for one week and sold it :] its crap ... :]
 
Avatar for Snapsort Snapsort (6:24 PM, September 20, 2011)
Thanks for pointing that out Deepboy, it looks like we're counting the 6 "hidden" focus points that are used in AI Servo mode, we'll update the specs.
 
Deepboy (6:12 PM, September 20, 2011)
5D Mark II has only 9 focus point, not 15
 
Buhnjkniklmnim (9:33 PM, July 23, 2011)
Ow really ?? !!!!!
 
Avatar for Rocakdell G Rocakdell G (5:17 AM, June 06, 2011)
5D Mark II or 7D? 
mainly will use it for Video, i know 5D Mark II is full frame and 7D is crop.

either those 2 or just wait till the newer version comes out this year?
 
Papa (4:49 AM, May 28, 2011)
CONON 5D MARK 2 is much better in high quality Video/Movies!   5d =1080p 30fps VS  d7000=1080p 24fps.   D7000 has a slightly better edge on photo quality and shooting speed.
 
Naccistefano (1:29 PM, May 03, 2011)
be ho visto che hanno fatto il confronto tra la 5d mark ii e la 1ds mark3
e risulta vincitore la 5d mark2
anche per gli autori di questo sito snapsport......be qualcuno è impazzito ....o la CANON oppure voi
confrontare una macchina professionale da 6000-7000 euro con una semi- da 2000 euro
be chi si accontenta gode...io preferisco la porsche alla panda.
 
Avatar for Dipo Dipo (10:44 PM, April 02, 2011)
sory guys, I wanted to ask, where good between Nikon D7000 and Canon 5D Mark II ..... so far, I know that prices do not lie, therefore I am in a position of dilemma, which one is better in video or movie ?
 
Avatar for muhammad muhammad (11:32 PM, March 31, 2011)
5D mark II only have 9 focus point. Not 15. the other 6 are "invinsible' and not user selectable, and only acts as assist points.
Information from the 5D mark II product manual. Page 235
 
Avatar for Snapsort Snapsort (1:53 PM, February 04, 2011)
Thanks for pointing that out, we will fix that up right away. $680 would be one heck of a deal.
 
Boydlcoomer (0:16 PM, February 04, 2011)
A 5D Mk II cannot be purchased for $680. Something wrong with data gathering.