Questions about the Canon 5D Mark II....

S

skital

Well-known member
Has firmware to allow manual control over the aperture, iso, etc been released? Is this camera manual enough yet?

Also, can affordable decent lenses be adapted to this camera?

Thanks
 
thekreative said:
yes to all
Click to expand...

Some more questions:


1: What kind of affordable lenses can be used or adapted to be used on the D5 Mark II, especially for low light?

2: What is the recording limit and what happen when you hit that limit?

3: When it shuts down does it need to cool off or is it simply because it needs a larger card to record longer?

4: Has 24p been added yet?

Anything else I should know. I currently have a Canon HV20 and am looking to upgrade. I was considering the Canon 7D, but the larger sensor for low light has made the D5 more appealing and because it has all the manual controls I need for filmmaking now. :)
 
skital said:
1: What kind of affordable lenses can be used or adapted to be used on the D5 Mark II, especially for low light?
Click to expand...
You can use any lens made for Canon's EF mount (but not EF-S), Nikon's F mount, Pentax's K mount, the M42 mount, or Olympus's OM mount. You CANNOT use lenses made for Canon's FD or FL mount, Sony's Alpha mount, Minolta's SR mount (which includes MC and MD), Sigma's SA mount, or any rangefinder lenses. The Tamron 28-75mm F2.8 zoom is an excellent starter lens.

2: What is the recording limit and what happen when you hit that limit?
Click to expand...
In 1080p mode, the time limit is roughly 12 minutes. In 480p (VGA) mode, the time limit is roughly 24 minutes. In reality, the length of the clips is limited by the 4 GB file size limit of the FAT32 file system that the Compact Flash cards use. The camera simply stops recording. You can hit the record button and resume recording a split second later.

3: When it shuts down does it need to cool off or is it simply because it needs a larger card to record longer?
Click to expand...
The camera does not shut down when it automatically stops recording. However, when you're not recording, live view will shut off within a few minutes. That does not mean that the camera is off, just that live view is disabled. The time limit has to do with a European Economic Community tax law.

4: Has 24p been added yet?
Click to expand...
No. There are rumors of the existence of such a firmware, but Canon has not stated any intention on releasing it.

I was considering the Canon 7D, but the larger sensor for low light has made the D5 more appealing and because it has all the manual controls I need for filmmaking now. :)
Click to expand...
Sensor size, per se, has nothing to do with low light performance. The 7D's low light performance seems to be comparable, or only one f-stop lower than, the 5D Mark II's. You probably won't even notice the difference. It will be much better than the HV20's anyway. Pulling focus will be much easier on the 7D. Remember that you will not have autofocus in video mode.

By the way, the camera's name is the 5D, not the D5.
 
So does the adapter need to be screwed into the camera? Or can it stay on the lens?

In the one review the guy says: "It installs and removes from easily from both the camera body and the lens." So it would seem very friendly. I've never used a lens adapter of this kind.
 
ydgmdlu said:
You can use any lens made for Canon's EF mount (but not EF-S), Nikon's F mount, Pentax's K mount, the M42 mount, or Olympus's OM mount. You CANNOT use lenses made for Canon's FD or FL mount, Sony's Alpha mount, Minolta's SR mount (which includes MC and MD), Sigma's SA mount, or any rangefinder lenses. The Tamron 28-75mm F2.8 zoom is an excellent starter lens.

In 1080p mode, the time limit is roughly 12 minutes. In 480p (VGA) mode, the time limit is roughly 24 minutes. In reality, the length of the clips is limited by the 4 GB file size limit of the FAT32 file system that the Compact Flash cards use. The camera simply stops recording. You can hit the record button and resume recording a split second later.

The camera does not shut down when it automatically stops recording. However, when you're not recording, live view will shut off within a few minutes. That does not mean that the camera is off, just that live view is disabled. The time limit has to do with a European Economic Community tax law.

No. There are rumors of the existence of such a firmware, but Canon has not stated any intention on releasing it.

Sensor size, per se, has nothing to do with low light performance. The 7D's low light performance seems to be comparable, or only one f-stop lower than, the 5D Mark II's. You probably won't even notice the difference. It will be much better than the HV20's anyway. Pulling focus will be much easier on the 7D. Remember that you will not have autofocus in video mode.

By the way, the camera's name is the 5D, not the D5.
Click to expand...

Can you recommend some cheapish fast lenses for low light shooting? Also, yeah, I knew it was the 5D....I was just typing too fast. I got the title right, see! :)

I'm totally knew to shooting with DSLRs, so if I can get a few cheap, but good lens recommendations for this camera and the price ranges for each, please let me know what I should be looking for. Thanks!
 
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28mm F2.0 ~$300
50mm F1.4 ~$100
85mm F2.0 ~$250
105mm F2.5 ~$200
135mm F2.8 ~$75
 
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