Canon EOS 5D Mark II

Details of the eagerly awaited full frame Canon 5D Mark II dSLR are out. The camera packs a whopping 16MP full frame sensor, comes with full weather sealing and anti-dust features, and has the ability to rattle out images at 6 FPS.

The full-frame sensor has been boosted up to 21.1 megapixels, the LCD is a high-resolution 3-inch beauty (like more recently released competitors), Live View shooting has been added, the sensitivity range has been raised to ISO 50 - ISO 25,600, auto focus points have been bumped from 9 to 15 points, and continuous shooting speed has been bumped from 3- to 3.9fps. Best of all, however, Canon has added HD (1920×1080,16:9) video capture at 30 fps (there’s also a standard TV quality 640×480, 4:3 setting as well), besting recently announced competitors like the Nikon D700 and Sony Alpha DSLR-A900. In fact, the consumer-oriented Nikon D90 is the only other dSLR to offer a video mode at the moment.

Canon plans to ship the 5D Mark II by the end of November for $2,699 (body-only) or in a kit version with the EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM zoom lens $3,499, making it very competitively priced compared to the competition.

Specs at glance:

- 15.3 MP full frame CMOS sensor (vastly improved light-gathering capacity per pixel: improved micro lenses; miniaturized micro circuitry; enhanced signal/noise ratio)
- Weather sealing same as 1Ds Mark III

- Dual Digic III with all-new "CXR" NR system reported to best 3rd party NR software. Available as a C.F with 4 levels of customizable parameters.
14 bit A/D conversion

- ISO 12800 (C.F. up to 25600)

- Reported 1 2/3 stop sensitivity improvement

- All-new 29-point TTL CMOS sensor
with 12 cross-type for F/2.8 or faster lens
(35% faster than 40D)

- Micro lens fine adjustment for up to 14 lenses

- 300,000 exposure shutter durability

- 6.0 / 3.0 fps

- 3.0" LCD
922,000 pixels

- EOS Integrated Cleaning System

- Live View (improved from 450D; latest generation)

- 6/3 fps continuous shooting for up to 68 frames