one great camera even if it's hard to use but the good quality images and the long battery life are something that you mustn't forget, it's good for the sport and dynamic photos, especially for hikers. The last thing I can tell is that this camera is a must for enthusiast.

SamK1117

New-York, NY

After years with the rebel line of Canon camera's I finally upgraded to the 5D line. I debated if I should do the Markii or Markiii for awhile but found that for the price the Markii would be perfect. The Markiii cost a lot more and the features it added weren't crucial to me. I absolutely LOVE the Markii, it's heavy but easy to handle and perfect for any professional photographer. I would say a casual photographer should stick with the Rebel line as this one has a lot of advanced features and doesn't come with a built in flash. The image quality on this is superb. Beautiful light gradients, color tone, and richness of image. The AF is a little lacking, but I hear they fixed that in the Mark III. This is a workhorse of a camera. The first two things I enjoy about it are the full-frame coverage and the ability to shoot in lower light. I recently shot an event where I never went below ISO 800 (w/ Canon's 50mm 1.2L)and had very good image quality. The lighting for the event could only be described as "challenging". If you're considering making the jump to full-frame, I don't see how you could go wrong with a 5D mkII.

Hsellersb

Paris, Texas

We upgraded to the Canon EOS 5D Mark II from our old Canon Rebel XSi. We'd purchased the XSi several years ago without knowing anything about photography, and gradually taught ourselves how to manipulate the camera's settings to get the effects we wanted. A friend let us try their 5D Mark II side by side with our XSi, and we were able to see the difference first-hand that a full-frame sensor makes. Unless you're planning on taking some classes, I don't recommend this as a beginner dSLR, but if you have a basic working knowledge of camera functions (aperture, shutter speed, ISO, etc.), it's a great investment. This is a LARGE camera. If you have a small lens (like the 50mm f/1.8) it isn't too heavy, but with a bigger lens (like our 24-70mm f/2.8), it definitely requires two hands and a bit of muscle. I love the full-frame feature--you can fit more in the frame, and you can get even more beautiful bokeh than a crop-frame model.

elledent

San Antonio, TX

A great camera for professional use. Takes outstanding images and works great. Very durable overall. Image Quality Absolutely superb. This camera will make you money with the quality of images that it takes. Performance Works flawlessly. No problems at all with this camera at all. White balance works especially well with this camera. Very accurate metering. Ease of Use If you are buying this camera for "ease of use" buy a Powershot instead. This is a professional's camera not something for an amateur user who doesn't know what he or she is doing. Durability If you need absolute durability buy a 1 series....however this camera will hold up in professional use environments. Expect to get about 200,000 shots per shutter...will hold up very well if it is taken care of. Battery Life I regularly get 800-1000 shots per battery before I swap. Most likely I could get 1500 per battery if I wanted to push it to the limits. Portability It won't fit in a pocket.

TomHerron

USA

I love Canon 5D Mark ii, I love everything about it. I use it for every even I photograph: weddings, portraits, parties.. you name it. Image Quality I love the image quality and resolution.. honestly, I don't think one will need resolution higher than this. Performance Great performance! Ease of Use Manual is amazing resource.. Portability Good, a little to heavy.

Bummble

USA

Canon 5D Mark II. It just rolls of your tongue doesn't it? This is an awesome beast that I have had my eye on for the longest time. As I am originally a Nikon user, I was waiting for the Nikon D700 refresh with video on par with the Canon equivalent. I just found that personally, I preferred the Nikon controls and ergonomics and autofocus system over the Canon bodies. I waited and waited until I just couldn't wait any longer. I wanted my full frame body with 1080p at 30 frames per second. I caved and picked up this bad boy with a 50mm f/1.4 and I am very happy I did. The color rendering of this camera is amazing and the bright viewfinder is a wonder to use. Paired with the 50mm f/1.4 and the bokeh is also amazing and sharp! I do however wish Canon upgraded this autofocus system with that of the 7D. I'm sure that is on their to do list for the Mark III. The body is just big enough that I don't need a battery grip and though the controls took a bit of getting used to, it is now like second nature. I can flip ISO, shutter speeds, and the white balance without taking my eye off the viewfinder. It is true that this body is rather pricy, I can't be more happy with my switch. The 1080p at 30 frames per second is like butter baby!

gbread78

Orange, CA

I dont really consider myself to be a professional photographer, but maybe a serious or semi serous hobbyist photographer. ever since the foray of digital camera's hobby photography has hit a new popularity level because of the ease of functionality it provides. Over the year i have had several high end point and shoot cameras and have been in the lookout for a nice DSLR for a while. I was fortunate enough to get a nice fat unexpected bonus and put away a large chunk towards a nice camera package and its accessories. My friend who is a filmmaker has been my de facto advisor on these things and he highly recommended this camera to me. His camera people have been using this particular model on location shoots etc and since he has tested it, he thought it would make a nice camera for my purposes. I bought it and was pretty excited with this full frame DSLR. It has all the niceties one wants to get greater manual control over the image it produces. It has a great CMOS sensor, awesome LCD view finder and a really really nice HD video capture at 1080p. Brilliant camera, and i am really looking forward to pushing its features.

cdr78

New York, NY

After 2 years with the Canon 5d Mark II, I am still impress by the depth of the camera and the amazong images that it produces. As a non-professional, the camera suits my needs as an avid hobbyist and goes above and beyond the needs that I currently have. The camera is a nice weight, not too heavy, and takes crystal clear images. It takes some getting used to, but once you learn the ins and outs of aperture, iso, and f-stop settings, you'll be producing professional quality images. The sheer technological advantages of the 5d Mark II means that this camera will hold it's edge over the next few years. Some of the best features, in addition to it's high quality images are its 1080p quality videos, limitless options, and the fact that Canon keeps on coming out with new firmware that will allow the camera to keep improving even after you've purchased it. The Canon 5d Mark II may be overkill for a hobbyist, but its wow factor in terms of images and style, make it worth the investment. Over time, your skills will improve and the camera will become even more valuable to you.

kevscu03

San Francisco, CA

I am  was pleasantly surprised when a colleague of mine told me about how DSLR's were being used to shoot HD quality video, and more so that alot of professional DP's were beginning to use it as well. I have had numerous camera's including the old school Leica, and had been looking for  replacement onto the DSLR bandwagon, on the recommendation of my said colleague i went and bought the Canon 5D the next day. I  was amazed by the quality of still and video that this little warrior was capturing! absolutely amazing!. It offers a full frame shooting capability along with a 24 FPS function, that give you that dream like film quality .  It particularly captures  crisp highlights and detailed shadows. It has a menu system thats very friendly and an amazing 3 inch VGA LCD that gives  full control of your frame. A friend of mine used this DSLR to shoot a music video and got himself a movie deal in the process, this camera to me is a complete game changer, with its versatile functionality and  crisp image capture capability,  i am not only happy with this camera but eager to see how canon tops this one up

K2h

El Segundo, CA

I have been a professional photographer for 15 years and this is one of the best cameras I own. I have always kept to Canon so my lenses would be interchangeable and they have always performed well but this one stands out. It gives very sharp clear images and keeps shutter noise to a minimum.It is a great full frame camera and performs up to Canos usual quality. It has a very fast response time and easy to operate controls. It might not be an entry level camera but if you have a basic understanding of a camera and functions you will find it easy to operate. The weight is a bit heavy but not a major issue as the quality of the images outweigh the negative weight problem. This is a very durable camera that earns the heafty price tag. I perfer to purchase camera bodies separately as opposed to getting a kit lens because the quality of the lense with a kit can sometimes be and issue so in my opinion money is better spent finding the correct lens for your needs.

lilliekaren

Lyons, OH