Nikolai
Feb-16-2009, 12:21 AM
I know I'm late for the game, but I finally got my hands on this baby last Thursday. Over the weekend I had two shoots, bringing the frame counter to about 400 (yeah, I know, been slow lately, don't shoot as much). Can't really post much results yet, since they are a) not-processed, and b) purely GoFigure/18+ material, but here's some (mental) notes...
Form factor (weight/shape). Not much different from 50D. Didn't really notice the difference. I'm missing the grip though, since 95% of my studio shooting is in Portrait mode. Will try to get one asap, and this time probably the one with transmitter.
I'm so glad menu system and CFs are almost identical with the 50D. There are probably 3-4 differences total. So I set both cameras in front of me and "copied" every setting from my 50D to my 5D2. Took me about 15 minutes or so, and I was all set.
I was soooooo glad to find out that a) there are no "silly" modes and b) there are 3 custom settings again. 50D really pissed me off when they sacrificed one of those...
I learned that I need to be very careful with the viewfinder. All the "tens" (20D...50D) had some wiggle room, i.e. the actual frame was slightly lager than a VF view. Not anymore. 5D2's VF seems to match the frame pretty much 1:1. I lost a few nice frames to that effect, but I think I learned my lesson by now.
ISO... Wow! :huh 3200 is pretty much as clean as it gets. 6400 totally usable. H1 and H2 naturally add noise, but come on, you can barely see at those levels any way...
Old-fashioned side-layout for buttons (instead of bottom-one for 50D) makes me think for a second which button to press. I'm sure it'll grow back, but 3 days is not enough:-) And yes, the Picture Styles button now seems to become a pet peeve, taking place of the infamous direct print one, which in 50D/5D2 seems to play a nice role of LiveView most of the time. Does somebody NOT shoot RAW still? Arrgh...
Full frame finally made 50mm totally usable for my small studio, and, by God and Glory, I'm having fun with 50/1.4, which seems to become my "prime" lens in all senses of this word. I tried 70-200, too, and I love the feel of it, but it's just a tad too long to operate with full height images at my typical distance. I can do it, but I need to press my back flat onto the wall, which is not very comfy, especially since I shoot from a low position most of the time. So for now - 50 it is!
I *love* the sound of 5D2 shutter! Kinda brings back "ole gud" film days
I noticed that the auxiliary focal points are far less reliable in a low light situation than a central one. I mean - FAR less. 40D/50D is slightly better in that respect. There was a difference, but it wasn't so dramatic. 5D2 couldn't focus on a 4 stop contrast difference, what's up with that? :scratch Yes, it's wasn't a sharp edge, but the central point caught it up nicely.
I don't think my 50D will see much of the inside studio from now on. I'm still gonna use it for outdoors, astro/selenophotography and especially events, where I'd need second body, but that's about it.
And I guess my 1Tb drive will end up sooner than I thought:-)
Form factor (weight/shape). Not much different from 50D. Didn't really notice the difference. I'm missing the grip though, since 95% of my studio shooting is in Portrait mode. Will try to get one asap, and this time probably the one with transmitter.
I'm so glad menu system and CFs are almost identical with the 50D. There are probably 3-4 differences total. So I set both cameras in front of me and "copied" every setting from my 50D to my 5D2. Took me about 15 minutes or so, and I was all set.
I was soooooo glad to find out that a) there are no "silly" modes and b) there are 3 custom settings again. 50D really pissed me off when they sacrificed one of those...
I learned that I need to be very careful with the viewfinder. All the "tens" (20D...50D) had some wiggle room, i.e. the actual frame was slightly lager than a VF view. Not anymore. 5D2's VF seems to match the frame pretty much 1:1. I lost a few nice frames to that effect, but I think I learned my lesson by now.
ISO... Wow! :huh 3200 is pretty much as clean as it gets. 6400 totally usable. H1 and H2 naturally add noise, but come on, you can barely see at those levels any way...
Old-fashioned side-layout for buttons (instead of bottom-one for 50D) makes me think for a second which button to press. I'm sure it'll grow back, but 3 days is not enough:-) And yes, the Picture Styles button now seems to become a pet peeve, taking place of the infamous direct print one, which in 50D/5D2 seems to play a nice role of LiveView most of the time. Does somebody NOT shoot RAW still? Arrgh...
Full frame finally made 50mm totally usable for my small studio, and, by God and Glory, I'm having fun with 50/1.4, which seems to become my "prime" lens in all senses of this word. I tried 70-200, too, and I love the feel of it, but it's just a tad too long to operate with full height images at my typical distance. I can do it, but I need to press my back flat onto the wall, which is not very comfy, especially since I shoot from a low position most of the time. So for now - 50 it is!
I *love* the sound of 5D2 shutter! Kinda brings back "ole gud" film days
I noticed that the auxiliary focal points are far less reliable in a low light situation than a central one. I mean - FAR less. 40D/50D is slightly better in that respect. There was a difference, but it wasn't so dramatic. 5D2 couldn't focus on a 4 stop contrast difference, what's up with that? :scratch Yes, it's wasn't a sharp edge, but the central point caught it up nicely.
I don't think my 50D will see much of the inside studio from now on. I'm still gonna use it for outdoors, astro/selenophotography and especially events, where I'd need second body, but that's about it.
And I guess my 1Tb drive will end up sooner than I thought:-)