Canon EOS 5D Mark II Sales Strong

September 15th, 2008 | Canon

Talking to my friends in the digital photography industry, it seems that sales for the newly announced Canon EOS 5D Mark II DSLR are surprisingly strong for a camera whose price — body only — exceeds $2500.

Looking at the features, though, it’s not all that surprising. The new Nikon D90 offers many new features and the latest Nikon technology at a reasonable price. Well, the Canon 5D Mark II — although it’s approximately 2 1/2 times more expensive — matches all of the Nikon D90’s capabilities, and them takes them to the next level.

For example, the Nikon D90 offers a 12.3 megapixel DX-format CMOS image sensor with 4288 x 2848 resolution. The Canon 5D Mark II bumps this up to 21.1 megapixels (5616 x 3744 resolution).

The Nikon D90’s “expanded ISO sensitivity” provides image capture in low light conditions up to the equivalent of ISO 6400. The Canon 5D Mark II matches this, and also offers its own “expanded” ISO sensitivity up to ISO 25,600.

The Nikon D90’s D-movie mode impressed me, with endless possibilities of capturing amazingly creative digital videos through a variety of Nikkor lenses. Well, the Canon 5D Mark II not only captures video, but it does it in true 1080p, high-def resolution in Live View. Around half an hour of HD, broadcast quality video can be captured, and then output via an HDMI interface.

Although the price of this camera is out of reach of the average photographer, for anyone who wants to upgrade their DSLR to today’s best standards, the Canon 5D Mark II should definitely be considered.

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