Digital Home Thoughts - News & Reviews for the Digital Home

"Back in August 2005 Canon 'defined a new DSLR category' (their words) with the EOS 5D. Unlike any previous 'full frame' sensor camera, the 5D was the first with a compact body (i.e. not having an integral vertical grip) and has since then proved to be very popular, perhaps because if you wanted a full frame DSLR to use with your Canon lenses and you didn't want the chunky EOS-1D style body then the EOS 5D has been your only choice. Three years on and two competitors have turned up in the shape of the Nikon D700 and Sony DSLR-A900, and Canon clearly believes it's time for a refresh. So here is the 5D Mark II, which punches high in terms of both resolution and features, headlining: 21 megapixels, 1080p video, 3.0" VGA LCD, Live view, higher capacity battery. In other words, a camera that aims to leapfrog both its direct rivals, either in terms of resolution (in the case of the D700) or features (in the case of the DSLR-A900)."

If you're one of those people who have been patiently waiting three full years for an upgrade to the Canon 5D, your wait is over. And, from what I can tell, the wait is worth it: this is one bad-ass camera. 1080p h.264 video capture? Nice. Canon has stepped up with this camera and it gives the Nikon D700 a serious run for it's money - and surpasses it in some ways. The body-only list price of $2699 USD is even $200 less than the D700! So who's interested in this camera? Come on, raise your hand...

"In the wake of the introductions of Nikon's first two "full-frame" (FF) (~35mm sensor size) cameras, to add to Canon's two, the internet is awash in prognostications that "full frame is the coming thing" (or "the whole market is moving that way" or one of several other common phrasings). And that might be true...unless it isn't. It's equally possible that 35mm-size (~24x36mm) sensors will end up as an historically momentary diversion, an evolutionary dead-end; or a constant but smallish niche. In which case(s), full-frame won't have been the coming thing. So which is it? Impossible to tell. I mean literally impossible: the uncertainty is epistemologically absolute. No one knows what the future is going to hold in this regard. That doesn't stop it from being a fascinating question."

Why do I want full frame - well so that the lenses that I buy actually turn out to give me the focal length that I paid for. I am positive that my next camera (most likely the Canon 5D update, unless Canon really screws up on the feature-set) is definitely going to be a full frame. There is also the depth of field argument that the article lays out which is quite tue. I would recommend reading the article, especially the hilarious telephoto lens theory. :-)