Canon EOS 5D
Canon’ high-end prosumer model was released in 2005, making it one of the older digital SLRs available today. But this camera pioneered full-frame and all its advantages for getting the most from your lenses, particularly the wide-angle glass.
With over 12 megapixels of resolution, the 5D easily keeps pace with the latest competitors. The 5D was also a trendsetter in other ways. Its large, bright LCD is now the industry standard. Picture Styles allows a photographer to minimize post-production and get a polished final product straight from the CompactFlash card.
If considering this model, reserve half your budget for expensive lenses that will make use of the larger sensor.
The EOS 5D is a fantastic photographic tool which is capable of producing really excellent results. The caveat is that it takes a little more care and understanding of your equipment (especially lenses). We found resolution to be absolutely excellent with crisp detailed results straight from the camera (JPEG) and even more detail available if you shoot RAW.
The 5D takes well-exposed, colorful images with nearly no noise or purple fringing. Photos are as smooth as butter, as is the case with Canon’s D-SLRs. Even at high ISO sensitivities, noise levels are remarkably low. The only downside here is that you need some nice glass attached to the camera in order to get the most out of it. Even with some pretty nice lenses I still saw some blurry edges and corners here and there.
The Nikon D200 beats the 5D in all respects while virtually matching its resolving power and crucially coming in around £700 cheaper for the body alone. Certainly, if you have no allegiance to either company and are happy using cropped sensors with very short focal length lenses, then the D200 is a better bet.
The EOS 5D is a good compromise for a significant number of photographers. It combines high image quality with the ability to fully utilize EF series wideangle lenses (like the EF 16-35/2.8L). If 3fps is a fast enough frame rate (and for most photographers, it is) and don’t need to regularly shoot outdoors in pouring rain, at around $4200 less than it’s nearest full frame competitor (the EOS 1Ds Mk II) it’s a very attractive camera.
The Canon EOS 5D is the essential camera for everything that photographers used to do with 35mm film.
If the idea of having a camera with a sensor the same size as 35mm film is just too much for you to resist, at any price, then the Canon EOS 5D is clearly for you
Canon has, with the 5D, provided photographers with a full-frame 35mm of sufficient resolution – 12.8 Megapixel – to meet the print and reproduction size needs of the vast majority of serious photographers.
Canon are synonymous with high end professional cameras and the slightly Modified Canon EOS 5D is no exception. Yes, this beast has been around for a couple of years now but with a few cosmetic tweaks Canon have once again extended the life a little bit more.
The main sales argument for the Canon EOS 5D is of course the large sensor. It’s a full-size image sensor meaning that the dimensions equal the 35mm format.
The full-size sensor maximizes the performance of Canon EF lenses – even wide-angle lenses have the same look and feel they have with conventional SLR cameras, preserving their optical signatures.