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Nikon D80

Canon EOS 5D 12.8 MP Digital SLR Camera (Body Only)

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Brand: Canon
Category: Photography

List Price: ~~$2,499.00~~
Buy New: $2,034.99 (On sale from $2,099.99)
You Save: $65.00 (3%)

New (19) Used (9) Refurbished (2) from $1,695.00

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

111 reviews
Sales Rank: 513

Media: Electronics
Autographed: No
Memorabilia: No
Batteries Included: No
Floppy Disk Drive: None
Includes Software: Yes
Display Size: 2.5
Maximum Resolution: 12800000
Shipping Weight (lbs): 7
Dimensions (in): 9 x 6.9 x 6.8
Legal Disclaimer: Warranty does not cover misuse of product.

MPN: 5D Body
Model: 5D Body
UPC: 013803056853
EAN: 0013803056853
ASIN: B0007Y791C

Availability: Usually ships in 2-3 business days

Features:

•	12.8-megapixel CCD captures images up to 4,368 x 2,912 pixels
•	World's smallest and lightest full-frame digital SLR as of August 2005--the sensor operates without a conversion factor
•	New larger 2.5-inch LCD screen can be viewed even at extreme angles of up to 170 degrees
•	Consecutive shooting allows the capture of 3.0 frames per second for up to 60 consecutive JPEG or 17 RAW frames in a burst
•	Captures images on CompactFlash Type I and Type II cards, compatible with cards of 2 GB capacity and larger

Accessories:

•	Sigma 105mm f/2.8 EX DG Medium Telephoto Macro Lens for Canon SLR Cameras
•	Adobe Photoshop CS4 Upgrade
•	Adobe Photoshop CS4
•	Canon EF 24mm f/1.4 L USM II Wide Angle Lens for Canon Digital SLR Cameras
•	Induro Carbonflex 8x Tripod CX-114

Similar Items:

•	Canon BP511A 1390mAh Lithium Ion Battery Pack for Select Digital Cameras and Camcorders
•	Canon BG-E4 Battery Grip for EOS 5D Digital SLR Camera
•	Canon Speedlite 580EX II Flash for Canon EOS Digital SLR Cameras
•	Canon 77mm UV Haze
•	Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM Standard Zoom Lens for Canon SLR Cameras

Editorial Reviews:

Product Description
The new Canon EOS 5D offers advanced photographers a lightweight, robust digital SLR that uses Canon's superlative EF lenses without a conversion factor. Its full-frame 12.8 Megapixel CMOS sensor combines with Canon's DIGIC II Image Processor, a high-precision 9-point AF system with 6 assist points, and "Picture Style" color control to deliver images of superior quality with enough resolution for any application. With its wide-angle capabilities, 2.5 inch LCD and magnesium-alloy body, the 5D is the perfect addition to the Digital EOS line. USB 2.0 Hi-Speed, NTSC/PAL for video output connectivity Focus Modes - Autofocus, (One-Shot AF, Predictive AI Servo AF, AI Focus AF (automatic switching between One-Shot/Predictive AI Servo AF)), Manual Focus (MF) Exposure Modes - Program AE (Shiftable), Shutter speed-priority AE, Aperture-priority AE, Full Auto, E-TTL II autoflash program AE, Manual exposure Shooting Modes - Single, Continuous (approx. 3 fps), Self-timer Pentaprism viewfinder and 2.5 LCD TFT Color Screen Uses one of these battery packs - BP-511A/BP-514/BP-511/BP-512 Unit Dimensions (W x H x D) - 6.0 x 4.4 x 3.0 in./152 x 113 x 75mm (no lens) / Weight - 28.6 oz./810g (Body only)

Customer Reviews: Read 106 more reviews...

2 out of 5 stars

Mixed Bag... June 23, 2006
M. Ryley (Monterey, CA)
494 out of 700 found this review helpful

PLEASE READ MY MOST RECENT POST IN THE COMMENTS SECTION ON 11/30/07 FOR UPDATES AND RESPONSES TO THIS REVIEW. THANKS.

I purchased this camera a little over a month ago. I have since sold it, and switched to using Nikon. I can no longer support Canon, and this saddens me, for I grew up using Canon since I was 8 years old. Here is why I gave this camera 2 stars:

- Full frame censor: I thought this was a good thing? It is, and it isn't. Simply put, even Canon's "L" lenses won't provide even light illumination on the censor. Vignetting is a serious problem for the 5D. Like to shoot wide open, say at f/2.8? Think again, because you'll wind up with soft and dark corners every time. Canon's own media rep Chuck Westfall discussed this problem rather briefly in the June 06 issue of PCPhoto magazine. If you won't sharp results with a full frame, you need to stop down, a lot. Swing and a miss for portrait shooters looking to shoot wide open.
- Speed: 3 frames per second? Are you kidding me? This simply is not adequate for sports and action photographers. Many DSLR's offer 5 to 8 frames per second, so why 3?
- Build: This thing doesn't feel any different than the Digital Rebel. For this price, it should feel solid and beefy. The camera isn't even weather sealed like its big brother the Canon 1Ds Mark II. The build isn't terrible, but it certainly isn't impressive.
- Features: Where are they? The most needed features are buried deep in a menu. Don't worry though; Canon has included a "Direct Print" button on the camera. I couldn't believe this, what, is this thing a point and shoot suddenly? There are about 100 more important functions this button could have represented. If this is Canon's way of offering "a feature rich camera" as stated on their initial press release, then I am at a loss of what to say.
- Performance: Color rendition is terrible. There is a noticeable cyan cast to most images. Auto focus is quick, but inaccurate. Only 65% or so of my images showed critical focus, which Canon told me was, "acceptable." This was the same result from many a lens.

The list goes on, but I'm getting a little depressed listing all these faults. Is there anything good about this camera? Certainly.

- Resolution: The 12 MPs is amazing. Image quality, in terms of resolution is stunning. Micro contrast and sharpness is second only to the big Mark II. You will not be disappointed if you are buying this camera for every last pixel.
- Noise performance: There is none, almost. Shooting at ISO 1600 or 3200 is no problem with this camera. Noise levels at ISO 3200 look like that of a Nikon at ISO 400-800. This is a huge advantage of Canon's Full frame CMOS chip, as well as the resolution listed above.
- Wide angle: There is no crop factor with a full frame censor. This might appeal to film users who want to maintain their lenses true focal length, or to those who shoot at or below the 28mm range. It doesn't mean you'll be impressed with the performance of your wide angle lenses on this camera, but that 15mm fisheye will stay a 15mm.

This camera is a hit or miss depending on who you are, and what type of photography you do. I've noticed landscape and macro photographers seem to love this camera, and for good reason. They tend to shoot smaller apertures, focus accuracy isn't a problem, and neither is frame rate. Portrait photographers can go either way, but probably won't like it that much; poor color and light fall-off at large apertures are two very serious stumbling blocks. As for the wildlife and sports photographers, that's a big no (most likely). Slow frame rate, poor focus abilities, mediocre build, and the lack of the crop factor (your 500mm isn't an 800mm any more like it was on the 20D) will surely disappoint most of these shooters.

In my final thoughts, if you are thinking of an upgrade from a 20D or a rebel, the answer is probably no, unless you shoot exclusively landscapes, or macro, or you need the resolution for larger prints. If you are buying your first digital SLR, than definitely no. This camera is simply not user friendly. If you are considering it because it's a "full frame," think again. Canon has an excellent marketing campaign, but for every advantage of full frame, there is a disadvantage as well. Don't let my review stop you though, go and decide for yourself. The camera might suit your needs perfectly, but I feel for the overall market and majority of users, this camera missed the mark, and thus my low rating. Canon's got some homework to do, and they better do it fast.

5 out of 5 stars

A real winning full frame camera in a nice form factor-finally! October 24, 2005
T. Tom (SF Bay Area, CA United States)
252 out of 280 found this review helpful

This is a great camera and brings Canon's top of the range Pro line a bit closer to amateurs. In fact, it's good enough for professional use and I know of several pros using the 5d (in addition to myself). There are 4 main advantages to the 5d:

Full frame - there is no more 1.6x or 1.3x crop factor to deal with. A 50mm lens gives the same field of view as a 50mm lens on a film camera. The focal length labelled on the lens is what the body captures.

Image quality - although not as many megapixels, the 5D is comparable to even to the top of the line 1dsMKII with regards to image quality. In fact, the 5D performs even better at high ISO speed ratings 800 and above than the more than double cost 1dsMKII.

Large LCD Screen - the screen is much larger than on previous cameras, including the 1dsMKII. It's very 'photographic' and while it's not that bright when outdoors in the sunlight, it's quite nice and usable still.

Form Factor - it has a smaller form factor than the higher pro cameras and is not very heavy. This is a plus in my book. Even if you are a pro, you don't want to necessarily look like one all the time. If you do want to look like one, you can add the optional battery grip.

I would recommend this camera to anyone. I can think of zero complaints for the pro or advanced amateur photographer.

5 out of 5 stars

12.8 MP Full Frame Sensor....FOR THE WIN! September 30, 2005
William D. Colburn (Socorro, NM USA)
180 out of 233 found this review helpful

I was quite shocked that my 5D arrived in late September instead of mid October. But happy!

It doesn't shoot as fast as my 20D does, but the full frame sensor makes a tremendous difference. I can take wide pictures! I miss the effective telephoto effect on my longer lenses, but with cropping I still get some of that back.

The viewfinder is large and bright. And with a 24mm focal length I get a lot of wideness out of it. The LCD is gigantic, and looks just like the 20D. I can hold the camera at arms length and still read the menus just fine.

After the 20D and its machinegun shutter, the 5D feels a little slow. It even sounds slow when it takes a picture.

Right now the cr2 files don't seem to work well in photoshop, but that should be resolved in a matter of days I hope. The cr2 files are huge. About 12 to 14 MB per image. Buy several large flash cards, and a laptop with a big hard drive!

The images are bigger, but the pixels are still larger in the 5D over the 20D/300D, and so much sharper. They certainly looks sharper to me.

All in all, it seems like a better, albeit slower, version of the 20D. It doesn't take EF-S lenses, but the only one I had came on my 300D, and I sold it with the 300D. According to the canon technical specs it has improved software from the 1 series cameras inside it.

5 out of 5 stars

Major positives and minor negatives February 22, 2007
Ahamed B. Iqbal
93 out of 96 found this review helpful

Here are the basics that I considered and have found out from about 9 months of ownership. Keep in mind opinions on photography equipment varies greatly by the user and what the equipment is used for so while I think the 5D is near-perfect, others might not.

While the positives and negatives seem even in number, the positives FAR outweigh the negatives. I have no regrets about my purchase.

Positives
+Full frame sensor: allows me to acheive true wide angle photographs with no crop factor
+Image size: I have had a number of large (20"x30") prints made and the results are flawless
+Ability to shoot in RAW: While the files are huge (12MB+ each), the information and options this format provides has really expanded my technical and creative abilities.
+Build quality: While I haven't tried the true Canon Pro series (1 series), the 5D is pleasantly sturdy and feels solid in my hands. I can see how some might find it too heavy, especially with an L series lens.

Negatives-
-Lens requirements: Because of the full frame sensor, the 5D brings out the best (and worst) out of the corners and edges of your lenses. You will be able to tell a lesser quality lens more easily on the 5D than on a cropped sensor lens. The obvious negative is that better lenses like the L-series are generally much more expensive ($600+)
-No flash: Not a big deal to me but I've noticed that people are surprised when they see the 5D has no flash. This doesn't matter that much since built in flashes are rarely useful in most situations.
-Dust in sensor: Make sure you get a good sensor cleaning kit shortly after getting the 5D. There are steps you can take to minimize dust like changing lenses rarely and always indoors but you will need to clean the sensor every few months depending on use. To test if you need to clean (on any DSLR), put the camera on a tripod or flat surface, point it at a white wall , focus, and shoot with a long exposure and small aperture (5+ seconds and f/16 or smaller). If there is any junk on your sensor you should see it.

5 out of 5 stars

Wonderful Camera for both professional and amateurs alike! January 5, 2007
Hidenori Inagaki
80 out of 80 found this review helpful

This is one of the greatest things ever in my opinion for both professional, and amateur photographer. Af least, it was for year 2006.

And I am very happy to tell everyone that many of my current works for magazine are actually using this wonderful camera.

There are several distinct advantage using this camera in the professional environment.

1. They are affordable full size sensor camera. Output quality will meets most of requirement given by the client.

2. Battery is interchangeable with 20/30D, so it is ideal candidate for 2 camera configuration with 20D/30D.

3. As far as Portrait photography are concern, it is currently one of the best in image quality and compared to the 1DS's older design sensor, when situation is ideal, it sometimes create superior result.

4. Very low ISO noise, it is really useful for anyone who frequently shoot for low available light situation. ISO800 was useable even for the magazine purpose.

5. Relatively lower shutter noise compared to the 20/30D that are helpful for some of noise sensitive shoot.

6. Availability of third party add on are actually important to me when I looked for camera. 5D is very good with availability and compatibility or such 3rd party equipment. And I am very happy to use many of 3rd party products with 5D.
1DS, due to the its form, has major difficulty with some of affordable 3rd party tool, most notably bellows system.

7. Weight is considerably less compared to the 1DS series and it is still full sensor size camera.

8. DOF of full size sensor camera thus great Bokeh can be archived if used with great lens.

9. Ability to shoot AdobeRGB color space RAW format

10. Fairly easy to find additional equipment at the local camera store, when you are on the road (I think
that is very important)

There are some disadvantage for this camera

1. It is 12.8M pixel despite the fact it is full sensor (or Leica format) size and it is 4M pixel smaller than 1DS MKII. And there are few occasion, it will not be enough for the given assignment(You really need to consider type of work you do)

2. It does have lower burst rate compared to 1D MKII or 20/30D that is not exactly ideal for the performance art, sports events, or outdoor bird photography.
Due to that fact, I normally bring my 20D with me, so if I need decent burst rate, I will rely upon my 20D instead.

3.It is not weather sealed, thus, you really cannot take it out when weather is not exactly ideal without shortening camera's life. So, it is not ideal camera for field photographer who shoot at challenging environment.

4. It is still expensive for the amateur and, it is still expensive for the professional photographer with rather low fee structure.

5. 9 point sensor is more than enough for the most of people. It is however, not for the some of professional who requires quick focus and shoot. It is bit frustrating to work with its AF, if you are used to with 45 point sensor of 1D/1DS series.

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