Canon announce 21.1 MP EOS 5D Mark II

[DPNow]

Here is a summary or excerpt from an article that has just been published on DPNow:

Canon announces the full frame, 21.1 Megapixel EOS 5D Mark II: the first EOS with full High Definition video capability.

More...

[jds9000]

What is it with companies obsession with sticking video on to a dslr .....
Surely if you want to video something, then use a video camera ...
... it was designed for it ....

Then they could drop the price a bit ... well, a lot before I'd buy one anyway

The file sizes must be huge ..... my backup disks are shrinking at an alarming rate already

Jay

[Patrick]

Originally Posted by jds9000

What is it with companies obsession with sticking video on to a dslr .....
Surely if you want to video something, then use a video camera ...
... it was designed for it ....

Then they could drop the price a bit ... well, a lot before I'd buy one anyway

The file sizes must be huge ..... my backup disks are shrinking at an alarming rate already :

Jay

Totally agree I don't want video never have never will, and is it really necessary to have 21MP, the average pro photographer finds 10-12MP adequate. Yes there are some pro photographer that will require higher resolution on specific special occasions.
A full frame with about 15MP is more than enough the majority of jobs.
Its pixel chasing gone mad. I think the makers should be concentrating on developing and extending the dynamic rage rather than squeezing in more pixels.

Patrick

[devilgas]

personally, i love the idea of being able to use all of that lovely L glass i've got and shoot 1080p video without spending megabucks on a dedicated HD video camera. from an underwater perspective, it's all about flexibility. i use the oly 5060 for stills and the fuji for video. that means carrying 2 cameras on a dive, carting 2 through the airport etc etc. the new 5d gives me the best of one world and quite probably a very usable attempt at the other.

with the advent of live view on dSLR's, video capture was only ever a model or 2 away. if you've got all of that live data streaming through, why not do something with it?
just because video is there, you don't HAVE to use it. it's the same with all of those little picture thingies on the mode dial. dunno what they do as they've never been used, nor will they be used. ditto special image effects. ditto TIFF. i could go on.

[Stephen]

Just got back from a 3 week holiday in Florida and heard the news of the new 5D MkII. I really think Canon have kicked ass this time, its about time they did something better than Nikon

For a lot of Pros in particular and also a lot of keen amateurs it negates the need for a 1Ds. I can see many wedding shooters rubbing their hands, even for myself as a commercial/PR photographer, there are times when I'd love such a camera. Infact when the lease on my 1DMkII runs out next year I may get one as a second camera.

As for the video element, this could be just brilliant. It wasn't until I bought the G9 that I did any video stuff from a still camera. I've found it to be a revelation, and using iMovie on the Mac has made it so easy to edit etc. On my recent trip to Florida I took quite a few video sequences as there are times when a still just doesn't capture the moment.

Can you imagine a wedding shooter being able to take little bits of video inbetween his stills to capture candid moments etc. then present it on a CD to the client, it will blow them away.

No, I feel the 21Mp is most welcome and the argument about greater noise or less smooth images, just shouldn't be an issue. At the other end of the spectrum the 14Mp of the new G10 does seem overkill and unnecessary, even the 12mp of the G9 was more than enough. IMHO Canon should have increased the sensor size a bit and kept the pixels the same, maybe even an APS sensor, that would really have raised the bar