Canon 5D Mark II: Lab Test Retrospective

[@LeeZavitz]

The 5Dmkii is Legendary. This was my first Pro camera I bought it back in 2011 for $2000 and I still remember thinking that was an insane amount of money.

[@MaksimYuryev]

Me too! My 7D was stolen on Christmas when my wife and I were early in our wedding photography business and had no money, so I had to get my first loan and paid that crazy $2000 over 12 months with the only lens I had for it being the plastic fantastic 50mm 1.8 😬 Got some great shots for clients and then bought some more lenses and another 5D2 a year later.

[@studiophoto4869]

I remember I was first on the waiting list in my local store in 2008 for this amazing camera, I still got it and still making great photos with it! But my first pro digital camera was the Nikon D1 in 1999 and it cost me $8000! Oh yeah and a 128mb CF card was like 700$ 😂

[@cameraconspiracies]

It's more than we deserve.

[@TillGroos]

I knew i would find you lurking here, looking for perfect Canon skin tones. Go ahead and buy one now, Gerald gave you permission, i promise! 😜

[@LouisLuzuka]

fr can you buy one just for the culture please

[@TheFunnyCarpenter]

Come on Gerald give us the studio tour everyone is looking for!

[@prokopbuben7721]

Don’t tell me that you don’t even wanna try it, it’s like 200$. Just pair it with the 85 1.2 and there will be magic.

[@Meth0z]

i support the idea of you buying one of this and testing it out

[@LouisLuzuka]

The cleanest looking 5d mark ii I’ve ever seen 😮

[@RaymondwLin]

haha right? Mine's paint from the sides and near the thumb dial worn off because of the 200k shots I put through each one of the two that i had.

[@LouisLuzuka]

@ it needs to be in a museum somewhere

[@AltCine]

For real lol almost brand new​@@LouisLuzuka

[@DessieTots]

It’s isn’t you know. I just bought a Canon 5D Mk.II a few days ago and it is so clean that the surface still has that slight texture all over. No shine at all. No paint loss, no dust anywhere.

[@OFBCyclingWorld]

Yes, mine is very grubby.

[@nativestrong7253]

The boys over at Magic lantern have the 5D3 doing 5.7K Anamorphic with 15 stops of dynamic range 14bit and 4:4:4. Only issue is that it has horrible rolling shutter issues. It is fantastic when sitting on sticks or on a gimbal but dead in the water for handheld video.

[@megamasterbloc]

the 5D3 has dual ISO

[@jensuferiufermedia8457]

@megamasterbloc Really? What are the two ISO values?

[@megamasterbloc]

@@jensuferiufermedia8457 it can use two independent ISO values from it's ISO range, it's not a dual native ISO, but a dual ISO readout

[@petersonfilms-1]

Yeah, ML is too good. I use it on my Rebel t4i (650d). Basically now a Micro-Four-Thirds sensor due to the crop with crop mood. But up to 5.2k 14 bit RAW is insane. I usually stay at 4.2k 12 bit RAW 16:9 and then render into a Prores 422 HQ. Lovely footage.

[@megamasterbloc]

@@jensuferiufermedia8457 it can use any pair of ISO value, it's dual ISO read, not dual native ISO

[@Wes_Jones]

I'm still using my 5D2 to this day. It's built like a tank. I love it.

[@Jamesmatthews]

I remember using magic lantern on this camera 😆Thanks for the nostalgia fellas

[@iamericlenz]

The amount of nostalgia I felt watching this video was unreal. Can we get more of these dinosaurs please?

[@KirkwoodImaging]

Pentax K-7

[@TubaSolotheHiker]

I can't speak about the video quality as I've never really ever used the 5D Mark II for video, but holy moly this camera for photography work is fantastic. I keep one at work for the constant portraits that I have to do for various projects throughout the year. I get crazy good results with the camera and one speed light bouncing off the ceiling. The mathematics of the color are incredible. I honestly cant' reproduce the same look that I get out of my 5D Mark II with my other cameras. There is just something special going on there in that camera for photography.

[@nativestrong7253]

It those rich artistic pastel colors. Ive only seen recent Fuji cameras replicate it, and that was with 'recipe' color tweaks.

[@jaylistudios]

Of course it shouldn't be terrible. That's the camera that started it all. Thanks for doing this Gerald. For five seconds I thought my eyes were impaired when I looked at the title

[@jeremy_woods]

The mark 3 with ML raw - I’ll die on the hill - it’s still the best looking image they have. 14 bit “raw” straight off the pipe.

[@lgerback34]

Still use it as my no.1 camera to this day. Love it

[@loommovies]

OMG! I love this! So many people are still using older cameras! Oh please do the original Canon C300🙏🏻

[@ChemaPhoto]

Absolutely! It's fascinating how older gear like the Canon 5D Mark II and even the 100D (which I still own and use) can still deliver such impressive results. Many creators focus too much on the latest technology, but often the fundamentals of photography and videography are what truly matter. The Canon 5D Mark II has shown us that with the right techniques and enhancements, even older cameras can produce stunning content that rivals modern equipment. It’s all about leveraging the tools you have!

[@Wade_Adakai]

Been waiting forever for Gerald to cover Magic Lantern 🙌🏾

[@TheLDunn1]

I got one in 2008 too, still have it, but it doesn’t get used these days as others have taken over. I was actively using mine until end of 2017, when I got an A7R3 and adapted my EF lenses to that. This, I feel that the 5D2 was an excellent camera that served me very well.

[@BrickworkProductions]

Magic Lantern is the best! If you're doing tests of old cameras, it would be awesome to see a test of the canon T5i/700d with crop mood magic lantern build installed. It allows the camera to record in 14 bit 4k raw, witch is crazy for that camera

[@jnhkx]

Still remember that day when we still use Dan’s build and somehow Bilal drops that one mega Bilal’s build on 700d and its like the biggest update to ever happen in MLV commu.

[@petersonfilms-1]

Yeah, I have the t4i/650d. Love using crop mood on it.

[@deanlowe2580]

I started with a 5D, then a 5D2, and then the news outlet I worked for at the time had to pry it out of my bag with the threat of no work to make me go 1DIV and later 1DX. I still maintain the 5d2 is one of the best portrait cameras, portraits just look amazing on that thing.

[@VietinghoffAlex]

I bought a 5D MkIII last year for $350 USD. Love shooting in open gate 3:2 HD 14-bit raw and converting to CDNG. Upscales really well to 4K.

[@TackJorrance]

The first gen 7D was my first "cinematic" camera after shooting on pro-sumer level camcorders for years. The 7D actually could do 60 fps at a reduced resolution of 1280x720, which when scaled up to 1080p didn't look any worse since the 5D and 7D were not able to really resolve a full 1080 horizontal lines of resolution anyway. They more or less split the difference between 720 and 1080. Probably about 900 line cameras. But that was good enough back in that 2010 era. The 8-bit color sucked for grading and no log meant awful dynamic range. But at least if you did your part with lighting and exposure and everything else, it did indeed look more cinematic than the 1/3" and 1/2" sensor cameras everyone had been shooting on up until that point.

[@stamatisspinos]

Nice video! The 5D Mark II is a legend. I believe it is the camera that gave everyone who loves video, both professionals and amateurs, the opportunity to get involved and create. It was the camera that allowed you to produce high-quality digital video for its time, without the need to rent or purchase cameras with a high budget. I believe there will never be another camera with such specs, meaning such capabilities in both video and photography, based on the technology of its time, at such a price point.

[@avx111]

I just watched the House episode shot with these and it's very impressive how well it holds

[@EmeraldAudiovisual]

I moved to DSLR with the 5D Mk III. And Magic Lantern really gives these cameras another life.

[@charliemcdougall]

@@EmeraldAudiovisual You mean, it really cripples the Canon Cripple Hammer.

[@takeone22]

Wow, I really enjoyed watching this! I can't remember where I saw it, but there was a KZbinr who explained why ARRI doesn’t rush to release new cameras like other brands. He said it’s simply because there isn’t a big enough technological leap every few years to justify a new model. And your video perfectly shows how camera manufacturers deliberately limit their cameras just to keep us upgrading. Respect!

[@jaitrajoshi07]

You should’ve tested 3x crop on that camera. I have been using 75-300mm on 3x Mode to get 900MM length to capture Moon on RAW 12 bit Video. Got it for $380 on Marketplace with 40mm F2.8 and battery grip with a CF Card.

[@tptrsn]

5D3 on ML makes some of the best looking images ever (IMO). I would love it if you tested one of those Gerald! Even though it's sheer curiosity, because the work flow is too clunky at this point to really use it for much. The perfection of the vectorscope on the 5D2 makes sense when you think about how amazing the colors are on the 5D3, they are probably similar in that way.

[@criticalpoint7672]

Well, yes, but then the 5D Mark III did it better, 4K raw using Magic Lantern. I'm still amazed how good the colors look in 12 or 14 bit compared to 10.

[@FabioPansera]

The point of the video was to show the beginning, and the Mark III wasn't the one.

[@kevinkillsit]

This is a brilliant video in a sea of new tech to help ground everyone. So many epic videos shot on these cameras. I always was jealous of people that had them when i was young. thanks for the trip down memory lane. haven't heard magic lantern in forever

[@Svarthjelm]

This is crazy, I just picked one up not 2 weeks ago, with only 8k exposures on the counter no less! I'm super happy with the purchase, it takes great photos & is quite capable at filming as well, and long as you have ML & a fast card. The only downside is that the fast cards even in this day & age are quite expensive! And Gerald, great video as always!

[@Artfulscience1]

Still my stills camera, absolutely kicks ass

[@paulmorris4759]

That was great fun to watch and it looked like you guys had fun creating it. Thanks so much for your time and effort!

[@CanonEurope]

Legend.

[@ConstructionKronies]

This is the Camera I started on!! I love it! Hooked it up with magic lantern and shot all my first stuff with it.

[@bobceffo]

nice! Magic lantern was great, like a linux camera.

[@leo_dale]

I owned one. Great sensor. Great color. Magic Lantern YES

[@MikeLindup42]

Ooh…I just bought a 6D Mk1 with the nifty fifty - does Magic Lantern work on this camera as well?

[@headwerkn]

Yep, works great. The 6D is a bit more advanced than the 5DII, and still super cheap too.

[@MikeLindup42]

@@headwerkn Thanks

[@leahpy]

Such a legendary camera! Thanks for covering it!

[@PurpleStormProductions]

I’ve got a Mark III, running MLV RAW 12-bit lossless compression, just enough data for my needs, keeps the file sizes down, and the footage looks absolutely incredible. I’ve shot three short films on it, and I absolutely love the way that it looks, I’ve been able to get some incredible color grades on it.

[@MarcusSortijas]

That’s awesome! Amazing what you’ve been able to do. Pardon my ignorance, but would that be enough image quality to play in a theater at a film festival? Like what resolution, aspect ratio, sound format etc.? I’ve thought of using my camera for short films but wondered about the technical requirements for entering film festivals.

[@rsmith02]

@@MarcusSortijas Film festivals are normally about the content, not the camera. Use what you have and make something interesting!

[@jpiersma]

5d Mark III next please!

[@DarrellMartinelli47]

i shot a couple hundred weddings on a 5Dii and for the time it looked amazing! no auto focus, low light was terribe but the "look" was legendary!

[@artsilva]

Im a lifelong Nikon and recently Fuji, but a year ago I picked up a mint 5D II for some variety in my photography and I actually love it for stills. Im not video person so that part doesn't matter to me eventhough I hear it's what started the whole DSLR video craze.

[@mossgatherer_]

This is funny you post this because my R6 is going in for servicing and I'm about to use my 5D mkii for a couple weeks! I still use it now and then and it's a monster. The native colours are incredible. I love it so much.

[@photoangelov]

Magic Lantern is amazing, even though the RAW video workflow is cumbersome and the files take enormous amount of storage space. Much newer (than 5D II) camera models are supported (some better than others), that have Dual-Pixel AF, and the developers are still working on it, so it's worth looking into.

[@Zack-Hates-Youtube]

I've said before and I'll say it again, please do a testing video with the GH5! I've looked through all your videos and the first Panasonic camera you reviewed was the S5. I think most would agree that the GH5 is in the same legendary territory as the 5D Mark II and deserves a proper test video after all these years!

[@KHamilton8]

CineD tested the GH5. 10.8 stops at SNR 1 9.7 stops at SNR 2 Rolling shutter not tested, but I imagine it's around 14ms in 4k just like the GH5ii.

[@gabmilitao]

A 5D with rubber doors is unseen before.

[@MemoryLaneGaming5057]

I recently acquired one and I don't regret it!

[@edash360]

Just got a 5D iii with 50 1.4 for a very good price used and am loving it so far!

[@El_Reddaio]

Really legendary! Bought one back in the day when it costed 2K, body only. It's still an amazing camera, and I believe that the Canon ergonomics is still unbeatable. Mine is currently sitting on a shelf next to her older sister the EOS 3.

[@smalltalk.productions9977]

geek talk at it's finest! thanks for the effort and sharing. i am an appreciative subscriber (to both you and Lee) thumbs up.

[@TlhOnYT]

love it 😊 thanks for the video been seeing a lot of 5d ML videos in my recommendation lately so this is perfect! had the 5diii and the 5div back in 2017.

[@garydmercer]

My professional camera from when it was released to 2017. Great camera. I could do everything I needed professionally with this camera. No limits. Even a used one is still a great camera today.

[@lecolintube]

Wow! Awesome. Any chance you’d be able to do a Canon 1Dc next? Unreal! Thanks so much 🧡🤩

[@ericnicastro]

I used this camera to shoot so many weddings when it came out. This was such a great trip down memory lane.

[@coreproduction572]

Vincent Laforet rocks this cam🎉

[@DoneByRyan]

This camera was THE camera at the time! I remember my 11 year old self wishing I’d get this!

[@paranormalvision]

This is Awsome to see yall do a old camera

[@JonnyRay82]

I still have my 5D mark II. I don't use it anymore, but it has sentimental value and I want my kids to learn on it.

[@VariTimo]

Your friendly reminder that 1080p is the over the threshold for a resolut image for regular cinema projection. Anything higher you’d need a huge screen for. If your camera shoots actual 1080p footage and you don’t need to do stuff like crop in in post, you can project that on a pretty big theater screen and won’t have any issues with detail or sharpness. Remember, the regular Alexa sensor isn’t much more than 2K and was often used with lots of space in the frame guide for reframing. Resolution, especially for video is not an important variable anymore.

[@MarcusSortijas]

Thanks for this info! Another commenter talked about using their 5D Mark III for short films and I asked questions about that. What aspect ratio is most common for cinema projection?

[@VariTimo]

@ It’s either 2.39:1 or 1.85:1. Those are the two supported by DCP containers and can be played natively on most theater screens. In big chains even automatically.

[@rsmith02]

​@@VariTimo Realistically though the Canon images are quite soft for "1080p" (they resolve less) and have significant moire issues. You can see this in films of the period like Finding Vivian Meyer (shot on a T2i)!

[@VariTimo]

@ Definitely but not that much. Won’t hold up great on a theater screen when you record as standard but the raw looks good enough.

[@DevynFromCFXTV]

Does the Camera have a Time limit in video with Magic Lantern?

[@sloppysteaks]

never heard of this camera before so thanks for the video.

[@scotttuckerphotography]

Comments that make you feel ancient

[@swanvictor887]

Seriously??!!

[@Moonstone-Redux]

​@@swanvictor887An American who was born when the 5D mkII was released can now drive.

[@igalaviz]

The 5D2 was ahead of it's time. The photo quality is very good too

[@my_visual_playground]

The idea to test this old camera is fantastic. There are many great and interesting cameras ( first Canon C300 and C500 , original BMPCC, RED One, Sony F3....or why not 5D mark III with ML) from the past so it could be interesting if you find them and test like you do with modern cameras.

[@HyperspeedMedia]

I had 4 of them, with Magic Lantern. it was the GOAT.

[@danncorbit3623]

I still have two Canon 5D Mark II cameras (one is infrared converted) that I use as backups and vacation cameras. The Magic Lantern makes it a much more useful tool. I wish Magic Lantern would run on my 5Ds.

[@imabigsandwich1292]

If you guys used a faster CF card like the Sandisk Extreme Pro, it can do a 1:1 3K readout in raw! That should be performing wayy better in terms of sharpness and dynamic range

[@wedding_photography]

I used to have 5D II, and I remember when it came out people did resolution tests against the standard "1080p" video output, and it was not 1080p. It was something like upscaled 960p. That's why it looks oversharpened and blurry.

[@shagral]

Cool idea! Surprised by how good the vectroscope looks, but I guess that's mostly due to how debayering algorithms have improved over the last 10 years. Interesting to see how fundamentally sensor tech hasn't moved anywhere qualitatively. We are just driving way more pixels to do pretty much the same stuff.

[@blaineaburnettsr]

I loved that camera.

[@jacobnathanielzpayag3885]

Magic lantern can do wonders. They were also able to unlock the scrapped video feature of the 50D where the ISP literally had the registers and pipeline for video but was scrapped eventually some time before release.

[@Subverttech4]

First full frame camera I bought off a friend. I had issues with the compact flash pins that made the camera brick. Till this day, I miss that camera.

[@TonyLaPron]

Canon 7D was the first camera ever to shoot 24/25/30/50/60 fps, both with 5dm2 were amazing tools back then :)

[@WattTheTech]

I don't do video but I still make a living with this camera. It's my daily driver for photography jobs. Amazing what magic lantern software can do for it.

[@FoldingIdeas]

Magic Lantern was so cool, but I was always so on edge while using it. "A little crash-y" is a very kind way of describing ML circa 2010.

[@gabrielmachadobsb]

Super fun idea! Another great classic that would be cool to see get this treatment is a hacked GH2

[@costagf]

Looks perfect, don't know about workflow/usability but for KZbin purpose think what you shot looks perfect.

[@digitaldevigner4080]

It's amazing how rare it still is to get 14bit raw video even today. Most cameras and raw formats are at best doing 12bit raw. This of course is directly offset by the signal to noise ratio. One of the main direct benefits of 14bit is that extra shadow precision. As the log curves get darker there is less data bits to use per stop. This is mainly why 10bit looks better than 8bit and so on. Because there are more bits to build those dark stops at the very bottom of the curve. If the noise is really high down there however it really doesn't matter because it's all random noise. So having 14bit on a poor signal to noise ratio sensor really doesn't really help. Alexa has amazing signal to noise ratio and has more stops in the shadows that are clean enough to justify 14bit. What true 14bit processing does however is allow the sensor to have a better signal to noise ratio. This is why 14bit raw photos with mechanical shutter that can only be burst up to 8 or 10 frames a second can look cleaner in the shadows vs electronic shutter 12bit raw photos. 14bit would be awesome but alas most of our affordable cameras just cannot do it. The Alexa being the exception thanks to its super fast sensor readout and great signal to noise ratio. Its one of the rare camera sensors that can actually readout 14bit at 24p, 30p or 60p. This is why I largely consider most modern cameras more or less the same. They all have tradeoffs to deal with the 12bit electronic shutter readout. Some have crappy rolling shutter, others process only in 10bit, some apply a ton of in camera noise reduction to fake more range than the sensor can actually do. Most of us have some level of tradeoff to get at best 12bit raw or a heavily processed 10bit internal format. It's sad that many years ago we had the ability to suck more out of a camera and that is more or less dead today. The Magic Lantern group should consider building they own cinema cameras much like BMD did. Maybe even developing a hardware agnostic operating system for cameras. Perhaps ironically cell phone cameras could be a part of their future. At least with cell phone cameras there is an API and the ability to once again program to get the most out of the sensor. The hardware is limited of course but there is great potential there for the future. Soon I suspect we will get raw video from the iPhone. A few apps already pull it off with a series of raw photos. Eventually Apple will add in ProRes raw which will be the next game changer like Apple Log was. The sensors are still extremely limited for raw video but with good lighting can be usable.

[@casualcoffeeshooter]

Yes, but Alexa performs better at highlights, shadows are usually “mediocre”

[@caffeinecreature]

Since many people have started ditching cameras and switching entirely to phones, the standard for what constitutes good image quality have sort of dropped off a little, and a lot of older cameras still very much hang out and produce relatively stellar imagery at a fraction of the cost. My only camera for like a decade was a Nikon D3100, and I occasionally show people some pictures I took on that, and the one reaction I consistently get is disbelief because their modern fifteen hundred dollar phone still cannot do that.

[@christiano.jacinthe]

more of these please

[@Wistbacka]

The og Legend that made me fall in love with full frame; my into full frame.

[@oospagheti]

Kids these days will never know the tru value of this legend! Miss the old days

[@petersonfilms-1]

Magic lantern has its quirks and pains (massive file sizes and long render times for processing the footage to cDNG or Prores), but it is amazing what you can do with it. I've used my t4i/650d with the ML crop mood build as a b-cam to an OG Red Komodo. When processed to Prores 422, I was able to match shots flawlessly with the most minimal color tweaks between the Komodo's 422 out of camera and the 650d's ML processed Prores 422. Only noticeable difference was the t4i/650d now has a Micro-Four-Thirds size sensor due to the crop mood sensor crop. And rolling shutter is pretty terrible, especially compared to the Komodo.

[@lol-vc5ts]

try lexar silver plus micro sd card. it will give additional 10 MB/s. also turn off global draw. you can do full frame 35mm for at least several seconds.

[@lol-vc5ts]

use canon optical is lens to counteract the rolling shutter.

[@petersonfilms-1]

@lol-vc5ts interesting! I'll have to try that card sometime. I use a Sandisk Extreme Pro, but that Lexar card might be worth trying to see if it gives better performance. As for the camera crop, it's a APS-C camera, so it already has a crop. The crop factor is also a part of the Crop Mood version of Magic Lantern which gives the ability for up to 5.2k RAW recording (UHD, 4.2k, 4.5k, and 5.2k options). It crops a bit more into the camera's sensor in order to achieve the higher resolution options. However, for the rolling shutter, I'll have to try the optical IS you mentioned. I have a 10-18mm EF-S that I believe has IS. So, I'll have to test that out.

[@danienelphoto]

Vincent Laforet's "Reverie" short film is what catapulted the video capabilities of the camera into industry consiousness. It changed my business immediately.

[@REVIEWSONTHERUN]

Thanks for sharing it. ✌️

[@stefanski8287]

Where can i find the parallel system at?

[@gelade]

Time to test the legendary 6D as well! about the same price as 5dii with better image quality and impressive high iso result to this date

[@8lec_R]

Please do the eos m So many people are still using it with ML

1080p raw upscaled to 1440p looks still amazing from 5D II but ML can be insane pain, you can get dropped frames even if your card is fast enough, corrupted footage for no reason, lose audio completely... or have to restart camera mid shoot because it just gets stuck... but for playing around? it's amazing

[@jonathanb.1625]

Magic Lantern is insane for video 👀 Even more awesome with an external display 🚀

[@Markk7725]

I was genuinely considering buying one for nostalgia before I saw this video! That's the camera that started my career and I miss the Ker-Plunk shutter sound 😂

[@richarddimery]

9:32 I'm pretty sure the used to use a binned 800p image and upscale to 1080p

[@-eduarth_ab6693]

This magic lantern hack makes me remember the motiomcam app that lets you shoot raw dng video or log video with a lot of options if you phone are compatible with the app

[@BryceDearden]

I was one of the unlucky ones that lost a whole day of shooting with Magic Lantern, but when it worked it was great

[@kstrohmeier]

Darn you guys, now I want mine back again!

[@rsmith02]

Sure it's soft and riddled with moire but it's what we had back then. I appreciate Magic Lantern for making it at least usable as a video camera and for adding great photo features like timelapses and more.

[@mikaelnilsson5912]

I love how excited Gerald got when he showed us the vectorscope, only an nerd can understand

[@ValiRossi]

That was fun. KZbin photography stuff was fun back then.

[@MartinFransson]

I had one of those, first camera I started filming more seriously with. But I liked the photos from the original 5D (mk I) more.

[@SonnyVisual]

really they should re use some of these sensors with modern software on the camera. imo, Blackmagic is the closest to the old canon look, but modernized. a 5D2 with the right lenses still looks so special

[@connornyhan]

More of these! Do more old camera reviews!

[@KaidoLP]

I'm still using my 70D and 6D, both with Magic Lantern, but because of the limitations of the SD-Card I do not shoot RAW. Instead, I shoot in Technicolor Cinestyle which is an extremely flat color profile that was originally made for the 5DMK2. The 5DMK3 was able to shoot in slightly above 1080p in RAW because of the faster CF-Card when running ML of the SD.

[@FeelAndCoffee]

Love this video, Magic Lantern community it's amazing. Glad to see it getting more attention. you should try it with the 5d III or the EOS M were it's more mature, and has more features and resolution modes.