Hands-on With a Rented 5D Mark II

So I sold my D90 to my colleague and good friend.  I was "DSLR-less" for a while, pondering which full frame camera I want to get, or more importantly which system I want to commit to.

The D700 is good in ISO performance, dynamic range & 51 AF points.  I also love the cooler colours of the photos and built-in flash BUT only 12 MP.

The 5D Mark II boasts 22 MP which was really quite something at that time.  But only 9 AF points which were slow compared to D700 and no built-in flash.  However the colour depth was there and the ISO performance is remarkable given the resolution.  More importantly, the full frame lenses in the Canon camp are not as expensive as Nikon's (oh yes, this is a very important consideration too...  I don't want the missus to kill me for spending so much on photography stuffs!).

So based on the considerations above I decided to go with Canon 5D Mark II.  Not wanting to regret the choice, I decided to rent a 5D Mark II first, and what better opportunity to use it than when my company sent me on a business trip to Tokyo. My gear for that trip was a Canon 5D Mark II and the EF 17-40mm F4L.

This charming lady is my colleague who bought my D90 and this photo was taken with the 5D Mark II. That was my D90 she's holding there!  ;)

From the photo of my colleague above, you could see that the warm colour tone and high contrast gives a very pleasant portrait.  I found that Canon is more suited for photographing human objects.   

During my time in Tokyo I took quite a lot of photos with the rented camera, to ensure that I won't make the wrong choice.  And the photos below convinced me to go with the 5D Mark II.  I was shooting at ISO 4000 - 6400 with F4, yet the result was unbelievably clean.

Some of my Tokyo shots with the 5D MII + EF 17-40mm F4L

So based on my tests, the Canon system passed with flying colours.  The 17-40mm L lens wouldn't break the bank and the quality is very good.  But what amazed me was how convenient it is to shoot at ISO 4000 and even up to 6400 with very minimum noise, no flash and no post processing! 

So...... here's the start to the wonderful world of full frame photography!

A parting shot of the Moomin Cafe interior in Tokyo Dome

 ~ Photos taken with Canon 5D Mark II + EF 17-40mm F4L ~