This is my initial review of Canon Eos 5D and 24-105 f4L after 1
weekend and 1 wedding. There seems to be a serious lack of reviews
for this camera so I thought I'd share my views after getting mine
last week and using it at a wedding on Saturday.
First some background: I currently have a 1Ds (mark 1) and a 10D as a
backup. When the 10D failed (err 99) with shutter failure after
20,000 exposures (?140 +vat to repair) I thought about a new backup
body but didn't do anything about it. A month later the 1Ds also had
a shutter failure: (this time intermittently leaking light or leaving
shutter blades half way across the image and no error reported)
although it was repaired within a week (?260+vat). The repair centre
had bunch of 1Ds's with the same problem which was a bit of a worry.
So I realised I needed another full frame body in case something else
happened but couldn't justify the depreciation for a 2nd 1Ds. So with
great timing the 5D rumours started and the day it was announced I
ordered one. To me the main attractions are quality A3 prints and a
full frame sensor. I also needed a new standard zoom lens so I
ordered the 240195 f4L IS at the same time (the kit price seems
reasonable).
Initial impressions out of the box:
A lot lighter in hand.
Good build quality (seems robust).
Vewfinder seems as good as 1Ds. Bright. Much better than 10D.
The menus intuitive and very easy to read. Easy to setup. Very
similar to 10D. It took 5 mins to get up and running. Pocket guide is
a good idea.
Strap is an attractive 'mug-me' red. Non-slip bit inside neck part is
a good idea.
The optional grip seems well thought out but doesn't seem as good a
fit as that on the 10D (slight gap visible). The AA option is great.
Playback zoom on grip buttons is a nice idea. The lack of a hand
strap is a disappointment. I'm a fan of detachable grips. If I'm off
hillwalking or travelling light I can choose to leave the grip
behind. But for weddings it's always attached as a large proportion
of shots are in portrait mode.
First shots: Power on and image review are instantaneous. Screen is
bright and clear. A huge improvement. I set the picture style to
neutral and initial images seem slightly soft at 100%: to be
expected. Shadow detail seems good.
The BP511s batteries are excellent idea. They're smaller and lighter
and last pretty well. The charger is much smaller (than that with the
1Ds) to bring on jobs / trips. Also all those 10D batteries are
getting a second life although they do last a LOT less than the
included BP511A. The first pair of BP511's in the grip lasted 50
shots before the indicator went onto 1/2 (that's so short I think
they may be faulty?). I instantly changed to the BP511A and this has
taken 250 and is still showing 100%.
So off I went to the wedding and here are my impressions from the job
(using the 5D as a second body):
Focus: With the 24-105 it seems very fast, even in moderate light.
Definitely faster than the 28-135. So far I used it only with auto-
focus point selection to help flash exposure.
Exposure: Seems very good, but of course it can still be fooled.
Overall I'm very happy with it.
Flash: Seems like a much improved version of ETTL. I don't use flash
straight on too much: when I have to use it I bounce it off the
ceiling when ETTL2 makes no difference.
Speed writing to CF card: Pretty amazing. Being able to shoot 17 raw
images in just over 5 seconds seems a little strange. Just for the
hell of it I did it for the bride and groom coming back down the
ailse. Not too sure I'd use it everyday.
Shutter lag: I'd have to say there is none: or so little it doesn't
matter.
Connectivity:
USB 2.0 is ok but I'd prefer firewire. It's definitely slower than a
firewire CF reader: I'd guess twice as long to download a 4GB card.
Video-out is another nice idea.
The lens:
The 24-105 is heavy. Seems well made. Some barrel distortion at wide
end. New style IS switch which is better than my other lenses. The
zoom action seems tight: I expect this will loosen with use.
Disappointed that its an "extending" zoom and the associated dust
problem. Still, I've just got a "visible dust sensor brush" which
I've just used on the 1Ds and it works a dream. IS works really well:
I'd have to say that it's better than a 28-135 IS as there wasn't 1
even slightly blurry shot from the job. The hood is loose! It can
rotate slightly and cause vignetting at the wide end. I used a quiet
moment to use sticky tape to hold it in the right position. Problem
sorted.
Image quality from the pair:
I'm don't use any form of in-camera sharpening or colour tweaking so
I can't comment on any of these. Opening the image Canon Raw and
processing it from there results in excellent images for my purposes.
Skins are silky smooth: a quality I like from Canon DSLRs. Images
definitely need more sharpening than those straight from the 1Ds. For
an A3 print I'd generally sharpen a 1Ds image (using CS2's smart
sharpen) by 100%, Radius 1. To get the same results from the 5D meant
using around 150%,1. However there is so little 'noise' that I don't
see this as a problem. Exposure latitude seems excellent. The couple
in shade and the background sunny didn't cause any problems: the
background is bright but not unnatural. To check my sharpness theory
I shot images of a CD box outside with the 1Ds and the 5D, both with
an EF50 f1.8 set to F8 (I used CD boxes to see how easy the bar codes
are to read). The 1Ds definitly has more detail to start with. I also
did the same test at f1.8 to check there was no forward or back focus
problem that apparently affected early 10Ds.
Noise: I'd classify this as excellent. I used a mix of ISO 100, 200
and 400 on the day. All images appear smooth and I don't think
there'll be any visible noise in the prints for the couples album.
Colour:
Not really interested in the in camera colour balance as I shoot
everything raw. Still, colour seems fine on cameras monitor. Colour
in Canon Raw is what I'd expect: i.e. easily correctable.
Software: I don't like zoom browser and digital camera window as
previous versions were "buggy" on both my PCs. So far I haven't had
the same problems with either of the new versions apart from swapping
from one camera to another: eg from the 5D to the 1Ds: I get a
message saying the camera is in use by another application. The Raw
processor seems like an improvement on the last version I used (now I
generally use Adobe's raw). However, this version is sloooow. I'm
sure that Adobe will release the CS2 Raw update for the 5D in the
near future.
So what do the prints look like: After I got back from the wedding I
did an A3 print and I'm mightly impressed. Colour, tone, noise and
detail are all excellent with miminal tweaks required in Canon Raw or
CS2.
Misc. likes:
Image quality at A3.
Build quality.
Focus speed.
Interchangeable screens: a real plus. Waiting for Ee-D to be in stock
in UK.
Enough pixels for the real world.
Optional grip holds the battery cover inside so you don't loose it.
Screen.
Exp. latitude.
No noise.
Improved flash.
IS is better than 28-135.
Dislikes:
Joystick thingy on back.
Mirror lock-up is a pain.
Mode dial for TV/AV etc: I prefer the 1 series layout.
Images require more sharpening.
Not weather proof.
Overall I would give it 9/10 until I factor in the sticker price and
then it gets 10/10. Add in the lower depreciation and insurance costs
in comparison to a 1Ds and it makes even more sense.
In conclusion: a very worthwhile backup to a 1Ds and much better than
a 10D. It even has some advantages over the 1Ds (size, weight,
batteries) . I'm off on my annual holiday next week (to Madagascar)
and bringing the 5D in preference to the 1Ds. That must be a good
enough recommendation?
Anyway, I hope this initial review is of use to some of you.
