I was at the Portland Historic Races a couple of months ago, and the 5D2 was very popular. I saw a guy with a photo pass on the other side of the fence with one. I talked to a couple with another, and they were curious about my setup. I saw about three more 5D2 neck straps in the crowd. I didn't see any single model of DSLR that was as popular.

As far as I could tell, I was the only one shooting video - at least I was the only one crazy enough to lug a tripod, shoulder rig and microphone around the track. :)

Of the 56 teams to compete in the 48 Hour Film Festival in Portland, only two teams used the 5D2 to my knowledge. (Hi Andy Batt. You guys were robbed. ;) )

Were they impossible to get for 9 months?

They were impossible to get for two years!

Don't know if anyone would have those statistics. Best way I can think of to get some indication is to look at what's online...

A search for '5DmkII' on Vimeo returns 1000 videos, going back about a year.

A similar search on youtube shows just over 1600 videos.

I'm assuming there's some crossover between the two sites. I'm guessing most users have multiple videos posted. If we assume an average of 3-4 per person we're probably looking at ~500 users.

The Flickr camera finder for the 5DmkII shows 1,986 users uploading 39,433 photos... yesterday.

I agree with you here, Chris. I'd put it closer to 5-10%. But I think video caused a *huge* increase in sales from photographers. The other features, too.

OK, here I kindly disagree with you. The 5D1 did set sales records, but not the kind Canon likes. Records for how fast the price dropped, how many incentives were offered to move it from the shelves, and how steep the rebates were. Very few people paid the full $3,300; vendors dropped to $3,000 the first month it hit the shelves. Then came more price reductions later, and a huge $700 rebate. Dell had a promotion to get one for $2,050 after rebates, and B&H was $2,150 for a while. Refurbs were even lower.

I think Canon overestimated the 5D1 market, and manufactured too many units. They cut back on production for the 5D2, having learned their lesson from the 5D1 failure. But being the first Canon DSLR with video (and first FF35 and first 1080p) caused an unexpected explosion in sales.

I'm with you, I bet the ratio is more like 100:1 for folks who would say primarily for photos vs. primarily for video. This thing is probably owned by every pro photojournalist and wedding photographer shooting canon, plus so many other photogs. There's no doubt in mind my at all, this thing is PRIMARILY a stills camera, for god's sake the thing shoots 21mp RAW full frame stills with great ISO performance... It's a sick camera no doubt, video is just a bonus for a lot of us, heh.

Does this mean the cam has been designed for those who gonna shoot for huge poster prints in dark environment?

There is one thing no one came up with yet. 5DM2 is the first 1080p file based solid state recording HD camera that can natively use any Canon type SLR lens. Any other one requires expensive additional equipment for the same result.
This is the big deal about 5DM2, this is why it is exciting for video makers. The same thing with enabled controls and a video cam form factor would be a killer in the "normal" videocam market. That may come soon from Canon. Or Nikon might enter videocam market...why not?

Has anyone heard any word from Canon on a firmware upgrade that will allow the variable frame rates as the 7D does ???

I personally emailed Canon to voice my frustrations, and I hope everyone else (5D Mark II owners) are doing the same !!!!!

Thoughts ???

Yes. Chuck Westfall, acting in official capacity for Canon, made the following official statement today at 5:16 PM PDT on a different forum when asked about 24p for the 5D2:

"I can't comment on Canon's future plans or products, however Canon is always listening to its customers. Thanks!"

Of course, that was probably not the answer you were looking for. :)

That was about as helpful as if he'd have replied: "Hi, my name is Chuck." (sigh)

So I guess we'll just have to wait yet another long period of time before we know for sure.
Sounds like most on here are speculating that there will NOT be an available upgrade option for the 5D Mark II to have adjustable frame rates for video recording.

I've always been a Canon customer. Sad day if they do not update the firmware!

Petition for adjustable framerate.
 

Lets do another petition to Canon for adjustable framerate upgrade. I am sure they will listen. If not at least we tried. Guess how we got Canon to give us manual control?

Ahem! anyone would like to take the lead?

We have to convince Phil Bloom about this leadership. He has got the credit for being taken seriously.

"I can't comment on Canon's future plans or products, however Canon is always listening to its customers. Thanks!"

Didn't we get a similar ambiguous comment from one of the Canon guys shortly before the firmware update in June?



I bought the 5D2 because I wanted the kind of high quality, short DoF, low light capabilities I saw in the EX1 and EX3 with the Letus, but simply couldn't afford it. I couldn't afford the camera, lenses, lens adapters and SXS cards which altogether came to a lot more than the 5D2. When I discovered the 5D2 and the sheer quality of the pics for the price I was over the moon.
I've been using it now for 8 months and I still love it to bits, for stills for my work and even more so for the video quality.

I will be showing my ignorance here, but since you're all pretty decent people I don't mind. I can't actually tell the difference between 30p and 25p when I watch it. I'll have to take on trust that it's better.
I see great quality images as being more than that, it's about lighting, subject and angles etc etc and although the price of the 7D looks OK (although, as Phil says, not THAT brilliant in the UK) and I would consider it as a second cam for the reach, I don't feel cheated in any way that Canon have these features on the new camera. Top and tail is, my 5D2 is ace, and the 7D doesn't change that for me.

Avey

The 5D, and now the 5DII, have been hugely successful products for Canon. Where do you get your information? Why do you think Canon is constantly struggling to keep camera bodies and 'L' lenses in stock?
Attend any trade show relating to photography or video and see for yourself.