New review of the 5D... with firmware upgrade?

[Peer Landa]

A quote from a review printed today:
"One of the biggest features on the Mark II isn't related to still shooting -- it's about movies. The camera has the ability to record Full HD video -- that's 1920 x 1080 -- at 30 frames/second, with sound. You can use any lens you want, and all the camera's manual controls are at your disposal."

You can read the full review at:
Digital Camera Resource Page: Canon EOS-5D Mark II Review

-- peer

[Yang Wen]

Strange! Such a late review... and just happen to coincide with the rumors.. I would be cautious though since the review sounds like it was written for novice users with some very basic information of the 5D2.. I doubt they'd be the first ones to get dibs at a new firmware, if such a thing exist..

[Oleg Kalyan]

is aperture control going to happen, keep my fingers crossed!!

[Peer Landa]

Originally Posted by Yang Wen

I would be cautious though since the review sounds like it was written for novice users with some very basic information of the 5D2.

And perhaps that review were also written by a novice user -- this is what he replied to me:

I'm confused... I can adjust the aperture before I start recording a movie in aperture priority mode. What are you referring to?

Since he's actually the founder & editor of that online publication, I guess he either got a camera with a new firmware, or he's indeed confused.

-- peer

[Bill Binder]

This is just like every other, "I've got manual control" thread coming from new users who "can set" things the way they want and shoot video. Too bad none of them seem to realize the recorded video didn't actually use those settings.

[Peer Landa]

Originally Posted by Bill Binder

This is just like every other, "I've got manual control" thread coming from new users who "can set" things the way they want and shoot video. Too bad none of them seem to realize the recorded video didn't actually use those settings.

Yea, I know. Though, for a moment there, after reading his review, I was doing backflips believing a new firmware was released just in time for the NAB show ;^)

-- peer

[Jay Bloomfield]

Review Corrected today (4/20/09):

There are some advantages and disadvantages of shooting movies on a digital SLR. On the plus side, you can use lens you own, from fisheye to super telephoto. You can zoom in and out as you please and if your lens has image stabilization, that's available too. You can fool around with Picture Styles, for unique color effects. There are a few downsides, though. For one, the camera is not focusing continuously while you're recording a movie. You can press the AF-on button to use contrast detect AF, but that results in slow focusing, clicking noises, and other weird effects. That means that if you adjust the focal length or your subject moves out of focus, you need to adjust the focus manually. That's a lot harder than it sounds -- it takes practice, for sure. The other thing to note is that you cannot control any manual settings (unless you count exposure compensation or AE lock) in movie mode. If you've set the ISO, shutter speed, or aperture manually, they will be ignored as soon as the camera starts recording.

There were some inaccuries in the above paragraph in the original review. They were corrected on 4/20/09. I apologize for any confusion this may have caused.

[Peer Landa]

Originally Posted by Jay Bloomfield

Review Corrected today (4/20/09)

Yep, after an email exchange with the author, he admitted that he indeed is a novice; that he doesn't "follow the professional video recording market".

-- peer

[Jay Bloomfield]

The tip off is that the author misspelled the word, "inaccuracies".

[Peer Landa]

Originally Posted by Jay Bloomfield

The tip off is that the author misspelled the word, "inaccuracies".

And there were other "inaccuracies" in his text as well, omitted words, etc ;^)

-- peer