The New Canon EOS 5D Mark Two?
A new canon release?
Back in March I wrote about the possibility of Canon upgrading their pro-level 5D DSLR.
Well it seems that the rumours are getting ever stronger, so much so that there seems to be speculative reports of exactly what the upgrade will entail.
The 5D was released back in 2005 and in DSLR terms that makes it quite old. In real terms it means that it is still an excellent camera with little, if any competition in its particular category. If Canon do upgrade the 5D, which I believe they will it would cement their grip on the market.
In recent months Canon have released cameras at both the top end and the mid range level with considerable success so cornering the market with an improved 5D to sit firmly between the best of the serious amateur models such as the 40D and the top professional models in the 1D series makes sense.
So what would the improvements be? If the rumours are to be believed then expect a newly designed 16 megapixel full frame CMOS sensor, a new Digic III processor, three inch LCD screen and Live View mode. The maximum ISO level would be increased to 12800 from the original with a possible increase to 25600 if required. Its current three frames per second continuous shooting capability is said to be increased to 6.5 and the body would be weather-sealed as are the 1D models.
If these improved features are to be added then I would be interested to see the effect it has on sales of the cheaper 1D’s, the 5D is already very popular with wedding and landscape photographers and could help pull the reins in on Nikon’s current popularity with their D3 and D300 models.
I would expect the new 5D Mark II to come in at the £2,000-£2,500 price range, a tempting price for those who want full frame without the 1Ds Mark III price tag.
The current Canon EOS 5D DSLR