Field report on 5D

[paul hart]

Michael Reichmann's field report on the 5D is now online <A

HREF="http://luminous-landscape.com/reviews/cameras/5d-field.shtml">here</A>.

[dk.]

Thanks Paul.

 

DK.

[paul hart]

It's a bit disappointing by Reichmann's usual standards. It's obviously a preliminary report written while jet-lagged, and doesn't deal with image quality, beyond the broad comment that output seems to be on a par with the 1Ds MkII - praise indeed.

 

He seems to have used the 70-300DO most of the time. He likes this lens - I have one too, and so do I - but I wouldn't have thought it was the obvious choice to evaluate the 5D's image quality. I guess he'll use something else for his detailed tests later.

 

I'm pleased to see that ISO is now displayed in the viewfinder, even if you have to prod a button to see it.

[fly_guy]

The dust issue concerns me the most. The shorter battery life than 20D is also an issue to a certain extent.

 

My hope is Canon would fix these problems in the production version.

 

Altogether, a good preliminary report.

[david_littleboy__tokyo__ja]

He used a dust-sucking lens in a dry and dusty environment, so you'd expect dust problems. But dust is a lot less frightening with the static brush approach than it was when you had to wipe the sensor.

[Greg M]

After 11 months, I'm still waiting for my "dust-sucking" 100-400L to deposit enough of anything on my 10D's sensor to warrant a cleaning. You can worry too much about anything.

 

I'd buy a 5D right NOW if I had the $3,299, which I don't.

[david_kieltyka1]

I think Reichmann's point is that the 5D interests him as a photographer's tool, not a gadget for shooting test charts. He's already commented that overall image quality with the various Canon D-SLRs is essentially the same. (My own experience bears this out.) Your choice of a particular model should thus be guided by how large you print and how rugged a body you need.

 

-Dave-

[Greg M]

And there lies the problem. Seems that many would rather see pictures of the tile on a bathroom wall so they can check for distortion than to look at an actual picture you might take with a lens, or make more of dust issues than really needs to be based on one person's opinion. Reichmann even says after making the comments about dust that people shouldn't take his comments that seriously, but some seem to key in on certain comments from one individual and make them universal "problems".

[gerrymorgan]

Has anyone read whether the 5D will allow autofocus when the effective aperture is smaller than f/8? In other words, for example, whether the camera will autofocus with the 100-400L IS lens mounted on a Canon 1.4x teleextender. There is no mention of that in the Michael Reichmann preview, nor on dpreview.com, as far as I can see.

[bobatkins]

My understanding is that it does not AF at f8. However since I haven't tried it myself, I can't say that with 100% certainty.

[marrio]

I think you're understanding is right. Auto-focus limit is for lenses with f/5.6 or faster

maximum aperture, according the 5D white paper: <p>

 

<i>The center AF point has a special hybrid design. With f/2.8 or faster lenses, focusing

is

a two-step process. First, the f/5.6-sensitive cross-type sensor components are used to

focus. When focus is almost achieved, a switch is made to the f/2.8-sensitive vertical

line-sensitive sensors for high-precision focusing. Additionally, <b>the center AF point's

f/5.6-sensitive</b>, horizontal line-sensitive sensors each have two lines with individual

pixels arranged in a zigzag pattern, making a total of four lines for horizontal line-

sensitive focusing at the center. With this improvement, the center AF point can now do a

better job of detecting difficult-to-read, low-contrast subjects, thus improving the overall

performance of the autofocusing system. <b>All six Supplemental AF points are f/5.6-

sensitive</b>. The two Supplemental AF points directly above and below the center are

also f/2.8-sensitive when a lensoff/2.8 or brighter is used.<p>

 

Also like the EOS-1DsMarkII, the EOS5D features interchangeable focusing screens.

<b>The standard screen is the Ee-A, designed to work with all EF lenses down to f/5.6

maximum aperture. Two optional screens are available, the Ee-D grid-type, also good for

all lenses down to f/5.6 maximum aperture</b>, and the Ee-S, having finer micro lenses

than the other two types, intended for lensesf/2.8 or faster, with a steeper-than-normal

parabola of focus for easier manual focusing. Because these screens have differing

metering characteristics, C.Fn.-00 must be set to match the screen in use.

[sid_baidwan]

I thought that Canon "1" series bodies are able to autofocus at f8(though only at the centre-point).

Has anyone been able to actually field-test the 5D with a f5.6 lens and 1.4x TC?