Canon EOS 5D Mark II – Camera from Hell

April 7th, 2010

Canon: You Can't Ever since I wrote some posts about the Canon EOS 5D Mark II DSLR on my blog last year, I’ve continued to get comments from many users around the world who’ve used the camera and had issues with it. Most of the time these users went online after experiencing issues to search for a solution and then found my blog only to wish they had read it before they bought their 5D Mark II. Just yesterday I got the following two comments from two different people:

From Troy:

Being a Canon user makes me feel cheated. The autofocus is terrible, owning a $3000 camera and having so many shots out of focus is unacceptable. Shooting landscapes is most of the time fine (even there AF hunts at times) but anything moving and easy to lose over 75% of your shots. Slow frame rate and many out of focus shots, bad news. I have tried every AF combination and get the same results. I have some great photos but have lost too many. I hate to switch but selling my Canon gear and moving to Nikon. I would love to stay with Canon but AF issues are too much, and they don’t seem wanting to fix it anytime soon.

From Mark H:

Hi Karel,

I haven’t read all the responses but I can’t believe some of the assessments of the camera based on limited shooting situations. I’m a wedding photographer, shoot 2000-3000 images per wedding in all kinds of lighting and all situations, and yes, low light shooting with the MK2 sucks compared to even prosumer cameras like the 40D. IMO it’s the outer autofocus points….focus dead-on with the center point (to hell with the rule of thirds or any sort of off center composition) and you’ll do ok in low light (in most situations), but try “getting ready” shots with a window behind the bride’s head (bright backlight), or low light church shots and good luck getting 30% of them in focus with the off-center focus points. I shoot a lot wide open at 1.4, so I know when it’s on and when it’s off. It’ll focus fine in bright light (so it’s not needing microadjustments or a lens problem), it’ll focus fine with off center points in bright light most of the time, but go indoors and be careful. Get trigger happy if you want some images to choose from. I love the resolution, love most of everything about the camera, can live with the speed of the autofocus, but a “low-light” camera that only has 1 “usable” autofocus point in low light is kinda disappointing.

And there’s a lot more where those came from.

If you’ve read my previous posts about the 5D Mark II, you know that the issues these users are describing are exactly the issues I mentioned in my posts. From the moment the 5D Mark II was announced I saw based on the specifications alone that Canon had seriously crippled the camera with an old autofocus system that wouldn’t be able to let people really take advantage of the other features the camera had to offer. Many users who’ve bought the camera for professional use have had no choice but to sell it again and move to something that worked much better and offered A LOT more, such as the Nikon D700. Here are just two cases:

Case 1: Sold Canon gear and switched to Nikon:

Canon was good to me, especially back in the day when I rocked a cropped sensor and a 35mm lens for 90% of my shoots. It was simple, reliable and dependable. Then I got a 5d. The 5d offered great high ISO features, a full frame, a nice big LCD and the worst focusing system money could buy. 🙁

Let me preface this next part by saying that I am a hard-core stickler for sharp images; “A little soft,” or “a little back-focused” is not ok by me. It’s tack sharp or it get’s the hose. So, as you can imagine, the 5d became quite a handicap for me. But, nonetheless, I figured out that if I only shot on One Shot and kept my aperture up, I could make in-focus photos.

Despite my near-constant frustration with Canon, I held out for the mythical 5d Mark II – a camera that promised even better ISO, an even bigger sensor, an even fancier LCD and (you guessed it), the same crappy focusing system. At that point, Canon had me by the you-know-whats (I don’t actually have you-know-whats… it’s a euphemism, silly) – I had *thousands* invested in lenses (see below). So I shot my 5d Mark II for the entire 2009 wedding season…. on One-Shot…. using a high aperture… constantly cussing under my breath.

Case 2: Sold Canon gear and switched to Nikon:

So, my 5DII came back from Canon’s repair center AGAIN on Tuesday. I took it out for a 45 minute stroll and took pictures of cats, leaves, berries, trees, the water.. etc. I used both the center focal point and the outer focal points. I spent the entire 45 minutes cursing after each shot as it became more and more apparent that it was just the same (if not worse) as it had been when I sent it in.

…

So, I sniffled a little, I paced back and forth, I thought. Then I typed up all the Canon gear I own on a forum and titled it ‘For sale’. I sniffled some more and grit my teeth and clicked the ‘post’ button. There. I said it. It’s for sale. I’ve been a Canon girl for eight years. I busted my ass to buy that 5D, and I love it. If I could afford to keep it and the 50mm lens that’s been with me for four years, I would do it in a heartbeat.

I’m done. I’m switching to Nikon.

In both these cases the users were let down by the bad autofocus performance of the 5D Mark II and had no choice but to switch to the Nikon D700. Even the image quality offered by the 5D Mark II isn’t what you would expect from a $2700 camera with noise and banding issues even at the low ISO settings.

The reason why the 5D Mark II still appears to be selling well is because of the HD video features that are also built into the camera. But as a tool for photography, the 5D Mark II has some serious issues and shortcomings that I hope will be addressed sufficiently by Canon in the next version.

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Thomas Fitzgerald April 8th, 2010 at 3:38 am

Karl, I coulldn’t agree with you or your readers mail’s more. I bought the 5D Mark II last August and I wish to god I never had. I was shocked when I did my first shoot as to how noisy the camera was at ISO 100. I have used many DSLRs and I have never seen anything as bad at low ISOs. It seems to me that in the rush to add megapixels and low light capeabalities to the 5DII they forgot how most people use their cameras. Of course you dare not speak up or you get set upon by angry Canon fans claiming that you are either: A) a Nikon Troll or B) just don’t know how to take photographs.

I find the latter particurlarly offensive as I’ve been taking Photographs for over 10 years. Also, when you point out that your camera should actually be sharp they tell you you’re doing something wrong. You put the focus point over the subject and press the button – it’s not rocket science.

Even in focus subjects aren’t that sharp. Per pixel sharpness is not great on the 5DII either. But I put up with mine because I wanted to use it mostly for video but that’s been a let down too.

The dirty little secret about shooting video on the Canon 5DII is that it’s great for shallow depth of field shots, where most of the frame is out of focus, but for everything else it’s terrible. Because of the line skipping there is terrible moire in anything with fine detail, to the point of rendering shots useless. If there’s fine diagnol lines in the scene, forget it. I think it’s great some of the things people are doing with video on the Canon cameras, but it’s not the be all and end all that people make it out to be. It has serious limitations, just like the rest of the camera.

Worst purchase ever.

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G Dan Mitchell April 8th, 2010 at 8:24 pm

No camera is perfect, but despite your focus on complaints the 5D2 works great for the vast majority of photographers who shoot it. I’ve got over 12,000 frames on mine in a variety conditions including landscape, street, a wedding, a pro bicycle race and more. I’ve had great success with the camera and have no desire to “switch to Nikon.” (I know Nikon makes great gear, so that isn’t my issue.)

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Joe Goh April 8th, 2010 at 9:49 pm

Hi Karel,

I’m impressed with your patience and persistence in highlighting all the 5Dm2’s design (and initial spec) flaws.

Being an 5Dm2 serious user (not a pro at any rate!) for the past year, I haven’t encountered any AF focusing problems (since I have only used the center AF point in 80% or more of my shots), while ISO noise isn’t an issue since I rarely blow the JPEG Fine images up to A4 sizes or beyond. So the parameters/limitations you presented here will be targets on my next set of tests/verifications.

What I also need to point out is that:
1. AF performance is also coupled to lens focusing, so it’s both body+lens coupling and you’ll need to also assess/critique focusing issues with regards to the L or non-L lenses you’re pairing the body with. So far, my 50mm F/1.2L, 17-40mm F/4 L and 100mm F/2.8 L macro IS haven’t given me any out-of-focus shots (in around a total of 2000 exposures to date). Around 30% of my shots are in ISO 1600-5000 region and under lower light conditions (late evening/dusk/night-time) and there seems to be no serious out-of-focus problems.

The 50mm hunted a bit around artificial lighting conditions (stops around 1.0EV below), so it’s a bit slower. The macro’s AF did “hunt” a bit but after setting the focus limiter properly, that’s taken care of. I’m still testing out with off-center AF points and probably revert if I hit any AF issues esp. in low-light conditions. Will report on that later on.

2. ISO noise doesn’t seem to be as significant as you’d put it, in my brief experience. There’s another comparison with D700 (see: http://www.photographybay.com/2008/12/27/canon-5d-mark-ii-vs-nikon-d700-in-depth-iso-comparison/). While I agree the 5Dm2 in that test’s been given a 1/3EV advantage, the noise signature on D700 didn’t look significantly better. And I agree that we MUST at least compare ISO at equivalent resolutions, to narrow down any/all sensor parameter/post-processing differences.

Cheers!

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Karel Donk April 8th, 2010 at 10:55 pm

Thanks for the comment Joe. If you’ve been using center point only then you won’t experience a lot of issues with the AF system. But like one of the people I mentioned in my post said, then you have to put the subject in the middle of the frame every time or focus/recompose with all the disadvantages that come with that. In this day and age, we should NOT have to put up with such limitations in a $2700 camera, ESPECIALLY NOT when Nikon is able to deliver MUCH (!) better in a camera that costs just as much. There really is no excuse for a 40D ($800) to have a better AF system than the 5D2 ($2700!!!!!!!!!!!).
Also, if you print smaller than A4 it’s even more understandable that you are satisfied because focus errors will be harder to detect. And the same goes for noise.

My opinion is that noise comparisons should be done at 100% image size not equivalent resolutions. This is important if you want the best possible image quality and expect to do cropping later.

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Joe Goh April 9th, 2010 at 2:22 am

Yes, the 5Dm2 AF system does look archaic next to D700’s 3D metering with 51 (!!) AF points. At least, even the 7D’s AF and metering could be better put to use in an FF rather than a crop frame camera worthy of 5D. I wonder… is it really that much more expensive just to put these 2 features into the 5Dm2? I shouldn’t think so, and Canon unfortunately wasted a bit of a golden opportunity win all scores with these improvements.

The focus-then-recompose method using the the center point might not be totally convenient/practical for wildlife, portrait, action/sports at all. I’m guessing, once I test out the Area AF or the fixed point (using the outer points) methods, focusing will be much slower. I’ll get back to you guys on that.

I think the resolution advantage does mean a huge sacrifice in ISO quality. Admittedly pixel peeping and checking actual print-outs are 2 different ways of judging the IQ. I agree we shouldn’t need to do much to get the best quality (that’s the dream promise of pro SLR cameras, right??) Then again, certain people advocates down-sizing images to smooth out the noise. Either way, photographers would have to see what their preferred workflows ought to be, to best use either D700 or the 5Dm2 features. Me, I rather not do too much touch-ups whenever possible 🙂

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Lawrence Dudley April 16th, 2010 at 2:03 pm

I generally use the centre autofocus point and then reframe like others. It’s actually really easy once you get used to it – I’ve never used or wanted the other autofocus points for anything other than Sports photography where you don’t have time to recompose, but then again the 5D Mark II isn’t a sports-camera.

It works amazingly well, and yes it’s quirky but a lot of the people winging about this camera should just get out there and use it instead of complaining – despite it’s little quirks it’s an amazing piece of kit in the right hands.

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J.P.Robertson April 16th, 2010 at 9:20 pm

I’ve just recently purchased the 5DmkII, and it’s first outing was shooting a wedding under some pretty hard lighting conditions. the only bad thing i’ve got to say about the camera is that the off centre points aren’t sensitive enough. Having to focus and recompose can get pretty old pretty, quick, especially when things start to move at a decent pace.
The RAW image quality is fantastic, even upto ISO3200, and as with all high ISO shots, noise is generally not an issue if you nail your exposure in camera.

I love the camera otherwise.

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gregorylent April 18th, 2010 at 1:27 pm

nikon is NOT the answer, based on my auto-focus experience with that brand …

maybe the technology is just too early all around?

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Mark April 19th, 2010 at 5:41 pm

I moved from canon 40d to 5dm2. I agree on the very disappointing autofocus . Suprised that canon shot its self in the foot, by putting this into such a competitive market.

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Darryl May 16th, 2010 at 9:27 am

https://www.lensrentals.com/news/2008.12.22/this-lens-is-soft-and-other-myths.

Just in case another website can’t be listed:

The good news is newer cameras have taken all this into account and the fix is right at your fingertips. The following cameras all have a “lens microcalibration” feature: Canon 1DIII, 1DsIII, 5DII, 50D; Nikon D3, D3x, D300, D700; the Pentax K20D, the Olympus E-30 and E-620, and the Sony A900. I’m surprised at how many people don’t take advantage of this feature – its a bit time consuming to do, but once done each of your lenses is locked in the camera’s memory and it will automatically compensate so that each lens is at a nearly perfect focusing plane whenever you mount it on the camera. I find the feature makes such a huge difference for most of my better lenses that I consider this feature alone makes the upgrade to one of the above bodies worthwhile.

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John May 16th, 2010 at 5:48 pm

it doesn’t work.
True, some lenses need to be calibrated to the camera, but I’ve found with every mark II I’ve tested that you can “micro-calibrate” until you’re blue in the face, but the camera will still not give you sharp images.
I’ve tested this on 4 mark II bodies with 24-105 L, 50 1.4, 85 1.2, 16-35L, 135L.
This camera is a POS. If you already have a prior 5D, KEEP IT.

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Joe September 18th, 2010 at 8:23 am

You all need to learn how to shoot WITHOUT AUTOFOCUS. What have we become ? Machines ? who can not think for themselves. If I offended anyone, I am sorry, but I am stating truth. Joe

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- Karel Donk September 18th, 2010 at 8:52 am
  
  If they put autofocus functionality on the camera, I’m going to expect it to work.
  
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Dan September 18th, 2010 at 11:02 pm

Not sure why your camera sucks, but mine is awesome. Literally, the first thing I did when I got my 5D mkII home, was focus in a dark room (really really dark). With an f4 lens. Guess what, it worked perfectly. (and it’s worked great ever since, with a mixture of pro and personal work)

I also have a 1D mkII, and while it is better at low light focusing, the 5D mkII is no slouch. Not sure what all the complaining is about.

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Adi September 20th, 2010 at 9:04 am

why Nikon bodies seem to have better autofocus than Canon bodies? mainly because they have AF-assist light built into their bodies!

solution: put on a speedlight, and turn off the flash from the menu if you don’t want it.

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Mike September 22nd, 2010 at 6:25 pm

The 5DmkII does what it says on the tin, and it does it well. Yes, the AF system should have been better, given that Canon HAD a 9-point, all cross-type system in the 40D and 50D before the 5DmkII was released. There is no doubt that the D700’s AF system is vastly superior.

Then again, if I shoot Nikon and I want ultra-high resolution full-frame images for the work I do in ample light, I have only one option: the $7200 D3x.

There are always trade-offs; the D700’s trade off is its (relatively) low resolution, the 5DmkII’s is its AF system, and the D3x’s is its ultra-high price.

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Mike September 23rd, 2010 at 9:32 pm

It’s a landscape/studio camera, it doesn’t have fancy autofocus to keep the price down. It’s a fantastic landscape camera you don’t hear any landscape photographers complaining or moving to Nikon.

The only reason Nikon put top end autofocus in cheaper bodies was to play catch up when they were so late to the table with full frame sensors.

What people forget is that Canon are a company and their job first and foremost is to return value to shareholders, their system provides clear upgrade pathways to maximise their profit. And there’s nothing wrong with that.

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Jon Woodbury September 24th, 2010 at 10:10 am

These are the exact reasons I bought the 7D this spring. I saved the $800 difference and got a camera with very good autofocus. I will reevaluate the Mk III when it comes out and see if it merits an upgrade.

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onar olsen October 23rd, 2010 at 1:09 am

I have 5d mk II, had the 7d. happy with both cameras, but AF is not impressing on 5d compared to both canon 7d or nikon d700. But for my shooting style, the 5d mkII has plenty good AF system, when using centre focus point.
I have to say, go out and TRY the gear, and choose the camera for your prefered shooting style.
BTW, 5d mkII has fantastic image quality…

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Steve December 15th, 2010 at 4:48 pm

I was after a FF DSLR recently & discover potn forum, a Canon forum dedicated to Canon gear & use. There were so many 5D2 users on that forum that swear blind that the 5D2 is an awesome camera and that any AF issues were due to user error.
My preference initially was to go with Canon, they had more stuff & were cheaper. That was until I actually tried otu a 5D2 & a D700 in a camera shop. The D700 focused on everything I pointed it at first time, every time. The 5D2 focused once or twice & only in the center. I thought that I was doing something wrong with the camera or with the settings so I gave it to the sales guy who said, ‘everything is ok, you’re doing it right’. I thought jeez! How can they charge so much money for a camera that doesn’t even focus?!?! Who cares what the LCD is like or how many mega pixels it has if it simply won’t AF on anything.
Needless to say that I went with the D700. It’s an awesome camera & the lenses are so sharp. The only dowsnisde I can see with the D700 is that Nikon is always more expensive, they have less models to chose from & the D700 has less resolution but these are a small price to pay to get photos that are in focus.

ANY money spent on photos that can’t be used is wasted money!

Cheers
S

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James March 20th, 2011 at 4:09 am

I have used my 5DMkII for over a year and never have I had a bad word from my clients. They love all my work and I love my work.

Just not sure what this website is about. Dude just sell your stuff and move on. Your excuses fro not selling are lame. “I live in South America so I can’t sell my gear” WTF?? Lame

I have images on billboards that look awesome.

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- Karel Donk March 20th, 2011 at 12:29 pm
  
  Well if you think my reasons for not selling are lame, why don’t you buy it all then? 🙂 I’d be happy to ship you everything as long as you pay me immediately so I can order the replacement Nikon gear at the same time.
  
  Reply
  - James March 25th, 2011 at 10:06 am
    
    Why would I buy something that I already own? Phhhh!! Did you not read my post? Obviously not.
    
    Dude, your photos look great, you probably just are not a good business man if you are not able to earn good money doing what you do and just BUY THE GODDAMN NIKON GEAR!!!!! that you so desperately want.
    
    I make enough to buy Canon, Nikon, whatever the hell I want but I guess I don’t spend hours upon hours maintaining a website of negativity and rants. I spend ALL my time taking photos, reading about taking photos and DOING! This website and the negativity surely must be mentally taxing and affecting your work. Stop letting this situation eat away at you and I am sure your work, finances etc will improve so you can move forward, purchase your coveted Nikon equipment and maybe, just maybe you can be happy.
    
    Reply
    - Karel Donk March 25th, 2011 at 12:26 pm
      
      I think you’re missing the point. I didn’t write all of this just for the sake of being negative, I wrote it to let people know about certain things instead of believing the hype blindly, and also as feedback to Canon Inc. so they know what to change for the next update. When I first started writing these, it was almost like I was alone, the only one bashing the 5D Mark II for its shortcomings. Today, there are many around the web that say the exact same things. Canon needs to up their game now, we’re tired of waiting.
James March 26th, 2011 at 7:06 am

I think you are missing the point. Who are “We’reI”? I am not tired of waiting, I am happy, I love the 5DMK 2, more than happy, in fact, I am in awe of this camera.

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- Karel Donk March 26th, 2011 at 11:08 am
  
  There are those who are happy with their 5D Mark II, and there are many who aren’t happy, a lot of whom have switched to Nikon already. Those are “we’re”.
  
  Reply
Kent June 11th, 2011 at 1:48 am

Shoot manual

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adams June 12th, 2011 at 3:51 am

FOR SALE: Canon EOS 5D Mark II 21MP DSLR Camera

Canon EOS 5D Mark II has a stunning 21.1-megapixel full-frame CMOS sensor with DIGIC 4 Image Processor, a vast ISO Range of 100-6400, plus EOS technologies like Auto Lighting Optimizer and Peripheral Illumination Correction. It supports Live View shooting, Live View HD videos, and more.

PACKAGE CONTENT:

1 Canon EOS 5D Mark II Body
1 Eyecup Eb
1 (EW-EOS5DMKII) Wide Neck Strap
1 (STV-250N) Stereo Video Cable
1 (IFC-200U) USB Interface Cable IFC-200U
1 (LC-E6) Battery Charger
1 (LP-E6) Battery Pack
1 EOS Digital Solution Disk
1 Software Instruction Manual

EMAIL CONTACT: adams_yorke@yahoo.com

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Brent June 20th, 2011 at 2:43 pm

I have to be honest here, I’m a little shocked at how severe the problems are with the 5DmkII.

Years ago I remember trying to decide between Canon or Nikon for my first DSLR and growing up I had always wanted a Canon. After doing lots of research I decided to go with Nikon. After a year went by I started getting asked to do weddings. Out of fear, I felt I needed a high ISO capable camera to cover the dim lit weddings and again I was at a point where I didn’t really have a lot invested in Nikon yet so I still could make the switch to canon if I wanted to. It came down to the D700 and 5DMkII. I lusted over the 5DmkII to be honest, only because many wedding photographers use it with jaw dropping finished results. My mentor uses a 5DmkII….in fact he just replaced his broken 5D (broken shutter) with it. He praises both his 5D and 5DmkII. Well I still went with the D700 and I do love it but looking at all of these gorgeous photos by the 5D and 5DmkII has given me envy at times….grass is greener effect I guess.

I went with him on a dual shoot for a catalog this past Friday working with models and the catalog’s line of clothing. We shot in the afternoon until that night from 2pm to 11pm. He used strobes the whole time until we got out side at dusk and his trigger/receiver setup quit working. He then switched to natural light….no strobes. I noticed he was getting tense and really cussing at his triggers for not working. I ended up getting his triggers back up and working for him but later he told me he was having a hard time AFing and that he was manual focusing that whole time when his triggers failed. He still had great shots to be honest, he just knows its limitations and how to work the camera for his liking.

The 5DmkII still has a mystique and presence with me……I’m not sure where it comes from other than what I hear and see with its results. Its almost like I can tell when a photo was done with the 5DmkII……I don’t know, it just has a good look to it in my opinion. One of these days I’d like to trade him cameras for a day and see what all the fuss is about. I bet he’d get completely stunning shots out of my D700….more so than I could.

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Steve September 6th, 2011 at 8:07 am

I bought the D700 over the 5D MK II because of the auto focus in low light.

That said, there are times when I feel like I might have made the wrong decision purely because there are sooo many Canon users compared to Nikon users. Not because there is anything wrong with the D700, in fact I would say that it’s an absolutely awesome body!
I think I may be a little envious of the higher MP count on the 5DMKII, apprently it gives better detail.

So I suppose reading people’s responses here makes me feel better but still, I bought the D700 very late, the replacement should be out this year or early next year.

Cheers.

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Tom December 23rd, 2011 at 9:03 am

In my opinion the issue is like – 7D is for sport/action shooting, 5D for landscapes/portraits etc. This is Canon’s policy. That’s why I have two bodies – one for action and one for static pictures. Some sais that 5D mkIII will have better AF (like 7D now) – personally I don’t think so. They will make some adjustments for sure but 5D will never have such advanced AF like 7D.

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Nick k April 15th, 2012 at 5:38 am

REALLY need ur help,

im using a 5D mark 2 now, with the 21mm – 105mm, thought this camera would be a great to upgrade to but after reading a lot of what everyone has written i think i have the same problem,

Some of my photos by chance are sharp, some are not at all,
im a glam photographer, my work has been in zoo a couple times,
got some shots where im shooting at F9-12, front shot from hips to head and using single point focus of course focus on the face then lock that in and frame the rest of the photo, i have SO MANY SHOTS where even the distance from chest to face is out of focus. is there something wrong.

i thought it might be coz im standing to close even tho im shooting 65-80 mm,
so i stood back and still no difference.

just over the weekend i was shooting a friends art work, again shooting a F9 or so standing about 2-3meters away, opened up the photos and center is focused but the rest if soft.

i then used a 50mm yesterday, shooting a model, did all sort of shots, shooting at F9-11 most of it coz i was using bare bulb lighing, got a shot where she is laying down, focused on her face im shooting her full body lil bit of an angle focused on her face and her chest if soft.

i give up i dont know what to do,,, i sent my 24-105 away to canon on friday and see what they say… is it the camera or the lens … i need to get this sorted out . thanks for ur time guys.

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Andrew Murphy February 11th, 2013 at 9:03 am

I was so pleased to get my 5Dmk2 at first,. Then it started ,soft focus. No mater what I did it was soft, occasionally it was brilliantly sharp. I only use the pro lenses by the way. The EF 100/400 lens fell off 3 times in 1 day, then I found out it’s happened to many others too yes it broke the lens. In 40 years of cameras I never had this before. Before you start. The lens was on properly all three times. Then there is the EF 24/105 L that has failed 2 times in the last 18 months and told it’s normal to have the auto focus iris replaced as a service item well it’s been 2 times now and I don’t think it normal. I’m off to Africa tomorrow so no time to have it repaired. The soft focus, told by Canon service dept that the lens and camera are within normal limits ?? The exposure mode dial stopped working, new one fitted at my cost etc, etc. 3 years of problems usually while I’m away on holiday and can’t get it fixed.
So, that’s it, I’m finished with Canon. I just can’t lug a heavy camera and lenses around the world if they don’t work. I’m selling all my Canon equipment after it comes back from service and repair and I’m moving to Nikon, enough is enough.
I just hope Nikon are more reliable
PS I had the 5D before the 5Dmk2 and it had a load of faults too, like the mirror fell off, switches failed etc. Twice bitten, not again.

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Andrew Murphy September 16th, 2013 at 11:29 pm

I had enough.
I sold ALL my Canon gear ‘ouch that hurt’ and bought a Nikon D800.
Praise be, now I can relax. Pictures are in focus, not soft or blurry. Everything works as it should.
Biggest problem is re learning all the controls. After 40 years of photography I’ve never been so glad to get rid of a camera.
No need to say more except ‘SHAME ON YOU CANON’ for that disgraceful rip off the 5DmkII camera from hell.

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