Canon EOS 5D camera announcement

Posted by Scott Laird Mon, 22 Aug 2005 13:12:17 GMT

Canon announced the rumored EOS 5D today, along with the EOS 1D mk II N, a new flash, and a couple new lenses.

DPReview has details:

The 5D looks exactly like the rumors suggested–full frame, 12.8 MP, 3 FPS, 9 AF points. It’s essentially a cross between the original 1Ds and the 20D. Its buffer holds 60 JPEG frames or 17 raw frames. Canon has 4 sample images available, but their site is slammed and I haven’t been able to view them yet. It’s priced at $3,299.

The 1D mk II N (nice name, Canon) is a slight update to their top-of-the line sports body. It still has the same 1.3x 8 MP sensor, but they added:

  • A bigger LCD (2.5” vs 2.0”)
  • Slightly bigger and faster buffers – 48 JPEG images vs 40
  • The ability to write RAW and JPEG to simultaneously to different flash cards, so RAW ends up on CF while JPEG ends up on the SD card, or vice-versa.
  • A new “picture style” setting that presumably only matters if you’re shooting JPEGs in the camera and aren’t planning on editing them much.
  • Slightly lower price: $3,999

I wouldn’t be surprised to see some of these features end up in a firmware upgrade for the current 1D and 1Ds mk II sometime in the near future.

There are also two new lenses, the 24-105/4L IS and the 70-300/4.0-5.6 IS. The 24-105/4L has been on a lot of people’s wishlists for years–Canon had f4 versions of their professional wide zoom (the 17-40/4L) and their long zoom (the 70-200/4L), but not their middle zoom (the 24-70/2.8L). They finally filled in that gap in their lineup, even adding image stabilization to the mix. I have the 24-70/2.8L, and it’s far and away my favorite lens, but the 24-105/4L is tempting, if only for the longer reach and IS. It’s slower, but that may not be a big issue for me.

The 70-300/4.0-5.6 IS is a replacement for Canon’s older 75-300 IS lens. The 75-300 was Canon’s first IS lens, but it had a reputation for lousy optics. So presumably the new model is a “sucks less” replacement using a more modern image stabilization system and better glass.

Neither of the lens announcement include pricing information. I suspect that the 24-105/4L will be around $1000 initially, dropping to $800 after 6 months or so, while the 70-300 will be around $550, dropping to closer to $400 next year. Those are total guesses, based on prior experience with Canon’s pricing. The 24-105L can’t be much over $1000 for now, because the 24-70/2.8L sells for around $1150, and the 24-105L is designed to be cheaper then the 24-70L.

Updates: Rob Galbraith makes some good points about the 5D, and points that it’s a bit slower then the 20D.

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Canon EOS 5D camera rumors

Posted by Scott Laird Wed, 10 Aug 2005 14:28:50 GMT

There are a couple rumors floating around this morning about a new Canon dSLR, the 5D. Canon’s model numbering is reversed from most manufacturers–lower numbers signify higher-end models, so this would be a model above the current Canon 20D but below the 1D series.

The spec sheet that I’ve seen suggests that it’s a full-frame camera that takes 12.8 MP images at 3 FPS. It looks like a cross between the 20D (same AF and metering system) and the original 1DS (same sensor size and similar resolution). The rumors put the price around EUR 3500, which usually ends up meaning that B&H will be selling it for between $3000 and $3500. That’s a fantastic price for a full-frame camera, but personally, I’d probably rather buy the 1D mk II–it’s basically the same price, it has a slightly smaller sensor and slightly lower resolution, but it has 2.5x the frame rate, an amazingly fast SD interface, and it’s built like a tank.

So is this a rumor or yet another leak on Canon’s part? Generally, new Canon cameras don’t leak until a day or two before the official announcement, so we should know what they’re up to by the end of the week.

Update: According to TechWhack, the 5D will be announced on August 26th. They say that it can buffer *60* JPEG frames or 17 RAW frames. At 3 FPS, that’s 20 seconds of shooting in JPEG. If I was in the market for a new camera (which I probably would be, if I wasn’t also in the market for a new PowerBook and new phone), I’d probably at least look at the 5D, especially if they manage to get the high-ISO noise even lower this time around. The frame rate is kind of slow, but the massive buffer makes me feel a lot better about the camera.

Update: Canon has announced it. See my newer Canon 5D page for details.

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