USING CANON 5D Mk2

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annanku

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dave
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I have recently purchased a canon 5D mk2 with all the kit, flash, decent lens battery pack etc & after 4 months have a love hate relationship with it. Just wandered if anyone felt the same. I have been a pro photographer for 30 years, mainly commercial, but got this camera mainly to push the wedding side. I am very happy & impressed with the quality (which is mainly why I bought it) & even more impressed at high iso speeds & the usm stability on the lens, however on using the kit, whatever the setting I use, (apart from manual) can never seem to quite get the light balance right whether outside or in, images are either too dark, too light, too much flash, too little. I have played around with the settings but to no avail, I do get acceptable results on the program setting but when using flash you are restricted to full open aperature. The auto setting with multiple focus points also to me is unreliable & often gives wrong focusing results. I have now resigned myself to using the manual setting with my old Metz ct which gives me the fantastic results I want, which I love. I just feel as I’ve bought an all singing & dancing kit with a pile of gadgets & settings that restrict your photography. I don’t think its a camera fault, maybe a ‘me’ fault or my old professional ways getting in the way or perhaps need to enrol in the Canon university to get a degree in using this kit. I don’t know if I am expecting too much from the equipment, but any suggestions or comments would be apprecited.


www.4tography.co.uk
 
it just takes time to get your head around the metering modes, ettl is a whole other kettle of fish but will get more repeatable with use as you come to understand it.

I work manual a lot because its reliable and I do a lot of ocf work

if you think of it as a sensor platform first you'll get the same shots you got on film but better in low light, then start trialling new features and clever stuff so you can work the exposure compensation almost automatically
 
Hi dave, welcome to the forum. Given your depth of experience I am sure you fully appreciate the concept of metering and exposure compensation. Whilst the 5DMKII may be appear to be more of a gadget than a camera, it is a beautiful camera to use (once you have the hang of it). I think the problem is that Canon generally expects a pro to use the camera and therefore a pro would know what to do when, but even a pro as yourself may need a little guidance here and there, which doesn't come with the camera.

I think any DSLR if left to its own devices will over/under expose in contrasty scenes. My advice would be to stick the camera into AV mode, set your aperture+iso and then play with the jog dial on the back to increase/decrease exposure comp according to your scene. Also if you haven't already, have a look at what metering mode the camera is set up on. Everyone has their preferences, but if you are accidently set to spot metering you may find that the variation in results is due to the camera metering from a smaller area and taking more of a subjective assessment on the 'right' exposure.
 
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Thanks for your promp replies D & H, that makes me feel better, I now think theres a master camera in there waiting to get out & I'll take your advice. I'm perhaps guilty of not spending more 'get to know it time' I think hsuffyan you have hit the nail on the head when you say Canon expect you to be a technical equipment expert as well as a photographer & should put a little more guidance in the instruction manual. I think I'll send them a letter & see what they say !!

Thanks again, & what a great forum this when you're in a lonely profession.:thumbs:
 
Hi,
I have had my 5Dii for about six months and I still am discovering little secrets about it! My two favourite discoveries [and its only because I don't read the manual].

1] I had Af problems in low light and found if you deactivate the hidden centre points my hit rate improved a great deal. The cameras hidden AF points around the centre AF point pick up on better contrasting points, not neccesarily what you are trying to focus on.

2] Safety shift, works on AV or TV bloody brilliant! Set on say 1/250 and it will take at that if the light is good enough, increase apeture if its really good and drop speed if the light drops off.

Stick with it they are a fantastic bit of kit!

Dunc
 
we're here to help :D I'm pretty sure a 5d2 has more processing power than apollo so it does take some getting used to

what were you running before?
 
LOL. The appollo's probably not as complex.

Since posting I have spent a lot more time with the kit, rather than just doing a job & getting to know it as I go along, which I think may have been the problem, I've investigated every, setting, changed & tweaked things, took loads of shots, & trusted the camera rather than my instincts, & at last seeing a masterpiece emerging behind the switches & dials & can now see endless possibilities with this stuff. I previously had Nikons & Fujis but mostly used them on manual as I never completely trusted them, obviously something inbred from my film days. Thanks for your comments, if I had not read them, I would have probably not moved on to appreciate this gear.

Cheers
 
it might be worth picking up a guide book, the are mostly for new people but have a lot of technical detail in them as long as you can skip the simple stuff
 
Good idea Dave. I've had a look on line & theres quite a few manuals, so I will purchase one & begin my studies ! (hope my clients don't discover I'm learning how to use a camera)

Thanks for taking the time to help, much appreciated
 
meh you're learning the technical not the photographic, and if you're worried just use it on manual for paid work and learn with your personal stuff :D
 
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