canon5dmarkII

Matt Williams

Cameras That Changed Photography Forever

I write about a lot of things here at PetaPixel -- reviews, guides, technical articles, opinion pieces -- but one of my favorite topics to write about is the history of photography. As an avid user and collector of vintage cameras and lenses, I have passionately absorbed as much knowledge about their history as possible over many years. Like studying world history, there is much value in understanding where we came from and what got to us where we are now.

David Crewe

This Canon 5D Mark II Has Taken Over 2.2 Million Shutter Clicks

Anyone who has owned a DSLR camera has likely heard that most of them are rated for 150,000 to 250,000 shutter actuations (clicks) before they are expected to need maintenance and/or replacement. YouTuber FoxTailWhipz (AKA Adam Harig) managed to one-up that number by finding a Canon 5D Mark II with over 2.2 million shutter clicks!

DL Cade

Opinion: A Used Canon 5D Mark II is the Best Camera for Beginners

Photographer and occasional PetaPixel contributor Usman Dawood has put together a video and camera showcase that seeks to prove a simple, possibly overlooked point: the best beginner camera for aspiring professionals isn't a high-end APS-C system... it's a used Canon 5D Mark II.

Michael Zhang

What a Failed DSLR Shutter Looks Like After 100,000+ Photos

Just as how cars can fail after a certain number of miles, camera shutters can go belly up after a certain number of actuations (i.e. flapping open and closed for an exposure). If you've ever wondered what a heavily used DSLR shutter can look like after it bites the dust, today's your lucky day.

DL Cade

Stock Site Stats Reveal the Most Popular Cameras Among Stock Photographers

About a week ago, the stock photography website Dreamstime got in touch with us to offer us some exclusive information. Having recently added a "search-by-camera" feature, they had compiled a huge amount of statistical data on the most popular cameras being used by their 150,000+ contributing photographers.

Well, keeping in mind that Francis Bacon once said "knowledge is power," we told them to go ahead and send the stats over. What we received was a veritable smörgåsbord of interesting (and perhaps useful) information.

DL Cade

Magic Lantern Team Discovers 2K RAW Video Capability on the 5D Mark II and III

In what may very well be the most exciting Magic Lantern development ever, the team has discovered a RAW DNG output in live view on the 5D Mark II and 5D Mark III. What this means is that, in the near future, 5D Mark II and III owners may be able to record crystal clear 2K RAW video that blows H.264 output out of the water and then some.

Michael Zhang

Canon 5D Mark II Goes Under the Knife, Emerges as a Wannabe Leica

San Diego-based photographer Robert Benson had a curious problem a while back. He had a $6,500 Leica Noctilux 50mm f/1 lens, but no camera to use it on. Not being able to afford the Leica M9 at the time (and unsure if he wanted to ever buy one), he decided to make massive modifications to his Canon 5D Mark II so that it would accept any Leica M lens without needing an adapter. The frankencamera above is what emerged from the brand-change operation.

Michael Zhang

Canon High-MP DSLR May Have a 1D X-esque Body, 5D Mark II On Way Out?

Two interesting Canon rumors are currently floating around. The first has to do with the 46MP DSLR that Canon is reportedly field testing and may be planning to unveil in late October. Northlight Images received a tip saying the camera's body will be 1D-X-esque:

In an update to the high MP info, we're told that a camera will eventually appear in a 1D X derived body, in the same way as the 1D C. The information said that the actual designation was not known, but it would essentially be a '1 series'. There was also a warning that there would be a long wait between any 'preview' and any cameras being annouced and subsequently shipping.

If true, this means Canon is going for the larger pro-style body rather than following after Nikon's 36.3MP D800.

Michael Zhang

Macro Shots Using a Canon 5D Mark II with a 4×5 Large Format Camera

London-based photographer David Wilman recently did some experiments in which he used a Canon 5D Mark II as a digital back for his MPP 4x5 large format camera. He placed his lens-less 5D at the back of the camera at the film plane and then placed a black cloth over the two cameras to prevent any light from spilling onto the sensor. Light from the Schneider Kreuznach Xenar 4.5/150mm lens entered straight into the open mirror box of the DSLR without any physical link between the two cameras. Wilman was surprised to discovered that this pairing produced quite a respectable macro setup.

Michael Zhang

Oops: Nikon Uses Stolen Canon 5D Mark II Footage for D800 Promo Video

Nikon caused a stir this past weekend after it was revealed that a promo video shown during the D800's launch in Bangkok actually contained footage that was both used without permission and that wasn't even captured with a Nikon D800. After a recording of the promo was uploaded to YouTube in mid-February, people began coming forward with reports that Nikon had used their videos without permission.

Michael Zhang

Siri Ported to the Canon 5D Mark II?

A Swedish hacker and robotics student named Björn Mabrö is claiming that he has successfully developed a custom firmware for the Canon 5D Mark II that adds Apple's Siri voice assistant to the DSLR. Mabrö claims that the hack allows the camera to respond to 124 different voice commands that control everything from the shutter to changing values in settings.

Michael Zhang

Mountain Biking Photos Captured with a Chest-Mounted DSLR

Many extreme athletes these days use helmet-mounted HD cameras for photos and videos captured from a first person point of view, but photographer Justin Olsen does things a little differently: he uses a chest-mounted DSLR. Using a custom rig created for him by a local sewing shop, Olsen snaps his unique photos using a 15mm on a Canon 1D Mark III or a 5D Mark II, and a PocketWizard to trigger the shutter wirelessly.

Michael Zhang

Lens Taken From Vintage Camera Used on Canon 5D, Makes Beautiful Photos

Reddit user Bryce Hoeper recently broke an old Zeiss Ikon Contina L he purchased for $7 from Goodwill after it took a nasty tumble down some stairs. After being bummed for a while, he stumbled upon Timur Civan's experiment with sticking a 102-year old lens on a modern DSLR, and decided to attempt the same thing. He spent a few hours taking apart the camera body to extract the lens, then super glued it to a Canon body cap that he cut a hole in, allowing the lens to be mounted to his Canon 5D Mark II.

Michael Zhang

Passenger Shoots Time Lapse of Flight Between SF and Paris

This time-lapse video was shot by Nate Bolt using a Canon 5D Mark II, a 16-35mm lens, a tripod, and an intervalometer on an Air France flight from San Francisco to Paris. The camera snapped a photo every 2-30 seconds throughout the 11 hour flight, roughly capturing one photo every two miles of the journey.

Michael Zhang

Canon 5D Mark II Used to Convert 8mm Footage to Digital

Cinematographer James Miller spent two years developing a technique for converting 8mm footage to digital by beaming it directly onto the sensor of a Canon 5D Mark II. He replaced the bulb on an old projector with LED lights, and used elements from a disassembled lens to focus the light. You can read a step-by-step walkthrough of this project here.

Michael Zhang

Man Uses a Canon 5D Mark II as a Secret Video Camera in North Korea

When's the last time you saw some amateur video shot from inside North Korea? There's a good chance the answer is never, given how secretive the country is and how tight the policies are for what outsiders are allowed to do. Photojournalist Steve Gong, however, captured some really high quality video from inside the country using a Canon 5D Mark II.