5D Mark II Build Quality/ Reliability

Hi there,

im thinking of upgrading to the 5D mark II. Would appreciate any views on build, reliability, weather sealing. Anyone used it in extreme conditions etc. views much appreciated

The 5D2 is a close second to a 1 series for everyday use

Build quality seems solid - able to take the normal abuse - does not feel plasticy

Certainly a step-up from the Canon consumer models.

No issues with dust/sand ingress to date, despite shooting in dessert conditions.

Haven't had it out in the rain yet!
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Mine feels solid and has been 100% reliable over many weeks in the field during my 1.5 yrs of ownership. My use sees a lot of dust blowing but so far no rain. I figured the camera isn't a 1 series so it's not built to be really weather sealed. I have rain covers in case I'm out during more than a 'mist' sort of rain.

It seems ok with dust but I'd not test it in really heavy rains. If you need that, you need a 1.
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-paul

Has endured dust,slight rain(not torrential downpour),the occasional tossing around.

Body feels considerably more solid than my previous 30D,all magnesium construction,you get what you pay for.
Certainly not EOS-1 level but close enough
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dougster1979 said:

Hi there,

im thinking of upgrading to the 5D mark II. Would appreciate any views on build, reliability, weather sealing. Anyone used it in extreme conditions etc. views much appreciated

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Have you seen this? Says quite a bit about durability.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1tTBncIsm8

It is designed for high end amateur use and not weather proofed to the degree that the 7D or 1D series cameras are. For most people in most situations it is more than adequate. If you are shooting outdoor events it can be covered with body armour or protected with plastic bags but in the long run you would be better off buying a 1D if reliability is a critical concern.

There is a reason for the big price difference between the 5D Mark II and the 1Ds.

...just totally inelegant in almost every regard, especially the CF compartment door that creaks and moans during normal handling. The ease with which dust gets under the top deck LCD also doesn't instill confidence in its weather sealing. With the build quality of a 50D, a sensor that is better on paper than in practice, and a steep $2500 price tag, the 5DII is in my opinion easily the most compromised and least satisfying camera in Canon's lineup.

Good luck.

calson said:

It is designed for high end amateur use and not weather proofed to the degree that the 7D or 1D series cameras are. For most people in most situations it is more than adequate. If you are shooting outdoor events it can be covered with body armour or protected with plastic bags but in the long run you would be better off buying a 1D if reliability is a critical concern.

There is a reason for the big price difference between the 5D Mark II and the 1Ds.

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Kabe Luna

http://www.garlandcary.com

I was in spray and general mist while out shooting race horses at dawn. Not raining directly, but there was that gentle dew mist that seems make things a little damp.

I tried hard to keep the 5D2 dry, with it spending most of the time tucked inside my jacket, but somehow the moist air got to it and it died. It dried out and started working again, but my trust in it was broken. I've moved on.

The 5D2 is NOT sealed enough to cope with outdoor lifestyles across the four seasons. Poke around the battery and card hatch and it is pretty obvious that this is not a weathersealed camera.

But for many, many people this does not really matter. I'm sure that 95% of users if they are honest are not likely to be out shooting in the same kind of weather where they may be wearing showerproof clothing.

Personally, I get annoyed with Canon over this issue. They are , in my view, deliberately handicapping the 5D2 so that it does not reduce 1D sales. After all, Pentax manages to make very weatherproof cameras for less money. If Canon wanted to make the 5D range better sealed, they could. A few rubber gaskets are not going to break the bank. Canon choose not to make the 5 this way.

My 5DII is relatively new with only 4 months of age now, I haven't tested the camera in adverse weather condition, but here's what I can say compared to a 50D (which is supposedly not better than 5DII's build).

50D is pretty tough - I have used it in -10ºC temperature for quite a bit when I was in Norway early this year. There were occasional snow showers, too. I wasn't using any weather sealed lens too. I guess you can prevent all the bad things from happening by regularly wiping the camera/lens when it's wet. My 5DII so far has only been exposed to light rains, and it's doing fine with no negative effect whatsoever.

From my observation I guess we can conclude that you'll have nothing to worry about in this issue, unless you're going to a much adverse weather condition now and then.

I own two; one is almost two years old and I bought a second in January. The 5DII is a very fine machine suitable for pros producing spectacular image quality. I have banged my 5DII cameras around pretty good (dropped, banged into walls, stored in car trunk) with absolutely no problems.

I haven't gotten them wet yet and there are wildly differing reviews on rain issues. Some people get a 5DII completely drenched and frozen with no problem, others seem to barely get them damp before they pack up.

The 5DII cameras are rugged and solid, but they do not match the 1d series for ultimate build quality: dropping them down flights of concrete steps, drenched and frozen at football games, shooting tens of thousands of frames at a time, hammering nails.

Still, the price, image and build quality is excellent for this working pro. http://hartleyphotos.com

Thanks for all your replys, really helpful.

without a single hiccup. Granted, I know better than to open any of the ports (CF door, battery chamber), and dried the top plate before pressing any of the buttons, so it was a "best case" scenario. With the same level of care, I never experienced a problem with any camera I've owned in the rain. This weekend, though, during a cancer benefit walk in Bellevue, WA where it was raining consistently for more than two hours, I decided to torture-test my Nikon D700 to see what it's made of. I made no efforts to keep the camera dry, and I made use of any external controls I needed to get the job done without drying off the camera. No problems at all, except keeping rain off the front element of the lens. Subjectively, I feel much better about the weatherization of my D700 than I did about my 5D or 5DII. But that IS just subjective, since they all have survived about the same exposure.

Too bad about yours. Seems the quality of the 5DII in terms of sensitivity to moisture may vary as much as its freedom from banding/pattern noise. Unfortunately, Canon is unlikely to repair the camera under warranty.

topstuff said:

I was in spray and general mist while out shooting race horses at dawn. Not raining directly, but there was that gentle dew mist that seems make things a little damp.

I tried hard to keep the 5D2 dry, with it spending most of the time tucked inside my jacket, but somehow the moist air got to it and it died. It dried out and started working again, but my trust in it was broken. I've moved on.

The 5D2 is NOT sealed enough to cope with outdoor lifestyles across the four seasons. Poke around the battery and card hatch and it is pretty obvious that this is not a weathersealed camera.

But for many, many people this does not really matter. I'm sure that 95% of users if they are honest are not likely to be out shooting in the same kind of weather where they may be wearing showerproof clothing.

Personally, I get annoyed with Canon over this issue. They are , in my view, deliberately handicapping the 5D2 so that it does not reduce 1D sales. After all, Pentax manages to make very weatherproof cameras for less money. If Canon wanted to make the 5D range better sealed, they could. A few rubber gaskets are not going to break the bank. Canon choose not to make the 5 this way.

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Kabe Luna

http://www.garlandcary.com

Watching this and laughing my Ass off ! I think this guy has watched Top Gear a few times and is trying to emulate Jeremy Clarkson and the boy's.

I had to pay about US$700 to get the mainboard replaced after shooting in moderate rainfall. Both the top and rear LCD panels badly fogged up. I was quite miffed, as I never would have taken it out in the rain if Canon hadn't bragged up the weather sealing. I should have read the forums first for unbiased information. The 10mm/3 min rainfall rate sounded impressive on paper, not just because that is heavy rain but also the mere fact that Canon would even mention a specific number. Now poorer and wiser, I won't be taking it out in the rain again.

I've had a 5DII since last December. The camera's quite solid and is a real workhorse. Maybe they changed the CF door more recently as mine is thick, solid and I can't make it creak no matter how I try.

I hope I haven't fallen into a false sense of security, but I never even worry about reliability of weather sealing. I shot in snowstorms many times last winter, I just brushed off the snow when started to accumulate too much. I've also spent a couple of weekends shooting on a 35 foot sailboat off the coast of Boston in windy sea-spray conditions with no problems. I was careful to clean the salt water off the camera when I got home.

The only rain I've encountered was light, so I can't speak to that. I would be cautious about shooting any camera in heavy rain. Even the highest end pro models will not be covered under warranty if there's any water damage.

So far so good. Excellent clean images at most all ISOs, and no sign of banding in any of my prints. But you should purchase from a dealer like B@H so you can exchange within 15 days if you get a bad copy.

Sal

I shoot a 5d2, 1d2n and have a couple of xxd cams. I would not rely on 5d2 weather sealing in anything more than a mist or light snow where it could be wiped down constantly. I live in a rain forest in Alaska. I used to shoot my xxd cams in some pretty serious weather. I never had a problem. But moisture is tricky stuff. The more I read and thought about it I decided I was tempting fate and it was only a matter of time until some thing was damaged - hence the 1d2n - and I am careful with that.
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I've used mine very heavily for a month shy of two years now. I don't treat it all that gently, though I don't bash it into rocks either. (It has scratches and nicks...)

I use it frequently in outdoor environments ranging from seashore to desert to high mountains, and I frequently backpack with it. I have used it in "California cold," which means temperatures into the low twenties and teens. (Folks from real cold areas will scoff at that!

Mine has been completely reliable with this use. While you can get cameras that are more sturdily constructed (e.g. - the expensive 1-series bodies) you pay a cost in weight/bulk and dollars that doesn't make sense for me. And do keep in mind that just because something is "more solidly built" that doesn't mean that it isn't solid enough for your use. (Though I don't know, since you didn't describe the specifics in your post.)

The 5D2 is not "sealed" in the usual sense of the word. It does employ some dust/water seals but not to the level of the 1-series bodies. I have used mine in light rain, mist, snow, and even flying dust in the desert. But I am still careful to minimize this exposure and/or keep careful track of it. For example, when I shoot in the wet - as I did for two days a week ago in the eastern Sierra - I don't let the camera become soaked, and I do towel it off from time to time.

If you are shooting in truly "extreme" conditions - by which I assume you mean heavy rain, heavy snowfall, extreme dust storms, and so forth - you may want something that is better sealed... and a set of sealed lenses with filters attached to complete the seals. (Though good luck changing lenses in such conditions!)

If your needs are somewhat less than truly "extreme," the 5D2 may well work for you.

I don't know anything about "creaking CF doors," though I've seen comments on that. I wonder if it is that some people are overly sensitive or what. I'm perplexed by that one. I'm also perplexed by the "least satisfying camera" comment, though I guess that is a subjective thing. For the photography I do, the 5D2 is an outstanding performer. If I lost mine tomorrow... I'd replace it with another 5D2.

Dan

dougster1979 said:

Hi there,

im thinking of upgrading to the 5D mark II. Would appreciate any views on build, reliability, weather sealing. Anyone used it in extreme conditions etc. views much appreciated

Click to expand...

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G Dan Mitchell - SF Bay Area, California, USA
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I completely agree with Dan. The 5D2 has been nothing but a spectacular performer for me and I would replace it in a heartbeat. I have been careful (but not paranoid) about keeping it dry in the rain and it has never skipped a beat. I have used it in light rain but try to wipe it down with a dry cloth periodically. I feel that there is just no need to take a chance. $3400 for my 'kit' was not exactly chump change. I recently returned from 10 days in Maine and had taken about 2000 pictures. In terms of exposure, colors and focus sharpness there was hardly a bad one in the bunch.

A few examples here are on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/21507571@N04/5073784582/in/photostream/
At least for me, the 5D2 has been a remarkable and reliable tool.

Mike Whalen
http://www.capitalareaphoto.com

Overall I am very pleased with my 5DII and consider it a fine product. I shoot with it mostly in the studio and occasionally outdoors, though never under adverse conditions (I'm too much of a wimp to stand out in the rain or extreme cold taking pictures )

That being said, last week - completely out of the blue - I started getting Err 30 messages. I tried all the suggested fixes and none of them helped. The camera is 11 months old and just shy of 13,000 activations.

The camera needed to be serviced. I contacted the CPS hotline and they setup a warranty repair. It did cost me $20 to FedEx the camera to the NJ facility but I had the camera back by the end of the week (4 days total). From what I could make out from the cryptic repair order, they replaced all the circuit boards and some other items. The camera works fine now.

I did have two jobs last week, but I also have a second camera (60D) and the truth is, I would have probably used the 60D for those jobs anyway (product shots), so the 5DII's unavailability didn't hamper me.

I was a little surprised by the problem, but I am learning to roll with such issues and not take them personally, esp. since everything worked out OK. This little hiccup doesn't change my opinion that the 5D II is a fine piece of gear, subject, like all modern electronics equipment, to occasional problems.
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24Peter said:

I am learning to roll with such issues and not take them personally, esp. since everything worked out OK.

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A great bit of advice that many in these forums should read and take to heart.

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G Dan Mitchell - SF Bay Area, California, USA
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