Canon EOS 5D review

What you need to know

Reviewed by: Eamon Hickey

Reviewed on: 17 November 2005

Tags: Canon, Canon EOS 5D, image quality, LCD, limitations

We like:

Top-notch, high-resolution images; 35mm-size sensor obviates focal-length conversions; big 64mm LCD; unmatched low-noise images at ISO 1,600 and 3,200

We don't like:

Overall build quality and performance typical of much cheaper cameras; no constant ISO display; images show occasional red fringing around highlight transitions; automatic white balance occasionally inconsistent

CNET UK judgement:

A decent midrange digital SLR camera built around a superb sensor, the Canon EOS 5D delivers great images and the familiar 35mm-film-format shooting experience for a comparatively low (though still hefty) price

Full review:

For some photographers, a sensor the same size as a frame of 35mm film (24mm by 36mm) -- often referred to as full frame -- is the Holy Grail of digital SLR technology. It promises the familiar shooting experience in viewfinder size, in lens angle of view, and in certain aspects of a picture's look. Until now, this object of lust was available only at great expense (£4,000 or more) or in cameras with significant design and performance quirks. But Canon's EOS 5D changes that, combining a 12.8-megapixel, 23.9mm-by-35.8mm CMOS sensor with a competent midsize SLR body for less than half the price of the only full-frame alternative available at this writing, also a Canon, the EOS-1Ds Mark II. Continue Reading...