Canon's EOS 5D is a 12.8 megapixel digital SLR with a full-frame sensor. This covers the same area as standard 35mm film, allowing lenses to deliver the same field of view they would if mounted on a 35mm film camera. By contrast, most digital SLRs have physically smaller sensors that result in the focal length of lenses effectively being multiplied by 1.5x or 1.6x. This means the EOS-5D is excellent news for fans of wide-angle photography.
Canon is currently the only company producing full-frame digital SLRs, and the EOS 5D represents its first 'affordable' model. However, these physically large sensors remain expensive to produce, so while the EOS 5D may be considerably cheaper than the whopping £5999 of the full-frame 16.7 megapixel 1Ds Mark II, £2539 is still rather a lot of money. Some dealers are already discounting it to around £2000, though. The EOS 5D is compatible with all EF lenses, but can't use the EF-S models, which are designed for 'cropped' bodies.
The EOS 5D's new CMOS sensor delivers images with 4368 x 2912 pixels and sufficient detail to be reproduced at around 15 x 10in at 300dpi. It can record images at three different resolutions, each with two Jpeg compression levels. Alternatively, you can save full-resolution images in Raw format, accompanied by a Jpeg recorded at any of the six Jpeg settings.
Not only is this Canon's most affordable full-frame digital SLR, but it's the smallest, too. Previously, you'd need to lug around the massive 1Ds Mark II, which measured 156 x 157 x 80mm and weighed more than 1.5kg with its battery. By contrast, at 152 x 113 x 75mm and weighing just under 900g with battery, the EOS 5D is a much more portable proposition. Indeed, it's only slightly larger and heavier than the EOS 20D.
The EOS 5D takes Compact Flash cards and supports Microdrives. Best-quality Jpegs measure from 3MB to 8MB, while Raw files weigh in around 14MB each. Canon supplies its excellent Digital Photo Professional software for processing Raw files.
You compose and focus your shots using the optical viewfinder, which, thanks to the full-frame sensor, delivers a far bigger view than other digital SLRs. It may be no greater than the view through a proper 35mm SLR, but looks massive when you're used to digital SLRs with cropped sensors.
Happily, Canon has upgraded its usual measly 1.8in digital SLR screen to one that measures a decent 2.5in. Sporting 230,000 pixels, it's detailed, too. It's rather dim at the default settings and suffers from reflections under bright conditions, though.
It may not feature the same environmental sealing as the 1Ds Mark II, but the EOS 5D still has excellent build quality and ergonomics. You navigate most of the menus using an intuitive command dial on the back, while a small joystick scrolls around images during playback. However, as it's a high-end body, there's no pop-up flash, just a hotshoe and PC sync port for external lights.
There aren't any scene presets, either, only the traditional auto, program, manual and aperture- and shutter-priority modes. Shutter speeds range from 1/8000 of a second to 30 seconds with a bulb option, while sensitivity can be set from 50 to 3200 ISO. The camera supports both sRGB and Adobe RGB colour spaces, and the continuous-shooting mode can capture up to 60 Jpegs at three frames per second.
In use, the EOS 5D handles like a dream: it's solid enough to take the knocks while responding quickly to any situation. The full-frame sensor breathes new life into ultra-wide lenses such as the 17-40mm, although it's unforgiving on lower-quality optics. At the telephoto end, a 300mm lens delivers a 300mm field of view, rather than one equivalent to 480mm, but there's sufficient pixels to crop if need be.
The images captured by this camera are highly detailed and are only out-resolved by Canon's own 1Ds Mark II, although Nikon's D2X delivers roughly the same resolution. Where the EOS 5D and D2X differ, though, is their physical sensor size. Not only does the EOS 5D have a wide-angle advantage, but the physically larger pixels enable it to enjoy lower noise levels at high sensitivities.
All in all, the EOS 5D is an impressive camera, but the big question is whether you really need a full-frame sensor, as it still comes at a considerable price premium. If you're into wide-angle photography or work with high ISO sensitivities, it represents an ideal choice and is much cheaper than the 1Ds Mark II, too.
On the other hand, it's almost twice the price of the EOS 20D, and Canon's likely to announce the 20D's successor in March. It's only speculation, but we suspect it will have similar resolution to the EOS 5D but at a much lower price, thanks to a cropped sensor.
In the meantime, though, there's plenty of former 35mm SLR owners for whom the Holy Grail is an affordable full-frame digital SLR. While the EOS 5D certainly isn't cheap, it's much more accessible both in price and build than the 1Ds Mark II, and will delight serious photographers.
It's accessible both in price and build, and will delight serious photographersAuthor: Gordon Laing
Canon EOS 5D