OK, I'll add my $.02 to this thread as a 5Dii owner, and critic. I love the camera, but it's not w/o it's faults, but this thread is FILLED with misinformation. Some from obvious Nikon fans, some just because canon didn't explain the differences very well (the canon boards are also filled with misinformation on this)... Anyway:
The autofocus is the same, which was rather slow, the shooting speed is the same, the ISO range is the same, and other than that the only thing they changed for the IQ was adding the Digic 4.
When it first came out I thought, "Where's the new camera?"
the AF IS NOT the same. It has the same sensor layout and same sensors, but the logic/processors driving it is much faster. I've owned 2 1 series bodies (1D, 1Dii) and a 40D and 5D. The AF in the 5Dii is much improved over the 5D at all points. The outer points ARE NOT CROSS TYPE which is a disappointment, but they do work now where the original 5D didn't. I shoot inside @ 3200 routinely and can use cross type points now. The center point is faster as well. With the old 5D I NEVER used the outer points inside because they were terrible. The 40D has cross types, and they are better than a 5D, but they still were not fast enough for shooting my son. The 5Dii's outer points are faster when the contrast is "right" for them, but still don't always work.
The key thing to note here, and I'm not alone on this, is the 5D and 5Dii are considered by a lot of canon shooters to have the most accurate AF on the center point. Yes the 1 series has 45 points and they work in less light, but with a 5D's center point your accuracy (and keeper rate) go up.
The shooting speed has gone up to 3.9 from 3. Not fast, but certainly fast enough for most things provided you don't spray and pray. Timing is everything and that's where the valid speed complaints lie with they 5Dii... It's got a slightly longer shutter delay and a longer viewfinder blackout. You adjust to it easily, but if you shoot 2 canon bodies it can be weird switching back and forth in quick succession.
This was already covered, but the ISOs have changed. The old 5D had 1600 native and pushed to 3200. The 5Dii has 6400 native and 12800 &25600 pushed. I tend to stick to the native ISOs and 3200 is VERY CLEAN and 6400 is very usable. Beyond that you get banding. This is at FULL RESOLUTION, when back off to "only" 10mp sRAW1 it's cleaner.
As for IQ, the 5D was a bit of a legendary camera and tons of canon people said it was "magical" even... My feeling on this is that the 5D has a very good AA filter, and most digital shooters weren't used to the DOF with FF. So less DOF with the sharper parts being sharper really gave it's images that "pop". The 5Dii also seems to have this and it's AA filter is strong enough I've seen moire in some images which IMHO is a great thing. I'd rather have too sharp and deal with moire than have images like my 40D produces (overly softened by it's AA filter).
Also, as a former 5D shooter, I loved that body so much, it was hard to upgrade. But the 5Dii is really a sum of it's parts. New menus, new screen, new AF processing, a self cleaning sensor (VERY IMPORTANT on a FF DSLR, I had to clean my 5D once every other month), liveview, 6400 native, 21mp.... the list goes on and on. And all that and they lowered it's starting MSRP? It's a hell of a camera for the money, and the sum of it's parts really makes it a great tool.
I was interested in buying the 5Dmk2 but once I heard Canon didn't update the focusing I lost interest. I didn't care about anything else other than the ISO performance but I'm not going to buy one until the focusing is updated.
focusing is updated. See above, and for god sakes USE ONE... It's not perfect, it could really use all cross types, but it's better than most people give it credit for.
That, and it's going to be slow as a dog at 4 fps. Also, with a price tag of $8000 I think it's better to keep it indoors or at parties and weddings. Sports photogs and journalist usually work the hell out of their gear, and damaging an $8000 body would ruin anyone's day.
the 1Ds mark III is 21mp and 5fps.
The 1D mark III is 10mp and 10fps.
the 1Ds mark II is 16mp and 4fps.
all 1 series canons are built like tanks and can take major abuse. The 1 series you see on NFL sidelines are the same build at the 1Ds line. The 1Ds mark III is now $6500 (still crazy money). The only real difference is the FPS and MP, both have incredible AF. The choice between a 1Ds and a 1D all comes down to where your images are going. PJs don't need more than 10mp and lots shoot at smaller res and or kept their 1Diis, but some sports shooters do print big and will shoot with a 1Ds.
As for the D700? it's a WONDERFUL camera. If canon made it it might be the camera for me, and it would certainly be my backup body with a 5Dii as my primary. But for me the wide fast primes (specifically the 24mm 1.4 for me) isn't available for the nikon, so I CAN'T go that route. I also use f4 zooms when traveling and nikon's missing those as well. So lens choice alone means I'm stuck with canon. In terms of ISOs, who cares which is better really. Both are SO GOOD, and both have usable 6400 it's splitting hairs to worry about that. Basically you pick the system first, then you pick the body. If Nikons work for you, then the D700 is a hell of a camera. One thing that's funny to me is people keep touting it's AF as vastly superior to the 5Diis... While it does have 51 points, the cluster is very similar in spread, and while it does have more cross types, they're ALSO clustered in the center. Yes it's better, but it's still not what the 1 series offers (not sure if the D3 is better?).
these discussions always come down to flame wars though. I'm a canon user, but I am NOT a fan boi. The 5Dii has it's own issues, I'm just trying to set the record straight on a few of the misunderstandings that have been blowing up online since it's announcement. For me it's the best tool for the job, but it's certainly NOT perfect. My ideal camera would have been a 1Ds mark II in a 5D body with.
...that do not require film. Home Depot is a gold mine for creating lighting rigs for little cash.
