Canon EOS 5D Mark II

Manufacturer: Canon
Type: DSLR camera (full-frame with HD video)
Year introduced: 2008
Sensor: 21.1MP full-frame CMOS
Video: 1080p Full HD (H.264, 30p at launch; 24p/25p added via firmware)
Processor: DIGIC IV
Continuous shooting: 3.9 fps (13 RAW buffer, 310 Fine JPG)
Launch price: US$2,699 / EUR 2,499 / GBP 2,299
Predecessor: Canon EOS 5D
Successor: Canon 5D Mark III

Overview

The Canon EOS 5D Mark II was the most transformative camera in underwater photography since the original film-to-digital transition. Announced September 17, 2008, it combined a 21.1MP full-frame sensor with Full HD 1080p video recording — making it the first affordable DSLR capable of professional-quality stills and video in a single body (^[1]). The term “ViDSLR” was coined on Wetpixel to describe this new hybrid category, and the camera was widely called a “game changer” by both Canon and the photography community (^[2]).

The 5D Mark II dominated underwater photography gear discussions throughout 2009 and into 2010, with at least eight housing manufacturers racing to release housings. Backscatter’s comprehensive underwater video review described it as “A Swiss Army Knife for Underwater Image Makers,” noting that its video quality exceeded that of the Sony FX1 and EX1 camcorders, and that the next step up in underwater video quality was the RED camera system costing $50,000 or more — while a full 5D Mark II system could be assembled for under $10,000 (^[3]).

Since its release in December 2008, the Canon EOS 5D Mark II became one of Canon’s best-selling DSLRs, pushing the era of “HD ViDSLR hybrid cameras” and permanently changing how underwater photographers thought about still/video convergence (^[4]).

Significance for Underwater Photography

The 5D Mark II’s impact on the underwater imaging community was profound in several ways:

Full-frame video quality: The camera’s full-frame sensor (larger than the S35 standard used in motion picture cameras) gathered more light with lower noise than any camcorder at its price point. Its H.264 codec recorded at up to 42 Mbps at full 1080p — slightly higher than the 40 Mbps quality of Blu-Ray, and far exceeding over-the-air broadcast HD at 19.39 Mbps (^[5]).

Cost disruption: A full 5D Mark II underwater video system could be assembled for under $10,000 depending on housing brand and lens choices, while a Sony EX1 system easily topped $20,000 and a RED system could exceed $50,000 (^[6]).

Still/video convergence: For the first time, underwater photographers could carry a single rig capable of both professional stills and broadcast-quality video. As Backscatter’s review noted, “Like many fellow still photographers, the 1080p video of the Canon 5D Mark II forced me to reconsider a personal interest in moving pictures. The more I played with 5D Mark II shooting video, the more I kept leaving my Nikon D3 and D3x on the boat” (^[7]).

Scooter-mounted filming: The camera’s compact size relative to dedicated video cameras made it practical to mount inside underwater scooters. Backscatter developed a “Bluewater” Scootercam system at DEMA 2009 that housed the 5D Mark II behind an Aquatica-compatible dome port inside a dive scooter with internal circuitry for focus, fire, and time-lapse control (^[8]). Berkley White and Rusty Sanoian later demonstrated remarkably smooth scooter-mounted wreck footage at the Digital Shootout in 2010 (^[9]).

Announcement and Early Reception

The 5D Mark II was announced September 17, 2008, alongside the Nikon D90 (the first DSLR with video, at 720p). Eric Cheng covered the announcement for Wetpixel, noting the camera’s full-frame 21-megapixel CMOS sensor, full 1080p HD video recording with H.264 codec and sound, DIGIC IV processor, 3.9 fps continuous shooting, and a price of US$2,699. He noted that “underwater photographers are hopeful that the camera will fit into existing 5D housings” — it did not (^[10]).

At DEMA 2008, held in October, multiple housing manufacturers were already working on 5D Mark II housings. Charles “Chuckie” Luzier of Canon USA brought a production 5D Mark II to the Seacam booth, where Eric Cheng was allowed to handle it (but not insert a CF card). Harald Hordosch of Seacam confirmed housings for the 5D Mark II and Nikon D700 would be available in Q1 2009 (^[11]). Subal was also working on a 5D Mark II housing, hoping to have it ready by the BOOT show in January 2009 (^[12]).

Video Limitations and Workarounds

At launch, the 5D Mark II had significant video limitations that the underwater community worked to overcome:

• No manual exposure control in video mode — shutter, aperture, and ISO were all automatic, a critical limitation for underwater filming
• Auto focus in live view was slow and could cause radical exposure shifts when triggered during recording
• Auto exposure was “jumpy” and dropped frames if aperture changed during recording
• Only 30p frame rate at launch (no 24p cinematic option)

Berkley White of Backscatter published shooting tips in May 2009 with creative workarounds: performing manual white balance in photo mode, capturing and locking focus in photo mode before switching to live view, using exposure lock to hold a desired aperture value, and adjusting exposure compensation to dial in the background exposure. He noted that “the topside video crowd” was adapting Nikon F-mount lenses for manual aperture control, and Backscatter was developing customizations for “hardcore video folks” (^[13]).

Despite these limitations, Berkley predicted that photographers would produce “amazing video shot this summer… The limited controls and lens selection will shape a whole new look in video, and that’s exciting” (^[14]).

Firmware History

Canon released a series of firmware updates that progressively addressed the camera’s video limitations:

• Firmware 1.1.0 (May 2009): Added manual exposure controls for video mode — shutter, aperture, and ISO. This was the watershed moment for the camera’s viability as a serious underwater video tool. The update came after online petitions and sustained customer pressure. Drew Wong wrote that this “removes the biggest criticism of the camera and enhances the camera’s standing as the premiere 1080P HD DSLR camera” (^[15]).

• Firmware 2.0.3 (March 2010): Added frame rates of 24p and 25p, updated 30p to broadcast-standard 29.97 fps, increased audio sampling to 48KHz, added manual audio levels, and added histogram display during video capture. Also added Aperture and Shutter Priority modes for video. Notably, it did not add 720/60p, likely due to hardware limitations (^[16]).

• Firmware 2.0.4 (March 2010): Quickly released to fix a bug in 2.0.3 where manual audio recording settings in C1/C2/C3 modes were lost after power-off (^[17]).

• Firmware 2.0.8 (October 2010): Fixed multiple bugs including issues with movie shooting in Aperture/Shutter Priority when registered in user settings, shutter release failures with auto power off, live view simulation overexposure at ISO L, and Speedlite transmitter ST-E2 settings reverting to default (^[18]).

• Firmware 2.0.9 (May 2011): Improved write/read speeds for UDMA 7 CF cards, fixed an IS lens bug with Custom Function settings, and corrected translation errors (^[19]).

• Firmware 2.1.1 (November 2011): Fixed a bug causing only single images to be captured in continuous shooting or AE bracketing continuous mode (^[20]).

First Underwater Video

The first known underwater video shot with the 5D Mark II was posted in May 2009 by Wetpixel member Fergus Kennedy (forum username “Ferg42”). He shot the footage in the Egyptian Red Sea using a converted Ikelite housing originally built for the original 5D. Most shots used a Canon 15mm fisheye lens with natural light and a Magic Filter (^[21]).

Kennedy posted details of his DIY housing conversion in the Wetpixel forums, noting that he used powerful video lights rather than strobe modeling lights when ambient light was insufficient (^[22]).

Backscatter Underwater Video Review

In August 2009, Backscatter published what Wetpixel called “an incredibly comprehensive review” of the 5D Mark II as an underwater video rig. The review included sample video in 720p, comparisons with professional/prosumer camcorders, discussions of underwater housings, scooter mounting, color correction filters, and tripods (^[23]).

Key findings included:

• Video quality was cleaner and higher quality than both the Sony FX1 and EX1
• Top bit rate of 42 Mbps at full 1080p slightly exceeded Blu-Ray quality
• The next quality step up from the 5D Mark II for underwater work was the RED camera at $50,000+
• The camera’s full-frame sensor produced lower noise than smaller-sensor camcorders
• H.264 files were not designed for editing and required transcoding to formats like Apple ProRes or Canopus HQ before editing (^[24], ^[25])

Housing Shootout

In June 2010, Drew Wong published a multi-part housing shootout comparing the Sea & Sea MDX-Pro, Aquatica A5D Mark II, and Seacam 5D Mark II housings. The review was conducted across multiple dive trips using Inon Z240 strobes for macro and Hartenberger 250TTL strobes for wide angle, plus dual Hartenberger HLX 100W halogen lights corrected to 4300K for video. Ryan Canon of Reef Photo & Video arranged for the Sea & Sea housing with a Zen 8” glass port. Drew noted that logistics challenges prevented testing all five originally planned brands (which also included Subal and Ikelite) (^[26]). Alex Mustard supplied Magic Filters for the 16-35mm II lens used in testing (^[27]).

Housing Availability

The 5D Mark II spurred an unprecedented housing race, with at least eight manufacturers delivering housings between early 2009 and early 2011. The community eagerly tracked progress through Wetpixel forums — a thread on housing ETAs started in December 2008 accumulated 139 replies (^[28]).

Ikelite

Ikelite was among the earliest to market, with availability listed as early January 2009 on their website (^[29]). Fergus Kennedy’s pioneering underwater video was shot using a converted Ikelite housing originally for the original 5D (^[30]).

Aquatica

Aquatica announced their housing in February 2009. Key features: machined from solid aluminum, anodized to military specification, 300 ft / 90 m depth rating, built-in hydrophone for the camera’s audio recording, bayonet port system compatible with existing Aquatica ports from 15mm fisheye to 180mm macro, ergonomic menu buttons angled 20 degrees, fingertip access to all video controls including live view, record on/off, and AF-ON. Weight: 2.9 kg / 6.4 lbs. Jean of Aquatica noted they were working hard alongside the Nikon D90 housing (^[31]).

Production was deliberately delayed to incorporate user feedback. Aquatica added solutions for AF-ON and star button access based on input from Berkley White and the community. All shipped housings included these improvements (^[32]).

Long-time Seacam user Bruce Yates reviewed the Aquatica housing, calling it “truly a professional-grade housing” and praising the camera mounting system (tray on two rods with positive latch) over the Seacam’s tripod-screw mount. He gave the edge to Seacam only for internal flocking to absorb moisture (^[33]).

Sea & Sea

Sea & Sea announced the MDX-5D MKII in February 2009, expecting to ship in early May 2009. They also released an upgraded MDX-Pro version. The Sea & Sea housing was one of three tested in Drew Wong’s housing shootout, paired with a Zen 8” glass dome port (^[34], ^[35]).

Seacam

Seacam began taking orders in December 2008 for a February 2009 delivery. Harald Hordosch confirmed the timeline at DEMA 2008. The housing featured Seacam’s new design language first previewed in the Nikon D3 housing: machined from solid aluminum, new-style latches and shutter trigger, and a lens release lever (^[36]). Stephen Frink provided studio photos of the housing in March 2009, including comparison shots with the larger 1Ds Mark III housing and a custom macro port for Canon/Nikon 100/105mm lenses with teleconverter/diopter compatibility (^[37]).

Subal

Subal was working on a housing alongside their Nikon D90 housing, announced at DEMA 2008. They hoped to have the 5D Mark II housing ready for the BOOT show in late January 2009 (^[38]). Forum classified listings confirm Subal CD5MII housings were produced and used by the community (forum thread, topic 33850).

Zillion

Zillion released their housing in May 2009. Made of ABS plastic with a professional paint finish, it featured two grip styles (traditional and hanging) and both optical and wired strobe sync bulkheads. Suggested retail: JPY 280,000 (approximately US$2,870). Distribution outside Japan, Korea, and Thailand was through Aquaforum. Tony Wu confirmed the ABS construction and noted the built-in optical-to-electronic converter, a technology he had been using for years with his 5D in Zillion housings (^[39]).

The Zillion’s optical strobe triggering prompted community discussion, since the 5D Mark II lacks an internal flash. Eric Cheng noted there was an electronic dongle that converts hotshoe to optical signal, mentioning that INON had made one but it was blocked from US sale due to patent issues with Light & Motion (^[40]).

Watershot

Watershot Inc. released their housing in February 2010 — a billet-machined 6061 T6 aluminum housing with 80 m depth rating, designed for both still and video ergonomics. A comprehensive port and accessory range supported the housing. Watershot had previously announced plans for the 5D Mark II housing alongside their Canon Rebel XSi/450D housing. Eric Cheng noted in commentary on the XSi housing that while budget housings exist for SLRs at much lower cost, “this is one of those cases where you will probably get what you pay for” (^[41], ^[42]).

Equinox

Equinox announced their 5D Mark II housing in February 2011 — a departure from the company’s typical video-specific housings, reflecting the camera’s popularity for video rather than stills use. Designed around the 16-35mm lens (other lenses by special request), it provided access to shutter release, menu, select/scroll, and play controls. It featured Equinox’s ballast release handles for emergency positive buoyancy. Price: US$1,599. Weight: 12 lbs on surface, neutrally buoyant underwater (^[43]).

Hugyfot

Hugyfot also produced a housing for the 5D Mark II, reviewed by Digideep (in German). Forum classified listings confirm active use in the community (forum thread, topic 34539).

Nauticam

Nauticam was an early-stage company during the 5D Mark II era. While they did not produce a dedicated 5D Mark II housing during the camera’s initial period, the 5D Mark II was one of the cameras that defined the market Nauticam would come to dominate with subsequent Canon full-frame housings.

Compatibility with 5D Mark III

When Canon announced the 5D Mark III in March 2012, underwater photographers immediately wondered whether the new camera would fit in their 5D Mark II housings. Wetpixel member Dag Leslie Hansen tested this by attempting to fit a 5D Mark III into an Aquatica 5D Mark II housing. The answer was no — the new camera’s body was deeper and the buttons on top did not align with the housing’s controls. Dag found he might get the camera in by removing the aperture control gears, but would only be able to shoot without exposure adjustment or possibly in Automatic mode (^[44]).

Notable Users and Projects

• Fergus Kennedy — Shot the first known underwater video with the 5D Mark II in Egyptian Red Sea, May 2009 (^[45])
• Berkley White (Backscatter) — Published shooting tips, conducted comprehensive underwater video review, demonstrated scooter-mounted filming, and later compared the camera with the 5D Mark III (^[46], ^[47], ^[48])
• Jim Decker (Backscatter) — Shot DiveFilm HD Podcast episode 31 with the 5D Mark II; displayed impressive footage at Beneath the Sea 2011 (^[49], ^[50])
• Drew Wong — Wrote the housing shootout review; described the 5D Mark II as sparking the ViDSLR revolution (^[51])
• Tony Wu — Long-time Zillion housing user in Japan, confirmed ABS construction and optical strobe technology (^[52])
• Eric Cheng — Used the 5D Mark II (borrowed from James Wiseman) to photograph NASA’s Neutral Buoyancy Lab (^[53])
• Billy Watson — Shot a notable Banggai Cardinalfish image with 5D Mark II, Canon 100mm f2.8 lens, and 2 Ikelite DS-160 strobes in April 2013 that gained significant attention on the Wetpixel Facebook group (^[54])
• Toni Wu — Used 5D Mark II in Seacam housing with Ikelite DS-125 strobes for diving Papua New Guinea’s Eastern Fields atoll (^[55])

Video Ecosystem

The 5D Mark II spawned a supporting ecosystem of software and accessories:

• 5DtoRGB — Rarevision’s free transcoding engine that converted the 5D Mark II’s H.264 files to uncompressed DPX or Apple ProRes, offering higher quality output than Canon’s E1 plugin, QuickTime Player, or FCP. Updated to version 1.5 in August 2011 with OpenGL, 64-bit support, and Technicolor CineStyle LUT support (^[56])
• PluralEyes — Video/audio synchronization software that was reviewed on Wetpixel using 5D Mark II footage alongside camcorder and Zoom H4n audio tracks (^[57])
• Apple Aperture 3 — Added video support in February 2010, described as “huge news for the growing number of owners of vidSLRs such as the Canon 5D Mark II” (^[58])
• Zacuto Great Camera Shootout 2010 — Compared the 5D Mark II, 7D, Rebel T2i, and 1D Mark IV against the Nikon D3s and Fuji/Kodak film in three 35-minute webisodes (^[59])

Legacy

The Nikon D800, released in February 2012, was described as “the first Nikon offering that competed directly with the Canon 5D Mark II” — a testament to the 5D Mark II’s three-year dominance of the full-frame hybrid market (^[60]). The 5D Mark III announcement in March 2012 explicitly positioned the new camera as building upon “the trailblazing success of the EOS 5D Mark II” that had enabled Canon to enter the professional video and cinema markets, paving the way for Canon’s Cinema EOS system (^[61]).

Berkley White’s early comparison of the two cameras found that the 5D Mark III’s high ISO performance was “far superior” to the 5D Mark II in noise, and that the 6 fps frame rate and improved autofocus “rectify significant weaknesses” of its predecessor. He concluded: “while it may be hard to distinguish between the 5D II clips and 5D III clips… you’ll be able to get the shot with the Mark III in conditions where you just simply couldn’t pull it off with the 5D Mark II” (^[62]).

Adam Hanlon’s review of the SmallHD DP4 monitor in a Nauticam housing noted that “since the release of the Canon 5D Mark II in 2008, SLR cameras have been designed to incorporate the ability to produce HD video” — acknowledging the camera as the inflection point that changed camera design philosophy (^[63]).

Community Discussion

• Canon 5D Mark II, eta on housings? (139 replies) — Started December 2008 by Drew Wong, this thread became the central tracking point for housing availability across all manufacturers. Drew posted a detailed wish list including external video monitor ports, LCD hoods, easy mode dial access, and above all, better balance for video shooting (forum thread, topic 27821).
• Canon 5D Mark II Manual Exposure firmware update (16 replies) — Community excitement over the May 2009 firmware adding manual exposure controls for video (forum thread, topic 30605).
• Canon 5D Mark II video (13 replies) — Early discussion of video capabilities and implications for underwater cinematography (forum thread, topic 30925).
• Red Sea footage with the Canon 5D Mark II — Community sharing of early underwater footage from the Red Sea (forum thread, topic 30477).
• Underwater Performance: Canon 5D Mark II vs. Sony HC7 (8 replies) — Direct comparison video showing the 5D Mark II’s quality advantage over a dedicated camcorder, though also highlighting the H.264 editing challenges (forum thread, topic 31186).
• Housing Options for Canon 5D Mark II (8 replies) — Buyers comparing Ikelite, Aquatica, Sea & Sea, and other housing options with practical advice on port compatibility (forum thread, topic 31671).
• Canon 5D Mark II housing shootout review — Discussion of Drew Wong’s multi-brand housing comparison (forum thread, topic 36381).
• Canon 5D or Canon 5D Mark II Housing? (4 replies) — Owners of both bodies debating which to house, weighing video capability against housing cost (forum thread, topic 36188).

Timeline

• 2008-09-17: Announced alongside Nikon D90; priced at US$2,699 (^[64])
• 2008-10-28: DEMA 2008: Seacam, Subal confirm 5D Mark II housing development for Q1 2009 (^[65], ^[66])
• 2008-12: Camera shipping; housing ETA thread starts on Wetpixel with 139 replies (forum thread, topic 27821)
• 2009-01: Ikelite among first to ship housing (^[67])
• 2009-02-12: Aquatica announces housing with built-in hydrophone, 300 ft depth rating (^[68])
• 2009-02-19: Sea & Sea announces MDX-5D MKII, expected May 2009 (^[69])
• 2009-03-03: Seacam housing first look by Stephen Frink (^[70])
• 2009-05-12: Zillion releases ABS plastic housing, JPY 280,000 (^[71])
• 2009-05-13: Fergus Kennedy posts first underwater video, shot in Egyptian Red Sea (^[72])
• 2009-05-13: Berkley White publishes underwater video shooting tips (^[73])
• 2009-05-27: Firmware update adds manual exposure controls for video — watershed moment (^[74])
• 2009-06-05: Bruce Yates publishes Aquatica housing comparison review (^[75])
• 2009-07-10: DiveFilm HD Podcast features 5D Mark II underwater footage by Jim Decker and Russ Sanoian (^[76])
• 2009-08-09: Backscatter publishes comprehensive underwater video review (^[77])
• 2009-11: DEMA 2009: Backscatter debuts Bluewater Scootercam for 5D Mark II (^[78])
• 2010-02-26: Watershot releases billet aluminum housing, 80 m depth rating (^[79])
• 2010-03: Firmware 2.0.3 adds 24p/25p video, manual audio levels (^[80])
• 2010-03-19: Firmware 2.0.4 fixes audio bug (^[81])
• 2010-06-12: Drew Wong publishes multi-brand housing shootout (^[82])
• 2010-07: Berkley White and Rusty Sanoian shoot scooter-mounted wreck video at Digital Shootout (^[83])
• 2010-10-19: Firmware 2.0.8 released with multiple bug fixes (^[84])
• 2011-02-11: Equinox announces video-focused housing at US$1,599 (^[85])
• 2011-05-31: Firmware 2.0.9 improves UDMA 7 write speeds (^[86])
• 2011-08: 5DtoRGB transcoding engine updated to v1.5 (^[87])
• 2011-11-17: Firmware 2.1.1 fixes continuous shooting bug (^[88])
• 2012-03-02: Canon announces 5D Mark III successor (^[89])
• 2012-03-15: Community confirms 5D Mark III does not fit in 5D Mark II housings (^[90])

References