Has any other 5DMKII user been driven crazy by these?

[Christopher C.M. Cooke]

Two things really annoy the heck out of me with this camera.

1) I have never had a Camera where the LCD screen gets filthy so easily, for me to use it I carry isowipes and am constantly cleaning it, it does not happen with any other Canon I own.

2) The viewfinder display is so dim as to be almost unreadable unless shooting at night, this was also a big problem on my 30Ds.

All advice gratefully received.

[David Stephens]

Not me.

I hardly look at the LCD in the field and see it easily when I do to check blinkies, etc..

The parameters in the viewfinder of my 5D2 are clear to me and use them constantly to adjust ISO, S/S, Aperture, EV while I'm looking through the VF.

[Robert Amoruso]

Chris,

I have one and YES to question 1. It is a big pain.

On question 2, I have not found it to be any more or less a problem then my other cameras. Do you have the LCD brightness cranked up to its maximum setting for outdoor use?

[David Stephens]

I thought that #2 was about the Viewfinder, not the LCD.

I don't need glasses, so that might explain my relatively higher satiisfaction.

[Christopher C.M. Cooke]

I thought that #2 was about the Viewfinder, not the LCD.

Yes the viewfinder.

Compared to the other Canons (except the 30Ds which have the same problem) the lighting in the viewfinder is VERY dim.

[Robert Amoruso]

Yes the viewfinder.

Compared to the other Canons (except the 30Ds which have the same problem) the lighting in the viewfinder is VERY dim.


I misread it. I do not noticeably find the viewfinder darker.

[Roger Clark]

Chris,

Yes, I too find the viewfinder adequate, and similar to other cameras. Regarding the LCD, I get nose prints all over mine, but it is so much nicer over the smaller LCD of older cameras (e.g. 1D II) that I am fine with it. What bugs me about the 5D2 is the dial on top: it sticks up so much that it is constantly getting changed when I pull the camera out of the bag (or put it in), so I often find it is on the wrong mode after I shoot a frame (I only use 2: manual and Av).

Roger

[Christopher C.M. Cooke]

Roger you reminded me of BIG gripe No. 1 the bloody dial, it takes nothing at all to move it and why Canon don't simply make one that you have to lift up to change settings is beyond me unless they have not forgiven us for the two nukes we gave them during WW2.

Like you I only use AV and Manual but frequently find myself in other modes which only serves to confuse my already addled mind, little tip that is now helping me.

I get a small lump of Blue-tack http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blu-Tack and stick it between the dial and the Prism housing prior to heading off to the wilds, it is simple and when you want to be in switchable mode simply pull the plug out and stick it on the side of the prism housing.

[Grant Atkinson]

Hi there
I find the mode dial on the 5Dmk2, and the 7D for that matter, so easy to bump off its setting when I pull the cameras out of the bag that it drives me crazy. Chris, I see the 60D comes with some sort of lock in the dial, lets hope it works it's way up the range.
I dont wear glasses either so dont find any trouble with the viewfinder
cheers
Grant

[Christopher C.M. Cooke]

Grant being a diabetic I took my three most used cameras 1D MKIII, 7D and 5DMKII to my Ophthalmologist who totally agreed that the info in the viewfinder was 3 times more dim than the other two.

I have it in writing and am going to present it to Canon Australia next week.

Canon admitted to me two years ago that the same problem existed with the 30Ds but could offer no solution.

[Danny J Brown]

Hey Chris:

I switched to a 50D from a 40D last year and found the display in the viewfinder so poor, as compared to either of my 40D cameras, that I sent the 50D back to B & H and just returned to shooting with the 40D bodies. Sometimes, depending on the light, I just couldn't read the display at all in the 50D. It might have just been that body but I was also so disappointed in the noise of the 50D files, even at ISO 200, that I just gave up altogether on that design. Sorry Canon....sometimes you just miss the mark.

DB

[Juan Carlos Vindas]

Well, I use no glasses, and I own both the 30D and the 5D and neither has a dim VF, at least in my case. The other day a friend of mine lend me her 5DMII and didn't notice a difference in the VF. Will pay more attention next time, as for the dial, no problems on my end.

[Gerald Kelberg]

I'll have to reach for the BluTack as well since that mobile mode dial drives me crazy as well! Glad it is not only me!

I haven't noticed the LCD getting any dirtier, but it really does seem to scratch a lot easier than on my MkIII. No issues with the viewfinder here, either.

G.

[Wil Hershberger]

Yes, the brightness of the view finder info is inferior to other cameras. I have used the 1Ds, 1DsII, 1DIIN, 40D, 50D, and 7D. The 5DII is by far the dimmest in bright outdoor conditions. It can be very hard to read in bright sunlight i.e., Yellowstone on a sunny mid-morning shoot with your subject partially backlit.