I love my 5D2

The Canon 5D Mk II is nearly twenty years old. And it still takes fantastic, even magical photos. After about 5 years of owning and not really using a Canon EOS M3 crop-frame camera, in I think November 2022 I decided to upgrade and buy the M6 Mk II. I already had a couple of lenses for the M3, and didn't want to invest in a new system.

I could have probably gotten by with the cheaper M50 Mk II, but it was either hard to find it in Victoria (a small city on an island on the extreme edge of the continent), or I may have just liked the look and feel of the M62. Actually, thinking back, I may have been impressed with the M62's relatively large 32MP sensor... without understanding the implications of combining a large sensor with relatively cheap zoom lenses.

However, I really liked the M6 Mk II, and it got me into photography in a big way. Six months later I was no longer shooting on automatic mode, and was more comfortable (if not totally adept) at mastering manual controls.

In order to learn more about photography, I watched a LOT of YouTube. Kai Wong, a photography nerd who vlogs a lot about gear, offered an ode to the Canon 5D Mk II.

When I watched the video I had little to no idea about the significance of this camera, but thought... neat! An inexpensive camera that still holds up today. I had no expectation of ever buying the camera – this is Victoria, after all, a small city on an island on the extreme edge of the continent. The shopping here is not great, and it's getting worse and worse every year as retailers retreat to online, or retrench to the bland, generic big box stores in the exburbs out on the highway.

Anyway, a chance trip to Victoria Camera Traders, one of the two remaining dedicated camera stores in the city, brought me face-to-face with the Canon 5D Mk II. It was only a couple of hundred bucks, I had just got paid by a big client, so... why not?

It does take amazing pictures. The battery lasts a long time. I love it.

I suppose my only regret is that I don't use it more. It's big and bulky, whereas my M62 can actually fit in my pocket (depending on the lens).

The 5D2 is also way more noticeable. People don't like it being pointed at them.