To start we got a new camera! Well it isn’t really new, but it is new to us! Yuppers in preparation for the Cuba Trip we decided that we should have a bit of a better backup camera. This thought was compounded by the fact that the 5D suddenly and arbitrarily kicked it during our Tofino trip. Without warning or cause it simply failed to turn on. (for those not in the know this was purchased at the end September of 2007 so only 4 to 5 months ago) So after a quick look at KEH.com we found this Canon 1D mark II labled as EX condition for a mere 1700 bux! After a quick phone call to found out all the info we could we went ahead and bought it. Now KEH Rates there used gear on a scale as follows…
| NEW | As packaged by manufacturer. Manufacturer’s USA warranty. Never used or owned by a consumer. |
| NEW DEMO |
As packaged by manufacturer. Manufacturer’s USA warranty. Never owned by a consumer but used as demonstration equipment. May show various stages of wear including slight dings or pecks. |
| LN | “Like New” Perfect. Includes original box and instructions and any manufacturer provided accessories. |
| LN- | “Like New Minus” 97-99% of original condition. Extremely slight wear that can only be seen upon very close inspection. Box and accessories not included. |
| EX+ | “Excellent Plus” 90-96% of the original condition. Shows moderate wear. May have slight marks on finish. Glass very clean. |
| EX | “Excellent” 80-89% of the original condition. Shows moderate wear. May have small dings, pecks and slight finish wear. Glass may have some dust, but no marks. |
| BGN | “Bargain” 70-79% of original condition. Shows more than average wear. May have dents, dings and a goodly amount of brassing and finish loss. Glass may have marks that should not affect picture quality. |
| UG | “Ugly” Very rough looking. Multiple impressions in metal, excessive finish loss and brassing are likely. Glass will have marks, fungus or haze that will probably affect picture quality. |
We have purchased things in the past that were labelled as being BGN or UG and they have arrived looking brand new! But this was always with crazy old school medium format cameras that would survive a nuclear holocaust looking shinny and new! I expected to get a camera in a plastic bag with out any accessories or chargers and the like. What I did get however was a complete camera kit right down to the multiple language manual in its original box and everything. Not only was there the battery charger, and DC adapter, but there was all the USB cables, Firewire Cables and, and even the silly little VGA out cable so you can see things on the TV You know the one that no one ever actually uses :) All of which in its original plastic and such, all of which isn’t supposed to be included according to their quality scale.
WOW!
So now let’s look at the camera! This camera Looks Brand New!! Seriously I was half expecting to have to peal protective plastic off the LCD screen! I was amazed I assumed that this was a hardly used camera that someone sold right away. So I took a look at the EXIF Data off one of the photos and according to this data it had shot 266,000 photos! WHAT!!!??? Our 1D mark II had shot 266,000 photos and well it looks like it has shot about 266,000 photos. This camera I would have a hard time believing it had shot 50,000 let alone 260,000. So I have made some comparison gifs to show the differences between our existing mark II and the new mark II that apparently has the same number of shutter actuations’
I mean I always knew that we were hard on our gear! But this is crazy!
We also bought a new lens. We got the new Canon EF 50mm f/1.2L USM
1.2 is so super crazy I mean its so shallow I can focus on an eye and have the eyelash fall into the bokeh It is also seems that colours pop way more then the cheaper 1.4 version of the 50mm. I will do a direct comparison some time in the future to see the differences! We also grabbed a new backpack to haul stuff around with! The Crumpler The Karachi Outpost
It is a super huge version of the one that I have currently (The Whickey And Cox) and it should be able to haul everything we need to haul to Cuba!
AWESOME – will be checking out the progress! :-) BBB)))
Yeah your cameras all look like they have either been used to bludgeon mobs of zombies or have been drug behind a car for a while. I don’t think canon engineers consider that when designing them :) although they seem to hold up pretty well considering that.
well them holding up well is true for the pro camera’s the other ones (IE 5d’s and 20d’s) not so well!!
“Jerk” doesn’t even come close this time, my friend. :)
Exact reason why I went with a 1D mk2 last year instead of a 5D. I’ve just heard of way too many problems with them. The 1D mk2 is probably the best buy you can get right now. You certainly got a good deal on it. Thats for the link to that site as well I’ll keep a good lookout on it.
Funny enough, I just picked up a used, but absolutely mint 50L 1.2 today as well! I haven’t done a full test, but just from the few shots I took while testing it out, your right, the colors are WAY better than the 1.4.
Ya the 5D was meant as a back up camera for us, i do like the full frame part of it, it is a good match for the 1ds mk2 but obviously the durability isn’t there! It’s good to hear that I am not crazy with my idea that the colours pop! A real empirical test is in order
I did a few tests so far with both lens. One thing I’ve found is that the 1.4 has a 1/3 slower shutter speed when set to the same aperture as the 1.2. Case in point this test image: http://www.asphoto.ca/images/50_12_14_test.jpg
You’ll notice on the 1.4 the overall image is slightly darker than the 1.2 lens.