Canon 5D Changed Everything 

Bought my 5D in ‘06. Still have it. Still love it. At 85, I no longer make a living with it, but am not motivated to buy something newer, however attractive.

A tip for those who want to buy a used 5D Classic: the first ones they produced used to have a weak pentaprism mirror mount, and after a few thousand shots, one of the mirrors would come off (the one you see when you remove the lens). Canon then started a recall campaign to reinforce the mirror. Just make sure the mirror is reinforced when you search for a second hand 5D; you can do it by removing the lens and checking if the mirror you see has two thin metal strips on the shorter sides (and btw if it might be helpful to anybody living in Europe: I'm currently selling on eBay my perfectly working 5D classic - one of the last few which were made with a reinforced mirror straight from the factory - because I need to reduce my belongings before moving to a new apartment and just keep my minimalist m43 setup. I know that it can still make somebody else really happy for the years to come. They're so simple, absolutely built like tanks, and trust me: the analog look this camera has is a real thing, it's just magic)

5D Classic is well, classic. First affordable FF camera for the masses. The 5D Mark II was a real game changer too. a FF camera that shot video! That is the camera that started the hybrid camera craze that still exists to this day. Love both cameras but the Classic has a special sensor.

The images from the 5D Mk1 and the 6D Mk1 (which I use) are really special - smooth, natural with an almost film-like in rendition. I think it was the excellent sensors in both these cameras that turned them into "classics".

I had the same experience with the 5D II. I'll never forget the first test video footage by Vincent Laforet and thinking, this is going to revolutionize filmmaking.

It is funny that 20 years of camera development resulted mostly in a bunch of (hardly used) features and not in a giant leap in image quality. Your 29 yo car images are just as useful today as they were back then.

The 5D was my first full frame camera as well. I got it used in 2015 for around $450 and it was a total game changer and elevated my photography. Now, I’m shooting Sony and Leica, but that camera has a special place in my heart.

Still have and still use my 5d and 5d II. Image quality is still terrific in 2023. I also have a m43 kit that I enjoy using. Nothing wrong with using multiple systems. I buy everything used

The Canon 5D and the Nikon D700 were two cameras that could create wonderful images for the time. Great colors, great light gathering for the day, and the resolution is fine for up to 8x10 without compromise. It would be hard to put up with today (no video, none of the fun bells and whistles that we are used to). Even at that, I don't think you need anything better if the images are just for vlogging.

The 5D for me felt like shooting film. It was simple straight forward. I paired mine with Pentax Super Takumar 50mm fast lens and everything was dreamy. The ISO was noisy but in a good way like film. I almost exclusivly shot black and white. I have an R6 mkii now and these cameras are almost overly complicated when you want to run and gun doing street photography. I miss that about my 5D. I sold it to my best friend so it got a good home. The Fullframe sensor was night and day over the APS-C of the time (like from the XTi that I previously had). Love love love the 5D.

Wonderful photos

After watching this I looked at my old photos, made with beginner level cameras from 10 years ago or so and I think that those "low" resolution photos actually look better on screen then ones from high-end top of the line DSLR I am using currently. They are somehow smoother, more subtle, while photos from modern high resolution sensors are more sharp, punch you in the face kind of photos. Print evens this out, of course, but old cameras give really great quality for on-screen viewing.

The 5D has that film like magic as does the Nikon D700. Anyone can take a photo but not everyone can create art.

Excellent shots, Matti. I own one of these and I love the color rendition, it has a unique charm that differentiates it from all my other Canons.

It was my first camera. I've tried several other cameras, but I still love this one.

I bought one recently and yes,it's very nice camera. Just adjust for those highlights and you are good to go!

The 5d and the Nikon d700 were 2 game changers. Nice cameras still able to deliver smart images with good colors.

The jump from 20D was remarkable.

De tous les appareils photos que je possède le 5D classic ,et le seul que je ne vendrai jamais 👍

Hi Matti!! Hope all is well!! Now this was a walk on memory lane to you, for sure. I really enjoyed seeing photos of your pro work, those auto photos were stunning!! About the video itself, I think the Canon 5D's (I to IV) and Nikon's Dx00 (the several iterations) were game changers for pro photographers and particularly for digital photography. I think I speak for all your viewers, we want more trips down the memory lane. All the best my friend!!

Hi Matti, yes it's a real nostalgia trip isn't it. I think the secret to happiness with any camera old and new, but especially an older one, is not to compare but simply to enjoy what it does. Thanks for the blast from the past.

I own a 5D Clasic and i use it sometimes for Trainspotting with a Canon EF 28-135mm lens!

I've just bought 5d (in mint condition for peanuts) - as cheap B-camera for travels. There is no words how beautifully pictures makes this classic camera. I'ts very hard to describe, but photos (RAWs) are looking really "artistic" - with great micro contrast and subtle colors. Something like great analog photos on high quality photopaper

I have two 5D cameras, one converted for infrared, the other I use for colour. I shoot with both in RAW using the monochrome setting with everything dialled right down, and continually chimp the histogram to make sure I don’t blow out the highlights. It is quite incredible how much detail can be lifted from the shadows. Such a lovely simple camera giving beautiful B&W and colour imagery.

13mp is also still very good, if you use a 4k display you effectively have an 8.3mp display and if you are posting to social media you have to figure your image is being compressed to all hell anyways.

It's much cheaper to buy a CF adapter and use SD cards than try and find CF cards

Glad I found this video sattumalta. Another Finn here. I'm using 250D which is a crop sensor camera and still easily enough for me. Probably I will switch to full frame later in future. Kiitos videosta, Matti.

Mulla on ollu pääkamerana 5D II ollut n. 4 v. Olen tyytyväinen sen suorituskykyyn, riittää mulle aivan mainiosti. Eka kamera hajos eikä varaosia ollut enää saatavana joten ostin toisen käytetyn tilalle. Sillä mennään niin kauan kuin se kestää. Sitten ostan ehkä III tai IV joita on vielä saatavana. Mulla on kax L-sarjan linssiä ja yx karvalakki 40mm f2.8. Koko kaluston päivittäminen on mun budjetin ulkopuolella, vastaavat maksaisivat useita tuhansia. Korttiongelmaan on ratkaisu; adapterilla saa sd-kortin käymään näihin dinosauruksiin. Olen harrastaja ja kuvaan lähinnä katuvalokuvaa. Siihen suosikkini on tuo karvalakki koska pannari on pieni ja kevyt. Ihan kelpo linssi nettikäyttöön.

I've just "won" one of these on ebay. I hope it works 😬. I had a 30D back in the day, which has an almost identical control layout, same processor (I think), same menu system etc. It will be nostalgic, in a weird not quite the same kind of way.

Thank you for the video. I am a hobbyist photographer shooting landscape, street life and wildlife. Canon 5D Classic is my darling camera. I wish I could agree with the shortcomings mentioned about this camera! When someone rides a 1965 model Volkswagen; it should be evaluated in that context accordingly. It should Not be compared with a 2023 model Toyota Corona. To me such comparisons hardly make sense. Again all the options and facilities of modern cameras are great and nice to learn. However, those are physics - not photography. Photography is about composition, framing, understanding light, timing, being present at the right spot at the right time and aesthetic values. Any photographer can paint his imaginations in frames with any camera. For that purpose; Canon 5D Classic is a wonderful imaging equipment. In case, anyone is unable to create great images with this camera; he’s a tool-based engineer; not an artist. Thanks again.

The 5D II is a big step up - 21 MP, Live View, lighter, bigger LCD, tracking, face detect, video and still only around $250 .

Like you, I purchased the 5D as my first FF camera back when it hit the market. Mine still works, with a feq quirks. I use the Sigma 35mm art and 5d pics still look great with that combo.

Some new pictures with the 5D would have been nice.

Wouldn't buy a 5D, 5D II or 5D III today. A 6D would be the pick today over those three.

Matti, a simple tip, I use a generic SD card adaptor in my 5D. The 5D cannot format cards more than about 8G from memory, so I format a 32G card on my computer and install in the 5D. I have all that 32G available for shooting.

You made some nice photos with that camera too!

Have same combo with EF35 f/2 like it is sharp and nice color. Only the lens makes a bit noise when focusing buts that is normal

The last quarter century in digital photography has been amazing, hasn’t it? I never aspired to be a “professional,” but I wanted to be able to process my own photos, and therein was the great motivation. My first digital camera was a Sony with a resolution of 640x480 and a serial connection to download the pictures to the computer. It was slow, awkward, and the picture quality was very limited. But cameras and software steadily progressed. The most amazing thing (for me, at least) is that with today’s software, I can revive some of my early digital images that were “lucky shots” look good enough so that it takes a serious pixel peeper today to tell that they were taken with a “Stone Age” camera. My big regret? That channels like yours (and, of course, RU-vid, which makes them possible) weren’t around “back in the day.” I would have progressed so much faster.

Before the 5D classic, FF cameras (and APS-h in the 90's) had cost as much as a new car. So naturally, 5D was also my first FF camera. In fact I had it for so long that it started having some autofocussing issues. Namely, when the sensor under the mirror drops even for a 1/10th of a millimetre (too many drops, I'm an reporter, f*** it) that can trow off focus quite a bit, and that's quite hard to fix unless you buy a whole new mirror box (expensive), so I had to get rid of it. You can say whatever you want about the 5DmkII, but at least that camera had live view so you had a way to focus accurately...

Something we agree on. The Canon 5D is still an excellent camera that will produce stunning images if we do our part. I bought mine about 5 years ago and it is in mint condition.

Welcome back Matti to the one and only company named Canon - 😊🔙

I still have the 5D I bought in 2016 or 2017. I still enjoy using it but it can lead to a bad habit - buying more full frame cameras! I use Canon full frame for events (but not the 5D anymore), an old Canon 7D for occasional wildlife (and some outside events) and Lumix m4/3 for macro and flower photography and travel. Nice to have choices.

5dmk4 was my first ff 😊 rp was my first mirrorless 😊

I payblittle attention to Canon and Nikon, but have stumbled across so many astonishing bargains for old cameras or brand new SLR lenses that I think I'll be picking up some sooner or later. I'd appreciate a video about compatiibility between film cameras and modern slr lenses (like ART etc) since I'd be aiming to get combinations of film and vintage digital gear. Thanks!

Great Video. However, my sentiments run in the opposite direction. I love to use a nice big OVF and I hate EVFs. I'm also very keen on CF cards and have several cameras that use them. My 6D has an SD card, but I would had been much happier if it took CF cards. Horses for course, I guess.

Thanks for this video! Please tell me which is the best: Canon 5d classic or Canon 5d mk II, overall, general speaking!

I have 2 bodies, 1st one bought into early 2006, for a lot of money...second into 2009. Both of them have the Mirror Fix, it was being done for free, after Canon issued the Service Advisory, into 2009. Please don't call it silly "Fullframe", every Sensor is being "fullframe", if the output is not being cropped, Matti. No offense. It's simply a 35mm Sensor, Kleinbildformat, hence Small Picture Format, or being said 36x24mm. Greetings.

I can't imagine you like EVFs that way...for instance, i do have very *sensitive* eyes, i get constantly eyestrain, swindel, headaches, when using EVFs. Also, EVFs never show the true to life image, like a OVF does (and without consuming battery - since with DSLRs, the LEDs inside the OVF are very low, subtle energy consuming, unlike all kind of EVFs, the more resolution, the more battery eaters....usually. Especially Night Photography via Tripod - i see all perfectly with an 100%, bright all glas pentaprism, Matti. With an EVF, i do have usually (well my gear here) edge distortions, flickering, grain, CAs, distortions...all kind of optical flaws, and it sucks... (i look at you A7/II, NEX-6 EVF, doh!) Since i do love 35mm Film SLRs since my childhood, i naturally prefer any good all glas pentaprism OVF, over any EVF. I could use these only a short time...and than having eye issues, which sucks. Serveral years ago, i made jokes into the DPR forum, about animals, birds, plane & cars, literally squirrel AF...and guess what? 2023 we do all have these...crazy!

I would not be in a hurry to write off such systems as rudimentary

Can anyone tell me what's wrong with my 5D? It worked fine the other day, but now, when I take a picture, the screen only shows vertical, colored lines. I tried different lenses, batteries, etc... But same results. Everything else is working like normal, but every picture just shows the same screen of vertical lines. You can't see the image I took at all.

Have to disagree a little, I kike CF cards, they are tough, just right size, SD cards are small and fiddly, though I do use SD cards in my Canon T5i, because it doesn't take CF cards! By the way I love, I love the Canon T5i. CF, to me are more robust, nearly indestructible, and so reliable. As a vintage digital camera shooter, like the Sony DSC R1, I don't have much choice but to use CF cards, I have a multi format card reader installed on my PC. I've never had a CF card fail on me yet Regards Rob in the

There are TWO downsides on that Camera you DON'T speak about or even told them for good. . 1) AF is not always working fine ... sometimes it happens that focusing on center AF-point its NOT in focus which is a well known "bug" on that camera. . 2) Battery life is - against your meaning - BAD compared to other EOS DSLR that time ... EOS 10D for example. You will only be happy by using perfect performing BP-511. Batteries that are just a little "bad" performing due to age will be quit by EOS 5D very fast ... but working fine for hundred of pictures in EOS 10D for example. . Having an Eye on that TWO downsides and therefore using that camera only for private use, that output of Canon-CCD sensor will produce unique fantastic colours that make fun. But I will NEVER use that camera for important pictures i have to trust my camera because i can't trust that EOS 5D Classic that point !!

Sir..5d how much price old camera. I am sent my 5dcamera give me money.please help me. From india

I do not live in Finland but want to buy you a chicken burrito. Not a coffee. Burrito. Now what?