At the time of its introduction, the Canon 5D became the cheapest full-frame DSLR on the market. By all measures, this is a great camera which succeeds exceptionally well at taking great pictures. One notably lacking feature in the Canon 5D is a built-in flash.

Having 12 megapixels, this camera allows for high-quality print sizes up to 21" x 14". The cost for such a high resolution, when compared to the Canon 20D, is mostly slower continuous shooting. Having a full-frame sensor brings advantages and disadvantages to the 5D. On the positive side, lenses become wider and depth-of-field becomes shallower. On the negative side, a full-frame sensor requires much higher-quality lenses because it is more sensitive to lens defects, lenses diminish their telephoto reach and depth-of-field becomes shallower. Note that wether depth-of-field becomes shallower is beneficial or not is a matter of personal photography style. Finally before buying, it is important to consider the cost of this camera together with the high-quality lenses it requires.

 

The Nikon D200 became the Canon 5D's first close competitor at the time of its introduction. See our assessment of the D200 for a comparison of these excellent digital cameras.