How much dynamic range does the Canon 5D Mark II offer?

According to measurements carried out by DXO Mark, the sensor in the Canon EOS 5D Mark II provides a maximum of 11.9 EV of dynamic range (DR). DR is defined as the ratio between the highest and lowest brightness a camera can capture. A value of 12 EV or above is considered excellent.

High dynamic range of a camera sensor is particularly desirable for scenes with a mix of very bright and very dark parts, such as in some landscape photography settings. It helps to avoid that highlights get washed out or that detail in shadows is lost.

Sensor specs and performance

The table below compares the sensor specs of the Canon 5D Mark II to those of several similar cameras. The reported DXO values are indicators of the sensor's imaging quality (higher is better). In addition to dynamic range (DXO Landscape), the listing also covers color depth (DXO Portrait) and high-ISO noise (DXO Sports). Larger sensor cameras tend to outperform cameras of the same generation that are equipped with a smaller imager. On the other hand, larger sensors are more expensive and require bigger and heavier lenses than smaller light receptors.

Sensor Characteristics

#		Camera Model	Sensor Class	Resolution (MP)	Horiz. Pixels	Vert. Pixels	Video Format	DXO Portrait	DXO Landscape	DXO Sports	DXO Overall
1.		Canon 5D Mark II	Full Frame	21.0	5616	3744	1080/30p	23.7	11.9	1815	79
2.		Canon 1D X Mark II	Full Frame	20.0	5472	3648	4K/60p	24.1	13.5	3207	88
3.		Canon 5D Mark IV	Full Frame	30.1	6720	4480	4K/30p	24.8	13.6	2995	91
4.		Canon 5DS	Full Frame	50.3	8688	5792	1080/30p	24.7	12.4	2381	87
5.		Canon 5DS R	Full Frame	50.3	8688	5792	1080/30p	24.6	12.4	2308	86
6.		Canon 5D Mark III	Full Frame	22.1	5760	3840	1080/30p	24.0	11.7	2293	81
7.		Canon 6D	Full Frame	20.0	5472	3648	1080/30p	23.8	12.1	2340	82
8.		Canon 1D X	Full Frame	17.9	5184	3456	1080/30p	23.8	11.8	2786	82
9.		Canon 7D	APS-C	17.9	5184	3456	1080/30p	22.0	11.7	854	66
10.		Canon 1Ds Mark III	Full Frame	21.0	5616	3744	none	24.0	12.0	1663	80
11.		Canon 5D	Full Frame	12.7	4368	2912	none	22.9	11.1	1368	71

In the United States, the 5D Mark II was initially launched in September 2008 at a price of $3,499.

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Camera to camera comparisons

In case you would like to check on the differences and similarities with other camera models, just use the search menu below. An an alternative, you can also directly jump to any one of the listed comparisons that were previously generated by the CAM-parator tool.

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