Canon EOS 5D Mark I vs II vs III vs IV Features
Comparison Table
| Canon EOS 5D | Canon EOS 5D Mark II | Canon EOS 5D Mark III | Canon EOS 5D Mark IV | ||
| Manufacturer | Canon | Canon | Canon | Canon | |
| Lens | |||||
| Effective Magnification | 1x | 1x | 1x | 1x | |
| Image Sensor | |||||
| Pixels | 12.8Mp (Megapixels) | 21.1Mp (Megapixels) | 22.3Mp (Megapixels) | 30.4Mp (Megapixels) | |
| Pixels (W) | 4368 | 5616 | 5760 | 6720 | |
| Pixels (H) | 2912 | 3744 | 3840 | 4480 | |
| Sensor Type | CMOS | CMOS | CMOS | CMOS | |
| Sensor Size | Full Frame | Full Frame | Full Frame | Full-Frame | |
| Sensor Size (width) | 35.8mm | 36mm | 36mm | 36mm | |
| Sensor Size (height) | 23.9mm | 24mm | 24mm | 24mm | |
| Aspect Ratio |
3:2 |
3:2 |
3:2 |
3:2 |
|
| LCD Monitor | |||||
| LCD Monitor | 2.5inch | 3inch | 3.2inch | 3.2inch | |
| Screen resolution | 230k dots | 920,000 dots | 1040k dots | 1620K dots | |
| Touch Screen | No | No | No | Yes | |
| Focusing | |||||
| Focusing modes |
Autofocus Manual Spot |
Autofocus Manual Spot Face Detection Centre AF Fine Tuning (Micro Adjustment) |
Autofocus Manual Spot Multi Centre AF Fine Tuning (Micro Adjustment) |
Autofocus Manual Spot Face Detection AF Tracking Multi Centre Touch AF AF Fine Tuning (Micro Adjustment) |
|
| Exposure Control | |||||
| Shutter speeds shortest | 1/8000sec | 1/8000sec | 1/8000sec | 1/8000sec | |
| Shutter speeds longest | 30sec | 30sec | 30sec | 30sec | |
| Bulb mode | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Exp modes |
Program Aperture-Priority Shutter-Priority Manual Scene modes |
Program Aperture-Priority Shutter-Priority Manual Scene modes |
Program Aperture-Priority Shutter-Priority Manual Scene modes |
Program Aperture-Priority Shutter-Priority Manual Program Variable |
|
| Metering |
Multi Pattern Partial Spot Centre-weighted - Average |
Multi Pattern Partial Spot Centre-weighted - Average |
Multi Pattern Partial Spot Centre-weighted - Average |
Centre-weighted - Average Multi Pattern Partial Spot TTL Centre Spot |
|
| ISO sensitivity | 50 - 3200 | 50 - 25600 | 50 - 102400 | 50 - 102400 | |
| White balance |
Auto Manual Bracket Incandescent Fluorescent |
Auto Manual Bracket Outdoors/Daylight Cloudy Incandescent Fluorescent Shade Flash |
Auto Manual Bracket Outdoors/Daylight Cloudy Incandescent Fluorescent Shade Flash |
Auto Manual Bracket Outdoors/Daylight Cloudy Incandescent Fluorescent Shade Flash |
|
| Exposure Comp | +/-2 | +/-2 | +/-5 | +/-5 | |
| Shooting Options | |||||
| Continuous shooting | 3fps | 3.9fps | 6fps | 7fps | |
| Video | |||||
| Movie mode | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Video Resolution |
1920x1080 FullHD 640x480 VGA |
1920x1080 FullHD 1280x720 HD 720p 640x480 VGA |
1920x1080 FullHD 4K 1280x720 HD 720p |
||
| Video FPS | No Data | 30fps | 29.97, 25, 23.976 fps | 4K 30,25,24fps | |
| Stereo Sound | No Data | No | Yes | No | |
| Optical Zoom with Video | No Data | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Other Features | |||||
| Image Stabilisation | No | No | No | No | |
| Interface | |||||
| HDMI | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| USB | USB 2 | USB 2 | USB 2 | USB 3 | |
| Wi-Fi | No | No Data | No | Yes | |
| Storage | |||||
| Card Type |
CF1 CF2 |
CF1 CF2 |
CF1 CF2 SD SDHC SDXC |
SD SDHC CF SDXC |
|
| File Type |
RAW JPG RAW + JPG |
RAW JPG RAW + JPG |
RAW JPG RAW + JPG |
RAW JPG RAW + JPG |
|
| Power Source | |||||
| Battery Type | Rechargeable Li-ion Battery BP-511 | Rechargeable Li-ion Battery LP-E6 | Rechargeable Li-ion Battery LP-E6 | LP-E6N | |
| Battery Life (CIPA rating) | 800shots | 850shots | 950shots | 900shots | |
| Box Contents | |||||
| Box Contents | No Data | No Data | No Data | No Data | |
| Dimensions | |||||
| Weight | 810g | 810g | 950g | 890g | |
| Width | 152mm | 152mm | 152mm | 150.7mm | |
| Height | 113mm | 113.5mm | 116.4mm | 116.4mm | |
| Depth | 75mm | 75mm | 76.4mm | 75.9mm | |
While the Canon EOS 5D Mark I is one of the lightest (shared with the Mark II), the newer Canon EOS 5D Mark IV isn't far behind in terms of size and almost everything else listed in the table has been improved greatly since the introduction of the Canon EOS Mark I and there are a few improvements between version III and IV, too.
- Pixels: 5D Mark I - 12.8Mp, 5D Mark II - 21.1Mp, 5D Mark IIi - 22.3Mp, 5D Mark IV - 30.4Mp (the IV has more than doubled the number of pixels first seen on the Mark I).
- LCD Monitor: 5D Mark I - 2.5inch, 5D Mark II - 3inch, 5D Mark IIi - 3,2inch, 5D Mark IV - 3.2inch (the IV has almost added an inch to the LCD monitor, in comparison with the Mark I and more importantly, it's now a touchscreen which is something none of the previous models had).
- Continuous shooting: 5D Mark I - +/-2, 5D Mark II - +/-2, 5D Mark IIi - +/-5, 5D Mark IV - +/-5
- Exposure compensation: 5D Mark I - 3fps, 5D Mark II - 3.9fps, 5D Mark IIi - 6fps, 5D Mark IV - 7fps
- Other improvements: More focus modes, more metering options, larger ISO range (see below for more details), more white balance modes, movie mode (the IV is the only camera to capture 4K video) and USB 3 (only on the Mark IV, the others are USB 2). SD/Compact Flash is compatible with both the III and IV, and both cameras also have a mic and headphone socket.
- The battery life is actually better on the Canon EOS Mark III with 950 shots listed as the CIPA rating. The Mark IV can capture 900 shots, then it's the Mark II at 850 shots and the original Mark I will capture 800 shots before the battery needs recharging. The 5D Mark IV uses the same battery as the previous model, the LP-E6N, so this means you don't need to worry about replacing any spare batteries you may have, as they will work on the new camera.
You can compare the specs of each camera, in more detail, by using the comparison table above.
