Nikon D4 vs Canon EOS 5D Mark II | Features and Performance | Full Specs Compared
Canon EOS 5D Mark II is a great full frame camera that was released in 2008, while the Nikon D4 is the latest Nikon full frame camera in the market. The Nikon D4 was released in January 6th 2012. Both of these cameras are professional DSLR cameras, which cost several thousand of dollars.
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Comparison of Nikon D4 vs Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Resolution of the camera
Resolution of the camera is one of the main facts a user must look into when buying a camera. This is also known as the megapixel value. The 5D Mark II features a whopping 21.1 Megapixels of resolution built into a 36 x 24 mm CMOS sensor. The D4 features a 16.3 Megapixel 36 x 24 CMOS Nikon FX format sensor. The resolution of the D4 is lower than the 5D Mark II, but the technology and the image quality are far superior.
ISO performance
ISO value range is also an important feature. The ISO value of the sensor means how much sensitive the sensor is to a given quantum of light. This feature is very important in night shots and sports and action photography. But increasing the ISO value causes a noise in the photograph. The D4 features a great ISO range from ISO 100 – 12800 with extended settings to ISO 204800. The 5D Mark II has an ISO range of 100 to 6400 ISO with two high ISO modes of 12800 and 25600 ISO, and a low mode of 50 ISO.
Frames per second rate
Frames per second rate or more commonly known as the FPS rate is also an important aspect when it comes to sports, wildlife and action photography. FPS rate means the mean number of photos the camera can shoot per second on a certain setting. The D4 has a whopping 11 frames per second rate. The EOS 5D Mark II has an acceptable frame rate of 3.7-3.8 frames per second. In the sense of fps rate, D4 easily exceeds the 5D Mark II. This is because the D4 possesses an Expeed 3 processor while the 5D Mark II possesses a DIGIC 4 processor.
Shutter lag and recovery time
A DSLR would not take the picture as soon as the shutter release is pressed. In most of the conditions, the auto focusing and auto white balancing would take place after the button is pressed. Therefore, there is a time gap between the press and the actual photo taken. This is known as the shutter lag of the camera. Both the D4 and the 5D Mark II have very small shutter lag or no shutter lag at all.
Number of autofocus points
Autofocus points or AF points are the points that are built into the memory of the camera. If the priority is given to an AF point, camera will use its autofocus ability to focus the lens to the object in the given AF point. The 5D Mark II has a 9 point AF system with 6 invisible focus assist point, the selection of AF points is very flexible. Features such as AF micro adjustment are also included in the system. The D4 has a whopping 51 point autofocus system with flexible point selection and very advanced focusing methods.
High definition movie recording
High definition movies or HD movies correspond to movies having resolution higher than standard definition movies. HD movie modes are 720p and 1080p. 720p has dimensions of 1280×720 pixels while the 1080p has dimensions of 1920×1080 pixels. Both cameras have 1080p high definition video recording capability.
Weight and dimensions
The Canon 5D Mark II reads a dimension set of 152 x 114 x 75 mm and weighs 850 g with the battery. The Nikon D4 dimensions read as 160 x 157 x 91 mm and weighs 1340 g with the battery. The D4 is larger and heavier than the 5D Mark II. This is because the D4 is a large SLR and 5D Mark II is a mid-size SLR.
Storage medium and capacity
In DSLR cameras, the inbuilt memory is almost negligible. An external storage device is required to hold images. Both the cameras support Compact flash cards.
Battery life
The battery life of a camera is very important. It tells us the approximate number of photos that can be taken in a single charge. This is extremely important in outdoor photography where power is not readily available. The 5D Mark II can take approximately 850 shots with a single charge while the battery life of D4 is not yet announced. If you are using the live view, you’ll probably run out of battery way sooner than this.
Live view and flexibility of the display
Live view is the ability to use the LCD as a viewfinder. This can be convenient because the LCD gives a clear preview of the picture in good colors. Both cameras have live view with fixed LCDs.
Conclusion
The Nikon D4 has a range of high-end technology built in it than the 5D Mark II, which was released in 2008. The performance of the 5D Mark II dramatically decreases in fields of action, wildlife and sports, but a D4 can keep up in such fields.