Probably like most people that are waiting for that "phantom" 5d MKII, I couldn't wait no more. The rebate pushed me over the edge. I'm glad I took the plunge. This camera rocks! I'm so glad I upgraded. I'm sure the next version is gonna have all the bells and whistles, but this has become a legendary camera. Everyone has already gone over the specs and likes and dislikes. I just want to say anyone waiting for the new version and wondering if they got this, would they be happy......be assured you will be VERY happy.

I just purchased the Canon 5D, the price finally came down to the point that I could afford, I have been waiting years for this camera, read every review on the Web, I really wanted that full frame sensor.

I also own the Canon 40D which is also an excellent camera as far as frames per second, but has some issues that really bothered me, the biggest was that it did not focus well indoors unless there was plenty of light,considering the cost I expected more.The 40D has many bells and whistles such as live view which I never really used and a solid body that feels and look good.

The first thing I tested with the 5D was its focusing ability in low light, it does a great job focusing fast every time, as a matter of fact I couldn't get it not to focus even in the darkest room, this was very important to me.

The camera body also has a a nice feel in the sense that it will probably be the first DSLR that I will not have to buy the battery grip for, it just feels comfortable in your hands.

It is great to have my lenses actually reflect the focal lenghts as listed in the lens.

The 5D produces noticeablly sharper pictures then any DSLR I have ever owned.

I know that there will probably be a replacement before the end of the year for the 5D but it will probably be too expensive, so anyone wanting a full frame camera should probably buy the 5D now, you won't regret it.

Amazon had the cheapest price (at the time) and the camera is everything I expected and more. I upgraded from a Rebel XT. At the same time I bought two new L-series lenses - well worth the money. I'm still learning all of the features this camera offers. The low-light shots are amazing - the speed is great. I'm a semi-pro photographer and am extremely happy with my purchase - even knowing that any day now Canon is going to roll out the upgrade.

I have owned the 5D for about 5 months. I was waiting for the 5D Mark II but I decided not to wait any longer and I am glad I didn't. Previously I had used a Rebel XT that I still own and have as a second body. Reading the review that gave it only 2 stars is just a bit dissapointing. The overwhelming number of people (pros and amateurs alike) that have truly used this camera as it was designed (that is, coupled with the right choice of lens) have had outstanding results. This camera is excellent when used with the right lens; I have used it with my Canon 16-35mm 2.8 L II and the full frame just sings edge to edge with beautiful,smooth tones and sharpness (think exquisite landscapes). Vigneting is not an issue in my experience; because of all the reviews posted, to go into a full review will be repetitious so I won't. Just for fun, I used a "consumer" lens to test it and it truly shows all the flaws of the cheaper optics; this reinforced the notion that you really cannot use this camera with lower quality glass.

In addition, I have used it with my Canon 70-200mm 2.8 L with excellent results (portraiture and sports).

I am not a Canon snob; in my 20 years of the hobby, I have used and still own a Nikon F with Nikkor lenses, as well as other Pentax and Canon cameras. I truly believe that now Canon has the best selection of lenses to go with many future cameras (I am still waiting for the 5D Mark II). The closest camera that Nikon has that is full frame is the D3, which has received great reviews but retails for $5,000.

Summary- This is an outstanding camera for the price; it has taken my photography to a whole new level.

It was hard (and expensive) to go from Nikon to Canon, but worth it. I always felt my Nikon could be sharper. I went to Canon for the Lenses and I'm not disappointed, nor will you be. The D5 with the 24-105 L series lens is a beautiful setup, extremely versatile. This is not a compromise camera. Is it perfect, no, but a very, very good camera and lens.

Mainly I use this camera for photographing artwork. I use strobes, and sometimes available light or the 580ex flash. So the lens is plenty fast for my purposes. In fact I try not to go below 5.6 for sharpness. Be warned, if you use the widest zoom, don't fill the frame, there is definite fall off at the corners. The color rendition is beautiful, and nearly flawless right out of the camera, very little post processing is necessary. This was the most frustrating thing about Nikon. Sitting in front of Photoshop fixing bad photos simply sucks.

Then why a rating of 4 and not a 5? I would like to give it a 4.7, because it is not perfect, no camera is. I sometimes use a Hasselblad with a Phaseone digital back and that's not perfect($30,000 setup). The D5 with canon lenses is not a Hasselblad, but at a 10th the price, it is damn close. Did I want the 1ds mark iii? You bet. But for less than 1/3 the cost it is a much better value.

Things I like a lot:

Full frame, L series lenses, true wide angle, reasonable size body, good weight, buttons laid out well, easy menu, beautiful lens, great color, diopter adjust is great, high resolution for the price, good battery life, ergonomic, and a very reasonable price for a great camera.

Things that could be better:

Timer needs to be adjustable (Like a 2 second delay for tripod work), one or 2 buttons for custom settings (instead of the stupid print button). Easier white balance setup and control, confusing resolution descriptions, a pop up fill flash would be very useful in a pinch, time lapse control would be fun.

Things others find missing that I don't care about (but you might):

Not weatherproof, modest multiple capture speed, slow(ish) lens (F-4 isn't bad, and you can get very, very fast Canon lenses if you need them), weight of the lens, slight crop of the image in preview, no live viewing on the lcd, no fill flash, grainy at very high ISO (I found the camera quite impressive up to about 800).

Things that are unacceptable:

None.

A word about RAW. There are many resolution settings on this camera. From medium jpeg to Raw, and Raw with jpeg. This is mainly a studio camera for me, so burst mode is not something I use often. So I won't comment on the speed of capturing multiple images. Maybe if I do portrait work, I'll be glad it's there. But I use RAW with everything I shoot, you should too. As much as possible, anyway Yes the files are larger, but so what. A $40 extreme III card can hold hundreds of images. A 500gig hard drive can hold over 30,000! Here is the upside of raw. It gets better with age. Raw processing has improved from Photoshop cs1 to 2 to 3. Old raw files I have actually look better in the new versions. So if you keep your old raw photos untouched, you may actually get better photos in the years to come. RAW allows amazing adjustment. With jpeg or even tiff, you can't go back. They are what they are.

Summary: A camera cannot take good photographs, that is the photographer's job. That is why I like this camera so much, it gets out of my way easily, so I can do my part. This is a beautiful camera, with a beautiful lens at a GREAT price. Do buy a good UV filter to protect your lens, and a few CF cards and you are good to go.

I've used this camera now for 6 months and own 3, 5D bodies! I've used it with the following Canon lenses:

24-70mm f/2.8

70-200mm f/2.8

85mm f/1.2

200mm f/1.8

300mm f/2.8

I've shot EXTENSIVELY with all lenses WIDE OPEN and have not seen ANY vignettely indicated by a couple of other reviews. Are you kidding me? This thing is super sharp from center to edge.

The full-frame censor comes in mighty handy when you need to crop and don't think this is an insignificant thing. If you can perfectly frame all your shots then maybe you don't need this capability.

I would highly recommend this camera as the absolute be value out there in a DSLR regardless of brand.

I bought my 5D & 24-105mm L lens back in May 2007 largely based on the results and comments I saw in the various reviews on the Internet. At the time I had the Canon 30D with pretty much all the EF-S lenses. So, I decided to move to full frame digital with the 5D and 24-105L lens forming its base.

The 5D produces some really outstanding images with the 24-105L (and other) lens, but images are not truly distinguishable from or remarkably better than what I had been getting from my 30D. The improvement is certainly not worth the difference in camera price. Perhaps it's because my enlargements are never bigger than 8.50" x 11". Regardless, since I sold all my EF-S lenses and the 30D I feel pretty entrenched with my decision.

Please don't get me wrong. The build quality and resulting images from the 5D are top notch. However, the Canon 5D feature set has become downright old in the over two years it has been on the market. The 5D menu system was replaced with the introduction of the XTi, 1DM3, and 40D. Canon recognizes this as evidenced by the steep discounts they have been offering on the 5D over the past few months. Don't get me wrong, the 5D is more camera than I am experienced enough to really get from it. I also like the fact I don't have to do the math when buying a lens to make sure I get the image coverage I am used to getting from my 35mm film days.

Now would be an ideal time to buy the 5D. As long as the buyer recognizes that in exchange for a full frame CMOS sensor and outstanding image, the camera has a smaller than advertised image buffer, slow 3 fps top burst speed, and relatively slow image transfer rate to their computer.

If I had to do all over again I really think I'd stay with the APS-C sensor based camera because Canon seems to be putting the majority of their development dollars into the APS size sensor based platforms. The higher noise these smaller sensors are inclined to produce has been effectively designed around by Canon.

This is a common problem with quickly evolving technologies; do I buy now and get a terrific product knowing full well it will be heading toward obsolescence in less than 2 years? One solace I do have is the L and other EF lenses I bought this year will not be obsolete anytime soon.

I still enjoy my 5D but I use my new 40D more. If Canon comes out with it's FF replacement for the 5D in 2008 I will take a good hard look at it, and if my past performance is any indication of the future, I'll buy it fully knowing the irrationality of my action. Good thing photography is a hobby for me.

The Canon 5D and the 24-105L lens make an ideal do-it-all combination. It just that you can get substantially the same image quality and focal length coverage for considerably less money. And for some that matters.

If you also shoot wide-angle, welcome: This is our camera.

I've been a serious photographer since my teen years in the 1970s and early-on adopted the 24-mm wide-angle as my "signature" lens. Consequently, I was disappointed when the digital SLR revolution took off without regard to wide-angle lenses. A 1.6 crop factor is worthless for those of us who work in-tight and up-close. Personally, I haven't understood why the industry (Hello, Nikon?) adopted anything but full-frame sensors from the start ... or have yet to (Hello, Leica?). But for wide-angle shooters, a full-frame sensor is absolutely fundamental to the beast.

This camera, which I've had for over a year, is better than I ever anticipated. I am not a machine-gun firing in-the-rain sports photographer, so I can't speak to things important to those needs. But as a journalistic-style travel photographer, who captures the intimate joys of everyday life, I am exceptionally pleased with how relatively compact and light-weight it is (a tad heavier than my EOS film cameras; significantly smaller -- and much, much less expensive -- than other full-frame digitals). I am very pleased with how well it handles ISO's of 800 and 1600.

But, fundamentally, for me, it is the full use of my wide-angle lenses (especially the phenomenal Canon 24mm 1.4 "L" lens) that keeps me smiling with every trip of the shutter and every review of its results. Canon could have left me and a whole segment of its wide-angle shooters behind (in the manner that Nikon and Leica did), forever stuck with our film cameras. But Canon didn't. And not only that, they brought us along with an incredibly great all-around camera for ALL our lenses (including the fabulous shift/tilt architectural lenses that also can't be used with crop-factor sensors). And they did it at half the price that the cheapest full-frame Nikon goes for.

Whether you can or cannot afford the 24mm "L" lens, I also highly recommend the nicely priced, super-sweet 20-35mm EF zoom to go with this body -- for those who want and need their wide-angle lenses.

Thank you, Canon! (Good luck, Nikon and Leica.)

Went from a 6MP Rebel to the 20D to this and all have been great, but this is the best.

Be warned, you will be very tempted to buy better glass. This camera is so sharp you notice the softness in your lenses.A perfect example is my 28-70 f2.8 Sigma It is the sharpest lens I have and I have made some wonderful 11&14 prints with the 20D. On this camera the images look almost soft. So I have a 17-40L on order, and want the 70-200 also, If the wife doesn't kill me first. [Both tried at the local camera shop]

Learn to clean your sensor - this is a dust magnet. I am always very careful when changing lenses and have already had to clean this one in the first week!

Images are the bottom line, and this camera really shines there. I cann't imagine better resolution then this.[At least not in a camera I can afford!]

I recently purchased the Canon 9500 printer and have done a couple of 13&19 prints with no grain. You can almost count the pores on peoples faces, and my macro flowers are so real you can almost smell them.

*Update II* Just tried DxO Optics Pro version 5 for the 5D and my lenses. It fixes distortions, noise, exposure etc. that will transform your images into amazing ones automatically. It costs twice as much for full frame bodies (3 bills) vs crop but is worth every penny. Even if you use photoshop or whatever, just give the demo a try (dxo.com) and see what I mean!!!

*Update* - currently using the Ee-S focus screen for DOF preview with my 50 1/4 since the standard screen could not handle the speed. It's a great upgrade. Focusing (manually) pops in perfectly. Highly recommended. Works well with slower lenses as well, just a slightly darker viewfinder.

Five years ago I bought a Canon S40 (after using my father's Canon Pro 70) and at the same time I saw the 1DS and fell in love with the viewfinder and just knew full frame would be my next camera if my EYE improved. Well, this summer I upgraded to the 5D. It was so much fun testing out new cameras because to me they are all just tools to help capture the images my eye sees. I narrowed it down to three different bodies...Nikon D200, Leica M8 and Canon 5D.

All three cameras are excellent. The Nikon being the most feature rich. Leica, the best craftsmanship and simplest in design, and the Canon neatly settling in the middle. Being that I like to shoot without flash 95 percent of the time, higher ISO performance was most important. The Canon 5D pulled away at ISO 400 and beyond while still maintaining excellent dynamic range. One can use slower lenses because ISO 400 and higher are so clean. And speaking about lenses, I found it so much easier to decide on what to buy for my purposes (50 /1.4 and 70-300 DO). Because a 50mm is just that, I use my feet and snap away. With the crop factor, it was not so easy. Just because a 35mm gives you a similar view as a 50mm on full frame the images look more distorted and just different. Also, should one buy digital only lenses or full frame ones for the Nikon since they now have a full frame D3 on the horizon. As for Leica, it had a 1.3 sensor so things would be interesting as well.

Also surprising was how pictures looked when printed. The Nikon was good but not quite up to the Canon and Leica (dynamic range) level. The Leica was truly impressive until pictures with higher ISO printed. Here the 5D shined and the larger I printed the bigger the difference not to mention the level of detail that was rendered. Bokeh was really smooth too. What was truly amazing however, were images printed at ISO 3200 after a run through noiseware. This left me speechless.

Actually, as good as the 5D performed I realized it's not perfect by any means of the imagination. It lacks a lot of pro features (because it doesn't want to step on big brother's toes - 1Ds II) like weather sealing, 5 fps, dedicated mirror lock-up button, and auto iso. It does however, makes one THINK about their photo. Nikon has tried to simplify this by giving you auto everything. That approach is neat and can give you the sense that it can capture the moment quicker and easier than the Canon or Leica. However, after using the 5D for a couple of months I find it simple and easy to use in addition to having a cleaner design with fewer buttons. I must admit, the Leica was true joy, manual and all. The rangefinder is so cool. And the design so clean with virtually none of the wiz bang features of the Nikon. One really does have to THINK about composing the image and manually focusing it.

So, the 5D captured the best images for the way I shoot and the viewfinder is a true wow. I have no problem seeing or framing the image. And the Canon system (great lenses and printers) is hard to beat. One really should shoot RAW to realize the true potential of the 5D. However, the Leica M8 left an enduring impression on how I approach photography.

Now, if only my EYE could improve...