Canon 5D Mark II Modes & Menus

Canon EOS 5D Mark II Modes and Menus

The Mode dial on the left side of the Canon EOS 5D Mark II's top panel lets you select various exposure modes, with a number of additions compared to the 5D. Being a model targeted at professionals and serious enthusiasts, just like the 5D, the 5D Mark II does not offer any scene mode, but it does offer the new Creative Auto (CA) mode (see description below). Other settings consist of Full Automatic, Programmed Auto Exposure, Shutter Priority, Aperture Priority, full Manual Exposure, and Bulb. There are also three Camera User settings (up from one on the 5D), for registering up to three banks of settings for quick recall.

Here's a description of each of the shooting modes:

Full Automatic Mode: Full Automatic is indicated on the Mode dial by a green rectangular outline. In this mode, the camera makes all exposure decisions with the exception of image quality. Autofocus mode is set to AI Focus. (AI Focus evaluates subject movement, automatically sets either one-shot AF or AI Servo AF automatically.) Drive mode is set to Single Shot, ISO is set to Auto, and the metering mode is set to Evaluative.

Creative Auto Mode: Canon has added their new exposure mode called Creative Auto (or "CA"). The CA mode is a cross between the green zone and program mode.

When set to CA mode, the 5D Mark II allows the user to adjust picture style, motor drive, and exposure compensation, as well as to use the program shift function and select between RAW or JPEG file formats, but the rest of the more complex features remain under automatic control. The 5D Mark II's rear-panel LCD display offers text help for each setting while in CA mode, for example prompting the user as to whether they want to blur the background with program shift, or make the picture brighter / darker with exposure compensation, etc.

Program AE: This is the first mode in the Creative Zone of the Mode dial. Program AE works similarly to the Full Automatic exposure mode, but allows more control over the exposure variables. Aperture and shutter speed are automatically selected by the camera, but you can bias the exposure to larger or smaller apertures by turning the Main dial, which will change the combination of aperture and shutter speed so as to maintain the same exposure value, but with a different combination of aperture/shutter speed.

Shutter-Priority AE: This mode allows you to manually set the shutter speed anywhere from 1/8,000 to 30 seconds, while the camera chooses the best corresponding aperture setting. You have control over all other exposure variables, including exposure compensation.

Aperture-Priority AE: The opposite of Shutter-Priority mode, Aperture-Priority AE allows you to set the lens aperture (with available apertures depending on the lens in use), while the camera selects the most appropriate shutter speed. Again, you have control over all other exposure variables, including exposure compensation.

Manual Exposure: This mode provides the same range of exposure control as the other Creative Zone exposure modes (except for exposure compensation), but lets you control both shutter speed and lens aperture independently.

Bulb: In this mode, the shutter stays open as long as the shutter button is pressed. This is useful for long exposures such as night scenes, fireworks, and astrophotography. The top Status display reports the elapsed time, from one to 999 seconds, as the exposure progresses. The use of an RS-80N3 Remote Switch or TC-80N3 Timer Remote Controller is recommended.

, , Camera User Settings Modes: These three final settings on the Mode dial allow you to save three individual sets of camera settings for quick recall. Useful when shooting an event with multiple light sources, such as a wedding and reception, these custom modes let you register camera settings for specific conditions and easily go between modes. You can save most of the camera's shooting mode options as well as the Custom Function settings. Settings are registered as C1, C2, or C3 through the Camera User Setting menu.

Playback Mode
This mode is entered by pressing the Play button on the back panel. Playback mode lets you erase images, protect them, or set them up for printing on DPOF-compatible devices. You can also view images in an index display, enlarge images to 10x, view a slide show of all captured images, or rotate an image. The Info button activates an information display, which reports the exposure settings for the image and graphs the exposure values on a small histogram.

Canon EOS5D Mark II Menu Details

Below are 5D Mark II menu options and their descriptions. Click on the image to see a matrix of screen shots showing the full menu layout.

Record Menu 1:

Record Menu 2:

Playback Menu 1:

Playback Menu 2:

Setup Menu 1:

Setup Menu 2:

Setup Menu 3:

Custom Functions Menu:

My Menu: