kscanman Loc: Wisconsin

I know this is an iconic camera, as it has taken photos of presidents and what not. But how much is this camera really worth? I’ve been seeing some outrageous prices.

mflowe Loc: Port Deposit, MD

4-500 bucks.

SteveG Loc: Norh Carolina

$6-700 maybe for lesser used, higher quality examples. Still a great camera if you want to get into full frame inexpensively. You can also get the Sony A7, newer technology and much smaller for around the same price.

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

When we're seeing EOS 5DIII's now regularly in the $800 range, the EOS 5DII isn't worth more than $600, even if Grandma only drove it to church on Sundays.

SteveG Loc: Norh Carolina

Absolutely! I hadn't seen them lately but you're right! The Mark II IS are down where the IIs were. Even better!

chikid68 Loc: Tennesse USA

I purchased mine last year for $500.00

Mark Sturtevant Loc: Grand Blanc, MI

Agree. I got my Mark III for a smidge over $800, so a comparable Mark II should be less. Of course there are possible arguments to adjust the relative prices because of shutter count.

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

Depends upon the "mileage".... Heavily used and worn copies might go for as little as $400, while lightly used ones go for around $600 or maybe slightly more. One that includes accessories (extra batteries, battery grip, a kit lens such as EF 28-135mm or EF 24-105L, etc.) will go for more.

There have been a couple articles recently on F-Stoppers website touting the 5D Mark II as an "ideal beginner's camera". That might have effected used prices temporarily. And, while I agree it's a good camera that's still relevant and highly usable today, I don't think it's for everyone.

Someone starting a business shooting portraits, weddings... used 5DII are definitely a good, low cost option (that might leave the buyer more $ to put toward higher quality lenses).

But someone primarily wanting to shoot wildlife and sports would be better served looking at an APS-C camera instead of full frame (among Canon APS-C models, the original 7D or 50D would be my recommendations for a used "budget" camera... but there are similar among other brands such as Nikon D300/D300s).

Or, someone else looking for a small, lightweight travel camera or an compact, unobtrusive "street" camera might also look at APS-C models (Canon Rebel T3i, T4i, T5i in the used market) or even at Micro 4/3 (Olympus/Panasonic) or APS-C mirrorless (Canon M-series, Fujifilm, Sony).

The 5DII was a groundbreaking video DSLR... The first with full HD capability. This made it extremely popular in Hollywood. It's been widely used in more than 100 films and television shows. One of the 5DII's appeal was it's reasonably compact size compared to typical pro quality video cams. That made it more practical to use in tight spaces and able to give shots that couldn't be achieved any other way It also was much more affordable than most pro grade video cameras. The cost and size made it more practical as a "hero camera" that might be sacrificed to get a shot! Plus 5DII gave access to a huge array of Canon EF lenses, not to mention third party lenses made to fit the camera. These also are often far less expensive than cine lenses. But this popularity also means there are probably a lot of used copies out there that have seen very heavy use, so be a little careful when shopping for a 5DII. One that's been used largely for video may have relatively low shutter count, but 100X more "time" on it's components than a camera that's only been used for stills. A single 5 minute video clip only counts as one "click" of the shutter, but the camera's components are powered on for roughly the same time as 75,000 stills shot at 1/250 would accumulate! Those would show as 75,000 clicks, or roughly half the rated life expectancy (take those with a grain of salt, though.... there are no guarantees, but some 5DII have been reported to have taken over 500,000 or even 1 million shots).

5DII's biggest weakness is it's AF system, which is essentially unchanged from the original 5D, is more than 15 year old tech in a fast moving sector of the industry. It's particularly awful, slow "contrast detection" AF in video mode! Shooting any sort of action with it is pretty much limited to the center AF point only. It's the only visible AF point in the camera that's higher performance dual axis/cross type. The other eight visible AF points are slower, less responsive single axis type. Canon moved past this and made all nine visible AF points the better type in the 40D APS-C camera in 2007.

A little "secret" with the 5DII is that it actually has more than the nine visible AF points. There are six invisible AF Assist points clustered close around the center point, which the user can enable in the menu. activating these sort of makes the entire circle in the viewfinder that defines the spot metering area into one large AF point. Two of these assist points are the better "cross type", too. However, you can't see them at all and they only function in AI Servo focus mode, which is intended for use with moving subjects (can also be used with stationary subjects, best done only when Back Button Focusing is also employed). To be honest, the AF Assist points don't help a great deal. Using them still requires that you largely center moving subjects... and the camera just isn't great at tracking movement. Not nearly as good as even mid-grade models today (such as 45-point AF in 80D, 90D, 6D Mark II, T7i, 77D, T8i... 65-point AF in 7DII.... even 19-point AF in original 7D and 70D, T6i, T6s).

In 2012 the Canon 5D Mark III's biggest single improvement is gaining a much better 61-point AF system (incl. 45 "cross type"), which was in a very real sense "trickled down" from 1D/1Ds-series cameras. Otherwise the 5DII is 21MP... the 5DIII only gained one MP, to 22MP. There were certainly a number of other incremental improvements, such as higher usable ISO, faster frame rate (6 fps vs 4 fps), 2X memory cards vs 1X, larger & higher resolution rear LCD, etc. Folks who got a 5DIII for $800 got a bargain. Typical pricing for them is $850 to $1000... with really low mileage, super clean copies going for even a little more... maybe $1100 or $1200.

The original Canon 6D (2013, 20MP) is another alternative. It's AF system is able to work in about 1 stop lower light than the 5D Mark II's. However, of the eleven AF points in the 6D, only the center one is the better "cross type" and able to work at those light levels. The other ten peripheral AF points are the much less sensitive and responsive single axis type. The 6D body uses more plastic, has roughly the same max frame rate (4.5 fps vs 4 fps), has a lower specification shutter (1/4000 top speed vs 1/8000... and 1/180 flash sync vs 1/2000... rated for 100,000 clicks vs 150,000 with 5DII). The 6D was called the "high ISO king" in its day, so in that respect it's superior to the 5DII. But unless you need to use the camera a lot at ISO 6400 or higher, I'd opt for a somewhat less expensive, older but more metal clad, better sealed, tougher 5DII. Used 6D sell for approx. $700 to $1000, depending upon "mileage" and condition... or roughly $300 to $400 more than a 5DII typically cost.

5DII also was the first Canon DSLR to use the then new LP-E6 battery, which are still in use in many Canon today (now LP-E6N and LP-E6NH, which are backward compatible, used in all full frame DSLR and mirrorless except 1DX-series... as well as all 7D-series and xxD series DSLRs from 60D onward, except for the 77D which is actually a Rebel-series camera in spite of the name). LP-E6/E6N/E6NH cost a bit more than the BP-511/511A and BP-512/512A that were used in earlier models, but have a number of improvements, as well as higher capacity and better performance. Cheaper third party clones of LP-E6/etc. should be used with caution. Most clone LP-E6/etc. don't have the same "smart" circuitry, so cannot be charged in Canon chargers (and vice versa). Watson is the only third party manufacturer I'm aware of making a clone fully compatible with Canon chargers and likely comparable to the OEM batteries... their #B-1544-2 (not #B-1544).

I still have my 5DII, though it doesn't see a whole lot of use (I shoot mostly sports, which is not the 5DII's forte').

MJPerini

I think the reason for the relative higher price of the 5D mkII is mostly related to video. It offered uncropped, FF Video. The 5D 3& 4 offered cropped video. Unless you are buying it for that reason, the 5D III was a much better stills camera, for not much more money.

Ekeeton

I bought one from KEH for around $500. I use it for table top so AF doesn't matter to me. Depends on what you want to use it for but for still life shooting it's a superb value.

fretless

I've got two 5d3 I'd take $1500 or $800 for one...