ygelman Loc: new -- North of Poughkeepsie!

I don't know about the price but do not let the broken USB connector enter your calculations. I've had that camera for years, still use it, and have never used the USB to download images.

b roll wanabee

I never use any usb connectors. Dl is way faster taking the cf card out and putting it in a card reader.
Just make a commitment to burn that shutter count before your camera dies.
An series of astro-time lapse would be just the thing.
Love the images it makes.

AntonioReyna Loc: Los Angeles, California

In the past I had a new 5DII and have recently acquired a used one with about 60,000 shutter count, which works great and I have used it as a primary and backup body. In all the time that I have shot digital, not once have I downloaded images using the USB port. This body uses CompactFlash cards, not the SD cards. If it is in good shape, should do the job for you as they are great cameras.

John Solak

I've owned a 5DII since they came out. Fine Camera, but one thing, they do not use a SD card, I use a cable connection to download.

Wingpilot Loc: Wasilla. Ak

Gotta wonder if the owner managed to bend the USB connector, what else did he subject the camera to. Pretty hard to bend a USB port. Pig in a poke.

elliott937 Loc: St. Louis

Jay, I have been down the road you plan to travel. I say "go for it", but test drive it first.

I always take my CF card out to transfer images, so I have never used the USB connector, ever, and do plan to do. That said, is there anything else? If not, I'd snatch it up in a hear beat.

Let me add, I now have two 5DII bodies. One was the original new out, purchased the December they first came out. Still working perfectly. But I like the idea of a back up. So four months ago, I bought a second body-only. I paid $600 for it locally. But I meet the seller at a restaurant locally, brought my own lens, and fired many shots through the restaurant window. I was very satisfied with the camera body and the price. I believe they are built to last a lifetime. And remember, --should-- any of us wear out the shutter, the mechanism can be replaced.

starlifter Loc: Towson, MD

I use a Solmeta gps unit that I got from Amazon. Great unit that I use on my nikon d7200. Very accurate and minimal battery drain , at least with a nikon battery. It also uses a coiled wire with a right angled connector to minimize snags. Had a cheaper one that had a straight wire and connector that lasted half a day before breaking.

jayluber Loc: Phoenix, AZ

I have a Canon 77D for every day use. I'm looking for a full frame for night astro photos and landscape to hook up with 14 or 16mm EF lens. They will be manual focus, so focus speed is not an issue either. So I don't care about the number of focal points or some of the other stuff. I do care about sensor quality and the quality of the photos at night and how it performs at 1600 and 3200 ISO. Also, I usually use back button focus (BBF) and spot metering so again the number of and type of focal points is not a big issue.

Seller claims 3500 cycles and broke the connection when camera fell over when being used. Sez it's been used for clothing and food photos indoors only.

Will have to get new batteries and CF card. It's the CF card that worries me.
I think with the intended purpose - this should be good choice. Esp if I can get it for $200.

leftj Loc: Texas

You never say what the seller is trying to sell you. Also if manual focus how does BBF come into play?

jayluber Loc: Phoenix, AZ

Looking at buying a Canon 5D Mkii. BBF for when I use AF lenses on it.

jayluber Loc: Phoenix, AZ

I use BBF on my manual lenses just to make sure focus is locked in. Just kidding... I use it to set the aperture.

Kuzano

In the computer biz we call some damage, the potential for a "creeping failure". The point here is that some undue pressure bent the USB port. ????, how may that affect adjacent contacts, connections and circuits. One thing you could do is call Canon Support in Irvine Ca, and see if you can get a rough idea of the fix.

I've been looking for a Mrk ii d5. If you search diligently (I use eBay often) you will find them occasionally for around $400. That's usually body only. But often from sellers with good feedback.

Bit of a gamble, but since it uses SD cards, you are not likely to have a card failure. I pull my memory cards on all my camera's, because it's just as likely you can have a circuit board failure by connection/discennecting your camera direct to the computer. I've seen a couple and the cost of camera repair is considerably more than replacing a bad card.

Let me say this, I have seen more card slot failures in camera's than I ever have in memory cards.

Final comment. I'd probably shoot a price of $350 at the owner and take a gamble. It's not like your going to have trouble finding another. It's just how soon you want to "do the deal".

jayluber Loc: Phoenix, AZ

It's not the CF card per se that I'm worried about, it's the repetitive inserting of the card and the potential for damage to the pins.

It's either the 5D Mii or a 6D.

elliott937 Loc: St. Louis

One more contribution here. I know all members here do not reside in a town or city where you are near a brick-and-motar camera store, but I'll bet the majority would be. That said, if you are near one, I'd strongly like to suggest you talk to the sales people there about buying a used 5DII body. You may have to wait a little for them to get one in. But I've purchased two L-series lenses and (a good while ago) a used 20D body. Through them, I have 30 days to use it, and can return it for any reason during those 30 days.

Like you guys (and gals) here, I, too, purchase many things from Internet stores and Craig's List. But when it comes to serious camera equipment, my first stop is my local camera store. Don't forget, we need to support them.....so that they stay in business.

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

The 5D Mark II is a great camera and $400 for one is probably a pretty good deal. I'm concerned about the USB connector, though, since that's used to connect the camera to a computer for various reasons... Not just downloading images (which is more easily done by removing the Compact Flash card and using a card reader, anyway.) For example, I often "sync" the clocks in several cameras by connecting them to a computer. I also sometimes do tethered work indoors.

I don't know about the 5DII specifically, but on many DSLRs the USB socket is part of the main circuit board. Repair means replacing that entire board, which is expensive and involves pretty much complete disassembly of the camera (one reason that I recommend not using the USB cable and socket to download images.... instead pop out the memory card and use a card reader because the memory card socket on most cameras is a separate sub-module that's a lot lower cost to replace and more easily accessed to repair, if it ever gets damaged).

The 5D Mark II is actually lower resolution than your 77D (21MP versus 24MP)... And it's not got all that high ISO capable (the highest I use my 5DII is ISO 6400.... but I've shot at ISO 16000 with my newer 7D Mark IIs and would expect the even newer 77D to be able to do about the same). 21MP and 6400 ISO were great in 2008/2009.... but are significantly eclipsed by newer models today. Even most APS-C models are higher resolution and higher ISO capable.

Comparatively speaking, 5DII's AF system is rather primitive, too. Canon DID NOT update the AF from the original 5D model from 2004. So the 5DII's AF is almost 15 year old technology. It's basically a 9-point AF with 6 "hidden" Assist Points clustered close around the center point that can optionally be enabled, but ONLY work in AI Servo mode (they sort of make the center point a giant AF point, roughly the size of the Spot Metering circle indication on the focus screen). Of the 9 visible points, only the center one is higher performance "cross type". The rest of them are lower performance single axis. The 6 Assist Points include a couple cross-type, the rest being single axis. The 5DII's AF is "f/5.6 limited", meaning that it cannot autofocus an f/5.6 lens + 1.4X teleconverter combo or an f/4 lens + 2X teleconverter. 5DII is pretty good in low light, I'd estimate it's able to focus as low as about -1.5 EV (Canon rates it to -1 EV, if I recall correctly). Not bad, but 6D and current models are mostly able to focus to -3 EV (check what 77D can do, I really don't know).

In comparison, I do know your 77D has a 45-point AF system... largely adopted from 80D. All points are the higher performance "cross type". And up to 27 of them are "f/8 capable" with select lenses, meaning that you can use 1.4X teleconverter with an f/5.6 lens or a 2X with an f/4 lens. Further, the 77D has an active matrix focus screen that adapts to different selected focus patterns... I think including All Points/Auto, Single Point/Manual, Zone Focus and Large Zone. 5DII has a fixed focus screen (user interchangeable with a couple types such as "D" version with a grid) and has only All Points/Auto and Single Point/Manual. One thing the 5DII has that your 77D doesn't is AF Micro Focus adjustment. You can fine tune the focus of up to 20 lenses on the 5DII (up to 40 on 80D, but not on 77D). It's also got higher specification shutter with up to 1/8000 top speed (compared to 1/4000 on your 77D). But it has the same 1/200 flash sync as your camera.

Sure, you can use 5DII for BIF and other active subjects. I've done so. But, honestly, it's the last of my cameras I'd choose for that purpose. 7DII, 7D... heck even 50D and 40D that I've used are all better choices. The 5D Mark III with it's much improved AF system is another matter. The 5DII's AF is just too slow and limited... The result is far more missed-focus shots trying to capture fast action, than with some of the more appropriate cameras. Its rather modest 3.9 frames per second continuous shooting rate doesn't help much, either. Nor does its approx. 11 RAW file size buffer (after which camera needs to slow or pause to clear the buffer). In comparison, your 77D can shoot 6 fps and buffer 23 RAW files.

Probably 5D Mark II's biggest claim to fame is it's HD video. It was the first DSLR to offer that and a real game changer. A lot of 5DII are still in use in Hollywood and elsewhere in the movie industry. Dozens of films have used them as "hero" cameras that can be employed in small spaces where it was impossible to use the typical cinema camera. 5DII gave birth to a whole series of DSLR video advancements and creative new uses for digital in film making. It's still a quite capable camera... though I'd question it alongside a 77D that actually might outpace it in a number of ways (resolution, AF performance, highest usable ISO, frame rate, etc.)

Not sayin' "don't do it"... just have your eyes open and realistic expectations if you do decide to go for that 5DII. It's now a 3 generation old model and a lot has changed in the years since it was introduced. Today's APS-C cameras are able to match or beat the FF models back then... and often have more, new features and innovations (Touch Screen, Anti-Flicker, etc.)