 As I already wrote in my Nikon D200 retro-review, my adventure in the world of DSLRs began in 2006 with the purchase of the Nikon D70s. The choice was difficult and included the Canon 350D as an option. Around the same time, however, I dreamed of two cameras: the Nikon D200 and the Canon 5D. I was acutely aware that I still didn't have the experience to use either of these two cameras and I always preferred to take the steps little by little as I gained experience. In the D200 retro-review, I explained all the details that later led me to the world of Nikon rather than Canon, but I can't say I was a Nikon fanboy: I liked many cameras, but I had to start with a brand, and I chose Nikon. However, I have always been curious about other brands and, above all, I have always had the desire to own and use a Canon 5D. Beyond the technical aspects that made the Canon 5D a revolution in 2005, there were also other aspects, or rather a trigger, that made me fall in love with that camera. Generally speaking, the Canon 5D was the first full-frame DSLR to be accessible to a non-professional audience, in times where Nikon still only had cameras with DX sensors. But beyond these details, the thing that made me fall in love with the 5D was a photo published on DPReview. It was a photo of a plane inside the aircraft museum. Analyzing the photo, I noticed that at the bottom there were tables with people sitting, one of them a girl with her leg crossed and her head bowed, intent on writing. Because of the pose and the low-waisted jeans, her thong could be seen, giving the girl a sexy connotation. By trying to crop the photo on her, I managed to isolate her while maintaining incredible detail. At the time, cropping a photo while isolating such a small subject and maintaining good resolution was pure science fiction. This detail always stuck with me, even when I later purchased the Nikon D3S, a better camera than the 5D; I had by then internalized that detail and it had to be exorcised with the purchase of the 5D. The fact is that in the years I've been searching on eBay and, after several attempts, finally in the fall of 2023 I managed to purchase a 5D with only 6,000 shots on it for the ridiculous price of €200. The hardest part was finding a decent lens, and after a few months I found a 28-135, a lens I wasn't familiar with but hoped would be as good as the camera. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to test the 5D consistently and it took me a long time to create good files. Only recently have I found the right conditions to dedicate myself to this beautiful and iconic camera. Also in 2023, I had the idea of bringing the camera as a second body during my trip to Andalusia, but I changed my mind for a series of reasons related to the type of camera I had chosen for that trip. Clearly, this review is more of a story and a personal vision than a technical review, however, I must say that the 5D pleasantly surprised me, leading me to consider some specific uses. Ergonomics and ControlsErgonomically, the Canon 5D is very different from the cameras I've used, mainly Nikon and Fujifilm. The most accurate comparison, however, is with the Nikon DSLRs I own. The 5D's controls are very different from Nikon's, starting with the power button and ending with the large, Canon-typical rotating dial located on the left of the grip. Another difference is the power button, which has three positions and is actually a lever under the large dial rather than the classic lever incorporated into the shutter button like Nikon or Fujifilm. Two elements that distinguish Canon's are the thumb grip and the middle finger recess located on the front of the grip. In theory, these universal Canon solutions should be more comfortable and anatomical, as well as similar across all models. As I've written in the past, not all Nikons have the same grip, and while some cameras like the D70S, D200, or D3S have fantastic grips, the D800 is one of the worst in this regard. Normally, on Nikon dials, I manage the shutter speed on the top dial near my thumb and the aperture value on the front dial below the shutter button. On the Canon 5D, as with other models of the same brand, the large round dial sets the aperture value, while the dial at the top changes the shutter speed. These elements give a different shooting experience than the Nikon one, not necessarily better or worse, just different. However, what I found a bit laborious is selecting the focus points. Even though the 5D has few points, to select them, I first have to press the zoom button in the top right and then, if necessary, move the AF points using the joystick. It's a somewhat laborious operation, whereas with Nikons I simply move the AF points with the d-pad. Nowadays, in more recent cameras or in my Fujifilm XT3, but not in the XT20, I can move the points with the joystick, a very immediate and simple operation. These are the main differences between the two systems, but I must say that once I got into the Canon logic, I began to use the 5D as if I had always known it. This detail made me understand the uselessness and the conflicts that arose in the beginning between "Nikonists" and "Canonists". I too have been a victim of this conflict and I regret not having tried different systems over the years because the perfect camera does not exist. Another aspect related to the shooting experience isn't necessarily related to the ergonomics of the Canon 5D but rather to the technology available at the time. One of the reasons why shooting with the 5D is similar to using a film camera is mainly because of the LCD monitor in addition to the optical viewfinder. As I mentioned in the Nikon D200 review, the 5D also has a small, low-resolution monitor, and unlike the D200, it doesn't even have a highlight indicator. This detail, combined with the fact that the exposure meter isn't perfect, leads to using experience to determine the exposure and makes the monitor practically unusable. This means that viewing the photo is limited exclusively to the computer, just as printing was with film.    PerformancesWhen I started using the Canon 5D, I was immediately disappointed by the white balance. The tone was very warm with orange tones, and I didn't like it because it seemed unreal. With a little patience, as I had done with the D200, I set the color temperature manually to 4500, making the tone very similar to the files I produce with the XT 3. I must say that even if the photos were better balanced, they still didn't seem natural to me, and the image quality was decidedly poor. I immediately realized that the problem was related to the lens I had purchased with the camera, an old and poorly functioning 35-80. Subsequently, when I purchased a stabilized 28-135 of significantly higher quality, I noticed that the WB had improved, giving off yellowish tones. In addition to this, the image quality had changed, reaching levels worthy of this camera. While shooting, I noticed that the colors produced with this combo were tending towards warm but very beautiful and natural. I really like the rendering of brown and green, and especially the colors whose cast I don't like, like purple or magenta, can easily be eliminated during editing without altering the other colors. I've noticed that cameras with "few" megapixels like this one have better color management than more modern cameras. I have to say that the more I shoot with the Canon 5D, the more I love its colors, and the more I push them to the maximum during editing, the more I like them. That warm tone cast gives that vintage look everyone talks about. The photos produced by the 5D have a more natural look and remind me of images like those in magazines or books I used to see as a child. Even using the 50mm F1.8, the images have the same quality and tonality, so the only negative exception was that old lens I used to use the camera with in the beginning. I was initially going to publish the review after these tests I listed, but caught up in the enthusiasm for this camera, I decided to purchase two more lenses: the 70-300 stabilized and the 28mm F2.8. With the first, I dedicated myself to wildlife and city photography, while I decided to give the 28 a try, taking it with me as a second body on my penultimate trip last September. I must say that neither disappointed me, and while with the telephoto zoom I was able to photograph insects and plants, enjoying the images of this type even with the 5D, with the 28 I was able to positively experiment with this camera's capabilities on my last trip to Valencia. I used this combo both for city photos and as a compact body alternative to the GFX during my last day spent in Malvarrosa. The 5D proved to be a modern camera; together with the 28, it is a compact, lightweight, and easy-to-handle combo that can take images that are in no way inferior to those created with the latest cameras. The more I shoot with these older cameras, and even with film cameras, the more I realize how brands, with their consumerist, capitalist policies, create only false expectations, thinking only of sales and profits. For taking and making great prints of beautiful photos, these top-of-the-line cameras from fifteen years ago are more than sufficient, available at ridiculously low prices and offering unique satisfaction. Personally, I'm embarking on a niche camera journey, and in my future I see brands like Leica and Hasselblad, both digital and analog. In my opinion, these Japanese brands, which mysteriously entered the photography world fifty years later, deserve bankruptcy due to their management policies. Right now, except for the OM-System OM 1 and OM 3, which are the only ones with basic computational functions, all the other cameras are otherwise identical. In other words, if you want to take photos, you can do so even with cameras from ten years ago. If, on the other hand, you want something technologically advanced with functions that don't exist yet—but if I've theorized them, even an engineer can—it's better to save your money. To return to the 5D, I'm happy that in the past, when brands were still sane, they wanted to produce quality products. As for me, I'll continue to search the used market for these special products that can take even better photos than those produced by "modern" cameras. All these video features, the infinite frames per second, the butterfly or mole tracking, or the pre-capture functions, are marketing tools for idiots who know nothing about photography. Pure photography is taking an old film camera, without a light meter, and going out into the street, composing and taking real images. Automatic functions are for the untalented. City Gallery               Nature Gallery        Candid Gallery        Travel Gallery-Valencia Palma de Mallorca  Albufera          Vele e Vents  ConclusionsIn conclusion, what I've noticed using this 5D Classic is that I particularly love these Canon colors. For me, having used Nikon as my approach to photography, it was a bit of a shock. After this camera, I also purchased the 1Ds Mark II, and that camera also produces files with beautiful colors. In other words, even making comparisons, I much prefer these Canon colors to the Nikon ones. It must be said that since 2018 I started using mainly Fujifilm, but I deeply regret not having chosen the Canon 350D over the Nikon D70s in 2006. I probably would have had a Canon kit today, but in the end, as I've discovered, I'm more of a selective photographer, so technological "wonders" aren't for me. What is certain, however, is that I will take this "old" camera with me, especially on trips or for certain types of photos, because the beauty of the colors it produces is unquestionable. A.M.
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