Iris Issue With Canon 5D Mark II Firmware Update 2.0.4

Just test out any macro lens yourself.
Uncouple it and mess around with the focus ring and look at the iris. Remember it’s a photo macro lens

CanonRumors is completely WRONG about this. Somebody needs to explain how light and aperture works to “Mike” before he starts confusing people.

The fact that an f2.8 aperture passes the same light as f5.6 at full macro distance has nothing to do with the actual iris closing down. This is because the distance from the film plane to the iris changes dramatically, making the iris opening appear to be smaller because it is farther away from the film plane.

If CR were right, reducing the iris when focusing near macro would result in 2x as much light loss as macro photographers experience. Of course, this is not correct.

If the actual lens iris is mechanically stopping down as the focus distance approaches macro, this must be a mistake in the 5D firmware’s algorithm for that lens. Few macro photographers use camera in video modes since large sensors are not ideal for close-up photography. I’m sure this element was not tested by Canon beta testers, due to its relative obscurity.

Just tested the 5D with 2.0.4 using a Zeiss ZE 100mm Macro, manual focus. No Iris Change whatsoever. I don’t have a Canon L 100mm Macro to test.

none L macro m8, just popped it on myself, this kills a few shoots ive been wanting to take >.<

It’s good to clarify something that is already clear if you see the 2 videos posted.

What we are reporting is the iris “jitter” in full manual mode for movie/video. In this mode (M and LV set to “Stills+Movie-Movie Display”) the camera should not make any change at all to the iris, because it’s “full manual”.

This issue has nothing to do with what some people has posted at CR (I guess most of them didn’t even see the videos nor read the report)

A reader has sent a comment with a video test link, he found the same iris behavior on his Canon 300 F/4L IS. It’s not as noticeable as on the 100mm 2.8 Macro, but it’s there.

Check the updated post:
http://5dmark2.wordpress.com/2010/04/05/malfunction-in-firmware-2-0-4/

Of course, manual lenses on which the camera cannot change iris won’t show any issue of this kind.

weird noises out of my 70-200 IS F2.8 lense in Live Mode…(almost as if the focus motor is working OT. Decided not to mess around with it too much as the lense is worth as much as a new 7D and boy is that loolking like an option for my video work. 5D mark11 for stills 7D for slo-mo non downconverted video. Sounds good to me

I was using my 100mm macro on an important shoot and it was doing this for me as well. I can even see the flicker of iris changes when recording in live view mode. You can actually look through the lens and while focusing see the iris changing and making noise. Is there going to be a fix for this or should I go back to the prior firmware?

+1 to mthomas, the camera is compensating for the loss of light when you change focus from infinity to macro distances.

I’m getting the iris jitter as well with my Canon 180 mm macro since the firmware update.
I DO want to use my 5DII for macro video, and am pretty unhappy about this.

Come on Canon…

I have the same issue with:

70-200 f2.8
50mm f1.4
24-70 f2.8

Im suprised that this has been an error for so long and not addressed by Canon.

Anyone have any workarounds that do not involve hardware isolation of the lens aperture control?

D