Canon EOS 5D Mark II firmware update to add broadcast and cinema frame rates

Though not as big as yesterday's release of its new EOS-1D Mark IV, Canon also slipped in an announcement that will make fans of the Canon EOS 5D Mark II's video capabilities happy. A press release from Canon Europe announced that the company is developing a firmware update to enable the 5D Mark II to record high definition 1080p video at 24 and 25 fps, providing a choice of video recording frame rates like the new EOS-1D Mark IV and EOS 7D offer.

When the 5D Mark II was first released last year, its full 1920×1080 video capture at 30 fps bested competitors like the Nikon D700 and Sony Alpha DSLR-A900. Then, in May of this year, Canon released a firmware update that added manual exposure control for video to the camera.  Now, with a firmware update due in the first half of 2010, the 5D Mark II will be able to record 1920x1080 video at 24 fps and 25 fps as well, making it compatible with the NTSC and PAL broadcast television standards in the U.S. and Europe, respectively and allowing budding filmmakers to create the cinematic look of film using the lower 24 fps frame rate.