Reader Question: Canon 5D Mark II Support in Lightroom
Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Reader Nancee asks, “I’ve heard a rumor that the new Canon 5D Mark II camera will not be compatible with either Lightroom or Bridge as a RAW converter. Say it isn’t so!!!“
Well, for those who haven’t heard, the widely-anticipated update to Canon’s full-frame sensor digital-SLR 5D is here. The EOS 5D Mark II has a 21.1-megapixel full-frame CMOS sensor with DIGIC 4 Image Processor, an ISO Range of 100-6400 (expandable to ISO L: 50, H1: 12800 and H2: 25600), plus EOS technologies like Auto Lighting Optimizer and Peripheral Illumination Correction. It supports Live View shooting, Live View HD videos, and more. It can shoot up to 3.9 fps, has 9 AF points plus 6 AF assist points, a new 98% coverage viewfinder, a 3.0-inch Clear View LCD (920,000 dots/VGA) and a rugged build.
When new cameras are released, there is typically a delay before a software update is released for Lightroom and Camera Raw. I’m not positive if the new Mark II will be unsupported initially, but I imagine it will lack support.
Adobe works closely with camera manufacturers to get support for newly-released camera models. When an update is available, I’ll be sure and mention it here.
Check out the new Canon EOS 5D Mark II at B&H Photo and Video or Amazon.com
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ADDITION: Lightroom 2.4 is the most current version (as of this writing), and the 5D is supported. Check out this article for more information on version 2.4.
Filed Under: FAQ
About the Author: Scott Rouse is an Adobe Certified Expert (ACE), photographer, teacher, and graphic- and web-designer in Missoula, MT. His photography focuses on wildlife and adventure sports and can be viewed at 
Dear Nancee, Scott, and All of the Others Who Will Ask This Question,
Scott’s answer here is spot on. Whenever new cameras are released it takes the good folks at a Adobe a little while to build and test the new Raw conversion profiles. I wrote an extensive article on this topic a few weeks ago with advice on what to do if your brand new camera is a little ahead of the Adobe engineers. Here is the link.
http://www.computersforphotographers.com/2008/08/reader-question-why-can-i-open-my-brand.html
Thanks for your comment, Dave! That article you mentioned is a wonderful answer to Nancee’s question.
With the Lightroom 2.3 update on the horizon this camera is now pretty well supported. If your still having trouble make sure your using the latest LR update.
We’re at version 2.4 now, and the 5D Mark II is fully-supported. You can get more information here.
-Scott
While the Mk II is supported by Lightroom now it is not fully-optimized for it. Depending on your workflow, you may be converting your RAW files to DNG. If you shoot at all in sRAW – Canon’s special lower resolution RAW format – please note that Lightroom and Adobe’s RAW convertor both inflate the final filesize of the DNG conversion by approximately 70%. I don’t know how publicized this issue might be but I discovered it through my own work and have since reported it to John Nack. If you shoot any sRAW I suggest importing them without conversion and store your changes in XMP sidecar files until Adobe figures out how to convert the files to DNG properly.
Victor,
Thanks for the news on that. I can’t think of a good reason that one would want to shoot in sRAW, but it’s good to know about the file size inflation.
-Scott
Hi Scott,
I’m a LightRoom 2 user on a PC (XP Professional) and I’ve updated to Lightroom 2.4 and Camera Raw 5.4 (32-bit). I’m using a Core 2 Duo (2ghz) and I have 4gb of ram installed.
My problem is when I try to import photos from my Canon 5D Mark II- only the JPEG’s get imported. The Raw (cr2) files will not import even though they are present on the memory card.
What am I missing here? Do I have to import them through Canon’s Digital Photo Professional? I thought Lightroom 2.4 was smart enough to import the photos directly?
Todd
Dear Todd,
Hmmm. This doesn’t sound right. With those updates Lightroom shouldn’t have any trouble copying and interpreting your .cr2 files. Having worked with a 5d ii recently I can assure you that Lightroom is ready for these files. This makes me wonder if you are importing things properly.
Sorry to ask such a simple question but where are you telling Lightroom to put your files?
I’ve seen folks cause themselves a lot of trouble here.
Here are two experiments that might help. 1. Copy the entire DCIM folder from your memory card to your computers desktop and then import that folder into Lightroom.
2. Try using the copy and convert to dng option in the import dialogue.
If either of these fail then something is seriously wrong but if they work then I think we are dealing with pilot error.
Hope this helps
David