Why can the Canon 5D Mark II produce better video quality than the 60D if both use DIGIC 4?
Asked 6/4/2011
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If the Canon 5D Mark II and Canon 60D both use a single DIGIC 4 processor, why is the 5D Mark II often considered to have better video quality in technical terms? I’m not asking about shallow depth of field or overall full-frame “look,” just the video signal and compression itself.
Since both record 1920×1080 video, it seems like the sensor output is being reduced to the same final resolution before compression. So if both cameras feed similar image data into the same processor, why would the resulting video differ in quality?
Is the difference mainly due to sensor size, pixel density, downsampling, line skipping, or noise performance before compression?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
15y ago
2 Answers
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The 5D Mk2 has a far larger sensor (because it's a full frame camera) and more pixels. My assumption would be the camera scales down the input to 1920x1080 so having more uncompressed data allows it to give a higher quality output.
If Andres's comment about it skipping lines whilst taking video is right, then the improvement in quality is more likely down solely to its lower pixel density. A lower pixel density means a bigger area per pixel, which means more light per pixel, more light per pixel means less amplification is required (amplification increases noise also)
Originally by user1580. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user1580
15y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
The processor alone doesn’t determine video quality. Even if both cameras use DIGIC 4, the image reaching that processor is different.
Based on the community answers, the main reasons are sensor-related:
- The 5D Mark II has a much larger full-frame sensor.
- Its lower pixel density means each photosite is larger and gathers more light.
- More light per pixel means less amplification is needed, which reduces noise.
- Cleaner input going into compression generally produces cleaner video output.
There’s also the issue of how the camera gets from a high-resolution still sensor to 1920×1080 video. If the camera uses line skipping or similar shortcuts rather than ideal downsampling, sensor design and pixel density can strongly affect the result. In that case, the 5D Mark II’s lower pixel density can help it produce a cleaner image with fewer artifacts and less noise.
So the difference is not just “DIGIC 4 vs. DIGIC 4.” The quality of the sensor readout before compression matters a lot, and the 5D Mark II’s larger, less densely packed sensor gives it an advantage.
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