I really have to begin this thread by disclaiming that EVERY digital sensor ever to be closely scrutinized has displayed one artifact issue or another. This is in no way a vendetta against Canon or the 5D mk2 in particular. All Nikon sensors have had their issues, in fact Nikon may win the prize for most notorious digital artifacts, with the D70 moire problem and the HUGE D200 banding issue.

ANYWAY, the 5D mk2 has picked it’s digital artifact poison. This time the victims are city night photographers. Good luck taking pictures at night with pixel-size street lights or spectral highlights. Especially at high ISOs…

Like I said, no sensor is perfect. You just have to pick your poison… Luckily for most 5D mk2 purchasers, this artifact will never be an issue. Architectural night photographers, however, be warned…

Take care! And fell free to ask me about what artifacts or issues YOUR favorite Nikon / Canon camera might have, it’s possible the data is rattling around somewhere in the back of my head. I’m not sure what the D3 / D700′s artifact issues are, but I do remember reports of severe banding in “pushed” images at HI+ ISO’s…

=Matt=

[EDIT] By the way, I misspoke when I said the D700 has moire. I meant the D70. It had a VERY weak anti-aliasing filter, and therefore certain cloths would generate incredible moire patterns. Google it.

And yes to clarify I am talking about the tiny black dots to the right of all those small lights. They do look like USM / CA artifacts, but neither of these explanations make sense given the direction and the fact that I believe they are RAW images…