As we know, there's no technical reason why the 5D Mark II must operate in fully automatic mode when shooting video, and there are several workarounds which vary from the bizarre to the downright risky. Canon obviously decided to cripple the functionality in firmware to prevent its high-end video camera business being cannibalised by this camera. This is clearly a short-sighted policy. Anyone determined to use the 5DMkII manually will, using non-Canon lenses and/or hobbling the connection between body and camera, so the only effect of this is that we are annoyed and inhibited from using the camera as we would like. I have owned several DV cameras and have never really used them because of the poor image quality and tiny lenses. I am not a potential buyer of a high-end video camera, so Canon are simply alienating a loyal customer with this policy. Serious semi-pro, independent and professional videographers will continue to buy Canon's video cameras because of the many video-specific features those cameras offer - the 5DMkII is not a video camera and never will be. On the other hand, these guys would buy the 5DMkII in the morning, if only they could use it manually! So Canon is actually shrinking its market and alienating both groups of potential customers. It's simply nuts. I believe that Canon will eventually reverse this idiotic decision, and this can only be speeded up if we put pressure on them. On behalf of unhappy owners and people who would by this camera if it was usable, we appeal to Canon's better judgement and ask for this deliberate hobbling to be fixed in a firmware update.