What video format does the 5D "normally" create...

Meaning... you shot some video at 1080p... take the SD memory card out of the cam... put it in your PC... and drag it to your desk top...

Is it AVCHD/h.264 format in an MOV wrapper?

I think the cam will save RAW files but I'm not talking about that as I would expect that would mean changing the cam from its 'default' setting... I want to know the normal way it saves HD video other than RAW.

Thanks for any help.

I'm not sure I understand you correctly, but the 5d doesn't shoot video in a RAW format, that's only for pictures. The video is indeed mpeg-4 h.264 in a .mov container.

You answered my question about the 'normal' video file type.

Another question... Has Canon released the firmware update for this cam so that it can shoot 1080p video at 29.97 fps?

Thanks for the help.

Yes, v2.0.4 is available from Canon and allows for 23.976, 25 (PAL), 29.97. Here is a link to the first post in our thread about it:
http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/canon-eos-5d-mk-ii-hd/474845-revised-v-2-0-4-canon-5d-mark-ii-2-0-4-firmware-24p-available-6.html#post1500040