Users of Canon 6D - feed back on this body

[mikew09]

Hi Team,
I am ramping up to purchase my next upgrade (a FF body) and I am torn between the Canon 6D and the 5d3. I have a couple of buddies that have the 5d3 and no debating it is a remarkable camera. I have been shooting with a 50D for about 3 yrs now and over the time pretty much upgraded all lens to L series in prep for eventually FF upgrade and the time is almost here :-).

Though the consensus appears to be the 5d3 is the obvious choice for shooting sports and I do a lot of horse event shooting but my 50D has served me very well in that space but I also do a lot of portait and to some degree landscape style shooting. One area my 50D caused me some pain is shooting in low light such as a under cover horse arena which the 6D or 5d3 will obviously address with the excellent high ISO capabilities.

Apart from the obvious price difference I am very interested in some real world experience from members who shot with the 6D or even of more interest any members who have both bodies.

Thanks in Advance,

Mike

[William]

I'm waiting also Mike , I / we need another upgrade (Seeing I killed the 50D) Because of budget I'm tossing up between the 6D and a 5D MKII , Joel has the 5D MKIII mostly for Studio model work , Back using the back up 30D Mind you it still takes a good shot , Sometimes I wonder

[mikew09]

I'm waiting also Mike , I / we need another upgrade (Seeing I killed the 50D) Because of budget I'm tossing up between the 6D and a 5D MKII , Joel has the 5D MKIII mostly for Studio model work , Back using the back up 30D Mind you it still takes a good shot , Sometimes I wonder

Hi Bill, thanks for the reply mate. Been doing a fair bit of Horse event shooting and under an arena the 50D struggles unless I push up the ISO but I have never found the high iso capabilities particularly good on the 50. I have moved a lot to portrait style shooting and a little away from landscape the last 6 months or so. If I average the mere amount I am making from the odd peace of work I get a 5d3 would pay for itself in 12 months I would think. I have had quite a bit of a play with the 6D and it feels much like a 50D in size but the feel in hand is much nicer and at the moment you can pick it up for just under 2K at a retailer in Brisbane (not sure I am aloud to say who in the forum) so good buying really for a FF. Have taken a number of test shots which I deleted when done with stupidly and it produces frames every bit as good as my buddies 5d3 and low light performance is claimed to be better then 5D3 but my concern is the focusing system. The 50D does a far job at the horse events but with the focusing system on the 6D it may become hit and mis and I have read it is not so good at focusing on a moving subject. So yea, very interested to hear others experience it there is any on the forum. At the moments comments are a bit thin on experience, I image if the subject was on a 5d3 there would be not end of comments :-)

[Kieran]

Commander, I cant offer user insight into use of this camera but have been snooping around the web comparing a few canons for low light sport. This comment is on a review web page "The EOS 6D doesn't offer the depth of features that its best competitors can, but it combines very good image quality, impressive high ISO performance and class-leading low light autofocus ability (with the central AF point) as well as impressive built-in Wi-Fi and GPS features." This review and others leaves me with the thought that compared to the 5D Mk111 the 6D supposedly wins in low light both in detail (?) and focus ability but it has a less sophisticated AF system. If this is true and AI servo focus in low light is your environment (horse comps indoors) then for the lower price the 6D seems hard to beat. It has a slow burst speed though

[mikew09]

Commander, I cant offer user insight into use of this camera but have been snooping around the web comparing a few canons for low light sport. This comment is on a review web page "The EOS 6D doesn't offer the depth of features that its best competitors can, but it combines very good image quality, impressive high ISO performance and class-leading low light autofocus ability (with the central AF point) as well as impressive built-in Wi-Fi and GPS features." This review and others leaves me with the thought that compared to the 5D Mk111 the 6D supposedly wins in low light both in detail (?) and focus ability but it has a less sophisticated AF system. If this is true and AI servo focus in low light is your environment (horse comps indoors) then for the lower price the 6D seems hard to beat. It has a slow burst speed though

Thanks Kieran, I am just googling the review now. One of the tick boxes that would be a show stopper for the 6D is the ability to track and focus in AI servo modes in view of the horse event photography I do. Horses are pretty big and easy to target and generally don't move in the same action or groups as say a soccer game. I think I mentioned this but the 50D focus system works just fine and I am comfortable using the centre focal point for this purpose as has been the case with the 50D. Hence, with the low light capability and the ability to focus well at horse events it should tick the final box.

[nwhc]

I have had mine for 2 months now and love it, i went from a 5D mkii and it took a little while to get used the new button layout. I don't have the need to use it for any action shots so the 4.5fps is enough for me.
For me the best things about it are.

1. High iso performance
2. Light weight
3. quick zoom button
4. wi-fi its actually handy to use your phone/tablet to control your camera

Have only taken portraits and night shots with it so far but more than happy with it.

[mikew09]

I have had mine for 2 months now and love it, i went from a 5D mkii and it took a little while to get used the new button layout. I don't have the need to use it for any action shots so the 4.5fps is enough for me.
For me the best things about it are.

1. High iso performance
2. Light weight
3. quick zoom button
4. wi-fi its actually handy to use your phone/tablet to control your camera

Have only taken portraits and night shots with it so far but more than happy with it.

Thanks nwhc for the reply and details - every comment here assists me with my choice of body. The frame rate doesn't concern me either with the horse action shoots really, but the focus tracking does. Having said that I jsut watched a pretty good comparison and the AI servo looks to be every bit as good as my 50D and losing 1.5 frames per sec in comparison is not a bit issue. The once thing I am really hoping to sign off now is the low light AI servo capabilities. When I say low light I really mean lightin under a poorly lit under cover arena on a cloudy day. My main issue with the 50D is getting the balance better ISO / aperture and / shutter speed to get the shot of a horse in motion. iso 800 just ticks the box but noise starts to become a real issue with this over iso 800 on the 50D for what I consider sale-able shots. This is one issue the 6D will solve as long as the AI focus works ok in lower light conditions.
Having said this. only about 20% of horse events are under the arena and only about 50% of my over all photography is horse events and I would rather put the money into a new UWA lens with the 6D than pay the extra for 5d3 just to get the advanced focusing system.

[neil70]

Hi Mike
I have had mine for about 5 months now and love it. I shoot a 7D as well and mainly do sports. I have shot 1 wedding with it on a terrible day weather wise and it performed extremely well. Even though its frame rate is slower than my 7 it still performs at sports. I now only use the 7 when i need the extra reach.
I did some research before i bought it as i was looking between the 6 and a 5 mk2. The 6 reviewed much better and has newer tech. i really like this camera, even if it is a tad smaller than the 7 it just works.

[mikew09]

Hi Mike
I have had mine for about 5 months now and love it. I shoot a 7D as well and mainly do sports. I have shot 1 wedding with it on a terrible day weather wise and it performed extremely well. Even though its frame rate is slower than my 7 it still performs at sports. I now only use the 7 when i need the extra reach.
I did some research before i bought it as i was looking between the 6 and a 5 mk2. The 6 reviewed much better and has newer tech. i really like this camera, even if it is a tad smaller than the 7 it just works.

Thanks neil70, all good solid positive feedback. Appreciated

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One other question I would like to add to the thread now - My 50D only allows for 3 bracketed shots. The 5d3 allows for up to 7 bracketed exposures. There is conflicting reports on the web about whether the 6D offers 3 or up to 7 bracketed shots. I am not talking about the in camera HDR but the ability to fire bracketed shots from 3 to 7 exposures.

Thanks in Advance,

Mike

[Kieran]

The specs have up to 7 in a bracketed exposure series. The confusion on the web may be that in HDR bracket you only get 3 exposures and it only saves in jpeg, not raw like the 5d Mk111 for the in-camera HDR function

[mikew09]

The specs have up to 7 in a bracketed exposure series. The confusion on the web may be that in HDR bracket you only get 3 exposures and it only saves in jpeg, not raw like the 5d Mk111 for the in-camera HDR function

Thanks Kieran, to be honest the in camera HDR doesn't interest me. I much prefer to bracket myself and blend with photomatrix of PS to get the desired effect - the ability to take up to 7 exposures is a welcome feature.

[achee]

I've had a 6D for about 4 months now, and I'd buy it again. I mostly shoot slow moving subjects, so I can't comment on the AI-servo capability, but the low-light focussing is very good. Compared to a 5DIII you get about the same IQ, but otherwise a bit of a 'less professional' camera. The Wi-fi capability is a good bonus, but the Canon software to pair it with phones / tablets / computers is less than impressive.

The lack of CF support may put some people off.

[mikew09]

I've had a 6D for about 4 months now, and I'd buy it again. I mostly shoot slow moving subjects, so I can't comment on the AI-servo capability, but the low-light focussing is very good. Compared to a 5DIII you get about the same IQ, but otherwise a bit of a 'less professional' camera. The Wi-fi capability is a good bonus, but the Canon software to pair it with phones / tablets / computers is less than impressive.

The lack of CF support may put some people off.

Thanks achee, feedback is appreciated. I did some in store tests today and to be honest the camera did exceed my expectations. A a few minutes playing with the body I thought I really want to take some images home but be a 50D owner only had CF cards. Here I suddenly discover one benefit of sd cards, they are dirt cheap in comparison. I asked the guy in Teds if he had any really cheap sd cards, he goes yea here is a 2GB card for $9 - WOW.

Pretty sure my purchase is going to be a 6D gripped and the extra cash I will put to a 17-40 to replace my as new Canon 10-22 (anyone want to buy one :-) )

[Jcas]

Thanks for the informative thread, i'm contemplating the 6D myself.

[FallingHorse]

Hi Mike - did you get the 6D? I am also upgrading from my 50D and predominantly shooting horse sports. I have just purchased a 7d and plan on getting the 6d to compliment it and use as a back up. Of course I will put the 6d to work on other stuff also The main reason for opting for the 6d for me is $$ and low light ability - would love to hear if you ended up with the 6D and what you think of it.

[davearnold]

I have had my 6D for a few months now and it work very well in conjunction with my 7D ( I already owned) - but if I was going to have just one camera would have saved the extra for a 5D mk iii - just my thoughts.

[Jcas]

I have had my 6D for about a week and so far i am very impressed, i always found the FF's too big and bulky and heavy, but this 6D is lighter than my 40D was feels very comfy in my hand. As it has been raining for days on end since i've had it only tried it indoors, the low light performance is great, i am using iso's that i wouldn't have dared to use with the 40D. I got mine in the kit with the 24-70L f/4 IS , thinking of also getting the 70-200L f/4 IS to cover the zoom range and adding one really good prime (not sure which one yet). Overall though i am very happy with it.

[Dug]

I've had the 6D for a couple of months and I'm luvin it.
I'm sure those contemplating the two have poured over the spec differences and I think it just come down to does your photography require the Swiss army knife of cameras that is the 5Dmk3 or will the 6D have you covered for the majority of what you do.

You can think of the 6D as a modernised 5D mk2 without the 1/800 sec and a little bit slower flash sync.
If a mk2 would have served you well in the past then the 6D certainly will, in a smaller, lighter package with some nifty extras and snappy DIGIC 5+ processor performance.

I have not had the need yet to do focus tracking , so I can't tell you about that.
My habits are to use the centre point and recompose and I'm find moving the live view focus round the screen the easiest for tripod work, so not very demanding but the results are accurate.

[mikew09]

Thanks for the informative thread, i'm contemplating the 6D myself.

Haven't purchased yet. I have gone back into procrastination mode as have some doubts about shooting at horse events after a review I read. :-) Back on the undecided bench again I am afraid.

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Hi Mike - did you get the 6D? I am also upgrading from my 50D and predominantly shooting horse sports. I have just purchased a 7d and plan on getting the 6d to compliment it and use as a back up. Of course I will put the 6d to work on other stuff also The main reason for opting for the 6d for me is $$ and low light ability - would love to hear if you ended up with the 6D and what you think of it.

Hi Jodie, no purchase as yet. Low light performance is a must for me as the 50D struggles when shooting in under cover arena's but I have probably already covered that. I was almost ready to buy and then I read a review on the web about some dude who complained of poor focus and low number of keepers using the 6D for horse events in low light. Maybe heading back to a 5d3 purchase but will be a longer wait as I need more case and may have to sacrifice the UWA lens for the time being.

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I have had my 6D for a few months now and it work very well in conjunction with my 7D ( I already owned) - but if I was going to have just one camera would have saved the extra for a 5D mk iii - just my thoughts.

I am starting to think like minded mate.

[davearnold]

in response to

Haven't purchased yet. I have gone back into procrastination mode as have some doubts about shooting at horse events after a review I read. :-) Back on the undecided bench again I am afraid.

That would depend more on the focus speed of the lens then the body - I can get birds in flight with a fast focus lens easily with the 6D - Horses would be easier as they do not change direction mid air as much as birds do