# Problem: slow AF 6D



## daniela (Dec 17, 2012)

Need again some help:
My new 6D suffers from an _very_ slow AF function. I tried with 70-200 2.8 II and 100mm 2.8L. It takes a lot of time to get the picture sharp. Only the Center AF point is semi-fast, double the time of my old Cam. 
When I choose an decentral AF-point, it takes more than 2 seconds in an good light situation. Both lenses work well on my old Camera.
I performed an reset, but nothing happened.

Send it back (own it now for 1 week), or get it repaired?

G
Dani


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## Sith Zombie (Dec 17, 2012)

I don't have the camera so I can't offer a comparison as to how fast the autofocus should be. However if I was in your situation, I would take it back to the store and ask to test it against the store's display model to see if there is any difference in speed. If you bought it online then I guess you could still try the same approach, I doubt they would refuse you.
Anyway good luck.


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## risc32 (Dec 17, 2012)

send it back.


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## M.ST (Dec 17, 2012)

Send it back and wait what is coming next year.


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## verysimplejason (Dec 17, 2012)

Send it back. I tried my friend's and it's very fast. A lot faster than my 500D. I think you got a lemon.


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## daniemare (Dec 17, 2012)

Mine is fast, even in dimer indoor lighting. Used a non-central point last night indoors. It was faster than my 500D and accurate.

Take it back


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## Chosenbydestiny (Dec 17, 2012)

I can also attest to it being very fast, I just got done shooting at very near pitch back lighting situation at a bar. Insanely better than my 9 point bodies.


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## daniela (Dec 17, 2012)

Thanks.
I´ll return it.


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## David Hull (Dec 17, 2012)

daniela said:


> Need again some help:
> My new 6D suffers from an _very_ slow AF function. I tried with 70-200 2.8 II and 100mm 2.8L. It takes a lot of time to get the picture sharp. Only the Center AF point is semi-fast, double the time of my old Cam.
> When I choose an decentral AF-point, it takes more than 2 seconds in an good light situation. Both lenses work well on my old Camera.
> I performed an reset, but nothing happened.
> ...



I would take it back to the store you bought it at (assuming you did not get it mail order) and have them take a look at it. I don't have this camera but I did take teh opportunity in a store recently to work with it a bit specifically to check out the AF. I was interested in comparing it to my old 5DII. I found it to be faster than the 5DII and it seemed les prone to hunting with the outer points. On no occasion during around a half hour of testing did it ever take two seconds to acquire focus. In general, as far as AF speed I found it to be on par with the 5DIII that I replaced the 5DII with.

IMO, if it is taking two seconds to lock, you have an issue.


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## daniela (Dec 17, 2012)

Now, I am back from the store.
They sold about one dozen of 6Ds. My Cam was the second that has been returned. 
The AF seems to have an problem. I got my money back (credit note) and.....

..... I got an Nikon D600 and an 24-85mm lens to do some testing until next week.


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## Sith Zombie (Dec 17, 2012)

Cool, please let us know what you think of the d600. I am hoping to get a full frame soon and I was looking at 6d or 5dmkiii but the d600 is so cheap it's insane! I'v seen it for £1250 on digital rev. It might even break the £1,000 barrier in another 6 months or so


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## Renegade Runner (Dec 17, 2012)

I am beginning to think I am the only one who got a flawless 6D. At least have not come across any issues yet. I have my fingers crossed.


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## Botts (Dec 17, 2012)

Renegade Runner said:


> I am beginning to think I am the only one who got a flawless 6D. At least have not come across any issues yet. I have my fingers crossed.



Mine's been great too. Depending on what body the OP was coming from I can see his frustration. If he was coming from a 7D, then it makes sense he's complaining about the AF. If he was coming from a T2i or similar, the 6D, mine at least, smokes it for AF speed.

However, I put my 6D though a scenario I knew it would lose yesterday, tracking my dog running flat out towards me after a ball my friend had thrown. My old 7D jumped at this opportunity nailing every shot, the 6D returned 1 of 6 shots tack sharp, 2 sort of acceptable, and 3 not at all acceptable. This was using centre-point only. Although I was able to shoot at 6,400 cleanly to stop motion, which I couldn't have done with the 7D.

The fact of the matter is, I knew going in that I'd lose AF ability with the 6D at the gain of better DOF control and low-light capability. I also gained $500-800 by not going 5D3. I don't often shoot high-speed action so it was a good tradeoff for me. It is good to know the limitations though.


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## xps (Dec 17, 2012)

Botts said:


> Renegade Runner said:
> 
> 
> > I am beginning to think I am the only one who got a flawless 6D. At least have not come across any issues yet. I have my fingers crossed.
> ...



My first 7D had an awful image quality. The second, is quite ok.
I was disappointed by the slow Autofocus of my brandnew 6D. But this is not normal, it is an technical problem that occured. 2 seconds to get sharp. Second, the AF fields had an red corona and sometimes did not disappear - and stayed lighted.
Your thoughts were mine, too. It bought it as an second body to get better image quality for stills, macro, available light, landscape.... specially if there is not much light.

p.s. And the "he" is female.... I have met her.


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## Area256 (Dec 18, 2012)

Botts said:


> Renegade Runner said:
> 
> 
> > I am beginning to think I am the only one who got a flawless 6D. At least have not come across any issues yet. I have my fingers crossed.
> ...



I've had basically the same experience, didn't notice a huge speed increase over the 60D, but it's fast even it poor light, and with long focus throw lenses like the 100L. Camera works great for my needs, AF tracking is not so hot, but I don't use it anyway, so the extra money (vs. a 5D3) is going to fund a 135L in the near future.

I'd say best to buy any new camera like this, or the d600, locally so you can return it without hassle if needed.


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## Renegade Runner (Dec 18, 2012)

Botts said:


> Renegade Runner said:
> 
> 
> > I am beginning to think I am the only one who got a flawless 6D. At least have not come across any issues yet. I have my fingers crossed.
> ...



That's one thing I have not tested. The high speed action shots. I will have to try that out on some birds in flight and see what I come up with. No doubt I will get mixed results like yourself and what I have heard from others online.


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## RustyTheGeek (Dec 18, 2012)

Renegade Runner said:


> I am beginning to think I am the only one who got a flawless 6D. At least have not come across any issues yet. I have my fingers crossed.


Ditto. So far. Fingers Crossed. I'll report any problems I have if you agree to do the same Renegade! (After my 5D3 ordeal, it's nice to be on the fully functional side of the fence for a change.)


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## Renegade Runner (Dec 18, 2012)

RustyTheGeek said:


> Renegade Runner said:
> 
> 
> > I am beginning to think I am the only one who got a flawless 6D. At least have not come across any issues yet. I have my fingers crossed.
> ...



Welcome to the other side of the fence  I hope I wont have to but I promise to report anything unusual with my 6D.


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## RustyTheGeek (Dec 18, 2012)

Yeah, so far my biggest complaint is the _Battery Nazi_ they programmed in to the firmware that says, "No Battery Status for YOU!" with a 3rd party battery. Bastards.


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## Renegade Runner (Dec 18, 2012)

RustyTheGeek said:


> Yeah, so far my biggest complaint is the _Battery Nazi_ they programmed in to the firmware that says, "No Battery Status for YOU!" with a 3rd party battery. Bastards.



lol Oh man. I guess that's Canon's way of saying don't even think about buying something that isn't Canon. That sucks.


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## RustyTheGeek (Dec 18, 2012)

Yeah, I was at a little camera rep event at a local camera store last Friday. The Canon rep was all over it talking about how many cameras Canon sees damaged by non-Canon batteries and so they are getting more serious about the issue and protecting the user. Whatever.

I suspect it's more like they are seeing a big drop in $65 - $100 Canon battery sales. If Canon would simply make their batteries $45 or $50 retail from the start, more people would choose to pay that over $15 - $20 3rd party batteries. Mostly anyway. It kinda reminds me of the record companies charging $15 - $25 per CD and then they were all upset when MP3 came along and ate their lunch. Meanwhile, if CDs had been $5 - $8, most folks wouldn't have been as motivated to give up the higher quality CD.

Honestly, I'm glad the alert is there for when a genuine FAKE is used. That sucks, paying full price for a counterfit battery. But they should just say what they mean in the error - *Non-Genuine Battery*. Done. And don't punish the user with no status. That's just petty/crappy.


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## xps (Dec 18, 2012)

Yes, please report your experience of the D600. In our photoclub two own the D600 and they laugh about Canon, because it is an superb camera. Cheaper & better picture & faster then the 6D.
More "universal".

I will give it back too, if there will be no "AHA"-effect in the next few days.


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## daniela (Dec 20, 2012)

*Excellent Nikon D600*

I´m very sorry, but the D600 is excellent! 
I had no mid-range Camera in my hands that was as good as the D600. (using an non high-quality lens!)

Maybe I will store my Canon lenses and buy an D600. 
It is a pity, but Canon does not reach the quality of the D600. :'(
The AF is equal to the AF of the 5D Mark 3. And the picturequality not much worser then the 5D´s.... Tha AF-area is quite smaller, but accurate in getting sharp


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## verysimplejason (Dec 21, 2012)

*Re: Excellent Nikon D600*



daniela said:


> I´m very sorry, but the D600 is excellent!
> I had no mid-range Camera in my hands that was as good as the D600. (using an non high-quality lens!)
> 
> Maybe I will store my Canon lenses and buy an D600.
> ...



Go for it if you can afford it. Right now, Nikon bodies are a little bit better than Canon. Shifting from one system to another system is easy if you can afford it. But you will be investing in new lenses again. Might it be better to invest in other Canon lenses?


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## dsporter (Dec 25, 2012)

I purchased a 6D on Saturday and I'm having the same issue as the OP. It appears that there's a slight lag between when the camera focuses and when it will take a picture. I'll wait for the red light and the beep and then press the shutter button all the way down, but it doesn't always take the picture right away. It doesn't feel as responsive as cameras I've used in the past (30D, 40D, 7D, and 60D). I know that the 7D is a faster camera and it's not the best comparison to make, but even with my 60D I couldn't create the issue I'm currently having with the 6D. I'm debating about taking it back and spending extra money on a Mark iii, but that extra $900 is substantial. From what I've read it has a faster AF system and would be better for moving objects like my kids or youth sports that I shoot during the summer. Is that the general consensus with the Mark iii?

On a side note, the wireless function on the 6D is a lot of fun. I've enjoyed getting pictures on my phone right after taking them and sending them to friends and family.


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## webphoto (Dec 26, 2012)

I bought the D600 but it had the problem of oil/dust on the sensor which made it a very frustrating experience. I returned the D600 and I bought the 6D (which I love). 

My perception of the D600 is that, besides having a great SONY sensor, the half-plastic body makes it look a bit toyish. The 6D is well built and solid. The pictures that I am taking with the 6D are phenomenal. The WiFi and GPS are very useful too. I shoot catalog images for websites and I am using my iPad to help me to preview the pictures. It works great. I am not having the slow AF issue as mentioned though. The AF is fast and accurate.

But please don't get me wrong, IMHO the D600 is a great camera but the 6D is the best value for your money.


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## Renegade Runner (Dec 26, 2012)

Canon or Nikon? 6D or D600? Honestly, who cares? What matters is your experience with the product. If you're happy with something then good for you. I have a 6D and love it. Am I missing something by not having a D600? Perhaps. I don't care. All I know is I have a 6D that performs better than what I expected and having a great time using it so far. Having little experience or knowledge of a product does not make it inferior.


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## zim (Dec 26, 2012)

M.ST said:


> Send it back and wait what is coming next year.



Body(s)?? ???
I'd be more than amazed if any more full frames were anounced for the 6D market segment next year. Will the new tech crop sensor be that good??


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