# Canon 6D Review: 1+ Year Hands-On [video review]



## grahamclarkphoto (Jan 14, 2014)

Just about a year ago I posted a review of the Canon 6D Review here: http://www.canonrumors.com/forum/index.php?topic=13504.msg242772#msg242772

After a year later of consistent use I decided it might be a good time to do something a little more comprehensive. I recently got back from a *3+ month trip to 30+ National Parks in North America*, and lots of hands-on experience with the 6D.

http://youtu.be/h-2hOV0MaBk

I uploaded 5.6GB of hi-res TIFFs (no watermarks) and quite a few H.264 low-comp videos (unedited). Click here to view: http://www.6dreview.com/

Just over a year ago the Canon 6D was announced as the smallest and lightest full-frame SLR in the world, and naturally as a landscape and travel photographer I was quite intrigued by the ultralight factor so I got one of the first copies to ship. I had my doubts as the marketing and photography community had words like _budget_ and _economy_ wherever the Canon 6D was mentioned. Price wasn't part of my decision making as I own all the 5D-family bodies and the Nikon D800e, I just wanted it for the lightness and smallness factors.

A super high level overview of my Canon 6D Review:

- I've printed up to 40x60 and the quality is indistinguishable between the 5D original all the way up to the 6D - that is to say, excellent
- It's rated for 150,000 shutter actuations, since recording the video I've now put on 250,000. Awesome! But why so many? Star trail and time-lapse, and I'm also writing an article on battery performance and needed to let one of my cameras run until the batteries died
- Autofocus is the Canon 6D's worst and best feature. 11 AF points may not be enough if you shoot 80% or more fast action images. But the -3EV is currently the king of lowlight AF performance. I rely on this for accurate low-light AF with ND filters and long exposures. Great for travel & landscape photography.
- WiFi is essentially useless for photographers who rely on intervalometers. Canon user experience team was fired or something...
- GPS is a game changer for certain photographers, but again, Canon user experience team completely messed this one up by not including an idle shutoff time option = GPS remains on even when camera is turned off = camera dies.
- Of all the different cameras I own this one is with me nearly 90% of the time. I do quite a bit of printing, and at large print sizes I'm seeing the same quality as the other cameras and this one is lighter. I actually prefer the simple AF system on the original 5D, 5D2 and 6D, and the -3EV for AF lock is great and incredibly practical for those who shoot in low-light.
- GPS setting the date and time in and of itself is hugely valuable for me as I travel quite a bit. Remember when you had to manually adjust date and time in Aperture or Lightroom? Well you never have to do that again, and that's a huge timesaver for me.

From my experience with both the 5D3 and the 6D, the only major differences I usually notice are:

- Lower AF points on 6D
- No GPS on 5D3
- No WB displayed in 6D LCD... Canon used the precious real estate for WiFi OFF... they pulled another print button on us :|
- 6D is lighter and has better balance. Once you use 6D for a while, 5D3 seems heavy and bulky, less comfortable in the hands

In addition I also created a Canon 6D PDF review that has tons of information and quite a few hi-res images, which can be downloaded here: http://www.6dreview.com

If you have any questions don't hesitate to leave them below. Alright, to close out I'll post some 6D captured images I've taken in the last 8 weeks or so. Thanks for reading everyone, and if you have questions let me know below! : )


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## Badger (Jan 17, 2014)

Thanks for posting. Just watched the video. Great job. Will check out the site soon.


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## ScottyP (Jan 17, 2014)

Love mine. Works great in dim light. 

I plan to get the 7d2 (if it emerges) for my sports/action body. The 6d will be my FF portraits and landscapes body. No need to try to get one body to do it all. Kind of like why an 18 - 300 lens would be a bad compromise at replacing all the primes and zooms between those two focal extremes.


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## Click (Jan 17, 2014)

Awesome . Beautiful series. Great work Sir.


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## bholliman (Jan 19, 2014)

Terrific review and beautiful images. Thanks for sharing.

I'm very happy with my 6D as well after 13 months of heavy use. It handles what I shoot (family, landscapes, portraits) very nicely.


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## MintChocs (Jan 19, 2014)

Lovely work, though I haven't seen any mention of your thoughts on the metering system, or did you use an external meter, bracketing to cover any exposure errors etc.


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## MichaelHodges (Jan 19, 2014)

Nice review, and beautiful shots, too.


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## sunnyVan (Jan 19, 2014)

Nice review and beautiful pictures! !


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## TWI by Dustin Abbott (Jan 19, 2014)

Beautiful photos and nice work, Graham. I'm not quite sure how many actuations I have on my primary 6D, but I am really glad to hear your experience of putting so many actuations on your shutter without failure.

I would love to see something even like the new 70D's AF system in the 6D (MKII), but keeping the great sensitivity on the center point.


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## SPL (Jan 19, 2014)

Hey Graham!, great images and fantastic review! You put a lot of work into this review, thanks for your time and effort! I just picked up 6D as a second body and so far have enjoyed it. Again, thanks for your work!


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## Badger (Jan 19, 2014)

My Key Learning, is your equal emphasis on optics. I see more prime lenses in my future. I'm not a professional so I can't justify a stable of Ls, but I'm thinking about adding the EF 100mm f2.8 macro soon and possibly the EF 40mm. Will try to reduce my reliance on the 24-105 f4 L.


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## JonB8305 (Jan 19, 2014)

Fantastic photo's and review. I'm loving my 6d more and more each day. I'd love to learn how to take landscapes like you do.


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## MLfan3 (Jan 19, 2014)

great practical review with lots of great images, but the image quality(not photo quality) exactly shows what Canon sensor lacks.
the tonal transition is harsh , the color shift is always visible and DR seems very limited.
especially after shooting the A7R for a couple of months , I feel all current DSLRs are dated and ******* in manyways.

honestly, if I only shoot stills , I do not use Canon or Nikon ,I just go Sony A7R + Fuji XE2.

I initially hated the A7R but as I shot it a lot with my D800E or 6D in the same night sites with a solid tripod , I changed my mind, it has better sensor and its sheer resolution is simply amazing , it may easily match the Pentax 645D or Leica S class of lowend cropped MF bodies, it cannot rival Phase or Hassy but easily match or even surpass the Leica S class of fake MF, isn't it amazing?
so , despite of all its annoying quirks , the A7R might be the best 35mm format camera for many non-action shooters.
I think it just needs a supr wide zoom or fisheye zoom to completely replace all my Nikon Canon bulky so-called digital camera with a lot of annoying analogue mechanical parts.
seriously, the future is hybrid and the annoying slapping mirror AF must be replaced with the quiet and more accurate sensor based CDAF, which does not require AF micro adjustment.
the D800E can never touch the Sony in terms of sheer resolution, usability in really bad low light (shooting milky way for example) because of the annoying mirror and the OVF, which is quickly becoming a thing of the last century.

honestly, after the 70D announcement, I have been hoping next 5D4 gets the dual pixel AF + EVF for serious video and hybrid work.
with the dated OVF , we cannnot see anything in real darkness , but with the EVF we can actually see through what we are actually shooting even in complete darkness.
I know there are a lot of EVF haters here and Nikon side of the world , but they are just nostalgic or sentimental over the old film era technology , not even trying it yet hating it.
I think once they try it they will love it or at lest accept it.
Imagine what if the 6D got the dualpixel AF of the C100, tiltable LCD of the Sony A7R and amazing high quality EVF of the Fuji XE2, how much better would it be than the current boring cameras like the 6D,the 5D3 or the D800E?
I also want tocuh screen AF of the EM1 in my next Canon FF.
I know many here think the touch AF as gimmick , but it is not, it is very very handy in video or super lowlight scenes.

I believe in 3 years the D-SLRs will die out.


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## ScottyP (Jan 19, 2014)

No. Sorry. You cannot post something suggesting that anything about 6d is as good or better than anything about 5d. The guys who paid for a 5d will be apoplectic. Not saying it is right; it's just the way it works. 

Good review though.


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## Badger (Jan 19, 2014)

ML, looking forward to your 1 year review of the A7R with your pictures. 

Thanks for the hard work Graham. Just downloaded your iBooks PDF to iPad. Stunned that its free. Thanks again, I am motivated and inspired.


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## webphoto (Jan 19, 2014)

Thanks for sharing. The pictures are awesome and the review is excellent. I also have a 6D for a year now and the IQ of the pictures are still amazing me.


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## Roark (Jan 19, 2014)

These are stunning pictures and I like the very practical review too. I really cant see any harsh tonal transitions, color shifts or lacking DR. The files look gorgeous to my eyes. 

Apart from that I would like a smaller body with better live view implementation too...


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## TWI by Dustin Abbott (Jan 19, 2014)

Graham, just wanted to check in again to say that I just watched the whole video review. Great stuff. I don't agree on your degree of vehemence on the lack of usefulness of the Wi-fi (I have found quite a few very practical uses), but overall I agree with just about all of your other conclusions and appreciate the effort put into it.


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## distant.star (Jan 19, 2014)

.
Thanks. Nicely done.

Your experience confirms my first comments about the WIFI and GPS. Outside of marketing hype, it seems essentially pointless.

This body is an option I continue to consider as a second to by 5D3. With the recent 7D2 news, this may be the year I can decide to go wholly FF or else choose to keep one foot in the APS-C realm.

Anyway, thanks for a great contribution to the photographic community with your work.


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## Woody (Jan 20, 2014)

MLfan3 said:


> ... more accurate sensor based CDAF, which does not require AF micro adjustment...



Dual pixel AF on 70D does not require AF micro adjustment either.



MLfan3 said:


> the D800E can never touch the Sony in terms of sheer resolution...



Either something is wrong with your D800E or you are not using equivalent lenses on the D800E and A7R for comparison.



MLfan3 said:


> with the dated OVF , we cannnot see anything in real darkness , but with the EVF we can actually see through what we are actually shooting even in complete darkness...



Nonsense. When it's TOTAL darkness, the EVF won't show anything either.



MLfan3 said:


> I think once they try it they will love it or at lest accept it...



I used to own the OMD EM5 for a year. Gave me some great images. But I sold the camera after 1 year. Why? Because I totally hated the EVF and ergonomics.

So, I have tried the EM5 and could never accept the EVF.

Very happy I replaced the EM5 with 6D. A FAR superior user experience.



MLfan3 said:


> I also want tocuh screen AF of the EM1 in my next Canon FF...



The 70D has superb touch screen AF too.



MLfan3 said:


> I believe in 3 years the D-SLRs will die out.



Try to convince the American and European markets where DSLRs outsell EVIL cameras by a factor of 9:1.


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## GMCPhotographics (Jan 20, 2014)

Roark said:


> These are stunning pictures and I like the very practical review too. I really cant see any harsh tonal transitions, color shifts or lacking DR. The files look gorgeous to my eyes.
> 
> Apart from that I would like a smaller body with better live view implementation too...



It's a great camera. I've been using a 5DIII for sevel years and seeing simular results. I'm not a great fan of ND grads...I really don't see the point in the post digital world. They rarely can captur the correct dynamic range and some of these images illustrate my point. A 2 -3 shot merge in Photoshop with images shot at different exposures for specific parts of the scene are generally a better way to go. Using the histogram to meter for different ends of the contrast scale. 

There's several highlight blow outs in some of the sky images and why is the sky darker than the land / foreground...looks like to strong grad filters too me. Nice colours, but some of the scenes look like there's false colours added from the ND grads colour casts. The scenes are nice and dramatic, but many of these would fail RPS judging (or degree level photography portfolio judging) due to the exposure issues I've just mentioned. There's bad flare in one shot and another has split boulders in the fore ground, it's important not to split any in half at the edges of the frame. These are very nice and colourfull images, i'm sure they sell well to punters. Especially to the framed print crowds, but really wouldn't impress anyone with a qualification in photography.


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## e17paul (Jan 20, 2014)

Good review and inspiring work, but surely the 6D sensor is different to that of the 5D III?


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## dude (Jan 20, 2014)

Graham, excellent review! Excellent photographs too!

I am glad to see someone else finds the 17-40L a great landscape lens. It is my goto long exposure landscape lens along with the Lee filter system. 

Excellent work!


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## grahamclarkphoto (Jan 21, 2014)

Badger said:


> Thanks for posting. Just watched the video. Great job. Will check out the site soon.



Thanks Badger! : )

Graham


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## grahamclarkphoto (Jan 21, 2014)

Click said:


> Awesome . Beautiful series. Great work Sir.



Thanks!


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## grahamclarkphoto (Jan 21, 2014)

SPL said:


> Hey Graham!, great images and fantastic review! You put a lot of work into this review, thanks for your time and effort! I just picked up 6D as a second body and so far have enjoyed it. Again, thanks for your work!



Thank you! : )


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## grahamclarkphoto (Jan 21, 2014)

JonB8305 said:


> Fantastic photo's and review. I'm loving my 6d more and more each day. I'd love to learn how to take landscapes like you do.



Thanks! Glad you found it informative and useful.


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## grahamclarkphoto (Jan 21, 2014)

MLfan3 said:


> great practical review with lots of great images, but the image quality(not photo quality) exactly shows what Canon sensor lacks.
> the tonal transition is harsh , the color shift is always visible and DR seems very limited.
> especially after shooting the A7R for a couple of months , I feel all current DSLRs are dated and ******* in manyways.
> 
> ...



Thanks for your response! The image quality when exported at 80/100 does produce some lateral banding on the images above which have a very gradual and delicate gradient, however the original images do not and print out quite nicely.

I agree with you regarding the DSLR and the a7R. In fact, I'll probably buy one within the next couple of days with the metabones EF adapter to check it out. Any experience or knowledge of the Metabones adapter and if it renders focal lengths down to 16 and 17mm correctly?

For lightness and smallness I think the a7R looks like a compelling camera, and with Canon lenses it could be a strong setup. But only one way to find out... 

Graham


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## grahamclarkphoto (Jan 21, 2014)

Badger said:


> ML, looking forward to your 1 year review of the A7R with your pictures.
> 
> Thanks for the hard work Graham. Just downloaded your iBooks PDF to iPad. Stunned that its free. Thanks again, I am motivated and inspired.



Thank you! : )


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## grahamclarkphoto (Jan 21, 2014)

webphoto said:


> Thanks for sharing. The pictures are awesome and the review is excellent. I also have a 6D for a year now and the IQ of the pictures are still amazing me.



Thanks, glad you could find it useful.


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## grahamclarkphoto (Jan 21, 2014)

Roark said:


> These are stunning pictures and I like the very practical review too. I really cant see any harsh tonal transitions, color shifts or lacking DR. The files look gorgeous to my eyes.
> 
> Apart from that I would like a smaller body with better live view implementation too...



Thanks! : )

The images I posted here on CanonRumors were exported with 80/100 quality, and three of the images found here have very slight lateral banding in the sky, however the originals do not. The amount of detail is so extreme that even a small amount of compression destroys the delicate gradient :|

Graham


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## grahamclarkphoto (Jan 21, 2014)

TWI by Dustin Abbott said:


> Graham, just wanted to check in again to say that I just watched the whole video review. Great stuff. I don't agree on your degree of vehemence on the lack of usefulness of the Wi-fi (I have found quite a few very practical uses), but overall I agree with just about all of your other conclusions and appreciate the effort put into it.



Thanks Dustin! : )

Regarding the intervalometer, I was referring specifically to the lack of an intervalometer. Everyone's different, however every landscape image I capture is with an intervalometer so the lack of that functionality (which is easy to code in objective-C with the canon SDK) doesn't really make sense. 

Seeing how the last update to the Canon intervalometer was in November of 1998 with the Canon EOS-3, its about time they look to the future and design for mobile devices.

Graham


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## grahamclarkphoto (Jan 21, 2014)

distant.star said:


> .
> Thanks. Nicely done.
> 
> Your experience confirms my first comments about the WIFI and GPS. Outside of marketing hype, it seems essentially pointless.
> ...



Thanks! I think in it's current state the wifi is essentially useless, but I do think that's a short-term issue. 

GPS on the other hand is a breakthrough feature (in my opinion), despite its shortcomings on the user experience side of things. 

Graham


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## grahamclarkphoto (Jan 21, 2014)

GMCPhotographics said:


> Roark said:
> 
> 
> > These are stunning pictures and I like the very practical review too. I really cant see any harsh tonal transitions, color shifts or lacking DR. The files look gorgeous to my eyes.
> ...



1. Some of these images have been on covers of books, including the upcoming International Masters of Photography. Those are judged by professional portfolio reviewer. Perhaps you should sign up as a reviewer! : )

2. I'm a beginner photographer, still learning the fundamentals

3. Graduated Neutral Density filters are one way to obtain a correct and balanced exposure (and as a result, native saturation), but there are others as you have suggested, namely in software. 

Everyone's different. I don't use software to balance the exposure or to achieve saturation, whereas some people only use software to obtain this. Is either way better? I don't think so.

"There's so much digital adding of stuff here and there that photographers may as well become painters" - Galen Rowell

4. Looking at the professional gallery circuit (having been in it and being familiar with those who work in it) I don't see many serious landscape photographers working with software. I'm seeing more rock solid technique and willingness to be out in the natural world at the right time, and an uncanny sense for how the conditions translate into a final print.

5. Not sure if I catch the _qualifications in photography_ bit


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## grahamclarkphoto (Jan 21, 2014)

e17paul said:


> Good review and inspiring work, but surely the 6D sensor is different to that of the 5D III?



sensor is different, quality is the same.


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## grahamclarkphoto (Jan 21, 2014)

dude said:


> Graham, excellent review! Excellent photographs too!
> 
> I am glad to see someone else finds the 17-40L a great landscape lens. It is my goto long exposure landscape lens along with the Lee filter system.
> 
> Excellent work!



Thanks! However I have never used lee filters before, but I do have a lee filter holder : )


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## grahamclarkphoto (Jan 21, 2014)

GMCPhotographics said:


> Roark said:
> 
> 
> > These are stunning pictures and I like the very practical review too. I really cant see any harsh tonal transitions, color shifts or lacking DR. The files look gorgeous to my eyes.
> ...



I almost forgot to ask, what's your website URL?

Graham


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## toodamnice (Jan 21, 2014)

"The CMOS sensor found in the Canon 6D is the same found in the Canon 5D Mark III."

Is this true???


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## dude (Jan 21, 2014)

I do have a question. I noticed many of your photos had been shot at an ISO of 50. Do you see much difference between 50 and 100?


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## grahamclarkphoto (Jan 21, 2014)

toodamnice said:


> "The CMOS sensor found in the Canon 6D is the same found in the Canon 5D Mark III."
> 
> Is this true???



with regards to quality, yes it's the same!


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## grahamclarkphoto (Jan 21, 2014)

dude said:


> I do have a question. I noticed many of your photos had been shot at an ISO of 50. Do you see much difference between 50 and 100?



ISO 50 is pulled from 100 - it's a non-native ISO. theoretically ISO 100 is better quality as it's native, but in real world results I find them to be equal with regards to quality.

I use ISO 50 a majority of the time for exposure purposes - to push the exposure out longer.


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## Reavus (Jan 21, 2014)

I'll go as far as to say that I have actually found the wifi to be a pretty handy feature. For me anyway.

In terms remote shooting yes it could be better but for transferring images I don't think the intent was to transfer the entire image catalogue on the camera to your computer. 

The area that I have found it to be extremely useful is when I'm out in the field and there is one photo that I want to upload to facebook/twitter/instagram or whatever medium, I can connect my phone or iPad to the camera, take the photo, maybe do some tweaking to it with VSCOcam or something and send it off. How easy is that? If I'm grabbing the entire collection of photos off the camera, then I would just take the card out and put it in the computer.

And the time consuming part only happens on the set up. Once you have the settings in place, the phone and camera remember each other so all you need to do is turn on each devices respective wifi and they connect pretty quickly.


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## MichaelHodges (Jan 21, 2014)

grahamclarkphoto said:


> toodamnice said:
> 
> 
> > "The CMOS sensor found in the Canon 6D is the same found in the Canon 5D Mark III."
> ...



There are some reports I've seen indicating the 6d is actually noticeably better in noise and DR.


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## bholliman (Jan 21, 2014)

TWI by Dustin Abbott said:


> Graham, just wanted to check in again to say that I just watched the whole video review. Great stuff. I don't agree on your degree of vehemence on the lack of usefulness of the Wi-fi (I have found quite a few very practical uses), but overall I agree with just about all of your other conclusions and appreciate the effort put into it.





grahamclarkphoto said:


> Thanks! I think in it's current state the wifi is essentially useless, but I do think that's a short-term issue.
> 
> GPS on the other hand is a breakthrough feature (in my opinion), despite its shortcomings on the user experience side of things.
> 
> Graham



I suppose WiFi and GPS are features that will have different value to every camera owner. I find the WiFi feature to be somewhat useful for remote control via the EOS Utility and occasionally to transfer jpeg's to a tablet, phone or laptop. The EOS utility is limited, but functional.

I have never used GPS and don't anticipate ever using it. So, for me its a useless feature.


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## gsko (Jan 21, 2014)

I would also like to thank Graham for the wonderful pictures and very useful/informative real-world review.

I'm new to this forum (this is my first post ) and the point I would like to raise, begins like this...

Against a lot of opinions I have been reading in various sites (including CanonRumors), I went ahead and replaced my wonderful 5d mk2 with a Canon 6d. Being just an enthusiast not earning any money from photography, I took advantage of the US Christmas offers together with the favorable Euro/Dollar exchange rate in order to perform this swap at basically no cost. I also bought the 40mm pancake lens and I'm having a hard time taking it off the mount... It is sharp, silent and it will focus just about anywhere you point the camera to.

At some point I would like to post my opinions about the 5d mk2 -> 6d transition, but right now I have very few clicks with the 6d. So I can only write about the things I'm sure of:

I have no regrets
Easier to carry around due to the smaller size/weight
The (silent) shutter sound is ... pardon me ... orgasmic LOL. I just want to click, click and click some more! Silent is even better and that is my default setting
Auto-ISO allows you to take snaps without much thinking
High-ISO is worlds apart from the 5d, especially after ISO-3200. People shots taken indoors, with dim tungsten light at ISO 12800 look great. Just like that.
A bit more responsive in general
AF gives you more confidence, especially the center point

After I realized that ISO-12800 is not bad for me, I decided to try out that famous center point. -3EV and all. I don't really know how dark that is supposed to be. I picked the easiest setup I could find: my kitchen in near darkness and aiming at one of those largish wooden cooking spoons (i.e. little contrast if any). Equipped with the 40mm, the 6d nailed focus very fast indeed. 85mm f/1.8 no problem as well. Same story with the 50mm f/1.4 (this one surprised me actually). I would have slept better that night if I had not tried my 24-105 f/4L IS and 70-200 f/4L IS... They could not focus at all.
These dark pictures, were of course, crap. This made me think what meaningful picture would require the -3EV offered by the 6d. I don't know, so I would like to ask you this question. Can anybody submit a nice picture that did require this -3EV capability?

Finally, if I may deviate slightly from the original post, could anyone suggest a compact case just for the 6d and the 40mm pancake? The smallest case I have is a ThinkTank Digital Holster 20 v2.0 and it is just too large for this particular combination...

George.


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## grahamclarkphoto (Jan 22, 2014)

> I suppose WiFi and GPS are features that will have different value to every camera owner. I find the WiFi feature to be somewhat useful for remote control via the EOS Utility and occasionally to transfer jpeg's to a tablet, phone or laptop. The EOS utility is limited, but functional.
> 
> I have never used GPS and don't anticipate ever using it. So, for me its a useless feature.



Exactly! Different for everyone : )

The GPS is definitely an advantage for photographers who want location-based information for all images plus automatic timezone set for images when traveling. But for photographers who don't travel or want these unique features then it's mostly irrelevant.

Graham


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## grahamclarkphoto (Jan 22, 2014)

gsko said:


> I would also like to thank Graham for the wonderful pictures and very useful/informative real-world review.
> 
> I'm new to this forum (this is my first post ) and the point I would like to raise, begins like this...
> 
> ...



Hey George,

In my opinion the 5D2 and the 6D are very similar:

- essentially same image quality/sensor
- essentially same AF system

The advantages that I see (owning all 5D-cameras) is small size and GPS.

For the case, I'd recommend getting optech wraps to maintain the smallest and lightest setup: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/80976-REG/OP_TECH_USA_6811362_19_Soft_Wrap_Steel.html/BI/19568/KBID/11943/kw/OPSW19G/DFF/d10-v2-t1-xOPSW19G


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## gsko (Jan 22, 2014)

grahamclarkphoto said:


> Hey George,
> 
> In my opinion the 5D2 and the 6D are very similar:
> 
> ...



I appreciate your response Graham. I will defintely agree with you that for many real-life purposes image quality and AF performance of these cameras are very similar indeed.

Wouldn't you agree, though, that in high-ISO situations the 6d offers superior performance in terms of color rendition (saturation holds up very well) and noise (color noise, cleaner shadows & banding) in the RAW files? And that the performance gap is even greater for the corresponding out-of-camera JPGs?

My experience is that with the 6d you can select the desired (and most appropriate) depth of field and/or exposure time that will require a high ISO setting but without the image degradation penalty of the 5d mk2. 

On the one hand, I hope I find you in agreement, otherwise I simply don't get it :-[
On the other hand, if you don't agree I have a lot to learn about image interpretation and processing. Learning new stuff is always good 

Last but not least, thanks for suggesting the camera wrap. I will take a closer look.

George.


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## Woody (Jan 23, 2014)

grahamclarkphoto said:


> GMCPhotographics said:
> 
> 
> > There's several highlight blow outs in some of the sky images and why is the sky darker than the land / foreground...looks like to strong grad filters too me. Nice colours, but some of the scenes look like there's false colours added from the ND grads colour casts. The scenes are nice and dramatic, but many of these would fail RPS judging (or degree level photography portfolio judging) due to the exposure issues I've just mentioned. There's bad flare in one shot and another has split boulders in the fore ground, it's important not to split any in half at the edges of the frame. These are very nice and colourfull images, i'm sure they sell well to punters. Especially to the framed print crowds, but really wouldn't impress anyone with a qualification in photography.
> ...



GMC has some wonderful images here: http://www.canonrumors.com/forum/index.php?topic=4624.msg355920#msg355920

Actually, I understand what GMC is saying. Your ND and grad filters are causing color shifts. You may want to consider changing to more expensive filters, if you so desire. ;D Now, having said that, photography is an art... so there is no rule why color shifts are bad... that is why some deliberately choose to use the 'wrong' white balance and others are able to produce colored IR images (just saw a whole article devoted to that in Landscape Photographer)...


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## grahamclarkphoto (Jan 23, 2014)

gsko said:


> grahamclarkphoto said:
> 
> 
> > Hey George,
> ...



Sure, the DIGIC 5+ expands the high ISOs, but all the ISOs below 6400 are the same, and personally I never shoot 200 or above for anything serious (80% on ISO 50, 20% ISO 100). I do think that high ISOs come into play for live view manual focus, so I do find the higher ISOs useful even though I'm never shooting on them.

The DIGIC 5+ in-camera profiles that attempt to reduce axial and lateral CA only apply to JPEGs, but in my tests I find that utterly useless and in fact no visible change. Could be that it's improved in the future in the form of firmware updates, but until then it's marketing.

In my experience printing large format prints I'm seeing the same quality between my original 5D, 5D2, 5D3, 6D and 800e. I'm getting the a7R soon, and even with the large MP count I don't think the quality will be that much higher than my 350D 8.2MP sensor from 7 years ago.

Lots of people like to argue on these points of quality, but in my tests with professional printers at 40x60 we can't tell the difference and we're incredibly discerning.

Graham


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## grahamclarkphoto (Jan 23, 2014)

Woody said:


> grahamclarkphoto said:
> 
> 
> > GMCPhotographics said:
> ...



I saw his work, and I think we're operating on different levels so conversations such as these get pretty subjective pretty darn fast 

I'm a complete beginner, still learning the fundamentals here. I'm still 10 years out until I'm even a _decent_ photographer, let alone intermediate. 

As for color shifts, send me a private message with the images you see that on, I'd be curious to see what you're referring to! The filters I own are the most color neutral I could find. By the way, do you know what filters I'm using? 

Graham


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## grahamclarkphoto (Jan 23, 2014)

gsko said:


> Can anybody submit a nice picture that did require this -3EV capability?



In response to this:

The autofocus determines the correct focus through contrast of edges, and when there's not enough light transmitted through the lens (TTL) the autofocus can't lock. Most cameras have the ability to autofocus above 0EV up to around +20EV, so in very bright conditions.

But focusing in the other direction determines at which point the camera fails to obtain a lock with a negative EV, or in lower light.

Most cameras are around 0EV (a7R), -1EV (D600), and -2EV (5D3 & D800E). The lower the EV the more accurate the camera can obtain a lock in low light. Low light could mean it's dark out, or you have an ND filter and it's daytime. 

The 6Ds -3EV doesn't have much real world applicability in my opinion outside of using ND filters. For example right now I have a 6-stop ND filter stuck on the end of my GND adapter ring. So I'm constantly working with a dark viewfinder (until I get the thing unstuck or buy another adapter ring :| ) and the -3EV does have a noticeable effect - 1 stop greater for autofocus than my D800E or 5D3.

So it's an incredibly small thing that has a narrow benefit for some photographers, but it's not that big of a deal in and of itself (in my opinion).

Graham


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## Badger (Jan 24, 2014)

Graham, do you know if that -3EV exists if for example I'm using my 24-105 f/4 lens, or is that only for faster lenses? The lack of cross type focus points have been so denigrated that I find myself sub-consciously only using the center point. (focus, lock, recompose). It will be funny to learn that for me, the center point isn't anymore accurate than the others.


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## grahamclarkphoto (Jan 30, 2014)

Badger said:


> Graham, do you know if that -3EV exists if for example I'm using my 24-105 f/4 lens, or is that only for faster lenses? The lack of cross type focus points have been so denigrated that I find myself sub-consciously only using the center point. (focus, lock, recompose). It will be funny to learn that for me, the center point isn't anymore accurate than the others.



Hey Badger, sorry for the late response! Was in Yosemite shooting.

-3EV is for the camera body, irregardless of lens used.


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## grahamclarkphoto (Sep 24, 2014)

Hey guys, I just wanted to update this thread as I wanted to share with you an image captured on the 6D with Canon's newest ultra-wide angle zoom - the Canon 16-35mm F4 IS. It's a great example of how the 6D performs on this new, critically sharp ultra-wide angle zoom.

Download the RAW .CR2: https://app.box.com/shared/static/nq43kib9bm78nll8sr0x.cr2 (20.37MB)
Click here to download the processed .TIFF: https://app.box.com/shared/static/698b0cvpv7q29zt4gdu3.tif (111.18MB) 
Click here to download the hi-res JPEG: https://app.box.com/shared/static/uod6as70lja9adbr6rth.jpg (6.91MB)

The reason why I like this file is that it really showcases the shadow detail performance of the 6D, and it's ability to retain excellent definition and detail in areas such as the lower right quadrant of this photograph. Such small and fine details are often muddy on other cameras.

*180s - F18 - ISO 50 - 16mm - Canon 6D with Canon 16-35 F4*






The 6D's dynamic range is 11.5 stops, and this scene, I estimated to be between 20 and 22 stops between the seastack rock thing and the sky. I used a 6-stop circular ND to push the exposure out, and a 3-stop and 2-stop GND to balance the exposure difference and bring the 6D's native dynamic range closer to what the scene presented me with. All in all, I love how the sensor handled the colors and dynamic range.





This area of extreme detail is often rendered muddy on other cameras, but the 6D has done a great job at delivering the details clear and sharp.





Shadow detail on the top right quadrant here is excellent. Check out the RAW file and experiment with the shadow detail. I also love how the bird on the distant ridge is captured with great detail here.





For those who are landscape photographers, check out the review I recently published on the 16-35 F4. I was writing this for EOS Magazine, so half or so of the images I captured with this lens as part of the review were done on the Canon 6D, and I uploaded 35.7GB of images so there's quite a few more over at the review. 

Canon 16-35 F4 Review: http://www.grahamclarkphoto.com/canon-16-35mm-f4-review-hands-on-shootout-17-40/

If you have any questions let me know! Thanks for reading.

Graham


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## NancyP (Oct 6, 2014)

You have some very nice photos, Graham. I have pushed the 6D for some rather strange uses - hand-held macro at ISO 25600 using my hiker's headlamp as a light source (was getting some identification shots of spiders and insects displaying "eyeshine"). Quality "meh", but good enough for my purposes - wolf spiders (night hunters, their eyes are equivalent f/1.0 or thereabouts), and a moth. Next time, I would use a flash and lower ISO.


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## lilmsmaggie (Oct 6, 2014)

TWI by Dustin Abbott said:


> I would love to see something even like the new 70D's AF system in the 6D (MKII), but keeping the great sensitivity on the center point.



+1 I agree Dustin. I'm still on the fence, especially now with the 7D Mark II coming. I was just thinking the same thing just the other day: A 6D mark II with Dual Pixel AF and all cross-type, 19-autofocus points.

I'd definitely buy one. I still may get a 6D even when the 7D Mark II becomes available.


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## lilmsmaggie (Oct 6, 2014)

Graham - Thanks for the insightful review! 8)


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## Khalai (Oct 6, 2014)

lilmsmaggie said:


> TWI by Dustin Abbott said:
> 
> 
> > I would love to see something even like the new 70D's AF system in the 6D (MKII), but keeping the great sensitivity on the center point.
> ...



As I myself would love to see a more advanced AF system in 6D, I'm afraid that Canon would be afraid of cannibalizing th 5D3 sales. After all, I was also deciding whether to take the leap to 5D3 or just "suffice" with 6D. All boiled down to AF difference and I couldn't simply justify 1500 USD more for better (far better to be honest) AF system. I learnt to live with 6D AF limitations, but I guess there are several customers, who decided to buy 5D3 instead of 6D for that reason alone.


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## lilmsmaggie (Oct 6, 2014)

Khalai said:


> lilmsmaggie said:
> 
> 
> > TWI by Dustin Abbott said:
> ...




I think Canon created a confusing choice for consumers. You can buy a 6D for less than the new 7D Mark II and IMHO, I think the jury is still out on the question of the 7D Mark II's IQ and noise handling capabilities.

I was doing BIF's with a T3i coupled to a 70-300 4-5.6L and getting better shots than my nephew with his 7D coupled to a 100-400L. Yes, I may have just gotten lucky and there are probably other variables at play, especially camera familiarity. I think the 7D's AF system may have been a bit much for him. My nephew just took a class given by Canon in San Francisco on the 7D's focus system after having the camera for almost 4 years. 

As for me, I figure if I can photograph BIF with a camera that has an inferior AF system and is slower (3.7 fps) than the 7D, the 6D for me will be a welcome improvement. I keep scratching my head as to why Canon priced the 6D the way they did  knowing they would introduce a more robust APS-C camera that would compete with it (primarily price and feature set: new sensor, new AF system, etc.), not to mention competition from other camera manufacturers. 

Granted, if you don't have the bucks to snap-up a 5D Mark III AND you have invested in a lot of Canon glass, the 6D makes sense. Maybe Canon has adopted Intel's "Tick-Tock" manufacturing cycle model. In my mind, the 6D was a Tick -- the 6D Mark II should be a Tock (we can only hope).


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## Khalai (Oct 7, 2014)

lilmsmaggie said:


> Khalai said:
> 
> 
> > lilmsmaggie said:
> ...



They may compete in price, true, but not on feature field. They are both meant for totally different genres of photography. 7D is fast-paced, rugged, tank-like body with a small sensor (it's main disadvantage towards 6Ds), while 6D is a low-light monster, but lighter, smaller and less featured.

As for tick-tock model - I'd love that. 6D with e.g. 19 X-type points with center point double X-type at 2.8 (basically 7D1 specs, but with FF spread) would be awesome. But then, the 5D4 would have to have AF that surpasses even 7D2, otherwise, people will just go for lesser model, as it would be "just good enough". All this depends on pricing of course.


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## NancyP (Oct 9, 2014)

Yes, the 6D and 7D/7D2 are both "specialist" cameras, in a way. 6D is not the camera to use for your kid's sports, but it is a fine landscape and general-sue camera. 7D is an action camera pure and simple. You have to go to the 5DIII to get a single camera that combines both feature sets, though the 7D2 will still beat out the 5D3 on burst speed. 

Technique will beat out camera model any day when shooting birds in flight.


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## canonvoir (Oct 9, 2014)

NancyP said:


> Yes, the 6D and 7D/7D2 are both "specialist" cameras, in a way. 6D is not the camera to use for your kid's sports, but it is a fine landscape and general-sue camera. 7D is an action camera pure and simple. You have to go to the 5DIII to get a single camera that combines both feature sets, though the 7D2 will still beat out the 5D3 on burst speed.
> 
> Technique will beat out camera model any day when shooting birds in flight.



When you have the technique, the best camera helps a lot.

I see the 7D2 showing up on football sidelines. Turning 300mm 2.8's into 480mm 2.8's for well lit games.


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## bholliman (Oct 9, 2014)

canonvoir said:


> NancyP said:
> 
> 
> > Yes, the 6D and 7D/7D2 are both "specialist" cameras, in a way. 6D is not the camera to use for your kid's sports, but it is a fine landscape and general-sue camera. 7D is an action camera pure and simple. You have to go to the 5DIII to get a single camera that combines both feature sets, though the 7D2 will still beat out the 5D3 on burst speed.
> ...



well, maybe 480mm f/4.5 in full format equivilent


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## Khalai (Oct 9, 2014)

bholliman said:


> canonvoir said:
> 
> 
> > NancyP said:
> ...


480/4.5 for DoF, not for shutter speed, which may be important too


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## Vikmnilu (Oct 13, 2014)

Thanks Graham for the review!

I dont own the 6D and I am not sure that I will, but your review added a bit more of doubt when thinking about the next camera. So far, I am happy and my needs are fulfilled almost 100% of the times with a 5D mark II. Maybe in 6m.- 1 y. may be time to change. Or maybe not... I was 7 years with a 10D..  However, when my hands were on the 5D II I thought why didn't I change before... I think Either it will be 5D III or 6D + 7D mark II. I "unfortunately" am developing my skills in wildlife and is a field I really love and plan to shoot in the coming years.... so the 7D II seems a great camera for that too...

Anyway now I am redesigning my lens collection (selling my 24 1.4 II and 24-70 2.8 vI and buying the zoom vII) and possibly my cokin GND filters (to Lee). Did you start with the Cokin? Did you find any differences?

And really beautiful pictures you shot! I also shoot quite a lot of landscapes at f16 and above and was wondering about if there is someone else using these aperture!  I have heard about the loss of sharpness at these high number apertures because of the diffraction. Any experiences on that? Any noticeable loss of quality? I know about it but really need those apertures many times for the purposes I want (as you, long exposures for example). 

Anyway, keep on the good shots and thanks again for the review!

Victor


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