# 6d



## 1255 (Aug 29, 2013)

all you 6d shooters out there, how are you liking it? comments, thoughts, feel like posting a few images? just curious about how well this body is working for everyone out there in the real world


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## Mt Spokane Photography (Aug 29, 2013)

http://www.canonrumors.com/forum/index.php?board=75.0

There are tons of images from the 6D on CR. Its been around a long time now.


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## unfocused (Aug 29, 2013)

Actually, I think a more constructive and informative thread would be this one: http://www.canonrumors.com/forum/index.php?topic=12847.0

Currently at 11 pages. The impression I've gotten is that most 6D users are pleasantly surprised at the quality they are getting and see only a few drawbacks. Most have done their own cost-benefit analysis and concluded the extra cost of the 5DIII could not be justified for them.


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## ATC (Aug 29, 2013)

I recently purchased a 6D based on input from this forum. I moved up from a 40D.

I'm very happy with the results so far! The low light performance is a knockout for me.


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## aroo (Aug 29, 2013)

I love it for landscapes and nature (your values may differ).

Pros:
Wonderful pictures, especially in terms of pixel-level detail, color, and print resolution.
Practically no noise up to ISO 1600.
Excellent noise characteristics at very high ISO, giving a fine film grain sort of look.
GPS stamping on photos. Love that.
Prime lenses become more spacious than on crop cameras.
Solid but light. No problems carrying it in one hand for hours at a time.

Cons:
Could really use more AF points.
Have to wait for buffer to clear after about 15 shots in rapid succession.
Very slow to focus with 100mm L macro (dunno if that's just me).
Battery runs out overnight if you forget to turn GPS off.
Telephoto lenses have much less reach than on crop cameras.

Overall, close to perfect for what I do.


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## Wildfire (Aug 29, 2013)

If you need extreme low-light performance but you don't need top-of-the-line autofocus then the 6D is probably the best camera you can get.

Pros:
Incredible full frame IQ
Easily usable images at ISO 12800
Center focus point is quick, accurate, and works even when there's no light (other points work great, but in good light only)
Build quality is excellent
Wi-fi and GPS if you're into that (I'm not, but I did try them both and they work great)

Cons:
Not strobist friendly (Minor complaints, such as lacks PC sync port, 1/4000 max shutter, 1/180 sync speed)
Only one card slot (but Canon never puts 2 slots in the cheaper bodies)
Autofocus leaves something to be desired for those who shoot fast moving subjects


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## 1255 (Aug 30, 2013)

thanks everyone


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## Robert Welch (Aug 30, 2013)

Yeah! Baby!...the 6D is 'shaggadelic'! It's got the mojo. It's groovy, baby, oh behave.

Oh, I'm sorry, did you want some actual specific comments about the camera? Well here's one, If you don't like it, then there is no pleasing you.


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## Janbo Makimbo (Aug 30, 2013)

Enough said...... see what the experts think.......

http://www.voxy.co.nz/technology/european-award-marks-third-major-title-canon-eos-6d/5/164950


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## Act444 (Aug 30, 2013)

Here's the quick version: If you don't do sports or shoot anything moving quickly, look no further.


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## dgatwood (Aug 30, 2013)

aroo said:


> Battery runs out overnight if you forget to turn GPS off.



No, it doesn't, or at least it shouldn't. I'm using a battery grip with two batteries, and I change them out every couple of *weeks* of light shooting.


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## CarlTN (Aug 30, 2013)

Search my comments on the 6D. I feel I have covered it pretty well, as has of course Dustin (many of my comments are in his thread, but there are quite a few other threads). I've compared and edited the 6D's files with the 5D3's and the 1DX's...and have over 8000 cycles on my 6D. 

Basically there are people on here who seem to feel the need to bash the 6D because it's not the 5D3, hence the 5D3 is what they bought. So to them, if you use a 6D, you aren't as serious a photographer as they are, no matter what type of photography you do. They aren't hard to spot.

It's not so much that the 6D needs "more" autofocus points...it's that they should all be "cross type". Honestly an AF sensor similar or identical to the 7D's would have been nice. But that would have put the price, and especially the performance...too close to the 5D3...and thus would create a competing product line...which was never going to happen. 

Barring the above, I feel Canon should at least update the firmware or whatever runs the autofocus sensor/system's processing...to make it "handoff" _to the center point_, when all points are active...rather than avoid it...since the center point is the only really good point. (This is the nature of the problem mine has when I attempt to make its servo tracking **** up.) But it's something I am happy to live with though, because I know how to make the system work perfectly fine (by leaving only center point active while in servo mode).

Then there's supposedly an issue with its color, or white balance, or color gamut...or whatever...to me this seems more like a trumped-up nitpicking session by those who are prejudiced against the 6D. The color is fantastic, period. The luminance noise at the pixel level is world class, especially above ISO 1000.

As for the weather sealing, there is some, but not much. The 6D is not technically "splash proof". I suppose it's also less impervious to dust...but if you're shooting in a very dusty environment...dust will find its way into everything even on the best sealed cameras. What makes me cringe the most about dust, is when it gets inside and in between the lens elements. There's no cleaning that without disassembly, usually by a Canon tech. 

In my opinion, if you value "low-noise-at-medium-high-ISO" image quality and are price-conscious...the 6D is a no-brainer. But if you don't mind a slightly larger/heavier body...if you need loads of speed (comparatively) and all the bells and whistles, and are happy to throw down the 50% price premium...and don't mind the large luminance noise grain structure in the images above ISO 1000...and/or if you mostly need to shoot a lot of video, especially ML hacked RAW video...then the 5D3 is the no-brainer. For many, buying both cameras has also worked out well.


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## jd7 (Aug 30, 2013)

This thread is also probably worth a look -

http://www.canonrumors.com/forum/index.php?topic=15572.0

The title is "what do you not like about the Canon 6D" but it's not all negative - there is some discussion of pros as well as cons.


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## aroo (Aug 30, 2013)

dgatwood said:


> I'm using a battery grip with two batteries, and I change them out every couple of *weeks* of _light shooting_.



Well that's the difference, then. When I spend all day making photographs and put the camera away with GPS on, the single battery is dead the next day. Yes, it's happened more than once. Yes, it's my own fault.


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## PKinDenmark (Aug 30, 2013)

One very bad - and in the end also positive - experience. 

I can now testify, that the 6D body has proven to be absolutely robust and solid.
This is based on a nightmare type of experience (could also be reported in the post about 'dont ever do this'):
I was setting up in my basement for a special shoot in the garden using a Canon 24 mm TS/E and tripod. 
The camera with the TS/E was mounted on the tripod at about 4 feet above the concrete floor. 
Then I moved the column of the tripod to a horisontal position (my Manfrotto tripod allows that) and turned around to fix someting else. Then a heard a gruelling crash. The tripod had tipped over, and the camera hit the floor.  
Stupid me overlooking that the center of gravity had shifted slightly outside the support of the tripod.
Examining the camera and optics, I noted that the whole setup had landed on the upper right corner of the body, and there were marks from the impact on the floor as well as on the 6D body. 
No dents - only paint-scrapes. The lens did not show any marks, so the camera took the full blow.
With shaking hands I examined the camera further, the lens, the mount etc. Nothing visibly affected. 
Then testing the function of both - all seem to work perfectly well and normal. And they still do. Even focus as well as image sharpness over the whole image seems to be unaffected.

Conclusions:
1. Now I have tried it - so you don't have to do it yourselves. 
2. The 6D body - including the upper part which is said to be made from some sturdy plastic material - is rock solid
3. The 24 TS/E did well, too. 
4. Considering the weight of this lens, the mount between lens and body stood the test as well.
5. The laws of Newton even applies for FF bodies - and for TS/E lenses. (although I am sure he did not consider that specifically). So I will not challenge those laws any further.

If you have any suggestions for what to test further - and how - to verify that the equipment is actually not affected in any way, please suggest these to me. 

PS: As to the other virtues of the 6D I have posted my (less gruelling) experiences in other posts - I guess all of these are linked above.


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## Sporgon (Aug 30, 2013)

CarlTN said:


> Barring the above, I feel Canon should at least update the firmware or whatever runs the autofocus sensor/system's processing...to make it "handoff" _to the center point_, when all points are active...



Valid point, and IMO a programming error. It's obvious to use the 'set' button to return to centre point yet it cannot be assigned to this function in the custom menu. 

Using the set button in this way would be the same as pressing in the toggle on the 5D. 

Can we have suggestions on the best way to communicate this proposal to Canon ?


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## Marsu42 (Aug 30, 2013)

aroo said:


> Have to wait for buffer to clear after about 15 shots in rapid succession.



You're using the fastest sd card available like Sandisk Extreme Pro?



aroo said:


> Very slow to focus with 100mm L macro (dunno if that's just me).



Slow in comparison to what - do you have another body to compare? The 100L's af is very slow, it's a macro lens after all.



aroo said:


> Battery runs out overnight if you forget to turn GPS off.



Rejoice, Magic Lantern probably will add a feature to auto-turn gps off an on


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## dgatwood (Aug 30, 2013)

aroo said:


> dgatwood said:
> 
> 
> > I'm using a battery grip with two batteries, and I change them out every couple of *weeks* of _light shooting_.
> ...



Even on days where I've shot hundreds of pictures, it still doesn't drain overnight. If the battery is down far enough for it to drain overnight, it would be showing the empty battery on the viewfinder the night before. If yours is discharging much faster than that, first turn off the track log if you have it turned on. If that doesn't fix the problem, try a different battery. I did have the behavior you describe once when using a so-called "high capacity" third-party battery.


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## CarlTN (Aug 31, 2013)

Sporgon said:


> CarlTN said:
> 
> 
> > Barring the above, I feel Canon should at least update the firmware or whatever runs the autofocus sensor/system's processing...to make it "handoff" _to the center point_, when all points are active...
> ...



Very much appreciate you recognizing my point!


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## Jim O (Sep 1, 2013)

CarlTN said:


> Search my comments on the 6D. I feel I have covered it pretty well, as has of course Dustin (many of my comments are in his thread, but there are quite a few other threads). I've compared and edited the 6D's files with the 5D3's and the 1DX's...and have over 8000 cycles on my 6D.
> 
> Basically there are people on here who seem to feel the need to bash the 6D because it's not the 5D3, hence the 5D3 is what they bought. So to them, if you use a 6D, you aren't as serious a photographer as they are, no matter what type of photography you do. They aren't hard to spot.
> 
> ...



This is a fair assessment. When it came time for me to upgrade, I compared the features and the feel in my hand and went for the 6D. I was not, and am not, disappointed. It works more than well for what I do 95% of the time.

I just recently acquired a 5D3 as a gift from a family member. Yes, I am extremely fortunate. I still love my 6D. I rarely use shutter speeds > 1/4000th, though I have sometimes in the past. A neutral density filter fixes that. I don't shoot video. I occasionally shoot birds and airplanes, but only occasionally. I can do that with the 6D but probably will do it better with the 5D3 and have more keepers. I also don't shoot in a monsoon, though I doubt the 5D3 would hold up that well either. For that you'd need a 1D X and a weather sealed lens.

I'm hoping that Canon comes up with a firmware upgrade to fix the tracking issue, though leaving only the center point active works ok.

The controls are a mixed bag. The "Play" button on the 6D is easy to find with your shooting thumb. It's mixed in with three other buttons on the left side of the LCD on the 5D3. There are some other pros and cons of each.

I'm going to keep both and I suspect I will use both. *For what I do*, I would not have bought a 5D3 though having it is nice. I had kept a 60D to as a backup/second body for the few weddings and events I do each year. That's now going to eBay. 

For my forays into the nightlife, I'll carry my 6D.


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## 1255 (Sep 2, 2013)

thanks again everyone, very useful comments, and some beautiful images in the referenced threads


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## thgmuffin (Sep 5, 2013)

Center AF point is completely fine for sports shooting.


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## ATC (Sep 14, 2013)

Limited example, but my single battery was not drained after 3 days/2nights with the GPS turned on this week. Track log was on also.


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## wellfedCanuck (Sep 14, 2013)

ATC said:


> Limited example, but my single battery was not drained after 3 days/2nights with the GPS turned on this week. Track log was on also.


What was the position update timing?


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## Mort (Sep 14, 2013)

Just adding my 2 cents into this thread. I am a college student and therefore have a lot less money in the pot. So I had been wanting to upgrade for some time now and some very good friends let me borrow a 6D and a 70-200. After shooting an entire wedding, I felt completely confident that I did not need the 5DIII. Yes a couple of instances would be nice, but I found the super sensitive center point very helpful in the low-light conditions of the reception hall. Plus being able to use ISO 800 and 1600 without a single worry was nice. So I decided to buy a 6D and got it yesterday. I haven't been able to play too much with it, but I have already pushed the low-light during the wedding. I also used the extra $1000 to buy a Tamron 24-70 VC although the first copy was super soft and am in the process of exchanging for a second. 

So overall, I felt the advantages of the 5DIII didn't outweigh the cost benefit of getting a new lens and a new body for the same price as the 5DIII body only.


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## ATC (Sep 16, 2013)

wellfedCanuck said:


> ATC said:
> 
> 
> > Limited example, but my single battery was not drained after 3 days/2nights with the GPS turned on this week. Track log was on also.
> ...



10 seconds


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## Badger (Sep 16, 2013)

I decided to buy the 6D and the 24-105L instead of just a 5D III body. After close to a year, I still think I made the right decision and I would do it again. Having said that, there are a few things that bother me with the 6D.

I really wish the focus points covered more of the view finder than they do. They seem to be clustered tightly round the middle and I'm doing much more focus and recompose than I used to with my old 20D.

I really really miss the thumb joy stick I had on my 20D. Changing focus points in a hurry is a two step process and using the rocker isn't as convenient in my mind as the joy stick.

I hope they fix this with a firmware update, but if you forget to turn off GPS (which I love) and don't use your camera for a few days, you will be in for a let down. It keeps draining the battery. How difficult would it be for it to automatically turn off and on?

I have had no problems with the focusing on the 6D but really don't understand why only one cross type.

In reading this, please remember that given the chance, I would buy the 6D again. Can you imagine shooting at ISOs over 6000? Took some 4th of July pictures at the fireworks display at ISO over 12,000 and was shocked to see how well the pictures turned out. Just ordered some big prints from Aluminyze it that turned out amazing.


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## sdsr (Sep 16, 2013)

Badger said:


> I really wish the focus points covered more of the view finder than they do. They seem to be clustered tightly round the middle and I'm doing much more focus and recompose than I used to with my old 20D.



I think you'll find that's a FF DSLR problem rather than a 6D problem. The 5DIII may have seven times as many focus points, but the overall area the cover on the viewfinder isn't much bigger; the same's true of the other FF cameras I've tried - Nikon D800 & D600. It does help a little that at the extremes the 5DIII has more points, but it makes less difference from that point of view than one might think. (If you really want to avoid focus/recompose, mirrorless seems to be the way to go at present. I'm not sure about the FF Sony mirrorless cameras, but on the M43 bodies I'm familiar with the focus points cover almost the entire screen.)


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## jd7 (Sep 16, 2013)

Badger said:


> I really really miss the thumb joy stick I had on my 20D. Changing focus points in a hurry is a two step process and using the rocker isn't as convenient in my mind as the joy stick.



+1 about the lack of a joystick on the 6D. After having a 40D and then 7D, I really miss it (in fact the 7D's ergonomics, AF system and speed make it useful enough for some things (to me) I'm hanging on to the 7D despite having a 6D). I feel sure Canon left off the joystick primarily to add to the factors differentiating the 6D from the 5DIII, but I really wish Canon had decided differently about that - whatever the limitations of the 6D's AF, at least with a joystick it would have made it easier to use the AF system to its fullest.

All of that said, I'm wondering what you mean about changing focus points being a two step process. I'm guessing you mean you have to press the "change AF point button" and then use the rocker to set the AF point you want ... If that's right, you might like to have a look in the 6D's custom settings. You can set it (as I have) so the rocker is always active to select AF points when the camera is in shooting mode. The rocker isn't as convenient as the joystick, but at least set up that way you don't have to waste time pressing the change AF point button first.


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## Janbo Makimbo (Sep 16, 2013)

jd7 said:


> Badger said:
> 
> 
> > I really really miss the thumb joy stick I had on my 20D. Changing focus points in a hurry is a two step process and using the rocker isn't as convenient in my mind as the joy stick.
> ...



I have my rocker set like that too... I have also honed my back button focus skills which makes it much easier to recompose!!


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## Badger (Sep 16, 2013)

Janbo Makimbo said:


> jd7 said:
> 
> 
> > Badger said:
> ...



Thanks, that is exactly what I meant. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I thought there might be a custom function. Thanks again for the heads up. I'll go look for it. Still wish it had the joy stick, but this removes one step for me.


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## Badger (Sep 16, 2013)

jd7 said:


> Badger said:
> 
> 
> > I really really miss the thumb joy stick I had on my 20D. Changing focus points in a hurry is a two step process and using the rocker isn't as convenient in my mind as the joy stick.
> ...



Thanks for the heads up. I just assumed the 5D MkIII and other higher end cameras would have have focusing points covering a wider area. Not a deal breaker for me, just different


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## PKinDenmark (Sep 16, 2013)

I did not receive any comments at all on the story about my proving the solid build of the 6D. Maybe because the story was 'lost' at the bottom of page 1 in this thread. It stills proves that 6D is much more solid than some may assume.

Thank you for the tip about setting the rockers to move the focus points without first pressing 'change AF point' button. Very helpful for me, as I had missed that one.


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## CarlTN (Sep 16, 2013)

Mort said:


> Just adding my 2 cents into this thread. I am a college student and therefore have a lot less money in the pot. So I had been wanting to upgrade for some time now and some very good friends let me borrow a 6D and a 70-200. After shooting an entire wedding, I felt completely confident that I did not need the 5DIII. Yes a couple of instances would be nice, but I found the super sensitive center point very helpful in the low-light conditions of the reception hall. Plus being able to use ISO 800 and 1600 without a single worry was nice. So I decided to buy a 6D and got it yesterday. I haven't been able to play too much with it, but I have already pushed the low-light during the wedding. I also used the extra $1000 to buy a Tamron 24-70 VC although the first copy was super soft and am in the process of exchanging for a second.
> 
> So overall, I felt the advantages of the 5DIII didn't outweigh the cost benefit of getting a new lens and a new body for the same price as the 5DIII body only.



I felt similarly...and I'm not regretting it at all. Also thoroughly enjoy the extra $1000 lens, only mine was a zoom telephoto. If I buy a 5 series camera, it will be a 5D4...the mark 3 just doesn't quite do it for me.


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## Marsu42 (Sep 28, 2013)

Sporgon said:


> Valid point, and IMO a programming error. It's obvious to use the 'set' button to return to centre point yet it cannot be assigned to this function in the custom menu.



Valid point, and imho deliberate crippling (well, we can never tell...). But don't despair, I already requested this being done by Magic Lantern, if one of the devs doesn't implement it I'll add "center af on SET" myself to ml as it's such an annoyance:

http://www.magiclantern.fm/forum/index.php?topic=8501.0


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## Holly (Oct 2, 2013)

My 6D is the bees knees ;D


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## Marsu42 (Oct 2, 2013)

Marsu42 said:


> Sporgon said:
> 
> 
> > Valid point, and IMO a programming error. It's obvious to use the 'set' button to return to centre point yet it cannot be assigned to this function in the custom menu.
> ...



Quoting myself: I've just added "Center AF on SET" to Magic Lantern myself  ... it'll be in the nightly builds sooner or later. Take that Nikon, I can program my dslr to do what I like, no dynamic range can beat that.

Also you can now navigate in an alternative, imho better way with the multicontroller, it doesn't go to "all af points" anymore and you can get from middle to the extreme corners with fewer clicks.


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## scott (Oct 4, 2013)

PKinDenmark said:


> One very bad - and in the end also positive - experience.
> 
> I can now testify, that the 6D body has proven to be absolutely robust and solid.
> This is based on a nightmare type of experience (could also be reported in the post about 'dont ever do this'):
> ...



something to help


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