It seems our exploratory swim in the waters of full-frame DSLRs is far from complete. With the ink from his recent reviews of the D600 and the mirrorless Panasonic GH3 still drying, I asked my homie Ben Pitt to put the Canon EOS 6D between his microscope plates and share his findings here. As you’d expect with a lower-priced semi-pro camera, the EOS 6D is a mixed-bag. It’s light and boasts integrated GPS + Wi-Fi, but a couple notable omissions are enough to yank this camera from the “obvious choice” list. Scrutinizing consumers have come to expect a catch with the $2,000 price point products. Does the EOS 6D have a big one? I’ll let Ben take it from here. – Chase
A year ago, a full-frame camera meant a professional camera. They were simply too expensive for the majority of amateur photography enthusiasts. But with the Nikon D600 and Canon EOS 6D, the landscape has changed.
Last month I wrote about the Nikon D600, and whether the inevitable compromises it makes compared to the pricier D800 are worth living with. I concluded that – for me at least – they were. Given the choice of a D800 or a D600 plus an extra $800 to spend on glass (or more realistically, household bills), I’d happily go for the latter.
This month, it’s time to ask the same question about the Canon EOS 6D.
There are no nasty surprises regarding image quality. The 6D’s 20-megapixel full-frame sensor is new, but quality is hard to distinguish from the EOS 5D Mark III’s 22.3-megapixel output. Details are marginally lower, but so too are noise levels. Incidentally, detail and noise levels are very similar to the D600, too. Canon and Nikon each has its distinctive colour processing but there’s nothing much to separate these three cameras’ image quality on an objective basis.
1/320s, f/5.6, ISO 400, 400mm (click to enlarge)
1/60s, f/5, ISO 100, 32mm
1/125s, f/2.2, ISO 320, 50mm (click to enlarge)
1/200s, f/2.2, ISO 12800, 50mm (click to enlarge)
Their video modes are more varied. The 6D’s videos lag a little behind the D600’s for detail levels, and it lacks a headphone out to monitor the microphone input. However, unlike the D600, its aperture setting can be adjusted while recording. Overall, I’d class that as a draw, but both come a distant second to the Panasonic GH3 for video.
As with the D600, the 6D takes its design cues from a cropped-sensor sibling – in this case, the EOS 60D. The 6D is only fractionally larger and heavier than the 60D, although the lack of an integrated flash and articulated screen possibly account for the minimal weight gain. The layout of buttons is very similar, with a generous number of single-function buttons but a few less than on the 5D Mark III. It’s great to have the AF-ON button included – something Nikon chose to omit from the D600. The lack of direct access to white balance settings is disappointing, though.
Some people will lament the single SDXC slot, which compares unfavourably to the D600’s dual SDXC and the 5D Mark III’s SDXC and CompactFlash slots. I can live with a single slot, but it seems that this particular one hampers performance. Testing with an SDHC card rated at 94MB/s, burst mode set off at 4.2fps but slowed to 2.3fps after 26 frames. When I tested the 5D Mark III (which uses the same DIGIC 5+ processor), I found that the 6fps burst rate lasted indefinitely with a 90MB/s CompactFlash card but slowed to 2fps after 28 shots with a 94MB/s SDHC card.
Still, 4.2fps for 26 frames isn’t so bad. If you’re looking for a fast camera for sports or wildlife photography, you should be more wary of the 6D’s autofocus sensor.
As with the Nikon D600, its points are bunched towards the centre of the frame – it’s as if Canon has taken an APS-C SLR’s autofocus sensor and plonked it into a full-frame camera. But whereas the D600 has 39 AF points, nine of which are cross-type, the 6D has a much simpler 11-point autofocus with just a single cross-type point in the centre. That rules out the automatic subject tracking that’s available in the D600 and 5D Mark III – there simply aren’t enough AF points to track moving subjects. It’s also a pretty big drawback for portrait work, where you want to be able to focus on the eye without having to focus and recompose the shot. Then again, the 5D Mark II had a nine-point autofocus system, and it sold by the bucket load.
So far, the D600 is coming out on top for features, but the 6D’s trump card is integrated Wi-Fi and GPS. GPS worked without a hitch in my tests. The GPS radio stays on when the camera is switched off, so it needn’t spend ages recalculating its position when you want to take a photo. An icon on the passive LCD screen reminds you to switch it off (via the menu) at the end of the day – shame there’s no hardware switch.
The Wi-Fi implementation is one of the most sophisticated I’ve seen. With the help of the EOS Remote app for iOS and Android, the camera can be remotely controlled from a smartphone or tablet, complete with live view, touchscreen control over the autofocus point and full access to exposure settings. Image browsing is well catered for too, with responsive full-screen previews, detailed EXIF data and the ability to apply star ratings. There’s no option to transfer photos to the app at the full 20-megapixel resolution, though.
The EOS Remote app running on an iPad
The 6D also supports wireless tethering to a PC or Mac, which worked flawlessly once I’d jumped through various hoops to set it up. There are various other features, such as uploads to Facebook and YouTube over a local network and the ability to stream slideshows to a Smart TV via DLNA.
Overall, the EOS 6D is a heady mix. Image quality is outstanding. Video capture has its limitations but picture quality is certainly flattering. Its controls and performance are decent enough, the autofocus is disappointing and the wireless features are spot on. That might sound like a fair compromise considering the breakthrough price, but it’s very much a case of taking the rough with the smooth. To me, the D600 feels more balanced.
As ever, we’d love to hear your thoughts. Are 11 autofocus points enough, or has Canon misjudged its market here? Bear in mind that Canon wants the 6D to appeal to people who are ready to move up from a cropped-sensor SLR – it’s not designed for potential 5D Mark III owners who are looking to save some cash. Are the Wi-Fi and GPS must-have features, tempting extras or a waste of space? And putting any allegiances to one side, which company do you feel has made the best cut-price full-frame camera?
I am surprised at how many people view the 6D as a semi pro camera (which it CAN be) instead of a beginner full frame camera with some pro features.
I think it is correct to use a xxD style AF instead of the 7D AF. The 7D AF would probably be too complicated for beginners.
The WI-FI/GPS and low light performance makes the camera of interest to professionals. I expect to by one for remote control bird photography.
I don’t care about the single slot card, but I would have preferred a CF card slot instead. Side note : It annoys me somewhat that my 1D4 has only one CF slot.
I had the 7D for about a year and the AF is fairly simple imo. With the zone focusing and expansion settings all you have to do is point in the general directions of the subject for it to lock. I really think the the 6D doesn’t offer enough to purchase it over the mk2. The wifi is a cool feature..but that’s about it.
The 6d absolutely floors the 5d mark 2 over image quality and noise performance, there is your advantage.
And it doesnt have greasy dirt on the sensor aka D600, and the colrs ar emuch better says Ken Rockewll. ken should know as he conceived the world’s first dedicated digital colorspace converter chip, the TMC2272, back in 1990 when he worked at TRW LSI Products. He’s been working with the matrix math, hardware and software that does this for decades. He also coined the word “gigacolors,” for use with 36-bit and 48-bit color data. TRW LSI was a small, ultra-creative division of TRW.
Ken is today a pro photogarpher, see his velvia 5x4s, who reviews cameras and optics that he woiuld be actually using himself, not everything that appears on the market. Some call him a moron, but tthat;s just human nature trying to belittle someone they begrudge.
Hi, Ken!
The 6D will be my next body, coming for a 5D MKII… The wifi did it for me, I shoot wedding and portraits and would love to be able to shoot directly to my computer \ ipad (via Shutter Snitch) without another $800 accessory. For $2000 I get a second 5DMKII with wifi and more sensitive autofocus. Seems like a winner.. (Canon fanboy here, kidding but seriously)
Here’s what i think what happen at Canon when making the 6D.
Ok well we need to make a cheaper full frame to compete with the D600,
Lets look at the 5D3
23 megapixels- too much
6pfs- too much
61 AF points- wayyyy too much
41 cross type AF points- are you mad? we shall give them “1”, yes i said “1”
CF card slot- hey stupid we want to attract wannabe rebel photographers. keep it SDHC and keep it 1 they are cheap anyways.
1/8000 shutter speed, lets give them 1/4000 TV so that we can charge extra for ND filters.
Magnesium alloy body- nah its a “cheaper” full frame. lets give it plastic
Wifi capabilities- Thats a great idea, now people will have a reason to buy this thing.
I really don’t see a point other than the Wifi, at almost 2k for this camera, id rather just get a 5D2 instead. imo.
So agree 100% with you!!
Wow, it’s like you were a fly on the wall during that meeting at Canon! I’m still reading so many reviews to decide 6D/5D. If you don’t want lots of features (Rebel owners) get the 6d, if you want and use real features get the 5D.
If they would have stuck the 7D autofocus system in it…they would have had a winner!!!
They did not intentionally.
I bought the 6D right after it came out. I was long over due for a body upgrade and thought the extra $1000+ was just not worth it for the 5DIII (for what I do anyway). I knew the downsides to it and even considered the D600 since I’m no hardcore fanboy but decided switching over would end up costing more with new lens/flash/accessory investments.
The few things I was hesitant about (because everything else was amazing) was the 1 card slot and autofocus. Now, my older body had one card slot and I never had a problem so I decided if the D600 had not had 2 slot I would have never even cared.
The autofocus was the one serious thing I was concerned about but I started thinking. I shoot primarily weddings and portraits. Weddings can have some demands but I really believe if you think you need an autofocus system that’s capable of also shooting an F1 race than you’re at some crazy weddings. Actually the fact that the 6D system was supposedly more sensitive in the dark for weddings was a plus in my opinion. Ultimately though, I thought, they obviously have not made this camera to do what the 5DIII can in terms of autofocus either in focus points of fps. But I think the FPS if appropriate for the autofocus. It makes no sense to make a camera shoot at 5-10fps, but not be able to track anything that fast.
I think the 5DII made a huge impact in the photographic world, and was essentially the go-to for many pro’s. The 6D is much better. Wifi and GPS seemed like a gimmick to me at first, but after uploading a handful of photos during a wedding and sending a photo of the father/daughter dance to the father right after they danced my mind was changed. It can make a huge impact on clients during a wedding.
It is a great camera, not the best, but it’s not supposed to be. It would be nice if it had better autofocus or 2 card slots but we all know Canon/Nikon are always playing hop-scotch and I am glad Nikon went the extra mile because it will keep Canon trying to get better in turn.