jasosa

Need information of pro and cons about the Canon 6D. Experiences by those who own it would be great.
Thanks J. Sosa

Japakomom Loc: Originally from the Last Frontier

I had one and it is a great camera. Not the best for fast moving objects, but can still be used with excellent results. Best for still type photography.

jhs7931

Recent owner, love it. Great ISO.

mrpentaxk5ii

The Canon 6D is an old camera, Canon is getting ready to release the 6D ii, it will be much like the Canon 80D but in Full Frame, you can find information about the 6D MKii on the web.

robertjerl Loc: Corona, California

I have had a 6D since late 2013. I love it and am looking forward to the 6DII. It is super in low light and by using the old pre-AF techniques I have gotten good BIF photos, in fact what I consider my best sequence of a hunting Egret was done with the 6D and a 100-400L mkI lens. I have also gotten some really good hummingbird shots with the 6D and Tamron 180mm macro, it even does well with a 1.4x Kenko Pro 300 on it. Sit quietly in a chair in the shade near a feeder and the hummers start to treat me as part of the landscape to the point of using my head as a race course pylon when playing chase the birdie during their territorial disputes over the feeders.

Lately it has not gotten a lot of use except for macro work because I am currently into birds and bugs where my 7DII and its longer reach and high warp AF really shine.

I just received the Helicon FB extension tube that automates focus stacking and will set it up on the 6D for macro and closeup work while the 7DII stays set up for birds etc.

crazydaddio Loc: Toronto Ontario Canada

Agree with all of it.
Quick points:
Excellent IQ - not even comparable to my 70D. Noise at 2300 on 6D is equivalent to 70D at 800iso !
AF is truly awful for pulling focus (lateral and wing beats are a function of shutter speedsp that is fine). However, will focus decently in low light.
Center AF point only. The other 8 points are useless.
Really reallly good non-sports camera. Again, AF is excellent with the center point ( but will not pull very well).

Having said all that, here is a pick of a hockey player coming towards me and shot yhrough the plexiglass. It is possible to get a sports shot but with slow AF pull and 4.5 FPS.....more tossers than keepers....

(Download)

robertjerl Loc: Corona, California

Good shot

With digital who cares how many you toss? Reformat the card and use it again. In the film days it was different. I used a power winder that did 2.5 frames a second. Even hand loading cartridges so they had 42 shots a roll they didn't last long and then the darkroom work was a bear. My best BIF sequence of an Egret hunting minnows was with my 6D and a 100-400 mkI, 60 frames about 20 were keepers and most of the discards were for wing position, poor tracking on my part etc. For hummers I prefocus on the flower or feeder and then wait for a bird to enter the focus zone. Push the shutter button as the bird approaches and release after I know it is out of the zone. I get some good shots that way and discard more for wing position, pose and composition than I do focus problems.

Now in the old days with my 4x5 sheet film camera I darn sure worked to make each one a keeper. But with digital I am free to take chances, skirt the edges of technique with some winners and some losers, not to mention bracket, bracket, bracket and use burst when tracking action then pick and choose the best shots instead of praying that I had mashed the shutter at just the right moment. I often get a burst of 5-10 all exposed correctly, all sharp but one or two the composition of all the moving subjects is better than the others. At Civil War reenactments I use that method. Push the shutter just before the key action (say a cannon firing) let the burst go through to after the peak and even at 4.5 fps I will get one that is better, such as the muzzle flash of the gun, wheel of the carriage just starting to lift with the recoil and the gunners leaning away from the gun with gloved hands over ears and mouth open screaming to counter the over pressure on their ear drums.
That same day I got one of a squad in "fire at will" mode where the Sgt. is behind them looking at the other side while the four guys on line are (right to left) pouring powder down the barrel, biting the end off the paper cartridge, sparks from the percussion cap but no sign at the muzzle yet and muzzle flash with barrel starting to rise from recoil. It was the 4th shot of a 6 shot burst. And the kid with the muzzle flash is the poster child for flinching - eyes closed - look of pain on face etc. I have owned and target shot with two different copies the Remington Zouave .58 cal short rifle he was firing with a blank in it, even with a max charge of powder behind a mini ball it isn't that loud and doesn't kick that hard. He just learned the wrong way and had become scared of it.

sb Loc: Florida's East Coast

I went to FF with the 6D and have not looked back! It is a great camera, and especially great in low light. It does not have a built-in flash (most serious photographers use a speedlight anyway) and I understand that it is not the fastest camera in terms of frames per second, etc, so not the best for sports tec. I shoot wildlife, landscapes, and people, and it is fantastic.

LFingar Loc: Claverack, NY

I had one and it was an excellent camera all-around. For action shots it is not as capable as Canon's other full frame models, or the 7DII, but, with a little practice you can still get decent results if you use single center point focusing.
One shortcoming: With a 1.4 or 2.0 extender you lose auto focus on some lenses. I did on my 100-400 L II with a 1.4III extender. In contrast, my 7DII with that set up only has single center point and extended center point available but my 5DIV has all points available. The 100-400 is f/4-5.6. Never tried it on my 70-200 f/2.8.

mjmoore17 Loc: Philadelphia, PA area

I currently use a Canon 6D. It is a great camera for landscape photography. As stated earlier, it can be used for things like BIF but that is not where it performs at its best. I also have been impressed with its ability in macro photography.

Selene03

I switched from a Nikon D600 to the 6D shortly after the two cameras came out, as I got tired of constantly having to get the D600 cleaned and always having to clone out oil spots. Once Nikon agreed to replace the shutter on the D600, I thought I would go back to it but I found I preferred the 6D even though spec-wise everything about the D600 was better. What I liked so much about the 6D was first the ease of using it. After much comparison, I decided I really preferred the way Canon sets up their cameras (this is a very personal thing--sort of like Mac vs PC). I also liked the fact that the 6D could pretty much see in the dark, that I could get focus on subjects I could not with the Nikon. This is important not just in low light in the early mornings and before sunset in the evening, but in dark buildings, caves etc where flash is not allowed. The fact that you could photos at high ISOs without much noise is also a big plus. I then gradually acquired a good assortment of Canon L lenses, many of which were not all that expensive compared to their Nikon counterparts and were wonderful pieces of glass. The image quality of the 6D with the right lenses is wonderful. The camera is also very small and light for a full-frame camera. These are all powerful reasons for getting the camera especially at its current price.

What I found limiting, and why I now have the 5D Mk IV: 1) the autofocus system--that had only 9 points with one center vertical/horizontal cross--I think it limited me a bit in spite of work arounds, 2) the slow frame rate, 3) I wanted more resolution, 4) the mode dial kept falling off. There were other things like flash sync, but none of these were all that important. All of these limitations appear to be eliminated with the new 6D II.

Still, I wouldn't hesitate recommending the 6D to anyone. Even as old technology, it is an amazing camera that produces very high quality images without a lot of effort and should serve you well for a long time still.

mjmoore17 Loc: Philadelphia, PA area

The mode dial falling off was unexpected. A drop of super glue fixed it but glad to hear, I was not the only one with that problem.

mjmoore17 Loc: Philadelphia, PA area

The mode dial falling off was unexpected. A drop of super glue fixed it but glad to hear, I was not the only one with that problem.

crazydaddio Loc: Toronto Ontario Canada

My twin :-)

robertjerl Loc: Corona, California

Between this thread and another I have seen 3 or 4 people say the 6D has 9 focus points.
Wrong, it has 11.
The Rebel line had 9 focus points through the 5 series, then they went to 19 with the 6 series and with the 7 series they jumped to 45. The 70D had 19 and the 80D started the 45 point AF that has now spread to everything below the 5, 7, 1 series cameras.