Canon 6D for BIF

[billmarsh]

Has anyone tried the new Canon 6D for BIF. I am debating between the 6D and 5D MK3. I know the 5D AF system is better but for an extra $1000 is it worth for me to shoot the occasional BIF.

Thanks Bill Marsh

[J.R.]

Has anyone tried the new Canon 6D for BIF. I am debating between the 6D and 5D MK3. I know the 5D AF system is better but for an extra $1000 is it worth for me to shoot the occasional BIF.

Thanks Bill Marsh

Are you serious with this post ... tell me you are not kidding! ... Get the 5D3 for BIF, no dispute, no debate!

[neuroanatomist]

I can't speak from experience with the 6D, but based on the AF system, it's not going to be optimal for BIF.  A higher density of AF points, along with an expansion mode where the nearest point is used if the subject drifts off the selected point, make tracking a BIF much easier. 

Certainly, a 6D can be used for BIF.  People shot BIF with manually-wound film cameras before AF lenses existed...  But with a 5DIII, the camera will do a fair bit of the work for you, whereas with the 6D, it'll be mostly down to your skill. 

[RLPhoto]

I'd get a 7D before a 6D/5D2/5Dc/20D AF system. The 7D has fantastic AF.

[AprilForever]

I'd get a 7D before a 6D/5D2/5Dc/20D AF system. The 7D has fantastic AF.

Indeed.

[billmarsh]

Thanks for the replies.
I always use the center focus point when shooting BIF so would I really need 61 AF points on the 5D MK3?
Does the MK3 need to lock on with the center point first before it will track the subject? Also, if the AF point drifts off the subject and is picked up by another point will it lock on to the closest part of the bird like the outer wing causing the head and body to be out of focus.
Thanks Bill

[Don Haines]

Has anyone tried the new Canon 6D for BIF. I am debating between the 6D and 5D MK3. I know the 5D AF system is better but for an extra $1000 is it worth for me to shoot the occasional BIF.

Thanks Bill Marsh

To quote Yoda.... "beware the dark side, for once you start down it's path. forever will it consume your destiny"
If you start with BIF, you are going to end up getting longer glass..... and in comparison the $1000 might not be that big afterall... The problem with BIF is that they are flying... moving... and sometimes quite fast. A quality AF system may turn out to be the single most important factor. The 6D is the Rebel of the FF world, I'd grab the 5D3 or a 7D over a 6D for BIF.

[Mr Bean]

Thanks for the replies.
I always use the center focus point when shooting BIF so would I really need 61 AF points on the 5D MK3?
Does the MK3 need to lock on with the center point first before it will track the subject? Also, if the AF point drifts off the subject and is picked up by another point will it lock on to the closest part of the bird like the outer wing causing the head and body to be out of focus.
Thanks Bill

Well, I'm no expert, but I've been using a 5d m3 for the past 6 weeks or so, trying my hand at BIF.
1) In general, depending on what settings you have and how you tweak them (and there's a lot to play with in the 5D), the 61 points are handy for BIF.
2) Depending on what objects are present around the bird (foreground / background), I switch from 61 points to 1, 5 or 9 points in the center, which is easy to do in the 5D (can't speak for the 6D).
3) It makes sense for the camera to focus on the nearest object, be that the body or the wing. It doesn't know what you consider important. But, in most cases (and I've only had a few), it's more luck that the camera happens to be in focus on the body (or the bit I want in focus), since the time frame I'm dealing with the bird is around 1-2 seconds

Just my 2 cents worth