Initial impression after using 6D... now 2 weeks later

[Marine03]

Well it came yesterday and as a whole "wow" what a step up from a rebel.  The feel, the size is just about perfect. 

I only had the cash for the body but plan on getting glass in the next few months here.  With that being said I was using the Nifty Fifty.   

Even with all lights on my 450D couldn't take a picture worth keeping without the hotshoe flash.  THIS CAN!!! I was stunned with auto ISO, as it was only Day 1 I left it in jpg and then AV and TV mostly. 

Focus, was slow at times and seemed to search, I'm not sure if this was a lens or body issue or  maybe even user.  I know this isn't a sports or action cam but its forced into that roll as I have a 1.5 year old running around. 

so the jury is till out on the focus... not sure if I was expecting more based on the -3EV rating. 

WIFI was very cool, didn't really take any pics with it, but did transfer images straight to my iPhone 5 and post on Facebook or text them out to family.   Really easy.

Overall coming from the 450D and only fooling around for a few hours still learning this camera, I am impressed!!  I will try to get user pictures up in the near future. 

(i think I might also see how I can do AFMA at home)

[J.R.]

Congrats on your new purchase.

The hunting AF would most likely because by the nifty fifty. The center AF point of the 6D does a pretty good job and you can take action shots if you prepare for it in the right way - see below

BTW, the first thing I did with my test shots of the 6D was the same - paired it with my iPhone, synced some pics and shared on facebook   

[Runibl]

Grats on your purchase
Also on the 450D here, with a 6D on the way. Looking forward to it.

I would agree to above, that the AF hunting is probably the nifty fifty.

[mathino]

Grats on your purchase
Also on the 450D here, with a 6D on the way. Looking forward to it.

I would agree to above, that the AF hunting is probably the nifty fifty.

I'm also upgrading form 450D to 6D in a couple of days. I find it quiet funny that a lot of people are switching from 450D -> 6D just like me/you.

I've tested pre-production and production bodies with 24L, 50L, 85 f/1.8, 28 f/1.8 and 70-200 f/4 and they were pretty damn responsive (on the center AF point). When you use lens with USM then focus is very quick and accurate. I find off-center AF points as good under good light. But I think that photography is also about knowing how to shoot, knowing the limits of gear and how to overcome them ;-)

Ofc 5D Mk III has more advanced AF and it's more "all-in-one" camera but 6D has enough features for me. And my next investment will be L glass (24-70 L II probably in a year).

Also 50 f/1.8 is known for focus hunting and has problems with focusing on objects that are further from camera.

I'm really looking forward for exploring FF and true focal length and DoF of my primes - especially 85 f/1.8 USM which is a bit tight for indoor shooting on APS-C. Should be good combo for portraits :-)

[Qson]

Congrats. The slow AF is definitely caused by the nifty fifty. When you can get a USM lens on there, the AF will perform to your expectations.

[babiesphotos]

Well it came yesterday and as a whole "wow" what a step up from a rebel.  The feel, the size is just about perfect. 

I only had the cash for the body but plan on getting glass in the next few months here.  With that being said I was using the Nifty Fifty.   

Even with all lights on my 450D couldn't take a picture worth keeping without the hotshoe flash.  THIS CAN!!! I was stunned with auto ISO, as it was only Day 1 I left it in jpg and then AV and TV mostly. 

Focus, was slow at times and seemed to search, I'm not sure if this was a lens or body issue or  maybe even user.  I know this isn't a sports or action cam but its forced into that roll as I have a 1.5 year old running around. 

so the jury is till out on the focus... not sure if I was expecting more based on the -3EV rating. 

WIFI was very cool, didn't really take any pics with it, but did transfer images straight to my iPhone 5 and post on Facebook or text them out to family.   Really easy.

Overall coming from the 450D and only fooling around for a few hours still learning this camera, I am impressed!!  I will try to get user pictures up in the near future. 

(i think I might also see how I can do AFMA at home)

About focus: I also have 1.5 year old(s), twins. My experience is that it's hard catching them.

I just sold 5d Mk III because I was frustrated on how many shots were OOF. I mean I get plenty of good ones, but still many OOF.

Bought 6D and for all intents and purposes my batting percentage is almost the same. Pocketed $1000 towards 24-70 (Tamron or LII, need to figure it out).

Good lens and USM helps. 50 1.8 and 50 1.4 are worst offenders in terms of OOF on moving toddlers. 135L lots better, 40 pancake surprisingly good (because of short focus distance), even tamron 28-75 does ok. Don't remember how 85 1.8 does.

Rented 35 1.4 and 24-70 L II, both were better than average.

[Mt Spokane Photography]

You should not have autofocus hunting unless you were in the dark.  A working nifty 50 doesn't hunt it might not focus as fast as more expensive lenses, but hunting means it needs service.
For AF lenses I have dismantled, internally, there is a resistive element stuck with adhesive to the inside of the barrel that has a metal spring connected to the inner focus tube that contacts it.  Thats how the lens reports its focus position back to the camera, and if it gets dirty, there is intermittent contact and then it can hunt.  Since the lens is not weather sealed, that can happen.  Get the lens cleaned and serviced.

[tcmatthews]

I would never consider using the nifty 50 as any kind of auto-focus bench mark.  On my old XS it would hunt all over the place in indoor lighting.  Unless it was very well lit it would hunt all day.  It was not much better on my first 60d on the second one it will at leased focus inside.  But it still hunts a bit if the light is low.  In fact on the old XS in live view it might as well be called iffy 50.  It would get close to focus then drive it completely out of focus.  If it actually achieves focus then it will be on and it has done it from day one.  I bought it new so I doubt it is defective.  In fact I think it has loosened up a bit and now achieves focuses faster. 

I do not have a 6d but I did play with one in my local Best Buy last week.  They do not carry the kit so for in store demo the stuck a 28-135 IS USM on it.  In my experience with demo units on the 7d with the 28-135 in the past it was not exactly the speediest USM lens.  The 6d achieved focus almost instantaneously with the lens.  They still had a 5d II in stock with a nifty 50 on it and with center point it would focus ok no noticeable hunting but slow.  The 5d III had a shorty 40 and that was not noticeably faster than my 60d +shorty 40 but still fast. 

If funds are tight I would pick up a shorty 40 then make a judgement on how good the focus is.  I have seen the 28-135 IS for $350 in the past so that could be a good budget zoom.  It did seem to work well on the 6d. 

[Marine03]

Its been 2 weeks since I started using the 6D and without even leaving the house I have about 1100 clicks which is a far faster rate than I took with my old 450D.    To be honest its fun again shooting because the limits are so much higher and I have more to work with before needing to grab the flash etc to get an okay shot.  This was just done with natural light near a patio door and previously I think I would have needed a hot shoe on the 450. 

Obviously this isn't a sports camera, but its doing an Okay job keeping up with my toddler running around.  I know most around here frown upon it, but for daily shots that I don't  plan on blowing up to 20x30 I just shoot jpg.

Something else I should mention is the video mode, I use to be the guy saying "Canon keep costs down we don't need that video crap"  However I've used it probably a half dozen times already just because I didn't have to run to get the video camera when my son started doing something funny.  Far more useful than I would have expected it to be.

[Hydrogen]

Just a recommendation to those shooting small children...  I have several of my own and was frustrated by the original 5D2 I purchased and return for a 5D3 which did a BIT better, but nothing stellar until I switched to Back-Button AutoFocus in AI Servo.  *WOW*  It went from "eh" and a few LUCKY sharp pictures to about 50% tack-sharp, 25% sharp enough and 25% reject rate *indoors*.

I just got a 5D2 refurb as a back-up to my 5D3 and was again getting disappointed with it until I enabled AI Servo with center-point only.  Still may go for back-button, but the key is AI Servo.

[Zlatko]

Just a recommendation to those shooting small children...  I have several of my own and was frustrated by the original 5D2 I purchased and return for a 5D3 which did a BIT better, but nothing stellar until I switched to Back-Button AutoFocus in AI Servo.  *WOW*  It went from "eh" and a few LUCKY sharp pictures to about 50% tack-sharp, 25% sharp enough and 25% reject rate *indoors*.

I just got a 5D2 refurb as a back-up to my 5D3 and was again getting disappointed with it until I enabled AI Servo with center-point only.  Still may go for back-button, but the key is AI Servo.

Could you explain your method a bit more, please?  How does the back button improve focus over just using the shutter button to focus with AI Servo?  Are you using the back button to activate AI Servo, or to lock it after the shutter button has already activated it?  I have never gotten along with back button focus, but I'm willing to give it another try.  My impression is that it always seems to require twice as much work and twice as much coordination, but I may be missing out on the advantage for certain situations.  Thanks in advance.

[surfer57]

If you learn to use back focus you will love it and never go back. Makes so much sense to separate the focus from the shutter in many instances for me.

[Hydrogen]

Could you explain your method a bit more, please?  How does the back button improve focus over just using the shutter button to focus with AI Servo?  Are you using the back button to activate AI Servo, or to lock it after the shutter button has already activated it?  I have never gotten along with back button focus, but I'm willing to give it another try.  My impression is that it always seems to require twice as much work and twice as much coordination, but I may be missing out on the advantage for certain situations.  Thanks in advance.

Back-Button Focus (BBF) separates the autofocus from the shutter.  You use it to activate AI Servo.  AI Servo doesn't "lock" like One-Shot focus does.  It continues to search for optimal focus if it detects a change in phase (subject movement).

The benefits over keeping the autofocus on the shutter button for AI Servo (or even One-Shot) are as follows:

1. Upon taking an exposure, if you want to take another right away, using the conventional shutter button to autofocus... Once you take the exposure, and your finger is coming back up off from depressing the shutter to take the exposure, that fraction of a second that you lose can be the difference between your subject still being in the *same place* within the frame (and still 'painted' by the AF point) that they were when the shutter opened to take the exposure.  When this happens, AF effectively has to 're-hunt' for a subject.  And if you want to take a subsequent exposure right away, you may or may not hit good focus.

If you are peppering the subject with continuous drive in AI Servo (holding the shutter button down), the AF never stops between exposures - it just keeps going.  Remember a shutter for a moving subject could range between 1/250 and 1/4000th of a second.  If AF is still going - either through continuous depressing of the shutter button - or through holding down the AF-ON button on the back, it's but a minute fraction of a second after the shutter closes and mirror flips that autofocus is back on the job.

So what you gain here is the agility of AI Servo *in continuous drive mode* with the flexibility of "one-shot-like" exposure control.

2. If another subject comes in front of the subject you already focused on using back-button focus, you can choose to let go of the AF-ON button and take the shot with the shutter button.  If you would have otherwise been using the shutter button for both AF and Exposure, in AI Servo, the AF system likely will lose focus off your subject which is now in the background.  This can lead to the wrong subject being in focus, of course.  Worse, with a slower lens especially a telephoto like the 70-200 f/2.8 (non-IS) or better example the 85 f/1.2L which has notoriously slow AF, this could be very costly time wasted until your intended subject is back in focus and you may have lost "The Shot."

My method is simply to just hold down the AF-ON button 100% of the time while taking pictures UNLESS there is a good reason to let go (i.e. unwanted subject enters the foreground or I want to re-compose my frame WITHOUT altering focus).  The *KEY* is to ensure that you continue to hold down the AF-ON button throughout your pressing the shutter release.  If you look at your exposures in DPP afterwards and view the AF point selection for that frame (ALT+L) you will see which AF point(s) were used for an exposure.  Unless you depress the AF-ON button throughout the shutter release, there was no "lock" and you will not see any illuminated (in red) AF points in DPP.  I have found this is key.  If you let go of AF-ON for a subject that is moving (or you moving the camera even the slightest) your shots won't be tack-sharp.

Does this help?

[Hydrogen]

I found using the AF-On button as a main focus button a pain in the thumb, after a couple of hours it is just a crap way to do it.

BUT, I get on really well with AF-On button set as an AF off button, on my camera that is C.Fn IV -1 :1, much less use of the thumb which is normally working the AF point selector toggle anyway, total control over exposure and AF, I find it much easier and more intuitive.

Thanks for sharing.  I have never tried that and will give it a shot (excuse the pun).

That would seem to help with benefit/scenario #2 I mentioned above, but not with #1.  Again, in the first scenario I describe how you gain AI Servo/Continuous benefits while in AI Servo/"One-shot-like" exposure control.

[michi]

It took me three separate attempts to get into the back button AF thing.  Couldn't live without it now.  It becomes second hand and makes you handle most situations so much better.  It's a little like in the old days where you could focus with one hand and meter and shoot with the other.  Once you master it, you have much better control over your camera and can spend more time thinking about the image.