Experiences with the 6D

[JAlmodovar90]

What have your experiences been like now that the Canon 6D has been out for a few months? Is it a worthy upgrade?

I am looking to upgrade to FF, but can't justify the price of the Canon 5D3. How does the 6D perform in everyday use? How does the wi-fi perform when tethered to the computer?

A little bit of background: I currently shoot portraits of friends, family and their children as well as cityscapes. On occasion I will shoot a casual sporting event amongst friends. I currently shoot with a 60D + 24-105 L, 28 1.8, 50 1.4, 85 1.8.

I have a few options in mind for my upgrade path: 60D + 6D, 6D solo, or just bite the bullet and save up for the 5D3.

[ScottyP]

6d will be great for the portraits and cityscapes.  You don't have any glass long enough for shooting sports on full frame though. I would keep the crop body too or else you have to spend up for the longer glass.  Is a 5d3 PLUS a telephoto lens in the budget? 

[JAlmodovar90]

6d will be great for the portraits and cityscapes.  You don't have any glass long enough for shooting sports on full frame though. I would keep the crop body too or else you have to spend up for the longer glass.  Is a 5d3 PLUS a telephoto lens in the budget?

I may end up keeping the 60D and let my girlfriend learn how to shoot photos with a DSLR.

I may invest in a telephoto lens eventually, but as of right now it is not within my budget. I did use the Canon 70-200 f/4 IS on my 60D for sometime, but I ended up selling it due to it rarely being used. I loved the IQ it produced, but I normally shot that lens under 110mm. I know that on FF it's an entirely different monster. Wish I would've tested it on my film SLR prior to selling it.

[Stig]

My experiences so far are very good and I think your 24-105 fits FF better.
WiFi with a smartphone works easy and is a nice thing (though not without hiccups, the other day I was holding the virtual shutter button on my phone for a long exposure and when I turned the phone, the screen orientation changed and that released the shutter button), had some problem connecting to PC, need to look into it and I'm also curious to see more (3rd party) apps for it, I think there are possibilities (time lapse, programmable long exposure times...)

as of the 6D vs 5D3, maybe it depends on where you live and what is the price difference in the deals you can get, for me, at the time I got my 6D kit a 5D3 kit would be more than 50% more and at that I would rather have that telephoto lens

[babiesphotos]

I had 5D Mark II, sold, bought 5D Mark III, sold, bought 6D. Reasons are not important, but here are conclusions:

- 6D is quite a bit better than 5D Mark II in low light. Everyone says it's a touch better than 5D Mark III, I haven't confirmed that yet, but it's no worse.
- AF tracking is somewhere between mk II and mk III. I don't do sports, or wildlife, but chase toddlers, and my percentage of success is better than mk II, and maybe a bit worse than mk III. Kids seem to be so unpredictable at close focusing distance that I couldn't wring out much better results with mk III. Having said that, I shoot ONLY wide open, and with ridiculous depth of field (1.4 etc...), so I'm making it hard on camera and myself.
- AF accuracy is better than mk II. I _think_ it's not as good as mk III on outer points, but on central point, it's exactly the same thing, if not better. I shot mostly inside, so this tilts playing field in 6D favor, as you're probably aware.
- I don't mind 4.5(6D) frames vs 6(mk III), but again I'm not into sports. Something I'm missing is that mk III has hi-speed  mod and 3frames/s mode, and 6D has only one. At 4.5 frames it's a touch hard to fire only one shot, often I fire 2 when I didn't want to. Quiet mode drops it to 3 frames in both cameras, but shutter lag is longer, which I avoid with active toddlers.
- Sync speed 1/180 vs 1/200 is red hearing. 1/180 is either enough or it's not, and if itsn't, you go into HSS mode in both cameras.
- I actually prefer 6D handling. It's very solid, nice and NOT small, but lighter than mk III. I didn't mind mk III, but when lugging some of the heavier lenses around house for awhile, I does get a bit hard on the hand, and I found I appreciate those 200g less. It's nothing decisive, just a bit of a comfort.
- I was always writing all files on both cards in mk III, can't do that in 6D, but since I'm not making money with my camera, I can live with it.
- I LOVE EOS remote app. I attach pic of my 18-moth old triggering the shutter while I'm holding camera to take a picture. Not sure it will be truly usefull, but it's cool

[dswatson83]

I have the 6D, 5D3, & the 7D. The 6D takes a great picture...but as a camera, it feels more like a 60D which I used to own about 1 year ago. It feels like a 5D3 trapped inside a 60D body (minus the flip screen and flash) desperately trying to get out. If you are happy with the 60D, you will like the 6D for sure. However, if you are not satisfied with the body, features, or general performance of the 60D, the 6D will not feel like an upgrade. Consider this, it will be a major upgrade to straight picture quality (FF sensor, better low light performance...) but a minor upgrade of the body and features.

I have a full review on the site so check it out: http://learningcameras.com/reviews/4-dslrs/91-canon-6d-review

Also a comparison between the 6D & 5D3: http://learningcameras.com/reviews/4-dslrs/92-canon-6d-vs-5d-mark-iii

[captainkanji]

I upgraded from the 7D to the 6D. Low light images are vastly improved. I don't really notice any difference in AF performance.  I think the 7D AF was prob overkill for my shooting style.  I mostly shoot events where it's fairly dark or where I need to shoot small aperture.  I shot a car show mostly at f/8 and ISO 3200.  I needed no NR except in shots where I messed up exposure and had to correct in LR.  I have a grip so it fits my large hands better.  I adapted to the lack of a joystick within the first hour, but I admit that I shoot the center point mostly anyway.  I'm very satisfied with my purchase.

[bmwzimmer]

The best thing about the 6D to me is the Image quality and high ISO performance. 

The best thing about the 6D for my wife is the ability to view my photos immediately while I'm shooting them and download/post the ones she likes on Facebook or text/email them to her friends right away.  The images are resized to 1920x1200 so when you download it to your phone, it's < 1 sec per photo. 

If I messed up an exposure or white balance, it has built in raw processing so I can fix it and it will spit out a Jpeg for her to download to her phone.