Returned my D600. Thinking of a 6D. How do they compare? IQ? DR?

[dtaylor]

Any question like this is going to attract lots of heated debate, that will deteriorate into Drivel with lots of quotes and comparisons that the author is absolutely convinced makes perfect sense.

Ultimately you will be able to take good pictures with either camera. If you work with the limitations of either you will be able to take great pictures, if you are capable.

I'm a canon user and very pleased with the equipment I have. But I have no doubts that if I used nikon no one who looked at my images could tell the difference.

The differences are not very significant. Use what you like, and don't listen to the pixel peepers or the people who play top trumps with spec sheets.

Couldn't have said it better.

[MLfan3]

I really like the lighter feel and the more comfortable grip of the 6D.  I returned my D600 due to dust problems... I have been a Canon G series user for YEARS and loved all of them.  In film days I used Nikon,,, F2s & F3s.

The D600 was uncomfortable but I lied the DR and IQ.

How do the 6D users here like the camera?

I do fine Art, Street photography and landscapes.

I currently still have a D600 + a EOS6D + a  D800E  and a couple of 5DMK2 bodies,which will be replaced by the 5D3 soon.

1 DR at base ISO the D600 wins , but not as significantly different  as DXO or many moronic test chart only shooters making it out to be, it is just a stop or a stop and half difference, and not really dramatic.

2 high ISO , the 6D is a stop better , with better DR from ISO 800.
 
3 video , the 6D is better and it will get ML RAW , so it will be much better , not just a bit better.

4 size and weight , the 6 D is  actually quite significantly smaller but not much lighter(I love the 6D +35mm f2IS, and I consider that as an ultimate lowlight kit).

5 battery life , the D600 wins hands down here.

6 the D600 has better dual SD card slots, the 6D has just one slot (this is a big deal if you need a back up slot all the time for wedding)

7 the 6 D can focus in real lowlight  rated down to -3 EV, which is really dim , as dark as moon light level , but the D600 tracks moving things a bit better.

8 Wifi is a big thing , you can control the camera remotely while shooting long exposure or any kind of tripod based work.

9 the D600 has crappy pop-up flash and I think that makes it look cheap and actually it does break easily. my D700 had really annoying pop-up flash related issues, and I had to send it in for service 7 times and I finally sold it for the 5D2. the D600 seems even weaker than my D700 or 800E. so I expect it to be quite fragile.

10 IMO, the 6D built better with a bit more comfortable grip, but it is subjective , for me the A99V is the most comfortable camera to shoot with , its grip was as though it had been designed specifically for my right hand.
the 5D3 was the second most comfortable camera to hold and shoot with.


11 AWB is very very different , the Nikon has a bit of Cyan cast in it , while the Canon has a bit of Magenta cast in it.

12 There are almost no zooms that can resolve the 24.3 mp FX sensor well in current Nikon zoom line (maybe the 70-200VR2 and  200-400f4VR2 are fine), so if you are zoom shooter , you are wasting much potential resolving power of the high resolution sensor of the Nikon. I , in fact , recommend Zeiss  primes and 70-200mmf2.8VR2 for the Nikon , nothing less than that is really good enough for that sensor. the Nikon 24-70mmf2.8G ED , 16-35mmf4VR , 24-120mmf4VR, the 70-200f4GEDVR are all useless , they were great on 12mp generation bodies but not on the D800E or D600.


So , I think you should go down to a local shop and just try the 6D , 5D3 , A99v ,etc and see which one fits best in your right hand.

They are all good but not perfect or objectively better than the others , so just try them all and decide it for yourself. do not listen to others including me and people here since all of us are biased , even  DXO is biased towards Nikon /Pentax ,etc.
 Finally, one thing I am sure about by  now is 36mp vs 24 is not that big difference in real life use, but usable aperture sweet spot gets much narrower with the 36mp sensor due to diffraction effect.
 In order to get best out of it , we really need focus stacking and stitching in PS all the time ,so unless going at least 48mp or a bit more , it is meaningless to up the resolution from 20mp -24mp range, you will need to stitch or focus stack anyway(as you want to get best out of it).




 

[Janbo Makimbo]

The 6D won the EISA best advanced DSLR of the year..... A category that the D600 would have been considered in... i imagine it was selected by people who know what they are talking about!!

[mwh1964]

Tried both and ended up with 5D3 instead. I think neither brand maker or specific model matters that much.  So you gotta choose whatever is most comfortable to you. It's your money. The only thing I regret is waiting too long with my purchase missing a lot of good pictures in the meantime. Good luck with your new camera.

[wsheldon]

I currently still have a D600 + a EOS6D + a  D800E  and a couple of 5DMK2 bodies,which will be replaced by the 5D3 soon.

1 DR at base ISO the D600 wins , but not as significantly different  as DXO or many moronic test chart only shooters making it out to be, it is just a stop or a stop and half difference, and not really dramatic.

2 high ISO , the 6D is a stop better , with better DR from ISO 800.
 
3 video , the 6D is better and it will get ML RAW , so it will be much better , not just a bit better.

4 size and weight , the 6 D is  actually quite significantly smaller but not much lighter(I love the 6D +35mm f2IS, and I consider that as an ultimate lowlight kit).

5 battery life , the D600 wins hands down here.

6 the D600 has better dual SD card slots, the 6D has just one slot (this is a big deal if you need a back up slot all the time for wedding)

7 the 6 D can focus in real lowlight  rated down to -3 EV, which is really dim , as dark as moon light level , but the D600 tracks moving things a bit better.

8 Wifi is a big thing , you can control the camera remotely while shooting long exposure or any kind of tripod based work.

9 the D600 has crappy pop-up flash and I think that makes it look cheap and actually it does break easily. my D700 had really annoying pop-up flash related issues, and I had to send it in for service 7 times and I finally sold it for the 5D2. the D600 seems even weaker than my D700 or 800E. so I expect it to be quite fragile.

10 IMO, the 6D built better with a bit more comfortable grip, but it is subjective , for me the A99V is the most comfortable camera to shoot with , its grip was as though it had been designed specifically for my right hand.
the 5D3 was the second most comfortable camera to hold and shoot with.


11 AWB is very very different , the Nikon has a bit of Cyan cast in it , while the Canon has a bit of Magenta cast in it.

12 There are almost no zooms that can resolve the 24.3 mp FX sensor well in current Nikon zoom line (maybe the 70-200VR2 and  200-400f4VR2 are fine), so if you are zoom shooter , you are wasting much potential resolving power of the high resolution sensor of the Nikon. I , in fact , recommend Zeiss  primes and 70-200mmf2.8VR2 for the Nikon , nothing less than that is really good enough for that sensor. the Nikon 24-70mmf2.8G ED , 16-35mmf4VR , 24-120mmf4VR, the 70-200f4GEDVR are all useless , they were great on 12mp generation bodies but not on the D800E or D600.

This is probably the most balanced, real-world comparison I've seen between these cameras/systems. Well done.

I have a 6D and concur with your observations on AWB (slightly magenta-biased), noise and DR.

[Sporgon]

9 the D600 has crappy pop-up flash and I think that makes it look cheap and actually it does break easily. my D700 had really annoying pop-up flash related issues, and I had to send it in for service 7 times and I finally sold it for the 5D2. the D600 seems even weaker than my D700 or 800E. so I expect it to be quite fragile

You get a big +1 from me on this point. I detest pop up flash on an expensive, otherwise solid camera. In my Nikon days the pop up flash on my D200 lasted all of about a week before getting snapped off. Nikons continued use of this on its higher grade cameras smacks of trying to ensure the camera has everything on it so as not to loose a potential sale. Canons attitude is: if you want weak, direct pop up flash you should be using APS anyway.

Bet the higher grade 7D II doesn't have one even though it's APS.

[neuroanatomist]

The dust problems with the 6D will be the same as the D600.

Really?  So, Canon issued a service advisory for dust issues on the 6D just like Nikon's service advisory for the D600 dust issue?  That's news to me... 

[sdsr]

While owning a 5DII and Rebel T3i I rented a 5DIII, 6D, D600 and D800e, have sold the first two and now own a 6D and 5DIII.  I would have been quite happy to own both brands, but couldn't find any advantages in the D600 over the 6D that mattered to me (and while I certainly see the appeal of the D800e, I would probably have to change my shooting style to make the most of it, which seems the wrong way round). 

It's surely undeniably true that the D600 has less shadow noise than the 6D at low ISOs (both are better than the 5DIII in that respect), but that only matters if you frequently underexpose or have dark shadows you want to brighten more than you can with a 6D.  For me that's simply not an issue, but maybe it is for you.  It's also true that the 6D is a bit better than the D600 at high ISOs, but the difference there is smaller, perhaps trivial.  Otherwise, comparing photos taken by the two side-by-side (which I did only casually) I couldn't see any differences that I would call significant and that I could attribute to the camera rather than the lenses.

In terms of handling, I much prefer the 6D to the D600 ergonomically; changing settings seems simpler on the Canon, but as you're used to Nikon you may not agree.  In some respects the D600 may have autofocus advantages over the 6D, but I found the 6D's focusing more accurate (though I guess that may be a lens issue rather than a body issue) and, in very low light, the 6D would focus accurately where the D600 simply wouldn't focus at all.  I also didn't care for the slightly olive green cast to the D600's viewfinder or the green bias of its monitor. 

I also very much like the quiet shutter modes of the 6D and 5DIII, especially in quiet places indoors (museums, churches, etc.).

Finally, for my purposes at least, Canon's range of lenses is better.

You could always rent one and find out first hand....

[sdsr]

The dust problems with the 6D will be the same as the D600.

Really?  So, Canon issued a service advisory for dust issues on the 6D just like Nikon's service advisory for the D600 dust issue?  That's news to me...

Right.  Besides, the endless complaints and reports suggest it's more than just "dust"....

[hassiman]

Sorry guys.  Not trolling.  Just trying to make a good informed decision.  FYI D600 problem is not normal.  If ANY Canon got sensor contamination like the 6D it would be all over the forums.  Dust and oil that accumulates without the lens ever being off the camera... and after only 20 to 30 cycles. 

I have used Canon for years in the G series.  Loved them.  I don't have the $$$ for a 5D MIII but I am older now and my days of humping a 60 pound camera bag around are DONE.  I figure that it's smart to buy the camera for the Glass as the bodies are obsolete now after only 2-3 years.  I like the 24-105... the 17-40 seems like a great value and the 40 Pancake would be good for Panos.  Not too much weight for this old dude.

The DR of the D600 was amazing... but I figure the successor to the 6D will surpass it and I will get that.

[jpetep]

I bought a 6d after lots and lots of research and could not be happier. I'm not even using great lenses - a tokina 20-35, canon 50 1.8 and canon 70-300....last week I spotted an iguana at the top of a very tall palm tree hanging out in the branches. I shot him with the 70-300 and then cropped just the head....printed an 8x10 on my little portable canon ip100 and the colors and detail were amazing. I'd also add that the high iso is amazing,,,,I've taken more indoor shots of pets and people in TV only light in the living room....adjust the white balance right and its amazing. I took one last week and showed the person I was with and a she commented it looks like it was taken during daytime. I like the menu's too, with all options viewable under each major heading, avoiding having to scroll down and remember what's under each heading. I thought not having a white balance button would be an issue, but hit the quick button and its right there if u want to adjust it. To me, colors are subjective - I'd see full size of a d600 next to the 6d and the reviewer would write see, both look the same....to my eye the canon pics always looked more vibrant/detailed....fact is with all the camera controls, you can get almost any look you want nowadays.

We all fall victim to the technology too....while I've never been able to shoot with such high iso's as I do now with the 6d, which helps tremendously for low light and action, one of the best photos I have is one my daughter took when she was 12, in Canada, out of a moving car going 40mph with a 4mp canon powershot a80. She submitted it to the annual rand McNally contest and won first prize for the landscape category...I have a 30x20 of it on my office wall and people always comment what a beautiful picture it is.

[neuroanatomist]

The dust problems with the 6D will be the same as the D600.

Really?  So, Canon issued a service advisory for dust issues on the 6D just like Nikon's service advisory for the D600 dust issue?  That's news to me...

I have to follow the same service advisory with Canon equipment to keep it dust free. So based on my experience, I would say that Nikon is being more customer friendly than Canon.

Oh, really?  Does Nikon offer free sensor cleanings for their other cameras?  No, just the D600.  Why?  Because apparently it's not really a 'dust' issue, but an oil splatter issue. 

Maybe you should switch to Nikon so you could send your lenses to them for free sensor cleanings, too. 

[Sporgon]

The DR of the D600 was amazing... but I figure the successor to the 6D will surpass it and I will get that.

Don't hold your breath because Canon haven't demonstrated any significant gain in DR since the 5D Mark II was delivered.

I'm surprised at this comment. Do you actually use the successors to the 5D mkII ? If you're making that statement based on DxO ratings you'll find in practice there is considerably more latitude between the 5D mkI, II, III / 6D than those DxO scores would have you believe.

[duydaniel]

Oh, really?  Does Nikon offer free sensor cleanings for their other cameras?  No, just the D600.  Why?  Because apparently it's not really a 'dust' issue, but an oil splatter issue. 

Maybe you should switch to Nikon so you could send your lenses to them for free sensor cleanings, too. 

Yes they do to my D5100.
Just complain there is spot in the pictures, they clean sensor for free under warranty.

[neuroanatomist]

Oh, really?  Does Nikon offer free sensor cleanings for their other cameras?  No, just the D600.  Why?  Because apparently it's not really a 'dust' issue, but an oil splatter issue. 

Maybe you should switch to Nikon so you could send your lenses to them for free sensor cleanings, too. 

Yes they do to my D5100.
Just complain there is spot in the pictures, they clean sensor for free under warranty.

Service Advisories apply after the warranty period is up.  Not the same thing.  A service advisory represents a formal acknowledgement that there's a known problem with a model.