D600 vs. leaked 6D specs: a comparison

[funkboy]

In response to the folks here repeating that the D600 beats the 6D, here's a feature comparison that applies to the kind of photography I do, which is a mix of travel, landscapes, & weddings (usually as a backup photog).  For other folks it's surely different but here's my take:

• 20mp vs 24mp:  the smaller the files the better.  I'm going to run the thing in MRAW mode most of the time anyway.  Point Canon.
• High ISO performance:  top native ISO on the 6D is 25.6k.  It's 6400 on the Nikon.  6D is certainly not two stops better than D600 but if they've got the balls to give it native 25.6k then I'm betting it's at least somewhat better. Point Canon.
• AF:  D600 has 39 points vs. 11 for Canon.  Point Nikon.
• Metering:  too early to call it, but they had both better be pretty good.  Draw.
• Shooting speed:  Nikon is 1fps faster, which is too close for me to care as they're both fast enough for me. I'd award Nikon a point if I could definitively figure out if D600 has DX high-speed mode or not but AFAICT it doesn't.  Draw.
• Max shutter speed & flash sync:  Both not too hot but not horrible either. Draw.
• Storage:  I prefer CF to SD & they both use SD to keep the size down.  D600 has two of them, but I really don't care.  Draw.
• Weather sealing:  The basic seals on my 40D have been good enough to keep me out of trouble so far.  Draw.
• Built-in flash:  point Nikon (but my 270EX II will always be in my bag...).
• Built-in GPS & Wifi:  point Canon. I hesitate to award two here as they are both optional on the Nikon.
• Of course, 6D takes my EF mount lenses & EX flashes, but I won't award any points here.  It's also worth noting that the D600 will drive old-school Nikon screwdriver lenses.
• Price:  6D is a couple hundred simoleons cheaper & under the ephemeral double-deuce mark.  Point Canon.

So, I've got 4 points for Canon & 2 points for Nikon, without taking into account the fact that I'm already a Canon customer.  Looks like they've spec'd it right for geeks like me.  For me, the D600's better AF & built-in flash just don't outweigh better high ISO performance (the most important thing for me after handling) & the built-in GPS & wifi.

Regardless of my conclusions, bear this in mind: in this economy, the less expensive camera wins pretty often...

[Abraxx]

I think its far too early for any of your conclusions.   
Just wait and see.

[Canon-F1]

• 20mp vs 24mp:  the smaller the files the better.  I'm going to run the thing in MRAW mode most of the time anyway.  Point Canon.

i have a casio 5MP here.. waiting for you.. 

 

• Shooting speed:  Nikon is 1fps faster, which is too close for me to care as they're both fast enough for me. I'd award Nikon a point if I could definitively figure out if D600 has DX high-speed mode or not but AFAICT it doesn't.  Draw.

draw? because you don´t care.. mhm.. right.... 

• Price:  6D is a couple hundred simoleons cheaper & under the ephemeral double-deuce mark.  Point Canon.

source?

[funkboy]

Given the potential timing of the 6D announcement and the info that the camera may not ship 'till December, my comparison above made me realize something:

It's entirely possible that Canon's platform development has evolved to a sufficiently advanced level of rapid prototyping & production that they can almost literally tweak a bunch of sliders & check boxes like megapickles, fps, AF points, gps/wifi modules, built-in flash, etc etc that enable them to instantly figure out how much the camera will cost (one of the sliders is based on a production run of N units of course, input when the marketing department guesstimates out how many of this theoretical camera they can sell).

This enabled them to have a bunch of bits & pieces developed & in a pre-production state and wait for Nikon to announce the D600, then take the short time between the D600 announcement and the start of Potatokina to tweak the specs & price point of the 6D to beat Nikon (& to a certain degree, Sony too).  The long lead-up to shipping in December is a result of this "just-in-time" product specification.

The state of DPreview's prototype camera at announcement (& the 6D under glass at the show) will be a strong indicator of how much other mfr's pre-Potatokina announcements influenced the specs & price of the 6D.

[mathino]

• High ISO performance:  top native ISO on the 6D is 25.6k.  It's 6400 on the Nikon.  6D is certainly not two stops better than D600 but if they've got the balls to give it native 25.6k then I'm betting it's at least somewhat better. Point Canon.
• AF:  D600 has 39 points vs. 11 for Canon.  Point Nikon.

Ok, high ISO is good for me. But what if you cant focus ? Nikon AF hase 9 cross-type AF points...and Canon AGAIN just ONE ?! Thats a deal breaker for me. Id rather have 5D Mk II (with accuracy +- the same).

[funkboy]

i have a casio 5MP here.. waiting for you.. 

 

No thanks, I want 10-12 1DX-grade pixels.

Shooting speed:  Nikon is 1fps faster, which is too close for me to care as they're both fast enough for me. I'd award Nikon a point if I could definitively figure out if D600 has DX high-speed mode or not but AFAICT it doesn't.  Draw.

draw? because you don´t care.. mhm.. right.... 

No, I really don't give a toss about the one fps difference between the two cameras, and I made that pretty clear.  If the D600 was 8fps or something then I would have awarded it a point as I feel it's enough to make a difference.  I made it abundantly clear that this was about what matters to *me*, and 1fps difference certainly doesn't.

Price:  6D is a couple hundred simoleons cheaper & under the ephemeral double-deuce mark.  Point Canon.

source?

Have you looked at the front page of this site? (Perhaps you only troll the forum...)

[Canon-F1]

Ok, high ISO is good for me. But what if you cant focus ? Nikon AF hase 9 cross-type AF points...and Canon AGAIN just ONE ?! Thats a deal breaker for me. Id rather have 5D Mk II (with accuracy +- the same).

as writen before.. thats does not mean "only" one cross type sensor.

it means one 2.8 (!) cross type sensor.
the other sensors can be cross type too.

anyway i hope it´s false and the camera will have more (and more spread out) sensors then a usual rebel.

[Canon-F1]

Have you looked at the front page of this site? (Perhaps you only troll the forum...)

you know what a RUMOR is? .. perhaps you just troll this forum with useless comparisons??

[funkboy]

Ok, high ISO is good for me. But what if you cant focus ? Nikon AF hase 9 cross-type AF points...and Canon AGAIN just ONE ?! Thats a deal breaker for me. Id rather have 5D Mk II (with accuracy +- the same).

I agree that only one f/2.8 cross sensor is pretty low spec, & awarded Nikon a point accordingly.

But if it's a dual-cross sensor like the one in the 7D and the rest of the AF system is basically equivalent to the 7D (albeit with fewer points) then it should be good enough for the target audience, given that 4.5fps puts a lot less demand on the AF system than the 7D's 8fps.  For me anyway, low-light AF is the most important thing, and the 7D's center point is pretty good in that domain (is it the same as the center point in the 5DIII & 1DX?).  Most of the time I AF with the center & recompose anyway.

[dilbert]

Feature	Nikon D600	Canon 6D
Max ISO	6400	25600
Megapixels	24	20
AF Points	39	11
Flash	built it	none
GPS	add on	builtin
WiFi	add on	builtin
FPS	5.5	4.5
Price	2099	1999
Availability	5 days after announcement	Hopefully within 6 months of the announcement

[funkboy]

as i see it there are rumors about the specs (CR1) but not even a rumor about the price.

Agreed that we've seen a lot of what amounts to to spec/wish lists lately.

But this is quite a bit different:

http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fdigicame-info.com%2F2012%2F09%2Feos-6d-20.html

And canonpricewatch.com found it serious enough to add the camera to their index (along with the G15).

Anyway, as stated at the beginning the point of my little exercise was to rebuke the hailstorm of criticism the potential 6D was receiving vs. the D600 on a few other threads here...

[funkboy]

Thanks Dilbert.  That's a useful consolidation of the known specs.

Maybe you could add "shipping date" to it <grin>

[elflord]

In response to the folks here repeating that the D600 beats the 6D, here's a feature comparison that applies to the kind of photography I do, which is a mix of travel, landscapes, & weddings (usually as a backup photog).  For other folks it's surely different but here's my take:

Pricing for the Canon is "speculated" (whatever that means). So it's premature to award that point.

High ISO performance -- seems a bit questionable until we see the results. Chances are (based on sensors released so far), it will be too close to call (unless you need the higher ISOs).

You didn't say anything about low ISO performance, but it does seem unlikely that Canon will use a low end body to address their relative weakness at low ISOs.

[dilbert]

Thanks Dilbert.  That's a useful consolidation of the known specs.

Maybe you could add "shipping date" to it <grin>

I added "Availability"

[Musouka]

Regarding the price, CR speculated the price based on the information Digicam-info released about the Japanese price (¥195,000 or around $2511 at the current exchange rate). CR might have used the Japanese price Digicam-info released for the D600 shortly before its official announcement (¥215,000 or around $2768 at the current exchange rate) and the D600 US price of $2100 as the basis of this speculation. I, for one, I'm speculating that the 6D price will be around $1899 which is the price you can currently get the 5D2 for at places like BHPhoto after the instant rebate.