Defense of the 6D is not even my point.
Canon observed a market niche identified with the 5D Mark II and now they try to sell into this niche again with a newer model. This may be frustrating for many, but it should not be surprising. I definitely won't buy this camera, but there may be those, who want to do this.
As for all the agitation about specs comparison, that leads to nothing.
There is an old saying in sales that features don't sell. This applies as long as there is no tangible benefit like you can do things with one camera, which you can't with another and then you must have this one. In this mid-market entry-level full-frame segment I don't expect there will be any measurement of success except for sales totals, but we will have to wait a while for the dust to settle down on this one.
thats the thing with the 6d though ...its seems to be jack of a few trades and master of none. Above and beyond anger at this, there is confusion ---this camera almost hits the mid-entry FF, but not quite, while alos touching on the pro market, but not quite. So, you have the non-educated I don't know the difference between FF and crop sensor, i just want something with nice presets that i can shoot my kids with (at $2K, this is most likely out of their reach, they will mostly likely buy a rebel). The educated enthusiasts who have been using canon gear and made compromises (bought EF-S glass because the cost of EF glass is high and EF glass doesn't work as amazingly well on crop), they probably won't opt for this because at $2k the cost of transition is too big, especially when the feature set is possibly a step down from what you were on (60d and 7d users). Then there are emerging pro's, and semi-pros that know a bit more than the other 2 categories. These are people looking to go from crop to FF, or, to pick up a good FF as a backup/secondary body. I am in this category and like I said in other threads ---unless this new sensor can perform some magic or the AF is better than advertised ---all this 6d does is make me ponder buying a second 5d3 or a used 1d4.
So tell me, just which of these groups is the 6d targeted towards?
IMO - it should have been a full plastic body, a true rebel FF at $1500 (yes, call it the 70d!) - or - stepped up to have a reasonable AF system like the 7d's (If the 6d had a decent AF system I doubt there'd be that much anger about it. Add in a 21 point AF with a bunch of cross points and that evens the scales quite a bit).
They could have done both --- plastic FF with old af --- call it a rebel at $1500...then have a midway FF in the 2k-2.5k area with metal body and more robust AF (hell, give it the mk3 sensor then dumb down the servo mode and limit the fps - i would buy that at 2.5k). That may be overkill, but think about it ---people do draw these lines in the sand of what they will spend. It's generall at the even marks of $1000, 2000, 3000.
most are saying they would consider the 6d if it were under 2k. Most say they want the mk3 bad but won't do it above 3k. Lines in the sand. Now think of who these people drawing these lines are --- most wedding photographers have no issues buying a mk3 -- that leaves pro studio, landscape, and wildlife togs, then enthusiasts and hobbyists. The pro segments won't buy the mk3 because it offers no real upgrade in IQ over value for what they do (most of them at least) - which is reasonable. Hobbyists and enthusiasts are left then, and they are the hardest segment to market to because they don't have measurable ways to justify the purchase. If you are making money with photography, the equations are simple, does your income justify the purchase? And can that purchase potentially earn you more than you made before? Not as easy for the latter 2 groups. And oddly, those are generallythe 2 groups that consistently want less for more, and the ones most likely to jump ship because they don't use or see the value in things like CPS (which is still much nicer than nikons support). It seems to me like the 6d is a failed attempt to cater to the latter 2 groups, who will be more swayed by what the camera's look like on paper. For the former groups ---i see lots of people in the pro/semipro/emerging pro category who were waiting on the 6d instead buying a refurb 1dsiii, used 1d4's, used/new/refurb 5d2's, and yes, 5d3's.
