6D Autofocus not impressive

[robbymack]

i don't think anyone has said the 6d af is in the same ballpark as the 5diii. Center point only, its probably a tie, but everything else its not even close.

 

[Robert Welch]

i don't think anyone has said the 6d af is in the same ballpark as the 5diii. Center point only, its probably a tie, but everything else its not even close.

I have both the 6D & 5DIII, and the center point only focus on the 6D is better, particularly in low light. The 5DIII will just stop working if the light get's too low, but the 6D remains accurate. In fact, in my use that center point on the 6D is the best AF sensor Canon has ever made. I have had a higher 'hit' rate of in focus photos with that camera than I have with any other, and that includes the 5DIII. Obviously, the AF isn't as versatile as the 5DIII, it wouldn't be very good for shooting butterflies, for instance. But for portrait work, and slow moving subjects, it does a fine job. I don't notice it particularly slow in focus either, I have used it at several weddings and have yet to find a situation where I felt I missed a shot because the camera wasn't fast enough to lock focus. In very dark situations, I have had that happen with the 5DIII, so in those situation I actually prefer the 6D AF, whether the subject is moving or not.

 

[jocau]

Another scenario where the 6D will fail is this one:

Taking portraits at very large apertures ( F/1.2 - F/1.8 ) at close or minimum focus distance while following the rule of thirds without using liveview and without cropping the image in postprocessing. That's the reason why I'm preferring the 5D3 at the moment. I like to have points exactly located on the thirds of the image in the viewfinder.

 

[Marsu42]

If you read my original post, I rented the 6D to try it out. I did not buy it. I was seeking other opinions because many have said the 6D's AF was in the same ballpark of the 5D m III.

Maybe bad communication? The 6d af is 99% the same as the older 5d2 (2!), except that Canon added two non-cross points and made the center point more light sensitive. There still is no (zero, 0) full cross point at all @f2.8 (only @f4+), so precision with fast lenses esp. on moving objects should be very bad.

The 6d is designed for low light shooting of nearly static scenes, for everything else the keeper rate will be very low and less than the 60d or 650d/700d.

However, for action and moving objects, forget it, it's terrible. I took pictures of butterflies last week and my hit rate of butterflies in flight is abysmal, 10-15% at most

This is the worst-case scenario, same with my 60d, for these shots you have to get a 1d4 or 5d3/1dx.

How does the 6D compare to the 5DmkII? they are about the same price. Could someone who has used both give us their thoughts. thanks

The advantages of the 6d over the 5d2 are (regressions: build quality, x-sync- shutter speed, joystick):

• higher iso capability
• less banding
• higher dynamic range
• center-point af up to -3lv
• silent shutter
• faster fps
• longer battery life
• shorter release time
• better metering & auto-wb
• hi-res lcd
• small & light but good grip
• top wheel lock
• gps built-in
• wifi built-in
• newer firmware:
  • full support for rt flashes,
  • in-camera multishot/hdr
  • in-camera ca correction
  • 7x bracketing
  • dual afma for zooms
  • servo af customization
  • flexible min/max auto-iso
  • min shutter speed setting
  • orientation-linked af point

 

[Chuck Alaimo]

Not expecting stellar af like the mk3, but, I am looking for a decent backup body to my mk3. Just placed my rental order for a 6d and will be shooting a wedding running with the combo this weekend. So we'll see what this thing can do...

 

[Skirball]

If you read my original post, I rented the 6D to try it out. I did not buy it. I was seeking other opinions because many have said the 6D's AF was in the same ballpark of the 5D m III. I found this not to be the case with the kit 24-105 f/4.

Ok, I went along with it for one page, but give me a break. Anyone who has read more than 2 threads on here would know about the AF differences between the 6D and 5d3. Admit it, this is a troll and you were just trying to get the 5d3 fan boys to circle jerk it one more time.

 

[Marsu42]

So we'll see what this thing can do...

Please tell us your experiences, I'd be interested to hear from a pro if the 6d is able to do a wedding (I expect it does, after all the 5d2 was able to and the 6d center af is more precise and should be faster at lower light).

 

[tomservo51]

I rented on this past weekend for a wedding. My 2 cents:

IQ was great
Auto-focus was not great.
Silent shooting is awesome during the ceremony and makes people feel more comfortable!

I think it would be a good 2nd camera but not recommended for the high pressure moments, coming down the isle, kiss, etc!

*I am not a seasoned pro so take if for what it's worth.

 

[dexstrose]

Since we all know that the 6d's AF points are not it's strong point (center point is pretty good in my opinion). Is there a way to maximize the AF with settings or tips?

Few things I tried to get a good understanding of the 6d AF and have more keepers.
• I try to make sure that I am focusing on a contrast part of the subject for less error in focusing.
• I have been trying that AF-on button with my thumb while shooting, there is a thread on the technique.
• When on AI Servo, I wait a second and make sure its locked on before taking the shots.

I'm getting better and learning the 6d AF.

Anyone else have any tips?
How about the AF adjustments when tracking a subject, etc?

 

[hsbn]

One thing I don't get is before the 5DMIII came out, people were doing fine with 5DMII. I did. I shot a lot of wedding with 5DMII. My clients are happy, and I'm proud of my work. It's still a great camera for me. I bet it is still an awesome camera for many working pro out there. Yet, the 6D is a little better overall but it seems like everyone is trying to bash the camera. If you could take great pictures with the 5DMII, you can take great picture with the 6D. I know its AF is not in the same league with the 5DMIII but it is still a great camera IMHO.
It has its limit, but I've seen many great bird in fly photos taken with the 5DMII. I don't see any reason why the 6D can be any worst than the 5DMII. Or suddenly, the 5DMII became a worth-less camera at the end of its cycle.

 

[BrettS]

One thing I don't get is before the 5DMIII came out, people were doing fine with 5DMII. I did. I shot a lot of wedding with 5DMII. My clients are happy, and I'm proud of my work. It's still a great camera for me. I bet it is still an awesome camera for many working pro out there. Yet, the 6D is a little better overall but it seems like everyone is trying to bash the camera. If you could take great pictures with the 5DMII, you can take great picture with the 6D. I know its AF is not in the same league with the 5DMIII but it is still a great camera IMHO.
It has its limit, but I've seen many great bird in fly photos taken with the 5DMII. I don't see any reason why the 6D can be any worst than the 5DMII. Or suddenly, the 5DMII became a worth-less camera at the end of its cycle.

This.

 

[elflord]

I rented a 6D camera body to take helicopter skiing in Canada. I brought my 24-105 f/4, 40 f/2.8, and my 50 f/1.8 lenses. I found the autofocus to be slow with all 3 lenses, especially in lower light. I really experimented by changing many of the autofocus parameters and resetting the rental body to factory settings to make sure nothing was amiss. I found the 6D autofocus to be for the most part as good as my Rebel 550D with each of my lenses. I was really disappointed because a want a new body to replace my Rebel. Lensrentals.com checked the 6D and found it up to factory specs. Looks like I may have to pony up for the 5D m III. Does anyone think the climate and elevation had anything to do with the slow AF? Or does the 6D really have a mediocre AF?

Can you provide more details ? How were you using it ? Green box mode ?

 

[elflord]

If you read my original post, I rented the 6D to try it out. I did not buy it. I was seeking other opinions because many have said the 6D's AF was in the same ballpark of the 5D m III. I found this not to be the case with the kit 24-105 f/4.

Have you also tried the 5DIII ?

 

[Skirball]

I tried to use my 6D to take a picture of a moving subject and the AF motor spontaneously combusted. True story.

 

[MintMark]

There still is no (zero, 0) full cross point at all @f2.8 (only @f4+), so precision with fast lenses esp. on moving objects should be very bad.

I think that's a little harsh. With a faster lens you do still have the centre cross point... it's just no more accurate than with a slower lens. However, I understand that it is designed to calculate focus to within one depth of field. Since depth of field is shallower it means the focussing is more accurate in absolute terms. Also, the 6d centre point does become more accurate in one direction, so if your scene accommodates that then you get focus to within a third of the depth of field.

 

[Marsu42]

There still is no (zero, 0) full cross point at all @f2.8 (only @f4+), so precision with fast lenses esp. on moving objects should be very bad.

I think that's a little harsh. With a faster lens you do still have the centre cross point... it's just no more accurate than with a slower lens.

I admit my annoyance with the 6d af means that I might be a bit simplistic - but in fact many people seem to think that the 6d has a xxd-style center cross point (extra sensitive for f2.8 lenses) while with the 6d the opposite is true (non-cross overlay). Then think of the 1dx/5d3 double-cross points - doh. But of course for years photogs managed to shoot with the 5d2 center af just fine, and the 6d has improved the accuracy a bit (see lensrentals).

The imho real unforgivable point is Canon porting the 5d2 outer points 1:1 to the 6d when as far as I researched it you should better not use these, not only in dim light but because their precision and pattern detection is so bad and just behind the times. That won't hinder me from buying a 6d, but just saying...

 

[neuroanatomist]

I admit my annoyance with the 6d af means that I might be a bit simplistic - but in fact many people seem to think that the 6d has a xxd-style center cross point (extra sensitive for f2.8 lenses) while with the 6d the opposite is true (non-cross overlay). Then think of the 1dx/5d3 double-cross points - doh.

In fact, xxD bodies since the 40D have been 9 cross-type at f/5.6 with a dual-cross center point (f/2.8 'x' superimposed on the center f/5.6 '+'). Moreover, even the T4i/650D and T5i/700D now have that AF sensor. The 1D X/ 5DIII have a vertical row of five of those dual-crosses, not just one in the center. As you state, the 6D doesn't even have that. Just sayin'.

 

[Marsu42]

As you state, the 6D doesn't even have that. Just sayin'.

As you're the expert on Canon gear: Are there any redeeming reasons for Canon implementing the 5d2 af in the first place and then copying it to the 6d (+2 non-cross points, +low light af)? Maybe designing an af array for ff is more complicated/expensive - even though the af spread on 5d2/6d isn't very large?

 

[gimmeadeal19]

No elflord, I strictly used it in a custom setting sarcastic mode.

I was on a ski trip away from my kids so I had plenty of time to use the 6D. I shot it with several different modes and AF adjustments. Too many to list. I rented it for 10 days and did a variety of shooting. My point is for a current Canon model the AF was no improvement over my 550D.

I did rent a 5D m III on a trip to NYC last Thanksgiving and it was everything it was cracked up to be. My purpose for renting the 6D was to see if my needs could be met with a less expensive body. They were not.

 

[weixing]

Hi,
When 6D is launch, Canon already mention that 6D AF system is design to be low-light AF priority rather than AF speed and they cannot put in more cross point due to the larger AF element require for good low-light AF performance.

http://www.imaging-resource.com/news/2012/09/20/qa-with-canons-mike-owen-behind-the-scenes-in-developing-the-6D-and-whats

Have a nice day.