So I just sent a 6D back for issues other than AF and ISO and get in a 5D3 and after a couple of hours with it all I can say is the 5D3 center point is a joke compared to 6D in low light. 5D3 won't focus at all on fabrics in moderately low light that 6D locks in well under a second. 5D3 is noticably noiser at hi ISO as well.
5D3 vs 6D AF in low light
- Thread starter skitron
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skitron said:
What lens were you using with it? If it's the 24-105 f/4, the extra high precision points aren't used. Not sure if that's the case or not with the 6D. If you've got a f/2.8 or better lens, at the least the center AF points can use the extra high precision points.
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skitron said:
Ok, so at a minimum the center point should have used the extra high precision AF sensors. And you tried the 6d under identical conditions? It's a fact that the 6D has a more significant -ev sensitive center point. However, have you tried shooting with more points, or used AI-Servo across all points, or other similar shots where the large number of AF points and higher precision AF points would come in useful? While I'll definitely give you the center point on the 6D will almost certainly function better in extremely low light than the 5d3, I question calling it a joke.
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Drizzt321 said:
The 5D3 center works fine if you put enough light on the target, other than being pretty slow in comparison. When I say its a joke, that's in comparison to 6D in low light, I'm not saying its a joke "in general".
I put it in one-shot release priority and that sped it up a bit but still very sluggish in morginal light where 6D doesn't complain at all.
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Don't get me wrong, the 5D3 is a good system and a known quantity and I'm sure when it comes time to shoot actual pictures I'll be happy with it and in most cases not really need to focus on stuff too dark to discern in the viewfinder.
Again, my original comment was supposed to be specific to very low light only and in comparison to 6D center performance only.
I definitely like the colors out of the 5D3 better. Not sure if my 6D was a dud or not but it had a pretty strong shift towards red kinda like a D800 shifts towards green. I stumbled on it just because a flower in my backyard is a light shade of pure blue and really makes the issue stand out. The copy of 6D I had renders it a tinge purple even after lowering the color temp and messing with the red channel in the RAW processor. The 5D3 looks spot on and not really the purple tinge even warming up the color temp past anything reasonable.
Again, my original comment was supposed to be specific to very low light only and in comparison to 6D center performance only.
I definitely like the colors out of the 5D3 better. Not sure if my 6D was a dud or not but it had a pretty strong shift towards red kinda like a D800 shifts towards green. I stumbled on it just because a flower in my backyard is a light shade of pure blue and really makes the issue stand out. The copy of 6D I had renders it a tinge purple even after lowering the color temp and messing with the red channel in the RAW processor. The 5D3 looks spot on and not really the purple tinge even warming up the color temp past anything reasonable.
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skitron said:
When you say "noticeably noisier", are you referring to raw files that haven't been subjected to noise reduction or in-camera-created jpegs? I'm currently renting a 5DIII to compare to my 5DII in low light (and otherwise), and I'm interested in the 6D too because of its low light abilities; so I'm interested in your reactions.
Coming to the 5DII from a Pentax K-5 I was greatly impressed by the Canon's faster and more accurate focusing (among other things), so I'm always amused to see people here complaining about the 5DII; but I do get the impression (and that's all it is; I've done nothing resembling scientific comparisons) that the lenses I've tried on the 5DIII focus more consistently precisely accurately than on the 5DII in any sort of light (not that I've had many complaints re the 5DII).
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I'd guess that the focus point areas on the 5D3 is smaller than that on the 6D center point. i.e. the surface area of the 6D center point is likely twice as large to collect an extra stop of light vs the center point of the 5D3. That may also make it better at picking up areas of contrast. However I would think putting the 5D3 into one of the point spread options (i.e. using 5 or 9 points in a square) would give you a better chance of catching something than with the 6D large center point. I did find playing with the 5D3 in the store that you had to be more careful about the areas of contrast you picked when using just one point.
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I can't comment on the new 6D because I haven't seen, one but I sure am impressed with the low light AF performance of my 2 5D MK lll bodies. Mine work extremely well in very dark conditions. I use a 24-70, 16-32, 70-200, 300 2.8 and 300 f4
Camera selection in my opinion is usually based many features and specs. If the 6D focuses better in low light that's really great.
We want our cameras to hold value, and I think most of us want new models to feature improvements. The reason I began following CanonRumors.com was to be informed of new equipment on the way so I can make smart purchasing decisions. I imagine the 7D will focus better than the 6D. Its really only a problem if you buy the 6D a month or two before the new one comes out.
Camera selection in my opinion is usually based many features and specs. If the 6D focuses better in low light that's really great.
We want our cameras to hold value, and I think most of us want new models to feature improvements. The reason I began following CanonRumors.com was to be informed of new equipment on the way so I can make smart purchasing decisions. I imagine the 7D will focus better than the 6D. Its really only a problem if you buy the 6D a month or two before the new one comes out.
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mclaren777 said:
Ok that's strange... Contrast detect should be better than phase detect in terms of precision and accuracy (it's just a lot slower) - that's what LensRentals.com found, and I trust them to be right - and kind of suspect something is wrong with that test. I had a 60D which was very similar to the 7D, and it had great contrast detect AF precision (if you didn't mind waiting for it).
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rlarsen said:
Again, my original comment was only in a relative sense for a specific situation. I had an oportunity to shoot my 5D3 in pretty low light and it did well, but I did miss a couple of shots where it failed to lock that the 6D, based on my testing, would have handled no problem.
On the flip side of the 6D vs 5D3 AF comparison, I am already spoiled with the number of 5D3 cross sensors and what that means for composition.
Two very nice tools to choose from IMO, and 6D wins the low light focus battle on the center point by a meaningful margin IMO. But in the end, 5D3 is a better overall fit for me personally.
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I find its amazing that there are so many posts here that appear to be defending the 5DMk3 ability to focusing ability in low light. Guys, the 5D3 are many things and it has a great focusing system - but its ability to focus in the dark is atrocious, compounded by the lack of a pop up flash i would say it is one of the most significant short comings of the 5D3. Canon recognizing this have improved low light focusing in the 6D and I am sure that every pro dslr released henceforth will be superior to the 5D3 in low light focusing. If this could be improved via firmware I wish canon would fix this. There is no easy solution for this other than to walk around with a flash light. I heard that there was a laser assist someone was working on but i have not seen it.
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The 5D3 is very slow to focus in very low light, regardless of how the focusing is configured. This is my biggest complaint about the 5D3, which is otherwise a brilliant camera.
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Wilmark said:
Pop up flash? Really????? I have used my 5d3 in many low light situations and it has performed fine.
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Z
Zlatko
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Most of my photography with the 5D3 is in low light and I find the focusing to be excellent, at least as good as any other camera I've used in the past 10 years. And most Canon flashes have a built-in autofocus assist light, so I don't know why anyone would need a laser assist.Wilmark said:
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Zlatko said:
I am wondering, is 5D3 with flash assist light beat the EV-3 low light focusing of 6D?
I currently use 5D2 with 430exII... Still undecided to go to 5D3 AF or 6D low light... Anyone has any scientific idea on how low 5D2 with 430exII can focus?
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It is obvious that some users experience difficulty in what is to them low enough light where the camera has difficulty in focusing. Saying things like "I shoot alot of low light" doesnt mean anything really... One many lows may be another mans hights, you want a good documented example of what we are talking about see here http://youtu.be/omTo7UxbJX8?t=8m6s. I for one hardly take my flash with me - the camera takes great pictures in low light with some help from lightroom, but getting it to focus sometimes is a problem.
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Mikael Risedal said:
the 6d doesn't have a pop up flash either. I have not laid hands on the 6d yet, but I am considering picking one up as a backup/secondary body. what i will say is that the only time i have had issue with the AF on the mk3 was in situations where I wouldn't have gotten a usable shot anyway! So sorry, i don't really see the issue.
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mclaren777 said:
Thanks for the link. Quite a revelation. I hated the 7D single shot AF for its poor accuracy, but never expected its contrast AF to be so poor as well.
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