TDL2024 said:
captainkanji said:
I upgraded to the 6D from the 7D. I wanted the fantastic low light performance and didn't have over $3000. I was very happy with the 7D, but I've been shooting mostly in light challenged situations. I wish I could have kept both. I use a battery grip and can shoot all day with 2 cheap Chinese batteries and gps. If you shoot wifi and gps, you will kill the batteries fast. If you need to be stealthy, take off the grip and put a shorty forty on it and it looks like a rebel. That center point is amazing, but in really low light, all of the other points are useless. It makes composition difficult in low light sometimes. I'll shoot wide and crop in LR in these situations. Get a 5DIII if you need better AF. None of my 3rd party batteries charge in the 6D OEM charger. I bought 2 cheap charger on eBay and they charge fine. When you put 3rd party batteries in the 6D, you get a "Communication Irregularity" error. Just select the "OK" option and the camera will work fine. You just won't get a charge level indicator. I'm very happy with the images and the 6D in general. If you get one, buy the kit. You will get the 24-105 for like half price and can always sell it for a hefty profit. $2000 is a lot, so rent one if you are on the fence.
Thanks, this is exactly what I was hoping to get some input on. Will still probably rent one though, as I'm not sure if my version of low light is the same as others. Maybe I get lucky and it's good enough for me lol
To reiterate what has been discussed many times since before the 6D's release...the outer points are not cross type (some sense vertical phase, some horizontal). This is very close to the 5D2's arrangement. Only the center point is cross type. This is the main reason the outer points have so much trouble. And again, the 6D seems to want to rely on those outer points as much or more than the center point, if you leave all points active...which only amplifies the problem. (This may or may not be addressed via a firmware or hardware update in the future.) Also, apparently there were several early production samples that featured a completely faulty AF sensor, garnering an even worse reputation for the 6D via word of mouth (and word of web).
I am speaking from the standpoint of a true 6D fan here. Again I have about 8000 cycles on the shutter since March, and much of this was not in multi-shot mode.
So yes, this was an intentional hindering of the 6D's autofocus by Canon. If the 6D had even a slightly better AF system than it does, it certainly would cut into 5D3 sales more so than Canon would want. They wanted distinct product line differentiation. They also wanted (in my opinion) to be able to produce a full frame camera so inexpensively, that it could very often stay below the street price of its Nikon D600 competitor...besides the future 7D2.
Canon wanted to arm this "slow" entry level full frame camera with an image sensor that is truly second only to the 1DX. It even beats the 1DX in certain narrow respects...meaning that in a very narrow way this is the best sensor Canon currently makes....YES IN MY OPINION...having tried and edited all the other current full frame Canons. The 5D3 can possibly have lower chrominance noise at certain ISO's than the 6D, but both it and the 1DX have noticeably higher luminance noise than the 6D, at least up to ISO 12800, if not 16,000...in my experience. Above that things get dicey for all of them, with the 1DX's sensor being the clear winner in that noisy territory.
So they gave the 6D a center point that can focus in (comparatively) near total darkness. They limited the fps to only 4.5, and gave it a puny SDHC card. For the most part the AF can keep up with that 4.5 fps in servo mode, in good light (the lens' ability to work quickly with the 6D is a huge factor here.) It's not a bad proposition...especially considering the 5D3 has sold for twice the price the 6D currently sells at (specifically at the BigValue-whoever-they-are on ebay).
In practical usage, if you are used to a 7D or 5D3, you probably know exactly how to make a 6D misbehave if you get a hold of one...then blame the camera and call it a non-camera that only a "lesser photographer" would own. That still won't stop hordes of people from buying, using, and enjoying the 6D...and generating some of the best digital images ever. This was by design.