fair tomorrow said:
So I was set on my decision to get the 6D untI'll recently, I had a chance to use a 5d mark iii for a week and I swear I fell in love. But I do think the camera is a bit heavy. So im wondering should I get the 6d with 24-105 and a 50 1.4. Or just a 5d mark iii with 24-105?
I own and use both. It will come down to how much you use it and for what.
Here's my opinion -
AF -
If you are a focus and recomposer and use a single center point most of the time - the 6D is plenty fine and very good with that center point. If you do a lot of shallow depth of field photography, you'll want the 5D3 since you can select a different cross type point. Also, if you shoot ANY sports or anything that moves, the 5D3 is the choice. The 6D sucks at any kind of action photography by today's standards. Using the 6D at a sporting event is like going back 10+ years. A retro experience indeed.
Data Security -
If whatever you shoot is critical to saving the photos, the choice is only the 5D3. You can shoot to both cards and guarantee photos will not be lost in the unfortunate event of a card failure. This is a make or break feature. If your photos must be safe, get the 5D3 and ignore all the rest. Canon knows this, which is why they won't offer it on the 6D or lower cameras leading to debates about professionalism.
Size / Grip -
The 5D3 has a bigger, wider grip. If you are going to be holding this camera for more than 1 hour, at least with my hands, the 5D3 is far, far superior. The 6D is a little scrunched up and tight in layout to be more compact for "enthusiasts" wanting to travel.
To comfortably work the controls on the 6D, my fingers have to pull back a little. In other words, with the 5D3, the position of the controls are closer to the natural extension of my fingers which leads to more comfort for long shooting sessions. The more your hand goes into a "claw" type position, the worse.
Trust me on this, if you shoot hours and have to hold it for hours - one camera will tire your hand out faster than the other. The 5D3 will be much more comfortable over the session. And that's also considering that it weighs more. The greater weight does not tire the hands nearly as much as the smaller size of the 6D which makes your grip different. It is grip size and shape that leads to fatigue.
By the way, my hands are average in size for a male. On the other hand, my wife LOVES the 6D and wants no other. It's the perfect grip for a lady's hand.
On another note, this is probably the biggest reason I'm in the Canon system and not Nikon. Nikon's grip is bizarre and uncomfortable. I have no idea who it is designed for, but its not humans.
As far as weight and size - I never understood the appeal of the 6D being smaller and lighter for travel. It is smaller and lighter, but not to the point of making any kind of meaningful difference for travel. It makes no sense to me at all. It's a FF DSLR, by that right alone - it is larger than most cameras for travel. Secondly, you're going to want to slap on some nice glass to this thing to take advantage of that FF sensor. Good glass is not small, nor light. In the end, you still have a bulky, heavy camera for travel. Yeah, you save a few ounces, but at the cost of several more important aspects. Real travel cameras are light and small so they always go with you where you go. If you put some smaller, inferior glass on there - you might as well have used a point and shoot.
Viewfinder -
Few people talk about this, but it is important. If you shoot for hours - you will certainly want the 5D3. It has a 100% viewfinder. The view is larger,
brighter and the eye piece is better. This improves the experience and decreases fatigue. The 6D is amateurish with the viewfinder and not pleasant to use for hours. Bigger viewfinder is important. It's value dramatically increases as one uses the camera for extended periods of time. If you shoot a little here and there, the 6D is fine. But if you have to have it planted on your face a lot, the 5D3 is quite a bit better.
*Stuff that doesn't matter, but worth mentioning ----
Image Quality -
Practically speaking, identical. However, if you pixel peep - the 5D3 has a barely noticeable edge on resolution, the 6D has an edge on lower noise. Again, barely noticeable even at 1:1. Of all the factors, consider this the LEAST. Seriously, almost meaningless. You have to look very hard to find a difference, and sometimes you can't even after trying.
Controls / Buttons -
I like the button layout on the 6D better. If you are a chimper the 6D is the champion with the playback and zoom button on the right side of the screen to be used with your right hand. The DOF preview button is better on the 5D3. The MF button is extra on the 5D3, missing on the 6D, but this is NOT a deal breaker. Not having the joystick on the 6D is no big deal, because the 6D doesn't have many AF points to switch to. The 6D has the directional pad which is just fine. The top buttons on the 5D3 are dual purpose, but I find this useless. The single purpose buttons of the 6D is plenty and the most relevant, commonly used and needed functions are on the 6D already.
The 6D's screen brightness does not automatically adjust. This is a downside. However, it isn't too bad if you only rely on the histogram which is what you should be using anyway.
In summary, to me the most important things are:
Grip size, viewfinder, dual card slots...then perhaps the AF as a 4th, but that depends on the type of photography you do.
These are what I consider to be truly "pro" type aspects. Because these effect me, the photographer, more than all the others combined. All the other stuff is tech-geek mumbo jumbo.
Image quality? Irrelevant. Either can print larger than you probably ever will.
Little menu bells and whistles? Irrelevant
One extra button here or there? Irrelevant
These things won't make or break.
All comes down to how much will time will you use it in a session, and how important are the images. If the answer is a a lot of time, and very important - 5D3.