80D or 6D?

[Cory]

If one were to upgrade from a 70D and already has a 35 2.0 IS, 85 1.8 and 200 2.8 and puts a massive weight on image quality (shooting mostly landscape, portraits, street and stage performances) would that person possibly be best served with an 80D or 6D? Would low ISO performance be similar?
Hypothetically, examples of what they might be shooting are at -

https://www.instagram.com/coryasteiner/ and

http://www.flickr.com/photos/corysteiner/

and wouldn't be opposed to a long zoom one day, but probably not overly needed most of the time.

THANKS because I got all kinds of **** on ebay and am ready to rumble.

 

[d]

Hey Cory,

Those galleries have quite a mix of shooting distances and subjects, so it's hard to nail down which body would be ideal, but from what I've seen on the internet so far, the 80D might be the way to go. You wouldn't be giving up any reach from the 70D (both being crop sensors), and the 80D seems to represent the next generation in Canon's sensor design, so you're getting cleaner shadows, and comparable dynamic range to the 6D, plus a few more pixels as well. And the AF system has also been improved over the 70D, and has never been a strong point in the 6D.

Hope that's helpful!

d.

 

[darynthe]

If one were to upgrade from a 70D and already has a 35 2.0 IS, 85 1.8 and 200 2.8 and puts a massive weight on image quality (shooting mostly landscape, portraits, street and stage performances) would that person possibly be best served with an 80D or 6D? Would low ISO performance be similar?
Hypothetically, examples of what they might be shooting are at -

https://www.instagram.com/coryasteiner/ and

http://www.flickr.com/photos/corysteiner/

and wouldn't be opposed to a long zoom one day, but probably not overly needed most of the time.

THANKS because I got all kinds of **** on ebay and am ready to rumble.

I'd go for the 6d. Usually an actual update for quality is to go for a full frame. The 6d is arguably the best quality available (short of the new 1dII) Just rent one for a weekend and see the difference it makes for framing. I chequed your galleries and to me it seems the composition in your photos (which are very good already) will benefit a lot for the 35mm. Good luck.

 

[Busted Knuckles]

+ 500

[/quote]


I'd go for the 6d. Usually an actual update for quality is to go for a full frame. The 6d is arguably the best quality available (short of the new 1dII) Just rent one for a weekend and see the difference it makes for framing. I chequed your galleries and to me it seems the composition in your photos (which are very good already) will benefit a lot for the 35mm. Good luck.
[/quote]

 

[chrysoberyl]

I have both and am finding the 80D about equal in IQ at ISO 100, given equal framing. The attached was shot at f/11, about where I would shoot with the 6D.

 

[ajfotofilmagem]

For the low ISO, 80D will show superiority in resolution, ability to push shadows when needed, 45 AF points including F8 lens, Dual Pixel AF, articulated LCD.

Above ISO 800, the 6D will take the lead if the objects do not move quickly.

Simple like that.

 

[darynthe]

Sorry but I doubt the quality is better with the 80D. The Full frames always have an advantage even with less megapixels because of the bigger sensor. Quality will improve, the isolation will be better, and all the best lenses are done with full frame in mind (it is a technical explanation though so I won't go into it). The lenses the OP has are not L so she will be ok with the crop sensor, but if he wants better quality lenses with time he won't get anything out of them with a cropped frame because of physics.

The places where the 80D is better are: for video focusing and for wildlife photography. For studio, portraits, and especially for landscape the 6d is better.

Shadows are ok, take a look at this photo I took last week with my 6d:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/51418795@N00/26171144422/in/dateposted-public/

More of my pics with 6d

https://www.flickr.com/photos/51418795@N00/

 

[d]

Sorry but I doubt the quality is better with the 80D. The Full frames always have an advantage even with less megapixels because of the bigger sensor. Quality will improve, the isolation will be better, and all the best lenses are done with full frame in mind (it is a technical explanation though so I won't go into it). The lenses the OP has are not L so she will be ok with the crop sensor, but if he wants better quality lenses with time he won't get anything out of them with a cropped frame because of physics.

The places where the 80D is better are: for video focusing and for wildlife photography. For studio, portraits, and especially for landscape the 6d is better.

I disagree with your reasoning. While a full frame sensor can gather more light than a crop one due to it's size, that doesn't automatically guarantee the "quality is better" or that "full frames always have an advantage". The 80D has already been measured as having greater dynamic range than the 6D at ISO 100 and 200, and cleaner shadow recovery with less noise, and that's while giving a bit more resolution as well. For landscapes and portraits, I'd say the 80D has the advantage. That's not to mention a higher top shutter speed of 1/8000, and a higher flash sync of 1/250.

Your explanation about lenses makes no sense - "Because of physics"!? Crop sensors are great with full frame lenses, since they make use of the central sweet spot and don't "see" the poorer performing outer edges. That generally means less vignetting, less field curvature, and greater sharpness at the edge of frame.

d.

 

[rfdesigner]

generally FF would be the way to go, a few lenses can be sufficiently sharp that they can make an image from a crop as sharp as a FF, but those lenses are mostly top end for which you could buy a FF body and a decent lens

I love my 6D, but I don't care about video and do no sports photography. The fastest objects in my viewfinder are my kids playing, and it's fast enough for them (well the centre point is).

Things I fell in love with on my 6D:

Shooting at ISO25600 is VERY usable..
Silent shooting
Depth of field is effectively shallower.. (I'm now choosing to stop down for optimum DoF rather than always shooting wide open & wanting less)
I fell back in love with 50mm.. even though I've only got the 50STM at that focal length.
I can shoot wide AND shallow, something not really possible on a crop (show me an 18mm F1.2 lens, vs my 28f1.8 )
The weight is no more than my old 30D.

 

[captainkanji]

Look at Dustin Abbot's site to see just how good the 6D IQ is. I think it would serve you well. Except for the MMA shot. There's no way the 6D will focus through a fence. I had to manually focus to do that. I love mine.

 

[Cory]

Thanks for the insight. Sounds like there's no wrong answer with maybe the 6D being "it". Here's a 70D shot from last week that might point to the 6D?:

 

[chammer]

Hi,

With your lenses, you can afford a lightweight full frame with the Canon 6D.
Technical numbers are nothing, when you can have so much fun and pleasure with this EOS.
Landscapes, portraits, street photos, spectacles, interiors, nights ? Think wide, think depth of field, think central AF, think L lenses without crop factor, think 6D. You can't regret it.

 

[ajfotofilmagem]

Thanks for the insight. Sounds like there's no wrong answer with maybe the 6D being "it". Here's a 70D shot from last week that might point to the 6D?:

In photos of dimly lit interiors such as your picture of the orchestra, 6D would be a big step on his 70D.

 

[dak723]

If there is any way for you to rent - or buy them from a place where you can return them easily - then I would go that route and answer your own question. Only your answer will matter - what we think is really irrelevant. Since you only have primes, you may find the switch to FF to be a major change in your compositions and if you can get the pics you want. The difference in DOF may also make a big difference. When I bought the 6D (an excellent camera, in my opinion) I eventually needed to buy another crop for the reach and for my floral photos which needed a greater DOF than the FF could give me. So, it really matters what you shoot and what you are looking for. And only you can answer those questions by trying out the two cameras.

 

[wsmith96]

Hi Cory. You've hit on a question that many have right now - get the newest crop camera that has some nice upgrades and features, or move into FF with what Canon considers an entry level camera. I've got both a 6D and a 60D and my experience is that if you want to match FF image quality, you really need to have good class on your crop camera. If you were to stick with the 80D option, the best lens you have is the 35 F2.0 IS. I'm not knocking the other two, but when it comes down to sharpness, the 35 is the best one in the bunch wider open, followed by the 200. At around 5.6 they all are very similar. Remember that your lenses are subject to the crop factor, so if you were to purchase the 6D then all of your lenses will appear wider than they did before which may affect how you photograph. That 35mm is acting similar to what a 50mm would on a FF.

I have not tried an 80D, but I can tell you that there is a difference between the 60D image quality and the 6D's image quality, but I only see it if I'm printing bigger than 8x10 or shooting at larger apertures. Of course, in that price range there is the lack of features on the 6D that are found on the 80D. From the indoor sports I shoot, I would love to have that anti-flicker feature in my 6D, and the updated AF system would be nice. I can tell you that the 6D will focus through a fence as seen here:

COTA 4_2016 (470 of 496) by Wesley Smith, on Flickr

Given what you've posted on flickr, I would recommend trying the 80D out. With all of the sports pictures you have, I think you would find the frame rate and AF system of the 6D too much of a step backwards.

 

[Mikehit]

Looking at your portfolios, you are not doing a lot of fast-action tracking so either camera will be acceptable for what I see on there. But you do want a camera to react quickly to capture the moment and the 80D probably wins out over that. Just because the AF of the 6D is not as good as that on the 80D does not mean that the 6D AF is bad.
You have quite a few where you are relying on shallow DOF and for that the 6D has definite advantages.

You shoot interiors and this will be swings and roundabouts - the 80D has anti-flicker which could be very useful. In my experience my 7DII is decent image quality at moderately high ISO (3200) but really falls down when I shoot at that and try to either recover shadows and/or crop significantly. I know that the 80D has a demonstrable improvement in sensor over the 7D2 but nothing I have seen tells me it will override the shortcomings compared to FF.

As said previously, your PF is so varied it is hard to make a definite recommendation but the key thing is to work out how you shoot rather than what you shoot.
But from your portfolio the question I would be asking is not 'which camera' but 'why would I buy the 80D over the 6D?'

 

[j-nord]

It seems you mostly shoot in bright mid-day lighting where either option will be comparable with the low ISOs being used. The 6D would better leverage the quality glass you have. However, the 6D AF is going to be a step backwards and will significantly reduce your keeper rate for moving subjects. Also, you will lose the reach for the occasional wildlife shot. An option not mentioned here is possibly pick up a 5DIII on eBay. I've looked recently and Ive seen barely used copies go for $1800ish.

 

[Mikehit]

An option not mentioned here is possibly pick up a 5DIII on eBay. I've looked recently and Ive seen barely used copies go for $1800ish.

Very viable I think. Here in UK when you buy second hand from a reputable retailer you also get a short warranty and I would think that applies in most countries.

 

[Freddell]

If one were to upgrade from a 70D and already has a 35 2.0 IS, 85 1.8 and 200 2.8 and puts a massive weight on image quality (shooting mostly landscape, portraits, street and stage performances) would that person possibly be best served with an 80D or 6D? Would low ISO performance be similar?

Get 6D and 70-300F3.5-5.6L!
It took me much frustration to get keepers with my 70D and Sigma 18-35f1.8. Constant focus issues, grainy pictures in low light. I even left the Sigma for Service to no avail. Took 70D to Canon service center.
I went to a shop and took one photo with a demo 6D with 24-105F4L and it focused massively more accurate and gave a much less grainy/better picture. Never looked back although I slightly miss dpaf and touch screen. Oh, the viewfinder is so much bigger and brighter on 6D.

I have covered stage shots in a wedding with the 70-300L and it focus magically on the 6D and gives very very nice results.

Dislikes on 6D: low number of cross type focus points, spot metering is center only despite focus point selection. No autofucus / dpaf point change in movie mode, no face tracking/detection.
Wifi is only connecting 2.4GHz channel 1-9 despite channels 9-12 also available in my country.

Image quality makes up for it big time. Size better than 5D for me.

 

[rfdesigner]

oh yes, one further point.. Concider the Eg-S focus screen if you go for the 6D. only for lenses f2.8 and wider (which is all your lenses), but shows you the real depth of field in the viewfinder, I can just about manual focus at f1.8 with this and it gives me a bit of warning when I'm too shallow.

I don't know if this is a possibility with the 80D