Canon 6D -3EV Center Focus Point Testing

[Dugdale]

Hello, I'm new here to this forum.

Several times a year I will do a review of Canon cameras. I am an advanced amatuer, I mostly just share things that I have found with the cameras I test. In my last review I compared the Canon 6D vs. 5D Mark III.

At minute 12:13 in the video I compare the center focus point on the 6D to the 5D3, after reading the wikipedia page on the -EV rating I gave up on trying to do the test accurately (as I talk about in the video) so I just set them up under the same low light conditions to see which one would work better. The 6D beat the 5D3 in my tests.

I am always trying to make my reviews better, so I was wondering if someone could help give me with pointers on how to do this more accurately in the future. I am more of a video guy than a stills guy.

Thanks!
Dave

 

[RLPhoto]

The center point is all fine and dandy but that's really about it for the 6D/5D2/5Dc/20D AF.

 

[Click]

The center point is all fine and dandy but that's really about it for the 6D/5D2/5Dc/20D AF.

+1

...and welcome to CR.

 

[Deleted member 7828]

I recently acquired a 6D as a backup (so that I now have both cameras) and I will definitely say that the 6D has acquired focus in areas where the 5D3 definitely wouldn't have. Quite amazing. That said, it still hunts at times...and the 6D's outer points, while good enough in daylight, really struggle when it gets dim. The 5D3 outer points (the cross type ones) are better, but sometimes not by much.

 

[MLfan3]

Hello, I'm new here to this forum.

Several times a year I will do a review of Canon cameras. I am an advanced amatuer, I mostly just share things that I have found with the cameras I test. In my last review I compared the Canon 6D vs. 5D Mark III.

At minute 12:13 in the video I compare the center focus point on the 6D to the 5D3, after reading the wikipedia page on the -EV rating I gave up on trying to do the test accurately (as I talk about in the video) so I just set them up under the same low light conditions to see which one would work better. The 6D beat the 5D3 in my tests.

I am always trying to make my reviews better, so I was wondering if someone could help give me with pointers on how to do this more accurately in the future. I am more of a video guy than a stills guy.

Thanks!
Dave

Thanks Dave , I love your vids ,and it helps me a lot on deciding the 5D3 vs the 6D, I have the D800 currently but interested in ultimate low light camera and getting either the 6D or the 5D3 or maybe the Sony A99v.
but after watching your video , I am considering the 6D with the 24-70f4LIS.

thanks and keep up your great work.

 

[Wildfire]

The 6D center point is definitely superior to any AF point in any of the 5D series cameras.

This combined with the excellent high-ISO performance makes the 6D an awesome camera for low-light situations... even better than the 5D Mark III! (I will agree that the 5D3 makes a better all-around camera though)

 

[Dugdale]

@MLfan3 thanks for the kind words!

 

[GEPhoto]

Great review. I know Learningcameras.com did a comparison on these cameras and tested the focus and found the two very similar at the center point in low light but said he could not get the 6d to focus using the other points in the same low light while all the 41 5D3 cross type points focused in the low light. Not sure if you tried that too or noticed anything. I appreciate the honesty of your reviews too Dave

 

[Pi]

Interesting. What are the practical implications of this test? Can you post a photo in this low light that you can take without a tripod,so that the low light AF abilities would be critical for that photo?

 

[Mt Spokane Photography]

Interesting. What are the practical implications of this test? Can you post a photo in this low light that you can take without a tripod,so that the low light AF abilities would be critical for that photo?

The basic idea is to be able to use autofocus in low light. When it gets very dark, manual focus is not a option. A tripod makes no difference, either the camera can focus or it can't.

Here is a hand held image in extreme low light. It was hand held, the actors were moving, so AF is desired. I could barely see the actors, the light was so low, but my camera was able to focus. That makes a huge difference over a camera that won't focus and where its too dark to manually focus.

 

[Pi]

The basic idea is to be able to use autofocus in low light. When it gets very dark, manual focus is not a option. A tripod makes no difference, either the camera can focus or it can't.

The tripod makes a difference - after your camera focuses, you still want to take a photo.

 

[R1-7D]

Hello, I'm new here to this forum.

Several times a year I will do a review of Canon cameras. I am an advanced amatuer, I mostly just share things that I have found with the cameras I test. In my last review I compared the Canon 6D vs. 5D Mark III.

At minute 12:13 in the video I compare the center focus point on the 6D to the 5D3, after reading the wikipedia page on the -EV rating I gave up on trying to do the test accurately (as I talk about in the video) so I just set them up under the same low light conditions to see which one would work better. The 6D beat the 5D3 in my tests.

I am always trying to make my reviews better, so I was wondering if someone could help give me with pointers on how to do this more accurately in the future. I am more of a video guy than a stills guy.

Thanks!
Dave

Hey Dave!

Big fan of your videos and online tutorials. Keep up the good work and welcome to the Forum!

I'm sure you'll get some good pointers from the members here with regards to your question.