I think maybe people are asking a bit much.
Is the 6D designed to be a professional camera? I dont think so, although its product designation is quite confusing. But for the time being I think Canon will keep a full frame camera with its professional designation just to differentiate it from consumer crop cameras.
So really, I think of this as an XXD camera.
The 5DMKII was designed as a professional camera, and also its brother the 5DMKIII. Although the price has come down in Canons mind it is still a $3500 camera so releasing a new entry level camera at $2100 is acceptable. This will quickly reduce as the 5D MKIII's has.
Am I blown away no, am I angry no, am i disappointed... well a little but surprised no. I think it would have made sense to just use the parts bin to create a homologation of the 5DMKII and the 7D. But for an entry level camera this would be overkill and quickly kill the 5DMKIII although its what most people wanted. Also the complex AF is too much for people upgrading from XXXDs or XXDs, if anything the 11point will mean a seamless upgrade and the feel of the camera will not be too much of a change, and basically mean the photographer wont have to re-learn the skill. But heres hoping theres more than one cross type.
I am a photographer and am published in a lot of publications mostly newspapers. So I like crop, cheap cheerful and it works, basically have the privilege of printing on glorified toilet paper. So I was shooting on a 40D for a long time as I didn't like the newer cameras until the 7D. I only just bought a 7D a month ago as my second 40D died, and bought it because I am still waiting for the 5DMKIII to be where I want it to be in terms of price. So a 7D has filled in for now.
Anyway am I the only photographer that thinks the 18mp sensor is absolute rubbish?? The 100-400ISO range which I shoot in most, is awful in comparison to the 40Ds 10mp. It is extremely noisy, not clean at all and there is a lot of banding! I read a lot on hear about it and poo poo'd the problems because I thought people were being overly critical as its a tech forum. But 800ISO and over is a great improvement, but most of my stuff is done in the 100-400 range. So I am extremely disappointed in the 7D for IQ which is what I want. Everything else about the camera is perfect IMO, but there is no point in having a great camera with poor IQ.
So if we are real for a minute about the 6D.
The 5DMKII will be discontinued very quickly to give the 6D a chance. Therefore once the retail units are snapped up the only real affordable full frame option for most is the 6D, its specs are not bad. 11 points is enough for the amateur. This camera is not for you 'would-be' prosumer or pro photographers. So those with the XXXDs XXDs and 7D that want better IQ than the poor 18mp sensor (Canon dont seem to want to drop), the only path is the 6D.
Not everyone needs the AF spec and speed of the 7D and it is overkill for most. For portraits and landscape I would say manual focus is more popular for accurate focus, it is with me, especially with landscape as you have the time. Live view with the 10x view is very helpful. Or if AF is to be used, single point with centre point is my chosen focus path. So this is a great camera! If we ignore for a second the 5DMKII and the D600.
But then the 5DMKII and the D600 come back into the frame. If this is a camera that is to be aimed at the amateurs wanting the best IQ then the 5DMKII has more MP count and is known to be a great performer IQ wise (we wont know about the 6D for a few weeks) and the camera will handle basically the same as the camera they are upgrading from, so a duck to water. At the moment it is cheaper and widely available.
Then we have the D600, most amateurs will have some kind of brand loyalty but price and spec is everything to them the latest and greatest for the cheapest. Also how many have got a vast amount of money invested in lenses, so really its not a bad camera to switch to. Lets be fair although we dont like to admit it, Nikon are blowing the market out of the water atm and the D600 is a very compelling camera.
But the one thing canon has got going for it, its a pain to change. lenses are better and upgrading the body is simpler than changing systems. Also bodies are around what, 2-3 years? so even if it is not perfect some may still upgrade and have blinkers to the competition. It is more paramount for pros to have the best features as it could be the difference between being paid and not. But if we are talking amateurs just wanting to take pictures then not so much of an issue.
Then we get to price. It is double every APC body, near enough. It also needs all new lenses as EF-s or crop lenses wont work. The lenses are much more expensive, and cost/quality may be an issue as cheaper glass could result in poorer images than the older APC camera. But how many amateurs no this? Also no inbuilt flash, they are poor but useful for a quick portrait and you can get ok results with them. Now then will have to buy a $250+ flash and carry it around.
So this is pretty much grey area, the split between crop and FF has now shot them in the foot. Which is why I understand Nikon allowing adoption of crop lenses, although pointless in the grand scheme of things it does means they can have the new camera, without spending $3k with a lens. So really until the adoption of FF becomes more widely adopted this could be a success or a failure. We will have to see.
For the others that are pros or prosumers, the $600 is nothing extra to buy the 5DMKIII really. So the 5DMKIII is a really attractive purchase over the 6D and is where I am going I will order one in the next month or so.
Clearly this is not for sports or birders.
