Canon Officially Announces the EOS 6D Mark II

[Orangutan]

Ordered two D800s and more d5100s after that... no turning back. I bought into some Pentax gear around the same time, too. Same impressive raw files as the Nikons but I didn't have the glass for them so they got less use.
I also got the first non AA-filtered Pentax body, the K5IIs... and found I got some really ugly false-color artifacts on specular hilites... really didn't work for my water shots!

You clearly have a lot more money to throw at camera gear than most DSLR purchasers. Bear that in mind when you tell other people what they should buy.

This is why I tell people on this forum... if you're not satisfied with the tool you're using, try a different tool!

You'll get no disagreement on this anywhere on this forum.

I swtiched.. No regrets whatsoever.

OK, and now what?

 

[Sporgon]

The main thing is whether I will be able to take better pictures with the 6DII I than take with my 5DII. An important question for me is whether I will be able to see a difference in the quality of a 12x18 print made with the 6DII in comparison to one from the 5DII. That is one of my personal standards. If I can't see the difference in a 12x18 print, it doesn't mean much to me. There are some other things, but that is a big one.

I might be splitting hairs here but for the sake of accuracy here goes.

You, personally, will not "take better pictures" with a different camera, if, by "better", you mean more compelling.

Now will you be able to see the difference in 12X18 prints? That depends entirely on what you photograph, how good you are at maximizing the capabilities of your current gear, how you process your images, and how you print them. For most people most of the time the answer will be no, but don't think there isn't a huge IQ difference between the 5D MkII and 6D MkII, there is. All new Canon sensors contain much higher IQ than earlier generations, whether you will see the benefits of that depend entirely on if you see the breakdown in IQ of your current camera, if you do the 6D MkII will be a big upgrade, if you don't see that break down then the new camera won't do much for you.

As a roundup, if when processing you regularly raise the shadow slider, particularly if you also tend to raise exposure, you will see a difference even in small prints. If you ETTR and tend to lower exposure in post and/or leave the shadows slider where it is and lower blacks, then you will not see a difference in 8x12 prints between a 5D MkII andA 6D MkII.

I'd agree with this as with a camera such as the 5DII you must not unnecessarily underexposed the highlights. If you're capable of always pushing the highlights to the limit of the sensor in a bright scene with deep shadows, there is plenty of latitude in the bottom of the sensor to deal with shadow detail.

 

[Khalai]

I swtiched.. No regrets whatsoever.

OK, and now what?

Simple. Wait, until that other brands disappoint you in the future and switch to a third brand. And then it goes all over again

 

[Aglet]

Ordered two D800s and more d5100s after that... no turning back. I bought into some Pentax gear around the same time, too. Same impressive raw files as the Nikons but I didn't have the glass for them so they got less use.
I also got the first non AA-filtered Pentax body, the K5IIs... and found I got some really ugly false-color artifacts on specular hilites... really didn't work for my water shots!

You clearly have a lot more money to throw at camera gear than most DSLR purchasers. Bear that in mind when you tell other people what they should buy.

This is why I tell people on this forum... if you're not satisfied with the tool you're using, try a different tool!

You'll get no disagreement on this anywhere on this forum.

I swtiched.. No regrets whatsoever.

OK, and now what?

What what?...
I get nearly 14 stops of base iso performance from a 14bit raw file with my ABC cameras.
There's no further improvement to be had until there's 16 bits of raw and enough dynamic range per pixel to make it worthwhile... Super low read noise, like we have now from Sony's sensors, and larger electron well capacity by a factor of 4 or so...
So, ISO 25.

 

[unfocused]

What what?...
I get nearly 14 stops of base iso performance from a 14bit raw file with my ABC cameras.
There's no further improvement to be had until there's 16 bits of raw and enough dynamic range per pixel to make it worthwhile... Super low read noise, like we have now from Sony's sensors, and larger electron well capacity by a factor of 4 or so...
So, ISO 25.

It sounds like you've found the very best camera for you. Congratulations. No one would begrudge you that.

Just don't presume that your needs are the same as others, or worse yet, that you are more discerning than others. People have different priorities and for most people on this forum, Canon continues to meet or exceed those needs/desires.

I would never argue that Canon is better than another brand. Nikon is an excellent brand. It just isn't my brand.

 

[Orangutan]

Ordered two D800s and more d5100s after that... no turning back. I bought into some Pentax gear around the same time, too. Same impressive raw files as the Nikons but I didn't have the glass for them so they got less use.
I also got the first non AA-filtered Pentax body, the K5IIs... and found I got some really ugly false-color artifacts on specular hilites... really didn't work for my water shots!

You clearly have a lot more money to throw at camera gear than most DSLR purchasers. Bear that in mind when you tell other people what they should buy.

This is why I tell people on this forum... if you're not satisfied with the tool you're using, try a different tool!

You'll get no disagreement on this anywhere on this forum.

I swtiched.. No regrets whatsoever.

OK, and now what?

What what?...
I get....

No, I mean now you're happy with your new gear, so what more do you have to tell us? Do you have photos to show? What do you expect CR forum readers to do now?

 

[Aglet]

..What do you expect CR forum readers to do now?

.. not be afraid to try a different tool if they're not satisfied with the one they're using.

 

[Orangutan]

..What do you expect CR forum readers to do now?

.. not be afraid to try a different tool if they're not satisfied with the one they're using.

That's always been the case.

 

[neuroanatomist]

..What do you expect CR forum readers to do now?

.. not be afraid to try a different tool if they're not satisfied with the one they're using.

That's always been the case.

Of course, but for some reason Aglet assumes we're all so enamored of Canon and so terrified of trying something else that we are all locked in to Canon forever. I don't think he's even considered the possiblity that many of us have used other systems, and simply prefer Canon. So he's here to save us all from ourselves. :

 

[Mikehit]

A bit crude but...


https://youtu.be/kzQ1-llj3kQ

 

[neuroanatomist]

Perhaps Aglet should stick to his primary task...keeping our shoelaces from fraying.

 

[Aglet]

Of course, but for some reason Aglet assumes we're all so enamored of Canon and so terrified of trying something else that we are all locked in to Canon forever. I don't think he's even considered the possiblity that many of us have used other systems, and simply prefer Canon. So he's here to save us all from ourselves. :

your support and defense of Canon borders on Neurotic, IMO.

did you finally have to google my user name to look for something to chew on? LOL
just as well... you probably can't manage more than velcro for that application.

 

[neuroanatomist]

I prefer buckles, actually...they look more sophisticated. But at least I try to avoid making ASSumptions about what other people know. I generally don't need to, some people effectively demonstrate their ignorance all on their own.

Speaking of sophisticated, what happened to that website of yours, a2bart.com? All that centered text, and even colored text! Where will people go now, when they want to purchase high quality images online? Oh, that's right...they'll go to the same places as before. Hopefully you at least still have some images hanging on the walls of that little seed shoppe in Edmonton.

 

[LonelyBoy]

Of course, but for some reason Aglet assumes we're all so enamored of Canon and so terrified of trying something else that we are all locked in to Canon forever. I don't think he's even considered the possiblity that many of us have used other systems, and simply prefer Canon. So he's here to save us all from ourselves. :

your support and defense of Canon borders on Neurotic, IMO.

did you finally have to google my user name to look for something to chew on? LOL
just as well... you probably can't manage more than velcro for that application.

"Elastic laces for life" says this former triathlete. That said...

1) Did your mother not teach you the word "aglet" when you were like six or eight? Sad.
2) Who is actually afraid to try ABC? I just have no desire because my Canon equipment does everything I need it to. I'd like a 5D4 instead of my 5D3, of course, but that'll probably be another year or two. Unless I break down and get one before Kona.

 

[stevelee]

Thanks to all the folks working out the AF point overlays!

Sure, the spread appears a bit disappointing, but that is pretty standard with full frame cameras. And the original 6D had a diamond pattern, this more rectangular pattern does allow to get more to the corner of the frame for an AF point. Not to mention the AF points being cross type make them much more useful then the 6D.
tech. I thought they once said they use the best sensor available.

Sounds like people who need the full spread really want a crop-sensor camera.

 

[stevelee]

All it took was to look at the photos on the review here to sell me:

http://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/canon-6d-mark-ii/canon-6d-mark-iiA.HTM

Note the photos are taken by the reviewer and not by Canon. There is one of a buffalo shot at <b>ISO 6400</b> with a 100-400 L II, at f/5.6, 1/500 and processed with DPR. The darks and the on the buffalo look wonderful at when viewed to 100%. The graininess on the lights are very pleasing at 100% too, with very good sharpness.

The photos taken at ISO 100 and ISO 160 are beautiful. Sadly, there are no sample photos in the mid-range ISOs.

It's really all I need to know though, because what I am looking for is a FF version of the 80D that shoots more usable high ISO photos than the 80D.

Yes, I was impressed by the buffalo pictures even before I saw the ISO. I'm with you. Pixel peeping at that photo was enough to convince me that this is the camera I will eventually buy. I'm still not pre-ordering though.

 

[stevelee]

Here is another site that also took photos at Yellowstone with the 6DII.https://www.digitaltrends.com/digital-camera-reviews/canon-eos-6d-mark-ii-review/#/1-21
Very nice pictures.
Brian

Looks good. I watched the video full screen on my 5K monitor, and it held up pretty well.

 

[BillB]

The main thing is whether I will be able to take better pictures with the 6DII I than take with my 5DII. An important question for me is whether I will be able to see a difference in the quality of a 12x18 print made with the 6DII in comparison to one from the 5DII. That is one of my personal standards. If I can't see the difference in a 12x18 print, it doesn't mean much to me. There are some other things, but that is a big one.

I might be splitting hairs here but for the sake of accuracy here goes.

You, personally, will not "take better pictures" with a different camera, if, by "better", you mean more compelling.

Now will you be able to see the difference in 12X18 prints? That depends entirely on what you photograph, how good you are at maximizing the capabilities of your current gear, how you process your images, and how you print them. For most people most of the time the answer will be no, but don't think there isn't a huge IQ difference between the 5D MkII and 6D MkII, there is. All new Canon sensors contain much higher IQ than earlier generations, whether you will see the benefits of that depend entirely on if you see the breakdown in IQ of your current camera, if you do the 6D MkII will be a big upgrade, if you don't see that break down then the new camera won't do much for you.

As a roundup, if when processing you regularly raise the shadow slider, particularly if you also tend to raise exposure, you will see a difference even in small prints. If you ETTR and tend to lower exposure in post and/or leave the shadows slider where it is and lower blacks, then you will not see a difference in 8x12 prints between a 5D MkII andA 6D MkII.

I'd agree with this as with a camera such as the 5DII you must not unnecessarily underexposed the highlights. If you're capable of always pushing the highlights to the limit of the sensor in a bright scene with deep shadows, there is plenty of latitude in the bottom of the sensor to deal with shadow detail.

My thanks to everybody who commented on my post. Your comments have been most helpful in clarifying my understanding of the choices.

 

[stevelee]

I have a 48" 4K TV and the difference between HD broadcasts & say 4K content on Netflix is marginal and depends much more on the subject matter, lighting, how it was filmed etc. So some HD content will look just as good as 4K anyway. So lack of 4K doesn't really bother me.

At what I consider a normal viewing distance for a TV, it is hard to tell the difference between 1080p and 720p, much less 4K. Most of what I get over cable is 1080i, which has been further compressed, and it can look pretty decent. And of course 1080i is really the same level of quality as 720p, if you do the math.

I've not ever seen streamed 4K, but I suspect the level of compression would negate a lot of the advantage over streamed 1080p.

I would shoot 4K for the little bit of video I shoot per year just to have more leeway in zooming and cropping while editing. That's what I did last summer when I shot some pick-up basketball games with my iPhone. Of course with zoom lenses on real cameras, that is less of an issue.

 

[stevelee]

Remarkable.
I have lost count of how many people there are heavily criticising the 6D2, and they have a total number of posts lower than the IQ of the average 2 year old.
So I ask myself what makes them so insecure that they even come onto the Canon forums let alone feel the need to criticise a camera they have no intention of buying and have often bought into competitor's systems.

Insecure....so insecure.

By definition, the average IQ of two-year-olds would be 100. But then I don't have that many posts yet. While I've read the site for a while, I've just joined the forum because of my interest in the 6D Mark II.

I can usually resist the temptation to respond to trolls, and a lot of time will skip reading their posts, but sometimes I just have to look. Somehow the appeal of going to a discussion board about some product I have no interest in escapes me.