Hands on Field Test of the Canon EOS 6D Mark II

[stevelee]

I think people should spend less time whining about their Canon, Sony or Nikon cameras and more time shooting photos

As a consumer, YES, I want compromises. Not just with cameras, with everything. I can't afford stuff that doesn't have any compromises, and I don't want to wait forever for products to be perfected. I want the right product for me, at the right price and the right time. I don't want the unicorn that I can't have today; I'm willing to buy something that I can afford to make me happy today, and buy something in a few years that makes me happy then.


It's like finding a relationship with no compromises -- this is a great way to stay single for the rest of your life

Life is what happens while you are waiting for something else. John Lennon's version was "Life is what happens while you are busy making other plans."

Obviously technology is even more exaggerated in that regard. I spent $500 to add 16k to my Apple II. Even if I had known that eventually I would be carrying around in my shirt pocket a device with orders of magnitude more speed and power and thousands of times as much memory, I would still have done that, rather than waiting 35 years to get anything.

If I live another 10 years and am not too blind or senile to take pictures, I'm sure my present gear will seem primitive. My first digital camera was a Casio in 2002. They were trying to go more high-end with their products, and put a Canon lens on this model. By the time the great reviews came out, they decided not to go that route any more, and threw in an IBM hard drive (which was the only way to get an affordable decent amount of memory in a card) as incentive. I bought the camera prior to an Alaska cruise. From here at my desk I can see the framed picture of a glacier printed on 13" x 19" paper. It is gorgeous. It is a not-quite-4-megapixel camera. You can't tell that from the print, though I don't understand why. That camera is underneath something in the back of my closet, probably, along with my FT-QL film camera that served me well from 1969 to the early part of this century, when I used it to make pictures of the moon and Jupiter through an old telescope.

 

[transpo1]

Personally, I was hoping to buy one of these to build a light-weight travel kit around. Waiting for more reviews before I decide but so far things don't seem to be going in the right direction.

Generally speaking, when Canon's designers intentionally nerf their product releases it's in the area of features that require annoying work-arounds but don't significantly lower the quality of the final product. (ie. dual cards, MJPEG, intervalometer, etc.) At this price point I don't have a problem with Canon protecting their pro lines. I'm generally willing to pay more for convenience. In this case I'm not sure it's just a feature set.

If Canon had to choose between excellent low light performance and file malleability then I suppose that's something I may not like but would accept. The majority of users would probably get more benefit from the higher ISO's especially if they are using slow glass.

However, If they intentionally didn't use the best sensor tech they had available that's a different thing entirely and in my opinion would be very troubling.

I generally expose my images properly and I don't need to do three stop shadow lifts but if I can't change mid tones a couple of stops to get the tone curve I want then the camera is a non-starter for me. The samples I've seen so far indicate that might be a problem. BTDT and I'm not going back now that there are Canon cameras with excellent sensors. I shouldn't have to go to APSC to get a decent travel camera. I own a 1DX2 and a 7D2 so I don't want to buy a 5D4 just for this.

I understand that my needs/problems are mine but I can't be the only one that's looking for a high quality lightweight full frame from Canon.

You're not the only one looking for a high-quality, lightweight camera from Canon- the 5DIV almost fits that bill except for its crippled 4K video ability. As a filmmaker, I am, admittedly skewed towards video shooting, though. But it needs to be in a great stills camera for me to buy.

 

[testthewest]

Its clear that for what ever reason that it doesn't justify its price.

Hasnt even been out a week and DREV had it for sale for £1595

Its already down to £1489!!!

https://store.digitalrev.com/product/canon-eos-6d-mark-ii/MTEwNTc1Ng_A_A

Good preowned 5DMKIIIs with 20-30k on them are £1400-1500 currently at London Camera Exchange with a 6 month warranty.

The 5D MKIII is still £1649! £160 more expensive and at the minute the only reason to buy a MKIII new is because it has 2 card slots slightly more advanced AF. The sensors seem to produce about the same IQ but the 6DMKII having better high ISO performance and better colour noise and banding control.

Seems like a no brainer... Im a bit tempted since ive been on the fence on what to buy since my 5DMKIII got stolen. My 7DMKII has been really impressing me since and been using the 70D with its flippy screen and its been really handy. Only issue im having is neither cameras nail focus even close to the 5DMKIII they both miss seemingly for not much reason, not like the its front or back focusing but nothing in the frame is in focus... Can be frustrating.

The 5DMKIV seems the best option but will need another £1000 to buy one.

DREV prices are grey imports at tax free cost. You simply cannot take that as a marker of genuine market price.
The 5D4 on DREV is 2,400 - still a 1,000 difference to the 6D2.

Could you explain that a bit more?
To I have to pay customs on the gear if I buy from them? Or is the price asked the price I actually pay?

 

[Loswr]

It's like finding a relationship with no compromises -- this is a great way to stay single for the rest of your life

Exactly. And different partners have different advantages and trade offs. For example, Canon may have less Dynamic Rhythm in their base, but they also have cylinders with blue goo inside. I guess that's why some people use more than one system.

 

[Mikehit]

Could you explain that a bit more?
To I have to pay customs on the gear if I buy from them? Or is the price asked the price I actually pay?

They promise that all duty is paid so the price on the website is the price you pay. I have found several web discussions where people have tried to get DigRev to confirm VAT/Duty is paid on delivery and to confirm that they will get a proper VAT receipt - but DigRev answers always seem evasive and non-committal.
So the best way I can see how it works is that they export from Hong Kong to UK. If they get caught by Customs and Excise (and a big 'if') then you send the invoice to DigRev and they pay it - so it is no additional cost to you. But they sell enough bits of gear and make enough profit to cover the few times that the item is identified by Customs.
I am not saying that DigRev is doing anything wrong and I am sure all their deliveries have informaton that meets requirements. But they 'play the system'.

There is another form of grey market and is (I believe) the one followed by HDEW in UK - they are a genuine UK-based store and their stock comes largely from kits that have been split or from stores wanting to clear stock. prices from HDEW are similar to DigRev without the problems arising from 'based in Hong Kong': on my 6D I got a 3-year warranty with HDEW and they apparently use the same service company as do Canon.

 

[testthewest]

Could you explain that a bit more?
To I have to pay customs on the gear if I buy from them? Or is the price asked the price I actually pay?

They promise that all duty is paid so the price on the website is the price you pay. I have found several web discussions where people have tried to get DigRev to confirm VAT/Duty is paid on delivery and to confirm that they will get a proper VAT receipt - but DigRev answers always seem evasive and non-committal.
So the best way I can see how it works is that they export from Hong Kong to UK. If they get caught by Customs and Excise (and a big 'if') then you send the invoice to DigRev and they pay it - so it is no additional cost to you. But they sell enough bits of gear and make enough profit to cover the few times that the item is identified by Customs.
I am not saying that DigRev is doing anything wrong and I am sure all their deliveries have informaton that meets requirements. But they 'play the system'.

There is another form of grey market and is (I believe) the one followed by HDEW in UK - they are a genuine UK-based store and their stock comes largely from kits that have been split or from stores wanting to clear stock. prices from HDEW are similar to DigRev without the problems arising from 'based in Hong Kong': on my 6D I got a 3-year warranty with HDEW and they apparently use the same service company as do Canon.

Ok, I just placed an order with DigitalRev. The money saved was enough to give it a try. Furthermore, they aren't no-name and their reputation researched through google search seems good.

I know I could get burned, but saving 1k € is an offer I can't refuse...

 

[Sporgon]

Could you explain that a bit more?
To I have to pay customs on the gear if I buy from them? Or is the price asked the price I actually pay?

They promise that all duty is paid so the price on the website is the price you pay. I have found several web discussions where people have tried to get DigRev to confirm VAT/Duty is paid on delivery and to confirm that they will get a proper VAT receipt - but DigRev answers always seem evasive and non-committal.
So the best way I can see how it works is that they export from Hong Kong to UK. If they get caught by Customs and Excise (and a big 'if') then you send the invoice to DigRev and they pay it - so it is no additional cost to you. But they sell enough bits of gear and make enough profit to cover the few times that the item is identified by Customs.
I am not saying that DigRev is doing anything wrong and I am sure all their deliveries have informaton that meets requirements. But they 'play the system'.

There is another form of grey market and is (I believe) the one followed by HDEW in UK - they are a genuine UK-based store and their stock comes largely from kits that have been split or from stores wanting to clear stock. prices from HDEW are similar to DigRev without the problems arising from 'based in Hong Kong': on my 6D I got a 3-year warranty with HDEW and they apparently use the same service company as do Canon.

I think you've got it pretty well right - which is why grey imports have little attraction to those of us who can reclaim the vat on the purchase - in other words vat registered business users.

 

[scyrene]

I think plenty of people whining about their products on Sony and Nikon forum, which I think is the right thing to do. At least the company knows what aspects they need to improve. Yes, 6D II may sell well and many people don't care or don't know about DR. But as a consumer, we don't want compromises. Especially knowing that Canon has that tech and still refuse to implement it into a product that releases 4 years after its predecessor.

I think people should spend less time whining about their Canon, Sony or Nikon cameras and more time shooting photos

As a consumer, YES, I want compromises. Not just with cameras, with everything. I can't afford stuff that doesn't have any compromises, and I don't want to wait forever for products to be perfected. I want the right product for me, at the right price and the right time. I don't want the unicorn that I can't have today; I'm willing to buy something that I can afford to make me happy today, and buy something in a few years that makes me happy then.


It's like finding a relationship with no compromises -- this is a great way to stay single for the rest of your life

+100

 

[scyrene]

Reading YouTube comments isn't the best idea at any rate ;D

More than anywhere else on the internet, 'don't read the comments' is good advice for YouTube (whatever the video!).

 

[scyrene]

Perhaps the solution for Canon is to drop another model that sits between 6D2 and 5D4 (or successor).

I had idly wondered a while back if they would squeeze another FF camera into the lineup - there seemed to be room in the pricing with the 5D4 being more expensive than the 5D3, but whether the 6D2 sits above or below it, I didn't know. At $2k RRP perhaps this must indeed the lowest model, but then what features they'd add to it for a higher-level model (or subtract from the 5D4) is hard to see, so I'd be quite surprised now if they did pursue that strategy.

 

[scyrene]

I have focused on image quality in the past and the move from a 5DII to a 6D was a step up.

The 5DIII was an extra $1000, so this needs justification when I don't earn a lot from photography.

Yesterday I did a photoshoot at an event. Biggest limitation was focus accuracy, especially when using (moderately) fast primes wide open the central focus point and then recompose (the other points are poor). I think the focus accuracy of the central point is overrated; its okay, but I'd really like functional focusing points at the four points where one third width and height lines intersect.

I do a lot of landscape photography and the 6D is usually fine (although more DR at base ISO would be nice).

But price is an important consideration if bodies are to be changed every three years or so. Here in NZ, the prices of bodies are (NZD):
- 5D IV $4428
- 5DSR $4149
- 5DS $3739
- 5D III $2974
- 6D II $2828
- 6D $1719

I'm looking to a second FF body. At current pricing the 6DII does not look attractive.

Focus accuracy is tricky... while the 6D2 ought to be a bit better than the mark 1, I'd still suggest considering a used(?) 5D3 or 1Dx.

As for the price, I personally would never buy when something is released, but rather wait a little until the price drops a touch (of course, if the naysayers are correct, then the 6D2's price will drop a fair bit; that remains to be seen).

 

[scyrene]

[M]y FT-QL film camera that served me well from 1969 to the early part of this century, when I used it to make pictures of the moon and Jupiter through an old telescope.

That's commitment! I'd genuinely love to see what sort of shots were possible back then, if you have digital versions?

 

[LonelyBoy]

Personally, I was hoping to buy one of these to build a light-weight travel kit around. Waiting for more reviews before I decide but so far things don't seem to be going in the right direction.

Generally speaking, when Canon's designers intentionally nerf their product releases it's in the area of features that require annoying work-arounds but don't significantly lower the quality of the final product. (ie. dual cards, MJPEG, intervalometer, etc.) At this price point I don't have a problem with Canon protecting their pro lines. I'm generally willing to pay more for convenience. In this case I'm not sure it's just a feature set.

If Canon had to choose between excellent low light performance and file malleability then I suppose that's something I may not like but would accept. The majority of users would probably get more benefit from the higher ISO's especially if they are using slow glass.

However, If they intentionally didn't use the best sensor tech they had available that's a different thing entirely and in my opinion would be very troubling.

I generally expose my images properly and I don't need to do three stop shadow lifts but if I can't change mid tones a couple of stops to get the tone curve I want then the camera is a non-starter for me. The samples I've seen so far indicate that might be a problem. BTDT and I'm not going back now that there are Canon cameras with excellent sensors. I shouldn't have to go to APSC to get a decent travel camera. I own a 1DX2 and a 7D2 so I don't want to buy a 5D4 just for this.

I understand that my needs/problems are mine but I can't be the only one that's looking for a high quality lightweight full frame from Canon.

You're not the only one looking for a high-quality, lightweight camera from Canon- the 5DIV almost fits that bill except for its crippled 4K video ability. As a filmmaker, I am, admittedly skewed towards video shooting, though. But it needs to be in a great stills camera for me to buy.

Why do you insist on having a great video camera and a great stills camera in one? This obsession people have with having a full video wish list in a DSLR is just puzzling.

 

[Takingshots]

Any used 6D MK ii for sale .... just saying

 

[masterpix]

A disappointment in several respects. Low light performance is good, but DR is behind the curve and no better than a Rebel Camera. I'm not a video guy, but the reviewer was sorely disappointed in the 6D2 video performance. Seems more like a FF Rebel than anything else.

The question is very simple, does an entry level FF camera should "compete" with the higher end FF cameras at all? The 6D is the entry level FF camera, not the 5D or the 1D, and as such is meant to have less features. When I by the Rebel, I don't expect to get a 80D and when I buy the 80D I don't expect to get the 7D. One need to make their decision based on value per money in this case. I wish there is a camera that has the 1D capabilities with the 5Ds (sr) resolution in having the rebel price tag. It simply does not work.

 

[slclick]

A disappointment in several respects. Low light performance is good, but DR is behind the curve and no better than a Rebel Camera. I'm not a video guy, but the reviewer was sorely disappointed in the 6D2 video performance. Seems more like a FF Rebel than anything else.

The question is very simple, does an entry level FF camera should "compete" with the higher end FF cameras at all? The 6D is the entry level FF camera, not the 5D or the 1D, and as such is meant to have less features. When I by the Rebel, I don't expect to get a 80D and when I buy the 80D I don't expect to get the 7D. One need to make their decision based on value per money in this case. I wish there is a camera that has the 1D capabilities with the 5Ds (sr) resolution in having the rebel price tag. It simply does not work.

this

 

[Sporgon]

The question is very simple, does an entry level FF camera should "compete" with the higher end FF cameras at all?

Depends on how you view it Clearly an entry level camera does not compete on every level with a top end one, but in some areas they do; it's a question of how important those areas where they do and don't sit with the potential user.

For instance the Nikon D610 does not compete with the D810 on mp, but it does on "DR", and so for those people who believe that DR=IQ, both the "entry level FF" and the high end are on the same level. Form my experience in working the raw files they are both as malleable as each other. With Canon the new 6DII falls short of the 5DIV in this metric, and even some of the crop alternatives, so that is a 'failing' when compared with Nikon.

The 6DII doesn't excite me personally for a number of reasons, but then that was clearly Canon's intention

 

[Graphic.Artifacts]

As a long time Canon customer/user I made my peace a long time ago with Canon's "feature set bingo". It is what it is. No CLOG for my IDX2, fine. No internal intervalometer?, whatever. Come up with a workaround and move on.

What concerns me is that having patiently stuck with Canon through the period where the sensors in many of their cameras clearly lagged behind the competition I felt like they had turned that corner. I believe they are on record as saying they always use "the best sensor available".

Is this the best sensor available? What I see is noise that is little improved from the 5D2 I bought in 2008 and clearly lags behind pretty much every camera they've put out in the last few years in that regard.

The 6D2 appears to be a nice little camera with excellent features and most of the things that I'd like in a travel body. I'd like to buy one. But, I've shot hundreds of thousands of images with 5D2/5D3/7D2's and the shadow noise is terrible. Don't know how else to say it.

Are the pictures that I've taken with them terrible. No, I don't think so but that's a false argument.

Do I want to go back to having to deal with that noise. No way. The on-chip A/D sensors are vastly better and they've put them in cameras that cost a lot less than the 6D2. Whataboutisms and deflections don't make that fact go away.

Follow the proven path. Slap the 5D4 sensor in it. Nerf the feature set so that pro's and advanced amateurs will covet the 5D4 and call it a day. I just can't see the logic of this. I may end up buying it when the price drops and I'm certainly not switching systems but I think Canon dropped the ball here.

Just my opinion. I'm sure lots of folks will buy it and love it.

 

[Mikehit]

Is this the best sensor available? What I see is noise that is little improved from the 5D2 I bought in 2008 and clearly lags behind pretty much every camera they've put out in the last few years in that regard.

Comments on other forums from people who are actually using the 6D2 suggests the sensor is pretty damned good with noise that is much more manageable.
It seems to me that Canonrumors is getting a reputation for being populated by very vocal DR freaks.

 

[slclick]

Is this the best sensor available? What I see is noise that is little improved from the 5D2 I bought in 2008 and clearly lags behind pretty much every camera they've put out in the last few years in that regard.

Comments on other forums from people who are actually using the 6D2 suggests the sensor is pretty damned good with noise that is much more manageable.
It seems to me that Canonrumors is getting a reputation for being populated by very vocal DR freaks.

Exactly, lots of comments here from non buyers/users, just chart and spec sheet jockeys.