Have a 7D, add a 6D or go for 5D Mkiii?

[Timmee25]

Hi there,

I've read lots of posts/reviews but still don't know what to do. I currently have a 7D for shooting airshows/wildlife which have been my main subjects for years. My current lenses are 70-200 f2.8 IS and 100-400L, Sigma 10-20, Canon 50 f1.8.

Recently i'm starting to get more into landscape photography, but the main change has come with the birth of my son, I love taking pics of him and the dog playing together. Would you sell the 7D and go for 5D mkiii or keep the 7D and get a 6D as an addition? I quite like the idea of setting up the 6D over wi-fi for remote wildlife pics and it's obvious landscape capabilities, but will the 6D be good enough on A/F for family photo's?

 

[RGF]

Don't have a 6D but I have heard it is quite good. Not as good as the 5DM3, but ..

Decision boils down to do you want extra body with crop sensor. Do you need the extra reach the 7D gives you. If you are considering upgrading the 7DM2 (or whatever) now would be the time to sell it before the new model is introduced.

 

[Timmee25]

Hi, thanks for the reply. I'm still very happy with my 7D when the lights good, which it always is at UK airshows 8)
However, full frame would benefit when it comes to landscape and shooting my boy indoors when the light is not so good. The question boils down to would the 5dmkiii make the better camera all round, or would I be better off keeping the 7D for the fast, outdoor stuff and the 6D for landscape, indoor/family stuff?

 

[mrsfotografie]

Have you considered the 5DMkII? I very much like it in combination with the 7D. Both batteries and memory cards are interchangeable (you'll have to go for the MkIII to get full interchangeability of cards and batteries with the 7D; the 6D is SD(HC) only). I would say the 5DMkII is fast enough for family photo's (but you may miss out if the subject comes at you fast and you don't anticipate).

If you need fast AF in the FF body, go for the 5DMkIII.

In any event the MkIII is the camera you should get, really. It may be a bit of an investment but it will serve you well for a long time. Likewise I never regretted shoveling out the dough for the 5DMkII; I've had that now for more than three years and still no reason to replace it.

I would suggest to go for a 24-105 kit because you're lacking a good general zoom that is extremely nice to have for general photography and fast framing for family photo's.

 

[Timmee25]

Have you considered the 5DMkII? I very much like it in combination with the 7D. Both batteries and memory cards are interchangeable (you'll have to go for the MkIII to get full interchangeability of cards and batteries with the 7D; the 6D is SD(HC) only). I would say the 5DMkII is fast enough for family photo's (but you may miss out if the subject comes at you fast and you don't anticipate).

If you need fast AF in the FF body, go for the 5DMkIII.

In any event the MkIII is the camera you should get, really. It may be a bit of an investment but it will serve you well for a long time. Likewise I never regretted shoveling out the dough for the 5DMkII; I've had that now for more than three years and still no reason to replace it.

I would suggest to go for a 24-105 kit because you're lacking a good general zoom that is extremely nice to have for general photography and fast framing for family photo's.

Hi mrsfotografie,

I must admit i'd not really thought about the 5d mkii, but they're some really good points about interchangeable cards and batteries. I have a friend with one, so may see if I can borrow it to try. One thing looking online is they seem to be about the same money 2nd hand as I can get a 6D (I'm currently in the US with work for a few weeks).

You're right about needing a general zoom, I bought the Sigma 17-70 that came out recently, but I really wasn't impressed by the sharpness compared to my other lenses so I gave it away to my sister in-law to go on her 450D.

thanks for the suggestions, even more to think about now

 

[Dylan777]

If budget is not an issue, my vote is 5D III. Since you already shooting with 7D, AF on 6D will bore you.

I have 2 kids(2&5yrs), shooting with 5D II was quite difficult when they running around. I missed a lot of shots. The AF on 5D III is much more better.

 

[Loswr]

I used the combo of APS-C with good AF (7D) and FF with mediocre AF (5DII) for a while. I'd recommend getting the 5DIII to have FF and great AF in one body.

A common concern is the loss of the 'reach advantage' of the crop sensor. In my experience, that only matters if you print very large or severely crop your APS-C images. An image from the 5DIII, cropped to the FoV of the 7D's sensor, will give you an 8.6 MP image (fine for 16x24" / A2 prints) with equivalent IQ at low ISO (up to 800) and better IQ at higher ISOs. You'd also be going from 8 fps to 6 fps, but getting a higher hit rate with the better AF of the 5DIII.

 

[Timmee25]

I used the combo of APS-C with good AF (7D) and FF with mediocre AF (5DII) for a while. I'd recommend getting the 5DIII to have FF and great AF in one body.

A common concern is the loss of the 'reach advantage' of the crop sensor. In my experience, that only matters if you print very large or severely crop your APS-C images. An image from the 5DIII, cropped to the FoV of the 7D's sensor, will give you an 8.6 MP image (fine for 16x24" / A2 prints) with equivalent IQ at low ISO (up to 800) and better IQ at higher ISOs. You'd also be going from 8 fps to 6 fps, but getting a higher hit rate with the better AF of the 5DIII.

Hi Neuro, great to hear of your experience going down a similar route with the 7d/5d mkii. From the last few posts i'm leaning towards the 5d mkiii, i'm not really hearing a lot of pro's for the 7D/6D combi route. I'm going to need some good ideas to appease my wife, especially when my brother in-law is into photography so will no doubt blurt out the real cost of a 5d mkiii.

 

[sdsr]

I've never used a 7D and don't have children to photograph running around; but I do have a 6D and a 5DIII, plus a cat and a kitten which are faster than any child.... While it's true that the autofocus on the 5DIII is better for photographing moving things than the 6D, I'm inclined to think that the difference is exaggerated and that the 6D is better than its reputation. How often do you like to photograph your children while they're moving around fast? If a lot, a 5DIII would probably make more sense, but otherwise I'm not so sure. Borrow your friend's 5DII if you can - if that's good enough for you, the 6D will certainly be: it focuses better than the 5DII. (Better yet, borrow or rent a 6D so you can see for yourself.)

For things that don't move, I've often used my 6D in very low light and the difference in success rate focusing with outer points vs the 5DIII is trivial. Of course, in terms of focusing accurately when using a fast lens wide open it's better to have more focus points to avoid focus/recompose issues, but I've had no problem using the focus points that the 6D has, while the 6D's center point focuses in even less light than the 5DIII.

And while on the subject of low light, if you often find yourself wanting to brighten dark areas of photos by a significant amount, it's probably worth pointing out that files created by the 6D lend themselves to this better than the 5DIII's - considerably less noise/banding.

 

[Timmee25]

I've never used a 7D and don't have children to photograph running around; but I do have a 6D and a 5DIII, plus a cat and a kitten which are faster than any child.... While it's true that the autofocus on the 5DIII is better for photographing moving things than the 6D, I'm inclined to think that the difference is exaggerated and that the 6D is better than its reputation. How often do you like to photograph your children while they're moving around fast? If a lot, a 5DIII would probably make more sense, but otherwise I'm not so sure. Borrow your friend's 5DII if you can - if that's good enough for you, the 6D will certainly be: it focuses better than the 5DII. (Better yet, borrow or rent a 6D so you can see for yourself.)

For things that don't move, I've often used my 6D in very low light and the difference in success rate focusing with outer points vs the 5DIII is trivial. Of course, in terms of focusing accurately when using a fast lens wide open it's better to have more focus points to avoid focus/recompose issues, but I've had no problem using the focus points that the 6D has, while the 6D's center point focuses in even less light than the 5DIII.

And while on the subject of low light, if you often find yourself wanting to brighten dark areas of photos by a significant amount, it's probably worth pointing out that files created by the 6D lend themselves to this better than the 5DIII's - considerably less noise/banding.

Hi SDSR,

Animals can certainly be speedy subjects, my main area of interest before the birth of my boy was wildlife/airshow which the 7D has been great for. Now I spend more days taking pics of him and the dog playing than wildlife/airshows - time is definitely at a premium. I'll borrow the 5dmkii and see whether it does the kind of thing I need, if so i'll then hire a 6D to help with the decision. Also, with the 6D because it's lighter I think there's more chance my wife will give it a go. Sometimes it's nice to be in the picture and not behind the camera.

 

[Oneand0]

I cannot speak for the 5D III at all, but from everything I have read the focal points and speed of auto focusing must be far superior than the 6D. I switched from Nikon D300 to Canon 7D to shoot with the 100-400mm lens at air shows. Then I got into landscape as well, and built up my knowledge and style using 7D and 17-40mm for landscape. The 7D is nothing to turn your nose at for landscape, but after switching to 6D I am extremely pleased. What I was not pleased with, was the response I got when trying to shoot anything moving indoors with the 6D...it's not fun. no doubt you will get some fabulous shots, just not as fast. If you were doing indoor shots for bread and butter don't get the 6D. For family shots indoors you will get what you want with a little patience and practice. By the way, that center focal point they talk about in the 6D in dark light is everything they say it is. You can see my shots with 7D and 6D landscape here. Happy buying! http://www.flickr.com/photos/1and0hound/

 

[Trovador]

I went with the "Add a 6D and save $$$" route and have been very happy with it. For air shows the 7D autofocus and crop reach are great. I also use it for macros and wildlife. For everything else I use the 6D, with IQ second to none in Canon's lineup. The 6D's autofocus is quite good, specially if you use mainly the center point. For servo tracking the 7D and MkIII are superior. At the end it depends on your budget. The MkIII is a superior camera for more $$$. The 6D is an awesome camera with few caveats for a lot less $$$.

 

[fegari]

Had a 7D for a couple of years before moving to a 5D3. Initially the driver to move to FF was not really the AF but the sigificant IQ improvement.

Then recently got again (and temporarily) a 7D as backup for a trip with the idea in mind to shoot birds in flight. I can tell you I stopped using the 7D for birds very quickly 7D (puffins to be exact, super small, super quick, very demanding of the AF). The best pics all come from the 5DIII.

The AF success was so low I switched to the 5D3 despite the loss of reach. WHAT A SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE, almost all the 5D3s nailed the focus, way, way better success rate than 7D.

Cropping to reach similar FoV as the 7D is not that much of a penalty, the full frame pixels are so much better quality (noise, sharpness) that to me, the 5DIII is the winner in all areas. I certainly prefer to have a cropped ~10Mpx image in perfect focus that hundreds of 18Mpx blurred ones.

 

[gdavid]

Hi,

I have both the 7D and 6D. What a combination! If the light is good and shooting action, I would reach for the 7D. Indoor portraits of kids running around, 6D is my choice. 6D's limitations with AF really makes you slow down and think of what you are shooting. I use to shoot 8FPS with the 7D all the time and hope I get a shot!

I have shot indoor sports with the 6D and come out with great shots at ISO 6400 and shutter speeds of up to 1/1000 of a sec. Try that with the 7D! I've shot my son's band at very poorly lit venues and man, the 6D's AF is amazing! Lens I used is the 17-40L.

I'm sure the 5DMK3 is a great camera but to me, not $1500 greater than the 6D.

 

[Niki]

get the 5dm3 and a canon film camera..that's what I did...I love both of them.

 

[wsgroves]

I had/have a 7d and purchased a 5d3 that arrives monday. However, I have no doubt that a 6d is a fine camera. Just look at Dustin's photos...

 

[Timmee25]

Lots of info to really digest here, thanks to all for your viewpoints. It's nice to see after the bashing the 6D took when it first came out that it's actually a decent camera and there's some good arguments for it. It's a shame I didn't have the 6D or 5dmkiii when I was photographing killer whales at 5 in the morning in Canada, I could have done with the better noise handling of full fold and the 6D low light focus ability. Oh well, never look back