Landscape shooting - Used 5DMII or Used 6D or New 7DMII

[bjd]

Hi Bholliman.
I can tell you one thing you would be missing, twice as many almost identical pictures to try to pick a best shot from! ;D. Please don't ask how I know, oh okay, I tried it with my 7DII.

Cheers, Graham.

Hi Graham,
you hit it on the head, I'm wondering already when I'll reach the MTBF on my Mirror and Curtain? It wont take long, I guess I'll limit the frame rate sometime soon. IIRC that is possible.
Cheers Brian

 

[jeffa4444]

You will not be disappointed with the 6D its a far better landscape camera than the 7D MKII. My 6D has been in very hostile conditions on Dartmoor & Snowdonia, been soaked by rain and lived to tell the tale. The images are very very pleasing, yes I can get more detail from my newer 5DS but the 6D is still firmly part of my kit until its replacement arrives.
For landscape the GPS and Wi-Fi are a god send, I use an ipad mini for my live view via the Wi-Fi something I cannot do with the 5DS without resorting to CamRanger which in the UK is £ 290.00 so when viewed from that perspective the 6D is great value for money.

 

[Larsskv]

Re: Landscape shooting - Used 5DMII or Used 6D or New 7DMI

You will not be disappointed with the 6D its a far better landscape camera than the 7D MKII. My 6D has been in very hostile conditions on Dartmoor & Snowdonia, been soaked by rain and lived to tell the tale. The images are very very pleasing, yes I can get more detail from my newer 5DS but the 6D is still firmly part of my kit until its replacement arrives.
For landscape the GPS and Wi-Fi are a god send, I use an ipad mini for my live view via the Wi-Fi something I cannot do with the 5DS without resorting to CamRanger which in the UK is £ 290.00 so when viewed from that perspective the 6D is great value for money.

Absolutely. I would like to add that I found the centre point on the 6D to be very capable, also in AI servo mode. It's not a big problem to take action shots with the 6D. There are better options for sure, but that doesn't make the 6D bad. I never really understood why people were bashing it's AF. I rarely missed or misfocused a shot due to the AF, with my 6D.

 

[Ryan708]

Now that I have used the 6D more, I can say the AF is a bit better at tracking than my 60D in bright light, and is quite a bit better in darker situations, if only at the center point. The image quality is outstanding compared to the 60D, and I feel like lightroom is now Magical with what can be done with the RAW files.

 

[Luds34]

Re: Landscape shooting - Used 5DMII or Used 6D or New 7DMI

You will not be disappointed with the 6D its a far better landscape camera than the 7D MKII. My 6D has been in very hostile conditions on Dartmoor & Snowdonia, been soaked by rain and lived to tell the tale. The images are very very pleasing, yes I can get more detail from my newer 5DS but the 6D is still firmly part of my kit until its replacement arrives.
For landscape the GPS and Wi-Fi are a god send, I use an ipad mini for my live view via the Wi-Fi something I cannot do with the 5DS without resorting to CamRanger which in the UK is £ 290.00 so when viewed from that perspective the 6D is great value for money.

Absolutely. I would like to add that I found the centre point on the 6D to be very capable, also in AI servo mode. It's not a big problem to take action shots with the 6D. There are better options for sure, but that doesn't make the 6D bad. I never really understood why people were bashing it's AF. I rarely missed or misfocused a shot due to the AF, with my 6D.

+1

I'll be the first to lement the focus system of the 6D. It's my biggest complaint. However, keeping it in perspective, the center point is as good as any focus point on any camera. And comparing it so say a T2i I had just a few shorts years ago, it certainly is no worse then that. So in comparison to any other xD (1D, 5D, 7D) camera from Canon, yes the autofocus tracking is subpar, but you can certainly chase around kids, or shoot high school sports, plays, etc. You just may have to use the center point and crop later to get a more pleasing composition.

In short, I think you'll be happy with the 6D, especially the images it produces. That lack of outer focus points, the focal system, just may require you to get creative once in a while.

 

[nhz]

Thanks all for your input. I've decided that I'm going to try and move to a full frame setup.

I'll have to sell my current gear first to fund the upgrade path, but in the long run I think this is more the area I want to move to. Probably will be a 6D, unless the price of used 5DMIII's come down during the time it takes me to sell all my current gear.

I have the same subjects, landscape (where FF body shines, with the right WA lenses) and wildlife (where other factors like pixel density/reach, AF performance and speed are important). I'm seriously considering to move to Nikon because IMHO their bodies, e.g. the D750, offer a better compromise for these type of subjects plus much better low ISO DR and a tilt screen which is missing from all 'serious' Canon bodies. I prefer Canon lenses and most of my current ones are EF (not EF-S) but still ...

I guess in the end it depends on your priorities for these different types of subject and the types of lenses you use most.

 

[PCM-madison]

I have both the 6D and 7DMII, and I frequently have landscape and wildlife as subjects.

On the 6D
1) I think it is a great landscape camera
2) I agree that the center AF point works really well in most situations
3) I've had very good luck in poor weather conditions. I've hiked 50+ miles in Glacier National Park with my 6D + 24-105L exposed on a Cotton Carrier with rain, light snow, passage through waterfalls, etc. and had no problems
4) Smaller size and lighter weight can help when pack space is limited

That said, the 7DMII is a great camera, and if I could only keep one it would be the 7DMII
1) Better AF matters a lot for wildlife
2) Better build could make high difference in the field
3) Higher frame rate matters a lot for wildlife
3) More features including built in interval timer are very useful for landscape and other situations
4) The potential disadvantage in terms of DOF for crop is not relevant at apertures I use for landscape photos
5) The potential disadvantage in terms of pixel level image quality is minimal using top quality Canon lenses, typical landscape apertures, and the final print sizes that I use

Hope this helps
Paul

 

[mackguyver]

If you're wondering why no one is suggesting the 5DII, it's for good reason. The camera was amazing in its day, but the 6D is far better for landscapes. The 5DII's shadows are well, crap. They are noisy and banded, especially if you push them more than a stop or so. I upgraded from a 60D or 7D and couldn't believe how much worse the shadows were over my crop bodies, even at ISO 100-400.

Unless you have lots of crop lenses or need to shoot in extreme conditions, the 6D is the way to go over the 7II.

 

[Sporgon]

If you're wondering why no one is suggesting the 5DII, it's for good reason. The camera was amazing in its day, but the 6D is far better for landscapes. The 5DII's shadows are well, crap. They are noisy and banded, especially if you push them more than a stop or so.

We could have a real argument over that ! I tend to use the 5DII over the 6D for landscape when shooting in the region of 100 ISO from a tripod. At base ISO the data from the 5DII is, if anything cleaner when exposed even moderately correctly, you could argue too clean in fact, it can be quite 'unreal' and textureless. I tend to add grain / noise using one of the film simulation filters. I really don't understand this "5DII shadows are crap" statement at all. Noisy and banded ? Not in the least unless you really get into data abuse, and if you do that to the 6D it's not that brilliant either in terms of tonality.

It's fair to say the 5DII isn't as forgiving of severe under exposure as many other cameras, even ones of the same era, but for me that's just academic.

 

[fosterscape]

Well this has all given me quite a bit to think about.
I've flipped flopped a few times on what I'm going to do.

I've taken some great (to me) landscape shots with my 7D in the past and more than anything I want to develop my skills as a photographer more than I need to spend money on my equipment. That said it would be nice to have GPS and a few extra features. And having an unreliable camera (which is what my current 7D is, with the Error 30 randomly appearing), is holding me back more than crop vs full frame.

So since I already have a Canon EF-S 10-22mm, EF-S 15-85mm, EF 70-300mm and filters for them. I think my best bet is to go for the 7DMII.

Then I can look at adding a better tripod/ball head setup more lenses, speedlights or what ever else I may want to explore before needing to completely swap all my lenses and gear to move up to full frame.

And who knows, by that time...a 6D Mark II might be a better option.

Thanks again.

 

[Larsskv]

Well this has all given me quite a bit to think about.
I've flipped flopped a few times on what I'm going to do.

I've taken some great (to me) landscape shots with my 7D in the past and more than anything I want to develop my skills as a photographer more than I need to spend money on my equipment. That said it would be nice to have GPS and a few extra features. And having an unreliable camera (which is what my current 7D is, with the Error 30 randomly appearing), is holding me back more than crop vs full frame.

So since I already have a Canon EF-S 10-22mm, EF-S 15-85mm, EF 70-300mm and filters for them. I think my best bet is to go for the 7DMII.

Then I can look at adding a better tripod/ball head setup more lenses, speedlights or what ever else I may want to explore before needing to completely swap all my lenses and gear to move up to full frame.

And who knows, by that time...a 6D Mark II might be a better option.

Thanks again.

Both are great options. As I said earlier, if given the choice, and could only chose one, guess I would pick the 7DII. Good luck!

 

[Maiaibing]

FWIW, I am sticking with an upgrade in the full frame realm. Was sure to be 1DX II but at 20.2 MP I'm now waffling. My birds almost always get cropped significantly so I need every MP I can get. 22 I could live with, 24 would have been super.

Crop shines for reach not wide FOV (landscape) so that would be the factor for me. There seem to be good used 6D's for pretty low prices and the 24-105 is also a bargain.

Get the 5DS/R. Problem solved.

 

[fosterscape]

Well I sold my Canon 10-22mm lens the other day, so that's a start.

I'd like to pick up a used 6D locally to save on some cash, but so far there is nothing in the used camera listings around here. If nothing comes up I may just buy it new as a kit with the 24-105 f4 lens.

At least that will get me started, then I need to find a good used 16-35mm or something similar.

 

[rfdesigner]

Well I sold my Canon 10-22mm lens the other day, so that's a start.

I'd like to pick up a used 6D locally to save on some cash, but so far there is nothing in the used camera listings around here. If nothing comes up I may just buy it new as a kit with the 24-105 f4 lens.

At least that will get me started, then I need to find a good used 16-35mm or something similar.

I picked up a Grey 6D with 3 yrs warranty... in country repairs using canon approved repairers if it all goes wrong. (UK)

Price: £850, about the same as good second hand.

Not regretting the pruchase for one second.. it's a fabulous camera.

 

[NancyP]

Yep, you will be very happy with the 6D. All the things you need for landscape photography, none of the bells and whistles to clutter things up. I often use it in manual focus mode, and use manual exposure, so it reminds me of the old days (late 1960s 35mm Mamiya-Sekor DTL 1000, my beloved first real camera). Humorously enough, sometimes I use old manual film era lenses on it - Canon accommodates M42 screw mount, Nikkor F mount, and several other types of adapters.

 

[Ryan708]

Well I sold my Canon 10-22mm lens the other day, so that's a start.

I'd like to pick up a used 6D locally to save on some cash, but so far there is nothing in the used camera listings around here. If nothing comes up I may just buy it new as a kit with the 24-105 f4 lens.

At least that will get me started, then I need to find a good used 16-35mm or something similar.

I'm not sure where you live, but the refurbished stuff on the canon USA website is often a great deal, and the refurbished items I have purchased all appeared brand new. I am loving my 6D! I might pick up a fixed 14mm manual focus for my UWA lens, as I basically used my EF-S 10-18 as a 10mm prime anyways.

 

[fosterscape]

Just as a follow up for anyone that may be reading this thread, you may find this helpful if you are trying to decided between crop and full frame.

After looking at all the potential costs of full frame vs. crop, I decided to stick with a crop sensor.
Ignoring the camera body prices, I looked at what range of lenses I would want with either Full Frame or APS-C and obviously I can have more options for less by sticking with a crop sensor and EF-S lenses.

I realize the crop sensor is not the "optimal" body for landscape photography, but for my budget and the type of build quality I want it fits perfectly to my needs for now. If some day my budget allows for a full frame body and range of lenses that would be useful I can always sell all my crop gear and move on.

So given that budget is a big part of this, I was very pleased to find a used 7DMKII body at the camera store for much less than a new one. That was enough of a savings to buy a used EF-S 10-22mm and some filters and still be within my budget.

 

[TexPhoto]

Fantastic. Get out there and shoot the piss out of it.

 

[cpsico]

Hi,

I've got a Canon 7D that I've been using for a few years now and it's a great camera, but I would like to make the move to a full frame setup. Also the the 7D is experiencing intermittent problems, with "Error 30" (shutter sticking) appearing from time to time.

I do a lot of landscape photography, some action (kids/wildlife/birds). Now that the 6D has been around for awhile the used prices in my area are around the same as for the older 5D Mark II. But with either option I would also need to buy lenses as mine are EF-S.

For the price of a used 5DMII/6D + a lens, I could buy a new 7DMII and just use the lenses I already have (Canon EF-S 15-85mmm, 10-22mm). I would like to go full frame, but I've been getting along with aps-c so far even for my landscape photos, and the newer 7DMII is tempting.

Any thoughts on the best option?

I have both the 5d II and the 6d is far superior with the exception of the lcd for landscape

 

[RGF]

as MKIV comes out MKIII will drop in price. Wait few more months and pick up a nice camera for a lot less than they are now!

pierre

good idea. I would opt for FF vs a crop sensor for landscape. Well that is my $0.02