Which is better? 5D MKII or 6D?

[beansauce]

I just bought the 5D2 over both the 5D3 and 6D for the following reasons:

1. The 5D3 is not representative of its price pertaining to features compared with 5D2 (other than AF).
2. The build quality of the 6D and ergonomics is in no way better than the 5D2.
3. The 5D2's AF is NOT BAD AT ALL for those who know what they are doing.
4. The IQ is literally the same between all 3 cameras, aside from the ISO improvements of the 6D and 5D3
5. You can't beat a 5D2 with 24-105 kit for $2299. IT WAS A STEAL... THANKS AMAZON!!!!!
6. The money saved allowed me to justify a 70-200L IS II.

I am 1000 percent happy with the 5D2, including the AF which a lot of folks love to hate. Having said that, I'm not tracking birds with a 600L or on the side of a football game machine gunning. Possibly those folks need the extra AF points and most likely don't care about the price since their organization pays the bill anyways.

I will use the $h!t out of this camera until the 5D4 is released around 2016 or so. Hopefully we will see a new generation in sensor design (not that the 5D3 and 6D are bad) that is clearly not simply an incremental upgrade in IQ.

 

[beansauce]

I forgot to mention that, yes, I've used both the 5D3 and 6D for a few days each and STILL went for the 5D2... I particularly can't stand the 6D's ergonomics. The multi directional pad is missing and feels like a cheap rebel. The only feature of both the 5D3 and 6D that I envy is the silent shutter mode. The 5D2 is a loud monster.

 

[wickidwombat]

I just bought the 5D2 over both the 5D3 and 6D for the following reasons:

1. The 5D3 is not representative of its price pertaining to features compared with 5D2 (other than AF).
2. The build quality of the 6D and ergonomics is in no way better than the 5D2.
3. The 5D2's AF is NOT BAD AT ALL for those who know what they are doing.
4. The IQ is literally the same between all 3 cameras, aside from the ISO improvements of the 6D and 5D3
5. You can't beat a 5D2 with 24-105 kit for $2299. IT WAS A STEAL... THANKS AMAZON!!!!!
6. The money saved allowed me to justify a 70-200L IS II.

I am 1000 percent happy with the 5D2, including the AF which a lot of folks love to hate. Having said that, I'm not tracking birds with a 600L or on the side of a football game machine gunning. Possibly those folks need the extra AF points and most likely don't care about the price since their organization pays the bill anyways.

I will use the $h!t out of this camera until the 5D4 is released around 2016 or so. Hopefully we will see a new generation in sensor design (not that the 5D3 and 6D are bad) that is clearly not simply an incremental upgrade in IQ.

Some valid points however I think you are understimting the image quality differences between the 5Dmk2 and the mk3 I use both all the time and the 5Dmk3 images give alot more latitude in pp than the mk2 and as for high iso... its not even a contest the mk3 kills the mk2.

as you correctly pointed out the current deals for 5Dmk2 and 24-105L are simply awesome and certainly give alot of bang for your bucks

 

[greger]

This might be of interest.

http://snapsort.com/compare/Canon-EOS-6D-vs-Canon_EOS_5D_Mark_II

 

[verysimplejason]

This might be of interest.

http://snapsort.com/compare/Canon-EOS-6D-vs-Canon_EOS_5D_Mark_II
[/quote

I'm never a big fan of snapsort. Mostly they get their information from DXO and that's it. Sorry but I think this site is mainly for amateurs.

 

[Marsu42]

This might be of interest.

It is, as a beautiful example of building a website with zero editorial content but with some php/sql knowledge - and then letting users generate some background noise in the comment section.

The big failure here is that there's no evaluation on how important the spec differences are - but "objective" comparisons like that make manufacturers juggle with specs to either position a camera above the external competition or under the internal competition (Canon 5d3).

If you want to read some less obvious (positive) facts about the 6d, read this: http://www.canonrumors.com/forum/index.php?topic=11309.30

 

[kubelik]

the more annoying thing about snapsort is sometimes they flat out get the specs wrong.

 

[RLPhoto]

The 6D is a slightly-microwaved 5D2 and re-served to us canonites for the next 4 years. ;D

 

[verysimplejason]

3. The 5D2's AF is NOT BAD AT ALL for those who know what they are doing.

if YOU knew what your saying you would not make such a simple statement.

the 5D MK2 AF is BAD compared to the MK3 AF for anything that needs tracking... period.


it has absolutely nothing to do with "those who know what they are doing".
those who know what they are doing, will have a way higher number of keepers with the 5D MK3 tracking.

a F1 driver, no matter how good, can not compete with a ford bronco on a F1 racetrack.

I think it all depends on where you want to use it. For sports, 5D2 won't have much keepers. Maybe for the good photographers, around 1 out of 5. For stills, 5D2 is great already. Having said that, I'd still take 6D. The difference in price isn't much.

 

[Zlatko]

5D2 > 6D better VF

Is that true? Does anyone else feel that the 5D2 viewfinder is better than that of the 6D? If the 5D2 viewfinder is better, what exactly is better about it? I have a 5D2 but not a 6D and haven't had a chance to handle a 6D. Thanks in advance.

 

[Chosenbydestiny]

3. The 5D2's AF is NOT BAD AT ALL for those who know what they are doing.

if YOU knew what your saying you would not make such a simple statement.

the 5D MK2 AF is BAD compared to the MK3 AF for anything that needs tracking... period.


it has absolutely nothing to do with "those who know what they are doing".
those who know what they are doing, will have a way higher number of keepers with the 5D MK3 tracking.

a F1 driver, no matter how good, can not compete with a ford bronco on a F1 racetrack.

I think it all depends on where you want to use it. For sports, 5D2 won't have much keepers. Maybe for the good photographers, around 1 out of 5. For stills, 5D2 is great already. Having said that, I'd still take 6D. The difference in price isn't much.

+1 It's easily more appealing than a 5D mark II for most purposes, especially indoor photography.

 

[Chosenbydestiny]

5D2 > 6D better VF

Is that true? Does anyone else feel that the 5D2 viewfinder is better than that of the 6D? If the 5D2 viewfinder is better, what exactly is better about it? I have a 5D2 but not a 6D and haven't had a chance to handle a 6D. Thanks in advance.

In my experience the 5D2 viewfinder is slightly darker, not that big of a deal in broad daylight. But you'll definitely notice the 6D's viewfinder is brighter in low light situations. I can't see the difference between 98% or 97%, it feels just the same.

 

[Zlatko]

5D2 > 6D better VF

Is that true? Does anyone else feel that the 5D2 viewfinder is better than that of the 6D? If the 5D2 viewfinder is better, what exactly is better about it? I have a 5D2 but not a 6D and haven't had a chance to handle a 6D. Thanks in advance.

In my experience the 5D2 viewfinder is slightly darker, not that big of a deal in broad daylight. But you'll definitely notice the 6D's viewfinder is brighter in low light situations. I can't see the difference between 98% or 97%, it feels just the same.

Thanks! Slightly brighter in low light would be better for me.

 

[Aglet]

The 6D is a slightly-microwaved 5D2 and re-served to us canonites for the next 4 years. ;D

+2/3

6D does have MINOR IQ improvements over the average 5D2:

- base ISO FPN is improved
- hi ISO is noticeably superior
- center AF point is better in low light
- love that quiet shutter
- intro price isn't horrid

BUT - the midtone fixed pattern noise I found on my 5D2 is still present, if reduced, on the 6D I tested - a minor but there it is, possible issue.

There's likely a few points in the 5D2's favor, like build quality, but I'll leave those to someone who likes the 5d2 to state.

 

[wickidwombat]

5D2 > 6D better VF

Is that true? Does anyone else feel that the 5D2 viewfinder is better than that of the 6D? If the 5D2 viewfinder is better, what exactly is better about it? I have a 5D2 but not a 6D and haven't had a chance to handle a 6D. Thanks in advance.

In my experience the 5D2 viewfinder is slightly darker, not that big of a deal in broad daylight. But you'll definitely notice the 6D's viewfinder is brighter in low light situations. I can't see the difference between 98% or 97%, it feels just the same.

Thanks! Slightly brighter in low light would be better for me.

I felt the 98% on the 5Dmk2 slightly brighter than the 97% of the 6D
not as big as a difference as a 100% vs either is though

I would think an EG-S screen would make the 5Dmk2 and 6D pretty much on par though

 

[wickidwombat]

I'm not going to bother reading past posts in this thread There is only one aspect how the 6D beats the 5D3. And here's how you come by that…

You buy a 6D when you always wanted a 5D3. You convince yourself you 'saved' money. (I've always had a hard time with the notion of saving while spending)


I've got nothing against the 6D personally, I'm actually in that 'other 6D' thread camp where you are wondering which camera would make a better backup body to the 5D3... the 6D or the 5D2.

the discussion is the 6D vs the 5Dmk2 not the mk3
anyone that thinks the 6D is better than the mk3 is kidding themselves

 

[icantpickaname13]

5. You can't beat a 5D2 with 24-105 kit for $2299. IT WAS A STEAL... THANKS AMAZON!!!!!
6. The money saved allowed me to justify a 70-200L IS II.

Actually you can: http://www.canonrumors.com/2013/01/deal-canon-eos-6d-bundles-at-bh-photo/
6D for $2499 (With no tax which Amazon does have in my state and 2% =$49.98 in B&H rewards and another 2% from my credit card company)
But please hook me up with your link for a $100-200 70-200 2.8L ISII because that's a steal!

Also: for those saying CF>SD and it will cost a fortune for new cards have you looked up prices for SD online lately? One quick search and $59.95 for a 64GB sandisk extreme (about 2,500 RAWs) from B&H with 45mb/s so if you can afford a Canon Full frame in any flavor I'd say you can afford a few SD's ???