Just Posted: Canon EOS 6D In-depth Review

and what is the charm of 5D ? I'm not being cynic but curious

Ak pinxit wrote: "what is the charm of 5D ? I'm not being cynic but curious"

I can only describe it as an aesthetically pleasing quality I find in many examples of 5D (version 1) images I've seen. YMMV

After reading your comment I've got a bit curious and went through DPR sample gallery of 5D. While the samples were certainly great visually, I am astonished how much shadow noise was present in higher ISO images in those days.

You haven't read the review thoroughly.
It's mentioned VERY clearly (QC). Have a look.

And don't hesitate to come back and edit your post.

Clean sensors rock guys. Common sense. Go take your risk. Your money anyway.

Look at my posts below. I like this camera. That's beside the point, however.

You didn't read the review thoroughly. Only thing missing was a DxO-conspiracy reference. Wet cleaning a sensor is not rocket science. Takes a bit of patience - and the right tools.
Or a small cash amount - your pick.

In any case - you wasted the opportunity to go back - read and really comprehend what the review said.

Wet-cleaning sensors is soooooo 20th century. At this time and age of manufacturing? Come on! I read the entire review of the 6D. What is clearly missing in the D600 review is a factual statement that should have said "for those who are lucky to purchase a unit without the QC problems, it is a terrific camera." Hope and luck have ceased to be bankable manufacturing strategies, last that I know.

?

"Something that we've definitely got our eye on though, and which we'll be in a better position to comment on over time, is the D600's apparent tendency to attract sensor dust. We're working with Nikon to understand (and further test) this issue and we'll update this review accordingly as we use the camera over time."

!

Does not change the fact that it should have been called out more strongly. That until QC problems on the very sensor are conclusively kissed goodbye, avoid this camera. Or be prepared to wet clean your sensor, if I may quote you.

Of course.

I'm afraid we'll have to get used to poor QC - unless we pay a premium.

All camera manufacturers have to make money. Nikon is no exception. In the face of ever increasing raw material costs (magnesium e.g.) and outsourced sensor production, there is only one option:

Reduction of the labour force. Including those working in QC.
Very 21st century, if I may paraphrase you.

Just have a look at the 5D3 pricing vs. the 5D2. And you still need some black tape to prevent light from entering the camera thorugh the top plate.

I can live with this tradeoff for a very fairly priced camera.

Dirt on the VERY sensor is miles apart from black tape problem. But you're right about QC compromises and cutting corners. Too bad Nikon benchmarked with us a few years back at Intel and yet it appears they learned little about package design and assembly.

@Noogy
You really are sad...
the 6D is a nice camera, enjoy...
That does not change the fact that on paper and in real world shooting it is outclassed by the Nikon D600.
You can complain all you want about dirty sensor. It takes 5 minutes to clean, however, you cannot clean up less dynamic range, slower frame rate, more focusing points, built in flash, more megapixels...As I said, enjoy your camera

Noggy...buyer's remorse can be a real b$tch sometimes.

Personally, if Canikon removed the bright, beautiful OVFs of their FF cameras in favor of an EVF, I'd never buy one.

I can relate to that, but I think it is about how you work.

I like to view my subject with my eyes, without the camera to my face, only peering through the VF for a relatively short period of time to frame and take the shot. I don't spend a lot of time gazing through the VF, perhaps almost hiding behind the camera (?) :)

With an EVF, you instantly get a feel for if the WB and the Exposure is right, before you shoot. I love it and would never go back now.

But thats just me. :)

You can always attach a field monitor on any DSLR if you thirst for the EVF. Superb implementation of live view also works. I own the Sony NEX-5, it is a wonderful camera. But hell no, it is nowhere close to the image quality of FF DSLRs.

Seconded. I think the level of detail in the reviews doesn't get enough mention here. I've just made a purchase (different camera) and the immense review makes me feel like I already know it inside out. I particularly benefitted from being able to download RAW files, then download RAW files taken with a 7D (which I own) of the same scene, process them both myself and really understand what I'm going to be using.

That alone was worth more than the subscription price ;)

The links are fixed, that was my fault (and Dreamweaver's fault for being so awkward)

That's not what he was confused about. Why does 82% = Gold but 83% = Silver. Apparently there is no correlation between percentage score and medal colour. It's all pretty silly anyway and doesn't matter. The fact is the 6D takes great photos as does any modern camera so it's down to personal preference as to whether you choose the 6D, the D600 or whatever else.

That doesn't answer my question! It is a major joke, that the folks of the leading site of camera reviews, are not able to review the flagships of Canon and Nikon. I know it's Carnival, but hey!

Maybe if we all paid a subscription they could hire more people to do what seem to be extremely comprehensive technical evaluations.

But you don't need to know all the really techie stuff do you? If you take great photos no-one will notice whether it's 120lpm or 130lpm, it you take crap photos no amount of lpm will improve them.

What I'm saying is you can get too obsessed over tiny details that no-one would have noticed or even cared about before the technology evolved to measure them.

Jesus shoots m43 so doesn't care.

Chuck Norris shoots Canon. He doesn't like words like "Micro".
And we all know that Chuck'll roundhouse kick anyone who disagrees.

No blasphemy intended. Just facts.

I think you'll be surprised how many people will benefit from WiFi.

But yes the quite (sic) mode is quiet good.

I think things like wifi will be tried once and forgotten about as a pointless gimmick. That is unless people are really buying a FF camera to upload pics to facebook? Nah....

No wifi is not a gimmick on this camera. It's a necessity since it lacks an articulated screen.

It's easy to make denigrating remarks about WiFi being for users of Facebook (which very few will ever use it for) but as a facility for wirelessly linking a large, high resolution screen such as that in an iPad, as a remote viewfinder it's brilliant.

wifi allows remote wireless tethering in the field - especially with a half decent app that canon supplies.

hardly a "no one ever uses" feature. same with GPS.

the GPS functionality actually goes beyond the normal camera or flash hotshoe triggered GPS add ons by allowing trip logging.

There is no Built-In Flash because the Pentaprism of a Full Frame camera is bigger than that of an APS-C cropped sensor camera, thus occupying the area where the flash should be hidden.

If you pop up the flash of a cropped sensor camera, you will see the shape of the penta-mirror and how small it is.

And how does nikon manage to put one in d600 and d800?
granted the 6D has wifi and gps patches in it, why 5D2 or 5D3 doesn't have built in flash ?

The problem is it's NOT clearly better than the D600 at high ISO settings. See the DxOMark comparison:

http://www.dxomark.com/index.php/Publications/DxOMark-Reviews/Canon-EOS-6D-The-best-value-for-money-in-the-EOS-range/Comparisons

For a FF camera your really should compare the RAW files, not NR jpgs.

No. But it's a lot more noticeable on the D600. The trouble with the D6 focus points is that they are in a diamond when 9 times out of 10 you'll want one on a thirds intersection, sooner or later camera makers will wake up to this and give us proper point coverage in a large rectangle,instead we get hundreds of points in places they aren't needed! Makes me wonder if cameras are even designed by photographers sometimes....

same for me. Other than that the camera would be perfect for my needs, but without the improvement in AF coverage, I'll keep the 5d mkI for few more years. I also wish they keep the joystick.

edit: the smaller size in nice though, if I had nothing to shoot with, I'd be torn between this and used 5d mkII

I agree on this... is there some advantage (less cost) to putting all the focus points jammed in the middle? It seems obvious that they ought to be around the third points, but they hardly ever are.

5Dmk3 doesn't do 8.5fps, but I'm assuming he didn't jump to a D4, either.

I don't get the negative reception this camera is receiving. It appears to be a great example of a no-frills "photographer's camera". The bells and whistles people are complaining about are either items you'd find on Pro cameras, or consumer cameras. I like the route Canon have taken.

PS: just because it's a budget camera doesn't mean it needs consumer features.
PS2: just because it's a budget camera doesn't mean it can't be an enthusiast's camera. Not all enthusiasts are rich.

It just comes off as a designed by the numbers camera spawned into existence by the expectation that Nikon would release a lower tier FF camera (which turned out to be a more generously specced model which genuinely occupies it's own niche - people with no need for 36 megapixels) rather than a camera conceived in it's own right to be as good as it can possibly be for the price.

As a Canon APS-C shooter, this camera is not a straight upgrade. That's the problem for me. I could upgrade from my 60D, but I'd give up many key features just to get a bigger sensor. They don't even match the spec of the 650D! I don't think anyone is saying it isn't capable of great images, it is just kind of a 2 steps forward, 2 steps back kind of camera.

60D has higher fps, wireless flash control, built in flash, all cross point AF, 1/8000, swivel LCD,

My main gripes are the lack of cross type AF points and wireless flash control. It puts it way down at entry level in my view.

I handled one at Bestbuy the other day along with the 5DIII. Very nice ergos indeed, and mouse quiet compared to my D800. Bravo, Canon!

The two new Canons definitely feel better in big hands than the two Nikons.

The quiet shutter is definitely nice - as a lapsed concert photographer I'd have loved that feature.

Is the quiet shutter considerably more quiet than the Q setting on the D800?

Yes, it is - it's really whisper quiet (well, as far as a camera can whisper). The D600/D800 are quieter than they sound from the perspective of the photographer, but the 6D's genuinely is quiet.

I'm pretty sure the 6D has sold very well in comparison to the camera models you've mentioned. Looking at the strength of Canon and Nikon's distributor networks as well as their market share, I would assume the priority would be to get a review of the D600 and 6D out.

That being said, I want to see a GH3 review. :D

For the record, the 6D arrived in our office late afternoon, Jan 18, a Friday. The review started the following Monday, Jan 21. And we published today, which is a shade over 3 weeks.

Where on earth did you get the idea that the 6D "barely exists in the real world"? Canon has a huge user base, the 6D is selling in big numbers (See Amazon sales ranking to get a sense of the US market) so any FF Canon is big news. Whether it's your cup of tea or not, that's just the way it is.

The G5 has similar IQ performance to the G3 (a bit better DR), with a more robust body, and 1080p60 video instead of 1080p30 of the G3.
The GH3 is an extremely difficult camera to get a hold of as supplies are limited. It's a highly desirable video camera with decent still quality. Similar to the G5, it has a larger, more robust body vs the GH2. How's that?

But seriously, mirrorless and m43 cameras get more than enough coverage on DPR. Sometimes too much, IMHO.

Hey Barney can we also implement a dislike rating as well, so we can register our displeasure with some of these ludicrous assertions from the likes of Bob Meyer?

Amazon owns dpreview, I would think there are plenty of cameras available. I don't understand why it takes so long for dpreview to get a hand on cameras.

@Jun2 - we can't (sadly) just take cameras out of Amazon stock to review. That stock is distributed across the entire continent and doing so is hugely complicated and expensive. We rely on manufacturers to send us review samples (just like everyone else).

in the D600 the AF points are clustered in the centre, not much of a difference imo, just on the paper. The frame rate does count instead, and the sync speed too. Infrared wireless and pop up flash are a joke, honestly. Get a radio system if you are serious about it. I like that Canon just gets rid of it all together. One more thing that can break and one less distraction without it. What is the point of DX mode? Only if you get a boost in the frame rate. Not needed in the 20MP and 4-5 fps range. D600 image quality is likely to be another bonus over the 6D.

Does the D600 AF actually work better than the 6D 's in real life? Specs say it's got it all over the Canon, but real world feedback is less than stellar.

Seriously ? You can't transfert images to a computer through WIFI ?
It sounds like a joke, why such limitation ?

You CAN transfer pictures to a computer...I own 6D and I did it few times already. You can even transfer them as you shot, as long as camera is connected are connected.

@MAubrey

Faster image processing on the computer. Every procedure, like unsharp masking, will take time proportional to the number of pixels.

That, together with gaining storage, can be a big deal.

I do just fine with my 5Dc at 12MP. I could use maybe up to 16. But over that, I don't need it at all, and it just slows down my workflow, which is mainly done on a 3 year old macbook pro.

@bobbarber Like a 4 mp difference is really gonna make your work flow faster, the difference between 20/24mp is nothing, you wont see a considerable difference unless your going from either the 10-12mp range to 20-24mp or 36mp where its a huge difference from 12mp range.

@imax,

I see your point, but you're incorrect. In computing times, even a couple of percent makes a big difference. If you just look at a single picture for a half hour on the screen, or never multi-task, maybe it's different for you.

Computing time is a serious argument against image bloat.

Nikon has never put a pop-up flash on a pro-body DSLR but has put one on every other DSLR, APS-C or full frame including the D700, then D800, and the most recent D600.

This isn't a normal camera. It's an attempt to sell a full frame camera to the non professional consumer. I have a 5D Mark II and a 50D. I was hoping to sell both then buy the 6D if it had a built in flash. There are times when I want to travel light and leave the speed light at home. I could never do that with the 5D. When I look at the 6D, I think, why not save up for the 5d Mark III? There's nothing compelling about the 6D. Nikon got it right with the D600 with a built in flash. I have too much Canon gear to change brands. I may see what the 7D Mark II has, but I doubt it will be full frame.

The lack of flash is kind of weird.

I thought the mountain/snow/fog ISO 100 shot was spectacular.

The ISO 3200 photo of the girl with one side of her face lit? It could have used flash fill.

Plus the fact that you can use the built-in flash on the d600 as a commander. That itself is almost more useful than the flash, imo...

with current ISO performance and 4 stop image stabilization lenses, no flash is better than a bad flash. I am glad that Canon recognizes this. If you like to spend more than $2000 on a camera and you want a pop up flash you probably do not deserve that camera...

armandino...you obviously never heard of a fill-flash, which many of us use.
What an unintelligent generalization.

Canon is greedy, they want you to plunk down $x00.00 to buy a flash, which is very profitable.

What kind of clueless dumbass uses a piddly built-in unit for serious full-frame photography? Seriously,, listen to yourselves. Stick to the T3is & Nikons,, come back to Canon when you need a real camera.

Yeah, with friends like Juck who needs enemas?