Field Test: Kiliii Fish and the Canon EOS Rebel T6i in Alaska
In this field test we follow photographer Kiliii Fish to the Arctic - specifically, the tiny fishing village of Barrow, Alaska. Using the Canon EOS Rebel T6i - Canon's 24MP entry-level DSLR - Kiliii has come to Barrow to document how the indigenous population is adapting to the changing environment up here in the far North.
If you could afford the 600mm you'd have a 1D or 5D body. The body price of the t6i falls in the disposable camera category relative to the price of the lenses shown in this video. Looks like a Canon commercial.
One of the best photo documentary series I have seen. Killiii Fish gives equal attention to the environment, the people, the culture and the camera in a smooth, informative and never over hyped way. He reminds me of another videographer I greatly respect, Jimmy Chin.
Very nice video and great images. The people seem to really enjoy that part of the world. And we complain about the weather down here in Canada. What a beautiful area, and beautiful people.
Excellent executed video from content to production. I'm really enjoying these. About the gear- I think most gear these days would exceed most expectations in durability and performance in a practical shooting environment.
Thats ridiculous. No one other than a troll would suggest that Rebel cameras are useless junk. All they are saying is that they offer the worst price to performance ratio in the market right now.
Hmmm. For $900 you get the T6i, 18-55mm and the 55-250mm. Is this really the worst deal out there? I dont think so. Price performance wise its not so bad.
Well told mini-doc. Love the basement scene. People underestimate the ability of their unsealed low-end dslrs. If you live in Alaska you will find many folks who use the low-end Canon and Nikon equipment all year long.
Nice video, fascinating location and some fantastic sceneries. As regards the camera: the pictures are good mostly because of expensive fullframe glass and only to a lesser exted because of the camera; I believe every APSC or m4/3 camera would be able to do the same or better. Anyhow a weather sealed body would definitely be more suited (like the Pentax cameras).
Just goes to show it's rarely the gear that matters, it's what's in front of the lens. You don't need to spend a fortune now to be able to produce good images
Perhaps video is not like photography. There is a world of difference between. For photography, T6i should have microAF adjustment or should be a mirrorless camera. Game over.
Remember a few years ago when Luminous Landscape went to the Antarctic and the Canons failed because of some kind of salt-spray issue? People ended up using P&S's. On a $14,000 a person trip! I guess they overcame that issue?
Salt water is a big no-no for any digital equipment (unless entire waterproof) due to its high corrosiveness. Wouldn't be any different with a Pentax, or Nikon, or Olympus ...
Amazing to see how many shots can be taken in a flat land of white emptiness. There's always something interesting out there... Don't whine, just go and shoot. Lots of respect for Kiliii and the team behind this short film.
The T6i held up pretty well. There was some noticeable grain in low light and it seemed to have trouble nailing focus on the long lens (which is to be expected without considerable fine-tuning), but it goes to show that you can get away with a lot on today's entry-level cameras. Great choice of subject matter, too.
Why do so many folks either lose the eyecup or choose to take it off? I see it constantly for other owners as well so I'm not sure if people are losing it, or somehow they prefer it without one (which I would find bizarre too).
The moral of the story is that Rebel T6i got the job done well in this occasion, in a taxing environment. This article also demonstrates how important it is to have good glass.
While this was interesting to watch, videos like this always look unnatural. There's that feeling all the time reminding that it's all fake. I look at a professional photographer with a set of pro ff lenses and lighting that cost more than a car, in a harsh environment - using a cheap rebel body... and that combo just doesn't make sense, every time I see it I almost hear the photographer saying "yeah, of course no professional in their right mind would bring this piece of crap to Alaska, but I got paid by Canon to promote it so please put up with my bullsh*t for a few more minutes". :)
I think these ads should not only be called what they are ("advertisement" instead of "field test"), but they also should be planned with a bit more thought. It looks stupid when a pro uses a rebel in snowy Alaska, but it'd look a lot more natural in some city hipster portrait photo sessions, for example (or wherever a plastic rebel is not completely out of its element, like it is in Alaska).
The whole point of taking the t6i on this trip was to see how well an entry-level camera could perform and I would challenge anyone, looking at the pictures that Kiliii captured in Barrow, to say that the camera didn't do well.
I was honestly a little worried about this shoot, primarily because I didn't think the T6i would be able to cope in the environment, but I was very, very impressed by how well it did - including how easy it was to operate with gloves on. We shot most of this video on an EOS C300 II, and the rest of it was shot on the T6i and even in extreme cold they did not quit. And that's just a fact.
So yeah - it was out of its element. But I never felt that I was under-equipped.
Barney, that is true, I do believe and i agree with you, however "a-flying-wuss"s point is valid... there is not much sense in showing a small rebel (as capable as it might be) working with lenses and flashes way out of it's league, and price...
Probably it makes sense to have it as a 3rd back up camera to the other 7DII and 5DIII ... but i doubt i will see any photographer with a backpack full of L lenses (and that means a lot of Kg and $) using the T6i as his first choice.
[[working with lenses and flashes way out of it's league, and price...]]
What does this even mean? That certain EOS Cameras are not "worthy" of being used with L lenses because...Reasons? What sort of twisted, myopic view of photography is this?
"What sort of twisted, myopic view of photography is this?"
Rob, I can't tell if you are you genuinely serious, just trolling or just hypocrite (no offense, hope this is not the case, right?)...
In case you are not new on earth, or something... in almost all areas (cars, computers, cameras, etc) there are lines of products, from entry level to the high end model. Differences are in features, ergonomics, design, quality of the build, materials, etc, etc.
Now, of course, the most obvious difference between the models in a line, for an outsider is the price. For someone into the field the differences in features can be much more important.
So... yes, the T6i is a lesser camera than the 7DII (the 7D is much faster, has much better AF, is weather sealed, has a better viewfinder, and the list can go on), so if size is not a decisive matter and price is not either (and they are definitely not - hence the reference to the heavy and expensive backpack), there are no reasons not to choose the better one. Pretty "twisted and myopic" logic, isn't it? :))
I very much enjoyed the video. The interview fragments of the local people made it very inviting and warm. The story line was well choreographed, between camera in the land, and the people of the land. Made me wish for a full length video of Kiliii's trip! I appreciated the tip near the end of the challenge of focus on lower cost cameras, something to keep in mind when I choose between a 5Dx, or a Txx!
Very nice video. Using a huge block of ice as a tripod weight is pretty crafty. It's nice seeing these remote locations and cultures. My only quibble would be showcasing a consumer-oriented body with a $3k UWA lens - doesn't seem very representative of the target market for the camera, esp when Canon offers the very good 10-18mm UWA APS-C lens for $280.
Most of the people who are buying entry level DSLRs can only dream about costly toys like 11-24F4L, 24-70F2.8LII or 70-2002.8LII and traveling to Alaska. Nice promotional video by the way.
As a renter, I'm well aware of the costs. I find your false equivalence here to be odd. If the tools meet the needs then the only factor is the total outlay of money. Spending hundreds (or even $50) more on a body that you don't need is foolish. Renting lenses for a special weekend of shooting is far less expensive than buying those lenses.
Underlying your and the OP's comment here is a rather distasteful layer of snobbery.
[[You argued above: "renting these lenses is so . . . inexpensive," but you didn't give a number. ]]
Woe is me for assuming that anyone visiting this thread would recognize that renting lenses is less expensive than owning them.
[[OK, so what *exactly* is "inexpensive?"]]
11-24mm - $3000 24-70mm II - $1800 70-200mm II - $2000 Total cost: $6800
Let's see if $290 is less than the total cost of all three lenses combined. Hmm. Yep. It is. By a factor of 23.
So, one can spend $290 and use 3 lenses for 4 days for a photo shoot instead of paying $6800. And one could do it again, and again, and, in fact 23 more times, before it would equal the cost of the lenses. How many trips to Alaska does one take as a hobbyist?
You have difficulty reading what people actually write and instead seek to invent things for them to say so you can argue against them. This is known as a strawman. You can stand up as many as you wish, but they are easy to see right through.
I've seen inspiring images captured by photographers using a T2i, T3i, and every other Canon body through the 5D series. Most have used "L" quality glass, and I've never read an article in which the writer says "Buy the best body you can afford, and scrimp on glass." To the contrary, most say buy the body you can best afford, and spend your money on good glass. I'm surprised there are so many "body snobs" critiquing the Rebel while ignoring what it did with the light captured by the lens. The truth is, great images are captured by great photographers in spite of the price of their equipment.
In this field test video we follow photographer Kiliii Fish to the Arctic - specifically, the tiny fishing village of Barrow, Alaska. Using the Canon EOS Rebel T6i - Canon's 24MP entry-level DSLR - Kiliii aims to document how the indigenous population is adapting to the changing environment in the far North. Read more
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