new T6s (760D) vs. used 5D mark II

Hi All,

Two cameras from the topic can now be bought at exactly the same price. So the natural question is which one would be a better choice.

I look for the camera that will perform better in low light scenery. It would be great if I could shoot at ISO 6400 and obtain usable results. I am not however sure if any of these models is capable of achieving this.

I use camera to take pictures of my kids. Often indoor. Unfortunately during fall/winter is so dark at my house that high ISO is required. My currently owned 550D can deliver good image quality only up to ISO 800 - anything above that is getting ugly. That's the reason for replacing my current camera. I already have some Canon lenses (mainly prime) so don't want to switch to other system for now.

Many thanks for any valuable input!

Best,

Michael

I do not know exactly the difference between those models, but AFAIK the greatest leap in ISO usability from Canon on APS-C sensors is the sensor in 80D. It definetely has a lot less noise compared to previous models, that is because image converters(A/D) are placed directly on the sensor which is a first for Canon. As you describe your usage scenario it would be a good idea to stretch for the 80D. 300$ more expensive, but a lot less likely you get dissatisfied. The autofocus is also much improved in the 80D.

The 6D also has excellent low iso performance, maybe even better than 80D, but it is a couple of hundred dollars more expensive and has a lot worse autofocus which you might need(kids).

First I want to clear up any confusion. You said "low light scenery", which suggests landscapes, then you say "pictures of my kids", so maybe you meant low light scenes?

If it is landscapes then all you need is a tripod (set your ISO low and allow the shutter to open as long as it needs to). But let's assume you mean handheld night scenes in the home.

The 5D II has the advantage of capturing more light on the larger sensor, so it's ahead from the start, then it comes down to lenses - the 5D can take advantage of wide-angle wide-aperture lenses, like a 35/1.4. Of course you can put those lenses on a 760D, but they won't be wide-angle on that format. If you already have a lens like that, the 5D is the obvious choice, but if you don't you really need to get one to get the most out of that format.

For inspiration - Family Photographers: Shoot Wide Primes!

Have you ever considered buying a speedlite / flash?

I also mainly shoot my kids indoors - so it is dark and they are moving but there is a white ceiling. I used to have a Rebel T3 with the kit lens, using a Speedlite 430 EX II pointed to the ceiling or walls. I ajusted the ISO lower manually and it gave me good results (considering the price of a faster lens, for example - or the appearence of the built in flash).

Michael Polanski wrote:

Hi WilbaW,

I meant low light scenes of course. Sorry for the confusion, I am not native English speaker.

Thank you for your awesome input and giving inspirations on how to shoot family pictures! I think my story resembles pretty much what was described in the post you linked. I also own 50mm and 85mm primes and was able to produce some neat portraits. Recently I noticed that I am missing 'the story' in my pictures so I bought 24mm which gives 38mm effectively on my 550D. This is EF-S lens so would need to replace it with something different if I decide to buy 5D II.

To sum up, your opinion is that 5D II being FF (although few years old) will still produce lower noise then much newer T6s. Am i right?

Cheers,

Michael

It will, however, there is a very strong possibility (but no guarantee) that the soon to be released next generation will include the updated sensor from the 80D, which will tip the balance back in favor of the Rebel. I upgraded from a 550D to 760D and have been quite happy with it. But I'm not chasing little kids around...

I'd get the T6s, and I did, for its built in flash, touchscreen, 24mp same metering sensor as 80D, same 19 point phase detect auto focus of the 70D (vs 9 on 5D ii), built in WiFi, and a smaller, easier to handle body. Plus more screen resolution, better viewfinder magnification (big point for me), faster frames per second 5 vs. 3.9, and for me video in MP4. I picked up an international model body only for $678.

Adding my two cents here:

I own a T6i, which is practically the same camera as the T6s except for a number of non-sensor differences.

I've generally found that anything over ISO 1600 to be so noisy in low light conditions, that it is very difficult to recover in Lightroom, so I avoid using anything more than that. If I have to shoot that high an ISO, and the subject is still, I will use image averaging and stacking to generate a lower noise photo.

Michael Polanski wrote:

I meant low light scenes of course. Sorry for the confusion, I am not native English speaker.

No worries (that's native Aussie speaker).

Thank you for your awesome input and giving inspirations on how to shoot family pictures! I think my story resembles pretty much what was described in the post you linked. I also own 50mm and 85mm primes and was able to produce some neat portraits. Recently I noticed that I am missing 'the story' in my pictures so I bought 24mm which gives 38mm effectively on my 550D. This is EF-S lens so would need to replace it with something different if I decide to buy 5D II.

To sum up, your opinion is that 5D II being FF (although few years old) will still produce lower noise then much newer T6s. Am i right?

Yes, you can't beat the physics of a 2.6 times larger sensor area, but you need a new lens to realise the full benefit. I'd be looking for something like a 28/2.8, 28/1.8, 35/2, or 35/1.4. Keep in mind that a wide aperture is preferable to IS for moving subjects in low light, 'cos it will give you a shorter shutter. (IS beats wide aperture for static subjects, 'cos you can gather more light with a longer shutter.)

Michael Polanski wrote:

Thanks Woody W. for your answer.

What is the highest ISO that you still find fully usable on your 760D?

"Fully usable" is a very subjective term. A few weeks ago, I was taking pictures in my dungeon-like basement for documentation purposes (e.g. before/after), and used 12800 out of necessity. They were still quite usable for that purpose, but I wouldn't consider them "art".

Here are three shots, straight out of camera JPEG, of one of our dogs. at 3.2k, 6.4k, and 12.8k. No flash, just relatively low interior light. I realized only on posting that I had my exposure set at -1, so they're a little darker than they should be. Sorry.

Same three shots, corrected for exposure and white balance in DPP (+1 and Tungsten). Not the best way of showing off the high-ISO performance, perhaps, but you can see where there is RAW flexibility at high ISO.