No Dual Card slot = 6DII Achilies heel?

[Ken Phillips]

There was no "backup" in the film days. If there was spoilage for some reason or other, it was likely the entire roll was bad. Early digital cameras also didn't have dual slots.

I've had cards go bad—only two, and both were from a known bad batch—otherwise, I've had a few corrupted images out of many hundreds of thousands over the last 17 years. The percentage of ruined shots due to media is certainly less than the percentage of missed shots / bad processing from film.

Though I tend to go toward the -1D series (at least, before I retired from that biz), I'd have no qualms about shooting a fairly "cheap" single-slot camera at weddings or other events. At that price, I could hang two around my neck and alternate every few shots.

 

[MayaTlab0]

Adding dual card slots wouldn't cost that much......

Adding 4K wouldn't cost that much......

Adding a joystick wouldn't cost that much......

Adding an AF module with greater point spread wouldn't cost that much...

At some point Canon had to draw the line on features/functions to achieve a certain price point for the target market. Yes it would be nice to have all of these features but they made a business decision as to what features/functions provide the greatest value for the intended market. While they may lose some customers the overall sale volumes will ultimately determine if they made the right or wrong decision.

We have a number of examples that demonstrate that this isn't always how Canon makes decisions in that regard.

Let's consider the front Fn button. I think it's fair to say that nearly 99% of human beings on this planet will prefer the 7D/5D series implementation (for various reasons). And yet that solution most likely wouldn't cost Canon any more than the 80D/6D series implementation (you still need a hole in the front cover, a button mechanism, and probably a flex). In fact, you could argue that because the 80D/6D series implementation is so poor, and a lot less useful than the 7D/5D's, the "cost/added value" ratio is worse, and that a lot of people are paying for building in the 80D/6D series a front Fn button that they nearly never use.

In addition, when Canon gives the M5 a rubbish auto ISO implementation, or removes the ALL-I compression scheme from the 6DII, I seriously doubt that cost is a factor here.

 

[XeroJay]

XeroJay -

The camera world is coming to an end, no second slot in an entry level camera..!?

The only reason you are whining about it is because the more expensive cameras have them. Somewhat more for the "professional" side of things. The casual shooter (most anyway) don't really care. I know I don't, and many that I know...don't care.

Relax and buy a higher level camera if it bothers you so much.

Mike

Again, someone who obviously didn't bother to read my post before commenting. I already own the 5DIV. Nikon's competing (and slightly cheaper) body has dual media. Done.

 

[bhollis]

. . . but I'm sure it's not as big an issue for some as it is for others.

There you go. Some pro photographers will see the lack of dual slots as a deal breaker, and others won't. I guess it's just a matter of how risk averse you are.

FWIW, if I were shooting professionally, and my clients were relying on me to deliver, like you, I'd want dual slots--and I'd be willing to pay for them.

Should Canon have put dual slots in the 6DII? Who knows, but I think the lack of dual slots is indication that, although Canon would undoubtedly like to sell some 6DII's to pros, pros aren't their primary target for this camera. And I also have no doubt that Canon wants to give pros as many reasons as possible to upgrade to the 5DIV.

All about maximizing profits. And I tend to think Canon is pretty good at that.

 

[DotCom Editor]

My now-retired 20D did not have dual card slots. I used it almost daily for five years and it never failed to write a file, never corrupted an image or a CF card. The single card slot was neither problem nor shortcoming.

None of my film cameras ever saved images to dual rolls of film simultaneously. And that worked just fine for 40 years.

 

[kopper]

Again, someone who obviously didn't bother to read my post before commenting. I already own the 5DIV. Nikon's competing (and slightly cheaper) body has dual media. Done.

Then go buy the Nikon and get you second media slot!

geez

kopper

 

[WalterSrChat]

XeroJay -

The camera world is coming to an end, no second slot in an entry level camera..!?

The only reason you are whining about it is because the more expensive cameras have them. Somewhat more for the "professional" side of things. The casual shooter (most anyway) don't really care. I know I don't, and many that I know...don't care.

Relax and buy a higher level camera if it bothers you so much.

Mike

Again, someone who obviously didn't bother to read my post before commenting. I already own the 5DIV. Nikon's competing (and slightly cheaper) body has dual media. Done.

Then why not just buy a slightly cheaper Nikon and move on?

The 6D II don't have what you need!

Walter Sr.

 

[KariP]

After a long weekend of shooting and occasionally chatting with other pros about gear, the 6DII came up a few times. For me, I was looking forward to the 6DII as a backup body to my 5DIV that my assistant could use at times. When the news came that the 6DII would only have one SD card slot, however, I immediately shook my head and discarded the idea. I didn't even read further down the spec list to be honest, as that one spec (dual media) has always been at the top of the requisite list for our studios...

So after talking with other wedding pros in my real world circle, there was definitely a common theme between us; the rest of the specs don't matter if it can't shoot with a backup card. Many of us have had careers long enough to have experienced card failure/corruption, and would never take that chance again.

All of that being said, I can't help but feel that Canon made a really great camera in the 6DII as a backup/secondary/assistant body for wedding pros, but just crippled it with that one omission. In one group conversation alone, there were no less than 4 other photographers who would have, but now will not purchase the 6DII for that reason. That's lost sales. The Nikon equivalent does have dual media, so I'm just scratching my head here.

I can't imagine there's anyone here that will reply saying that single card slot is better than dual, but I'm sure it's not as big an issue for some as it is for others.

I believe Canon did not design 6DII especially and only for professional wedding photographers.

You must now buy something else. There are luckily very many alternatives with dual card slots .

99.9% of 6D users are not professional wedding photographers with a studio and assistants... but of course your strong and simple opinion was very interesting to everyone on this enthusiastic forum . Some pros will buy 6DII anyway and they will use better cards.

;-)

 

[tko]

I don't see how a dual card slot prevents issues. Maybe in case of a card failure, but cards are very reliable. What about a minor focusing issue you don't notice? Bang, a few hundred photos gone. What about accidentally shooting in JPEG w/the wrong color balance? Something in the guts of the camera failing that isn't obvious when shooting ?

No, what you really need to learn to do in a critical shoot, and this is based on hard experience, is every dozen photos or so review a copy at 100%. Not counting on a dual card slot protecting only one of the many weak links in the chain. Oh, you can also run a burn in test on new cards using readily available software, and only use cards that have been proven in previous, non-critical shoots.

Anyway, 12 years of dSLRs and too many photos to count, I'd never had a card fail.

 

[boldcolors]

I don't see how a dual card slot prevents issues. Maybe in case of a card failure, but cards are very reliable. What about a minor focusing issue you don't notice? Bang, a few hundred photos gone. What about accidentally shooting in JPEG w/the wrong color balance? Something in the guts of the camera failing that isn't obvious when shooting ?

No, what you really need to learn to do in a critical shoot, and this is based on hard experience, is every dozen photos or so review a copy at 100%. Not counting on a dual card slot protecting only one of the many weak links in the chain. Oh, you can also run a burn in test on new cards using readily available software, and only use cards that have been proven in previous, non-critical shoots.

Anyway, 12 years of dSLRs and too many photos to count, I'd never had a card fail.

--
no, I won't return to read your witty reply!
professional cynic and contrarian: don't take it personally
http://500px.com/omearak

I've been driving my car for 150 000 km and nothing has ever happened. Not on my previous car either. Might as well cancel my insurance policy.

 

[XeroJay]

I don't see how a dual card slot prevents issues. Maybe in case of a card failure, but cards are very reliable. What about a minor focusing issue you don't notice? Bang, a few hundred photos gone. What about accidentally shooting in JPEG w/the wrong color balance? Something in the guts of the camera failing that isn't obvious when shooting ?

No, what you really need to learn to do in a critical shoot, and this is based on hard experience, is every dozen photos or so review a copy at 100%. Not counting on a dual card slot protecting only one of the many weak links in the chain. Oh, you can also run a burn in test on new cards using readily available software, and only use cards that have been proven in previous, non-critical shoots.

Anyway, 12 years of dSLRs and too many photos to count, I'd never had a card fail.

--
no, I won't return to read your witty reply!
professional cynic and contrarian: don't take it personally
http://500px.com/omearak

This is a pretty odd response to be honest. First, I check about 95% of my shots at 100% zoom for focus. Any paid pro should be ensuring that most basic aspect of photography is in check. Second, to counter your point of off wb setting accidentally shooting jpeg...I can't even understand how after 12 years experience you would have this issue, but hey if you had dual cards, you could always be shooting raw+jpeg on separate media anyway.

Sure, things can go wrong. I could get into a car accident on the way to a wedding. That has nothing to do with dual media, and takes nothing away from it's benefits.

Anyway, after my 17 years of professional photography, I've learned that every little thing you can do to minimize the chances of catastrophe helps. Dual media is just one more thing. I suppose I should have expected Canon fans to rush to it's defence on this topic, but the bottom line is that Nikon includes this feature in competing cameras, and it is a feature that wouldn't hurt to have included.

 

[vin 13]

For a lot of professional use it is, but it would seem that's not who Canon is aiming the camera at.

That doesn't mean it can't be used professionally. I mostly shoot products and move the files to the computer before finishing the shoot, so it isn't an issue.

For the record, I've never had an CF fail in 16 years of use nor an SD in 5 years of use, but I have had a microdrive fail. I have also had a couple of corrupt RAWs, though I had JPEGs as back-up.

That being said, how much would it have added to the price to have included the second slot? A second SD slot shouldn't take up too much bulk either. A few hundred perhaps? Whilst that would probably be acceptable to lot of people, considering the price of a 5D4, but it would probably put a lot of other people off.

 

[XeroJay]

That being said, how much would it have added to the price to have included the second slot? A second SD slot shouldn't take up too much bulk either. A few hundred perhaps? Whilst that would probably be acceptable to lot of people, considering the price of a 5D4, but it would probably put a lot of other people off.

There's no way it would cost a few hundred extra to include a second media slot. Probably not even $50 more. If Nikon can do it for even less, then Canon should be able to.

 

[XeroJay]

I've been driving my car for 150 000 km and nothing has ever happened. Not on my previous car either. Might as well cancel my insurance policy.

Exactly. I feel like those who comment "I've never had a card fail in xx years" would change their tune pretty quickly if they've ever had the pleasure of experiencing it. I'll never forget the three times I've had to look clients in the eye and explain to them that one of our photographer's cards failed during the wedding, and we could only recover 1/3 of the THUMBNAILS after spending north of $3,000 on data recover services.

 

[amd]

only the runner up needs to disrupt with features.

Guess what pros will buy as a backup to their IV?

it would only confuse the target audience if differentiation wasn't crisp enough.

really 101 for a marketing guy.

 

[vin 13]

That being said, how much would it have added to the price to have included the second slot? A second SD slot shouldn't take up too much bulk either. A few hundred perhaps? Whilst that would probably be acceptable to lot of people, considering the price of a 5D4, but it would probably put a lot of other people off.

There's no way it would cost a few hundred extra to include a second media slot. Probably not even $50 more. If Nikon can do it for even less, then Canon should be able to.

I've no idea what it would cost, hence the vague figure of a few hundred. I'd also add that I'd probably be one of those who would find say a 10% higher price acceptable for this added feature.

However if we're talking 50 bucks, they could have just done it. As you say Nikon did. Would this one feature really draw from 5D4 sales that much? they must think so.

 

[Mark B.]

That being said, how much would it have added to the price to have included the second slot? A second SD slot shouldn't take up too much bulk either. A few hundred perhaps? Whilst that would probably be acceptable to lot of people, considering the price of a 5D4, but it would probably put a lot of other people off.

There's no way it would cost a few hundred extra to include a second media slot. Probably not even $50 more. If Nikon can do it for even less, then Canon should be able to.

All of this whining is meaningless. The 6D II does not have the features you want. Get over it, get a different camera.