EOS 6D?

[WongRQ]

Hi everyone,

Seeing a lot of threads saying good words about the EOS 6D (original). I looked up DxOMark and saw that those sensor measurements are really good.

However, I'm hearing a wide gamut of opinions when it comes down to autofocus. I would use it to shoot subjects that are moving. I may not use it for sports (my EOS 7D can do it), but I will be shooting moving people, which kind of concerns me.

Any EOS 6D users can give their opinion on the AF speed and subject tracking? Thanks!

 

[DannH]

Hi everyone,

Seeing a lot of threads saying good words about the EOS 6D (original). I looked up DxOMark and saw that those sensor measurements are really good.

However, I'm hearing a wide gamut of opinions when it comes down to autofocus. I would use it to shoot subjects that are moving. I may not use it for sports (my EOS 7D can do it), but I will be shooting moving people, which kind of concerns me.

Any EOS 6D users can give their opinion on the AF speed and subject tracking? Thanks!

I used the 6d for several years before moving to the EOS R.

The 6d is an excellent camera, great IQ, low light performance, well built, easy to use etc but the AF wasn't one of it's strong points.

The centre point is excellent, focuses in low light, fast, accurate and tracks without any issues, but I found the outer points unreliable. In poor light, they would struggle to lock focus and in good light, I just found they wasn't always consistant (some were better than others).

I've taken plenty of great shots with the 6d outer points, but for me the autofocus was it's biggest weakness and the main reason I decided to upgrade to mirrorless.

 

[WongRQ]

Hi everyone,

Seeing a lot of threads saying good words about the EOS 6D (original). I looked up DxOMark and saw that those sensor measurements are really good.

However, I'm hearing a wide gamut of opinions when it comes down to autofocus. I would use it to shoot subjects that are moving. I may not use it for sports (my EOS 7D can do it), but I will be shooting moving people, which kind of concerns me.

Any EOS 6D users can give their opinion on the AF speed and subject tracking? Thanks!

I used the 6d for several years before moving to the EOS R.

The 6d is an excellent camera, great IQ, low light performance, well built, easy to use etc but the AF wasn't one of it's strong points.

The centre point is excellent, focuses in low light, fast, accurate and tracks without any issues, but I found the outer points unreliable. In poor light, they would struggle to lock focus and in good light, I just found they wasn't always consistant (some were better than others).

I've taken plenty of great shots with the 6d outer points, but for me the autofocus was it's biggest weakness and the main reason I decided to upgrade to mirrorless.

Hi, thanks for your reply.

So you're saying that the EOS 6D's centre autofocus point is fast and reliable but the rest aren't as reliable?

 

[DannH]

Hi everyone,

Seeing a lot of threads saying good words about the EOS 6D (original). I looked up DxOMark and saw that those sensor measurements are really good.

However, I'm hearing a wide gamut of opinions when it comes down to autofocus. I would use it to shoot subjects that are moving. I may not use it for sports (my EOS 7D can do it), but I will be shooting moving people, which kind of concerns me.

Any EOS 6D users can give their opinion on the AF speed and subject tracking? Thanks!

I used the 6d for several years before moving to the EOS R.

The 6d is an excellent camera, great IQ, low light performance, well built, easy to use etc but the AF wasn't one of it's strong points.

The centre point is excellent, focuses in low light, fast, accurate and tracks without any issues, but I found the outer points unreliable. In poor light, they would struggle to lock focus and in good light, I just found they wasn't always consistant (some were better than others).

I've taken plenty of great shots with the 6d outer points, but for me the autofocus was it's biggest weakness and the main reason I decided to upgrade to mirrorless.

Hi, thanks for your reply.

So you're saying that the EOS 6D's centre autofocus point is fast and reliable but the rest aren't as reliable?

Exactly that, the centre point is the only cross type on the 6d and is excellent in all circumstances.

But the outer focus points just aren't as reliable, especially in difficult lighting.

 

[CESA]

Hi everyone,

Seeing a lot of threads saying good words about the EOS 6D (original). I looked up DxOMark and saw that those sensor measurements are really good.

However, I'm hearing a wide gamut of opinions when it comes down to autofocus. I would use it to shoot subjects that are moving. I may not use it for sports (my EOS 7D can do it), but I will be shooting moving people, which kind of concerns me.

Any EOS 6D users can give their opinion on the AF speed and subject tracking? Thanks!

I used the 6d for several years before moving to the EOS R.

The 6d is an excellent camera, great IQ, low light performance, well built, easy to use etc but the AF wasn't one of it's strong points.

The centre point is excellent, focuses in low light, fast, accurate and tracks without any issues, but I found the outer points unreliable. In poor light, they would struggle to lock focus and in good light, I just found they wasn't always consistant (some were better than others).

I've taken plenty of great shots with the 6d outer points, but for me the autofocus was it's biggest weakness and the main reason I decided to upgrade to mirrorless.

This is my experience. However I must say that depending on the lens you have the continuous auto focus lacks a bit. I have used it for weddings and had good keepers with the 70-200mm. With the sigma 35mm and with 85mm 1.2L not so many unless using ver high f stop. But the 85mm 1.2 is a bit slower lens but have read that in the new EOS R cameras performs well.

 

[Andy01]

Hi everyone,

Seeing a lot of threads saying good words about the EOS 6D (original). I looked up DxOMark and saw that those sensor measurements are really good.

However, I'm hearing a wide gamut of opinions when it comes down to autofocus. I would use it to shoot subjects that are moving. I may not use it for sports (my EOS 7D can do it), but I will be shooting moving people, which kind of concerns me.

Any EOS 6D users can give their opinion on the AF speed and subject tracking? Thanks!

Is there any reason you are not considering a 6D ii ?

It improves on the 6D in many areas, and one of the most noticeable was AF - it has a lot more AF points, more of them were cross type and arguably the outer AF points are probably nearly as good as the 6D's centre AF point.

The burst rate is also a lot faster. The 6D ii is still not a sports or BIF camera, but it should be capable of tracking people quite well. I have shot a few BIF with mine and it does OK and gets a few keepers (BIF is not one of my strengths as I don't do it often, so many misses are as much my fault as the camera's).

Colin

 

[FooHead]

Been shooting my 5yr old with a 35f2, 50f1.8, 100f2 indoors and outdoors with no problems.

AF isn't as good as my 80D was, but for totally acceptable.

 

[WongRQ]

Hi everyone,

Seeing a lot of threads saying good words about the EOS 6D (original). I looked up DxOMark and saw that those sensor measurements are really good.

However, I'm hearing a wide gamut of opinions when it comes down to autofocus. I would use it to shoot subjects that are moving. I may not use it for sports (my EOS 7D can do it), but I will be shooting moving people, which kind of concerns me.

Any EOS 6D users can give their opinion on the AF speed and subject tracking? Thanks!

Is there any reason you are not considering a 6D ii ?

It improves on the 6D in many areas, and one of the most noticeable was AF - it has a lot more AF points, more of them were cross type and arguably the outer AF points are probably nearly as good as the 6D's centre AF point.

The burst rate is also a lot faster. The 6D ii is still not a sports or BIF camera, but it should be capable of tracking people quite well. I have shot a few BIF with mine and it does OK and gets a few keepers (BIF is not one of my strengths as I don't do it often, so many misses are as much my fault as the camera's).

Colin

Hi, thanks for sharing. I might go for it due to DPAF as well, if I could find a good used price for it

 

[WongRQ]

Been shooting my 5yr old with a 35f2, 50f1.8, 100f2 indoors and outdoors with no problems.

AF isn't as good as my 80D was, but for totally acceptable.

Thanks for sharing!

 

[WongRQ]

Hi everyone,

Seeing a lot of threads saying good words about the EOS 6D (original). I looked up DxOMark and saw that those sensor measurements are really good.

However, I'm hearing a wide gamut of opinions when it comes down to autofocus. I would use it to shoot subjects that are moving. I may not use it for sports (my EOS 7D can do it), but I will be shooting moving people, which kind of concerns me.

Any EOS 6D users can give their opinion on the AF speed and subject tracking? Thanks!

I used the 6d for several years before moving to the EOS R.

The 6d is an excellent camera, great IQ, low light performance, well built, easy to use etc but the AF wasn't one of it's strong points.

The centre point is excellent, focuses in low light, fast, accurate and tracks without any issues, but I found the outer points unreliable. In poor light, they would struggle to lock focus and in good light, I just found they wasn't always consistant (some were better than others).

I've taken plenty of great shots with the 6d outer points, but for me the autofocus was it's biggest weakness and the main reason I decided to upgrade to mirrorless.

This is my experience. However I must say that depending on the lens you have the continuous auto focus lacks a bit. I have used it for weddings and had good keepers with the 70-200mm. With the sigma 35mm and with 85mm 1.2L not so many unless using ver high f stop. But the 85mm 1.2 is a bit slower lens but have read that in the new EOS R cameras performs well.

Thanks for sharing

 

[3Percent]

Hi everyone,

Seeing a lot of threads saying good words about the EOS 6D (original). I looked up DxOMark and saw that those sensor measurements are really good.

However, I'm hearing a wide gamut of opinions when it comes down to autofocus. I would use it to shoot subjects that are moving. I may not use it for sports (my EOS 7D can do it), but I will be shooting moving people, which kind of concerns me.

Any EOS 6D users can give their opinion on the AF speed and subject tracking? Thanks!

Bottom line, the 6D has the most sensitive center AF point of any Canon DSLR I've tried- this includes 1D mIV/X, 5DS R, 5D III cameras, for low light it locks on nearly anything.

It's a very fast AF system too overall, tracking very solid (tenacious) and reliable, again using the center AF point. It's surrounding points aren't nearly as sensitive, but again you are comparing those to the very best AF point I've used.

With a quick focusing lens (like the Sigma 100-400mm (C) f/5-6.3), the 6D has no problem tracking on the center point for moving subjects. Burst rates border 5fps, so its no speed demon, however pick your shots and do single bursts, and you can get some winners.

*edit: The main variable in the differences you see in testimony come down to lens choice. The key, is getting a lens that interacts with the camera quickly and immediately. I've gone through several telephoto lenses (more than I want to admit) trying to find the best for consistent, fast, and reliable tracking. Try a few telephoto choices out on it, don't be afraid to try Sigma either. Tamron are glitchy and unreliable on both my Nikon and Canon systems and I don't recommend them for BIF or action photography. Canon and Sigma are your best choices. The lens I recommended is a proven performer time and again on multiple bodies and two systems and works flawlessly on the 6D. Go for the higher end Sigma lenses or L Canon glass (the 100-400 or f/2.8 models in second generation for example).

 

[MasterWayne]

Hi everyone,

Seeing a lot of threads saying good words about the EOS 6D (original). I looked up DxOMark and saw that those sensor measurements are really good.

However, I'm hearing a wide gamut of opinions when it comes down to autofocus. I would use it to shoot subjects that are moving. I may not use it for sports (my EOS 7D can do it), but I will be shooting moving people, which kind of concerns me.

Any EOS 6D users can give their opinion on the AF speed and subject tracking? Thanks!

I used the 6d for several years before moving to the EOS R.

The 6d is an excellent camera, great IQ, low light performance, well built, easy to use etc but the AF wasn't one of it's strong points.

The centre point is excellent, focuses in low light, fast, accurate and tracks without any issues, but I found the outer points unreliable. In poor light, they would struggle to lock focus and in good light, I just found they wasn't always consistant (some were better than others).

I've taken plenty of great shots with the 6d outer points, but for me the autofocus was it's biggest weakness and the main reason I decided to upgrade to mirrorless.

I can also second all points except for tracking. With the 135mm f2 it turned out to be little reliable. Maybe my technique was lacking. But really only the central AF point worked well and shooting people often demanded of center placement of AF point. Easy example: a couple walks towards the camera, in this case I want a symmetrical framing and the center AF point aims right through them to the background. Focus and recompose is hard/impossible when using continuous AF..

 

[WongRQ]

Hi everyone,

Seeing a lot of threads saying good words about the EOS 6D (original). I looked up DxOMark and saw that those sensor measurements are really good.

However, I'm hearing a wide gamut of opinions when it comes down to autofocus. I would use it to shoot subjects that are moving. I may not use it for sports (my EOS 7D can do it), but I will be shooting moving people, which kind of concerns me.

Any EOS 6D users can give their opinion on the AF speed and subject tracking? Thanks!

Bottom line, the 6D has the most sensitive center AF point of any Canon DSLR I've tried- this includes 1D mIV/X, 5DS R, 5D III cameras, for low light it locks on nearly anything.

It's a very fast AF system too overall, tracking very solid (tenacious) and reliable, again using the center AF point. It's surrounding points aren't nearly as sensitive, but again you are comparing those to the very best AF point I've used.

With a quick focusing lens (like the Sigma 100-400mm (C) f/5-6.3), the 6D has no problem tracking on the center point for moving subjects. Burst rates border 5fps, so its no speed demon, however pick your shots and do single bursts, and you can get some winners.

*edit: The main variable in the differences you see in testimony come down to lens choice. The key, is getting a lens that interacts with the camera quickly and immediately. I've gone through several telephoto lenses (more than I want to admit) trying to find the best for consistent, fast, and reliable tracking. Try a few telephoto choices out on it, don't be afraid to try Sigma either. Tamron are glitchy and unreliable on both my Nikon and Canon systems and I don't recommend them for BIF or action photography. Canon and Sigma are your best choices. The lens I recommended is a proven performer time and again on multiple bodies and two systems and works flawlessly on the 6D. Go for the higher end Sigma lenses or L Canon glass (the 100-400 or f/2.8 models in second generation for example).

Hi, thanks for your detailed reply!

To be honest I wasn’t very open to the EOS 6D lineup initially but your posts and several others’ made me rethink it

 

[PVDL]

Hi everyone,

Seeing a lot of threads saying good words about the EOS 6D (original). I looked up DxOMark and saw that those sensor measurements are really good.

However, I'm hearing a wide gamut of opinions when it comes down to autofocus. I would use it to shoot subjects that are moving. I may not use it for sports (my EOS 7D can do it), but I will be shooting moving people, which kind of concerns me.

Any EOS 6D users can give their opinion on the AF speed and subject tracking? Thanks!

I used the 6d for several years before moving to the EOS R.

The 6d is an excellent camera, great IQ, low light performance, well built, easy to use etc but the AF wasn't one of it's strong points.

The centre point is excellent, focuses in low light, fast, accurate and tracks without any issues, but I found the outer points unreliable. In poor light, they would struggle to lock focus and in good light, I just found they wasn't always consistant (some were better than others).

I've taken plenty of great shots with the 6d outer points, but for me the autofocus was it's biggest weakness and the main reason I decided to upgrade to mirrorless.

I can also second all points except for tracking. With the 135mm f2 it turned out to be little reliable. Maybe my technique was lacking. But really only the central AF point worked well and shooting people often demanded of center placement of AF point. Easy example: a couple walks towards the camera, in this case I want a symmetrical framing and the center AF point aims right through them to the background. Focus and recompose is hard/impossible when using continuous AF..

Completely agree. That is also my experience with my 6D. Very very good camera. But back home when I look at my images on the computer, I see often bad compositions because I used the central AF point. Recompose not always possible. You really have to get used having only one good focusing point in the middle of the viewfinder. That's why I don't do a lot of tracking with the 6D. AF speed is good. Colors sooc are magnificent! It's a very good camera. (For better tracking: the EOS RP is probably the answer, or the R6.)

For tracking I have the RP and the M50ii, but I keep my 6D forever because I love it. (For walk around with a 16-35mm or 40mm pancake...)

 

[Lost99999]

https://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/62651458

I would recommend to consider moving to a R or RP.

RF mount has the future, and for me, going from 6d2 to RP, i found the RP similar in quality, easier to use and operate and lighter. Only downside is the battery life.

RF lenses have some very nice new options with very affordable wide and superzoommoptions - which were to my info not available for the old mount.

The link is to a post where i made a more in depth review.

 

[WongRQ]

Hi everyone,

Seeing a lot of threads saying good words about the EOS 6D (original). I looked up DxOMark and saw that those sensor measurements are really good.

However, I'm hearing a wide gamut of opinions when it comes down to autofocus. I would use it to shoot subjects that are moving. I may not use it for sports (my EOS 7D can do it), but I will be shooting moving people, which kind of concerns me.

Any EOS 6D users can give their opinion on the AF speed and subject tracking? Thanks!

I used the 6d for several years before moving to the EOS R.

The 6d is an excellent camera, great IQ, low light performance, well built, easy to use etc but the AF wasn't one of it's strong points.

The centre point is excellent, focuses in low light, fast, accurate and tracks without any issues, but I found the outer points unreliable. In poor light, they would struggle to lock focus and in good light, I just found they wasn't always consistant (some were better than others).

I've taken plenty of great shots with the 6d outer points, but for me the autofocus was it's biggest weakness and the main reason I decided to upgrade to mirrorless.

I can also second all points except for tracking. With the 135mm f2 it turned out to be little reliable. Maybe my technique was lacking. But really only the central AF point worked well and shooting people often demanded of center placement of AF point. Easy example: a couple walks towards the camera, in this case I want a symmetrical framing and the center AF point aims right through them to the background. Focus and recompose is hard/impossible when using continuous AF..

Hi, thanks for your input!

 

[WongRQ]

https://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/62651458

I would recommend to consider moving to a R or RP.

RF mount has the future, and for me, going from 6d2 to RP, i found the RP similar in quality, easier to use and operate and lighter. Only downside is the battery life.

RF lenses have some very nice new options with very affordable wide and superzoommoptions - which were to my info not available for the old mount.

The link is to a post where i made a more in depth review.

Hi, thanks for your reply.

This post and the other post of yours that you linked to is making me consider using the EOS RP instead.

However, as far as I've read, the EOS RP doesn't have a good continuous shooting rate for Continuous AF, and not many love the autofocusing system. I might need to read more about it though.

Your post is good, just that I couldn't find extremely detailed reviews of the autofocus on moving subjects on that post, even though you did mention that it autofocuses as fast as the EOS 6D Mark II.

For static subjects, I think it's pretty good, but my big concern is about moving subjects since I do occasionally shoot subjects that move rather quickly.

Maybe I might need to make another post to ask about it in the EOS R Talk

 

[Andy01]

https://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/62651458

I would recommend to consider moving to a R or RP.

RF mount has the future, and for me, going from 6d2 to RP, i found the RP similar in quality, easier to use and operate and lighter. Only downside is the battery life.

RF lenses have some very nice new options with very affordable wide and superzoommoptions - which were to my info not available for the old mount.

The link is to a post where i made a more in depth review.

Hi, thanks for your reply.

This post and the other post of yours that you linked to is making me consider using the EOS RP instead.

However, as far as I've read, the EOS RP doesn't have a good continuous shooting rate for Continuous AF, and not many love the autofocusing system. I might need to read more about it though.

Your post is good, just that I couldn't find extremely detailed reviews of the autofocus on moving subjects on that post, even though you did mention that it autofocuses as fast as the EOS 6D Mark II.

For static subjects, I think it's pretty good, but my big concern is about moving subjects since I do occasionally shoot subjects that move rather quickly.

Maybe I might need to make another post to ask about it in the EOS R Talk

The RP seems to be a bit more basic (features & performance) than the 6D ii - a bit like the M50 vs M6 ii. I don't have a RP but I don't think it has things like GPS, intervalometer, high-speed shooting speed (6.5 fps) etc. Of course the RP does have a couple of features that the 6D ii doesn't, so it just depends on what you might find more useful.

Probably the single biggest difference is battery life. The RP has a much smaller battery and being a mirrorless it uses the battery much faster than a DSLR, so the 6D ii will easily get 1,500 - 2,000 shots on a LP-E6N whereas the RP might manage around 300 shots. And, of course, the 6D ii should use the same batteries as your current cameras, so you wouldn't have to buy 3-4 spare batteries like you would for a RP.

Colin

 

[WongRQ]

https://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/62651458

I would recommend to consider moving to a R or RP.

RF mount has the future, and for me, going from 6d2 to RP, i found the RP similar in quality, easier to use and operate and lighter. Only downside is the battery life.

RF lenses have some very nice new options with very affordable wide and superzoommoptions - which were to my info not available for the old mount.

The link is to a post where i made a more in depth review.

Hi, thanks for your reply.

This post and the other post of yours that you linked to is making me consider using the EOS RP instead.

However, as far as I've read, the EOS RP doesn't have a good continuous shooting rate for Continuous AF, and not many love the autofocusing system. I might need to read more about it though.

Your post is good, just that I couldn't find extremely detailed reviews of the autofocus on moving subjects on that post, even though you did mention that it autofocuses as fast as the EOS 6D Mark II.

For static subjects, I think it's pretty good, but my big concern is about moving subjects since I do occasionally shoot subjects that move rather quickly.

Maybe I might need to make another post to ask about it in the EOS R Talk

The RP seems to be a bit more basic (features & performance) than the 6D ii - a bit like the M50 vs M6 ii. I don't have a RP but I don't think it has things like GPS, intervalometer, high-speed shooting speed (6.5 fps) etc. Of course the RP does have a couple of features that the 6D ii doesn't, so it just depends on what you might find more useful.

Probably the single biggest difference is battery life. The RP has a much smaller battery and being a mirrorless it uses the battery much faster than a DSLR, so the 6D ii will easily get 1,500 - 2,000 shots on a LP-E6N whereas the RP might manage around 300 shots. And, of course, the 6D ii should use the same batteries as your current cameras, so you wouldn't have to buy 3-4 spare batteries like you would for a RP.

Colin

Hi, thanks for sharing what you know!

 

[DannH]

https://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/62651458

I would recommend to consider moving to a R or RP.

RF mount has the future, and for me, going from 6d2 to RP, i found the RP similar in quality, easier to use and operate and lighter. Only downside is the battery life.

RF lenses have some very nice new options with very affordable wide and superzoommoptions - which were to my info not available for the old mount.

The link is to a post where i made a more in depth review.

Hi, thanks for your reply.

This post and the other post of yours that you linked to is making me consider using the EOS RP instead.

However, as far as I've read, the EOS RP doesn't have a good continuous shooting rate for Continuous AF, and not many love the autofocusing system. I might need to read more about it though.

Your post is good, just that I couldn't find extremely detailed reviews of the autofocus on moving subjects on that post, even though you did mention that it autofocuses as fast as the EOS 6D Mark II.

For static subjects, I think it's pretty good, but my big concern is about moving subjects since I do occasionally shoot subjects that move rather quickly.

Maybe I might need to make another post to ask about it in the EOS R Talk

You might want to consider the EOS R as well, which has a better EVF, battery life and uses the sensor of the 5D Mark IV.

I've never used the RP, but if it is anything like the R then you will have nothing to worry about, the AF system is the biggest reason to move over to mirrorless. On the R forums, I rarely hear anything but high praise for the RP.

When the R was first released, there was a lot of issues with the autofocus, but a firmware update long ago addressed this issue. I'm not sure if this is the same as the RP?

The below link should give you an idea of how good the auto eye AF is at tracking on the R. You can also just put it to 1 point AF selection, which has over 5k selection points.

If you shoot sports or wildlife, then the R / RP wouldn't be a great choice because of it's low FPS, but then it's no less than the 6d either. For slow moving subjects, like someone walking it very rarely misses focus (talking at apertures at f/2).

The biggest disadvantages I found from going to mirrorless was the battery life. I was getting easily over 1.2k shots per charge on the 6d to approx 500 now. Also there's a bit of a slideshow effect, which can be seen on the above video. When shooting in continuous bursts, the view you get in the EVF has a slight lag. I believe this is greatly improved once you get up to the R6, but of course that's also a much more expensive camera.