This
is the Canon EOS 6D which I purchased recently. As some of you may know, I have been surviving with an EOS 1000D for several years now and a replacement was necessary. Now I don't want to get into too much technical details about camera specs as it has been covered in an extensively detailed review by Bryan at
The Digital Picture.
The following is a list of key features as seen at The Digital Picture.
- Full-frame 20.2 Megapixel sensor
- Tough, lightweight construction
- Max ISO 25600 (expandable to ISO 102400)
- 11-point AF sensitive down to -3 EV
- GPS records your location
- Wi-Fi file transfer/remote control
- Full-HD video
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The rear layout of the camera closely resembles the design of the Canon EOS 60D |
Of course when switching over to a different button layout, you tend to hit buttons wrongly due to muscle memory from previous body designs. The 6D utilizes a different image zooming method when reviewing photos on the LCD than on the 1000D which kept me hitting the top right buttons on the first couple of days but I was pleasantly surprised how quickly I got accustomed to the new method afterwards.
A new feature which I feel is very useful is the ability to connect to the camera via WiFi from a smartphone or by wirelessly tethering to a laptop on a WiFi network which provides options to download images directly or remotely triggering the camera shutter. I haven't tried the GPS feature yet so I cant say much about it for now.
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Side view of the camera and lens |
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EF 24-105mm F/4 L IS USM with an EW-83J lens hood attached |
I purchased the 6D as a kit with the EF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM lens. As you can see in the photo above, I use the lens with a third party EW-83J lens hood that I had been using with my EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS lens. Of course the 24-105 does come with the smaller EW-83H hood but I prefer using the larger EW-83J on it. You might wonder if using a larger hood for this lens on a full frame body causes vignetting on images but even if it does, it probably only has minimal impact. View the image comparison below.
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24mm 1/1250 f/4 ISO 100 |
The 6D produces excellent image quality. High ISO performance is
brilliant up to ISO 6400. Higher ISO settings are best kept for
emergencies. Of course, moving up from an APS-C sensor, the difference in Image quality and ISO performance was an eye opener. I knew it was going to be great but it didn't truly sink in till I saw it.
In terms of AF performance, The center AF point is outstanding in low light, being able to lock focus in very dark situations equivalent to -3 EV. This is a plus as I cover events and weddings which mostly takes place in dimly lit venues. The outer AF points don't perform as well as the center, but I do not need to utilize them as much anyway.
The following are a few image samples from the 6D;
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105mm 1/60 f/4 ISO 500 |
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105mm 1/125 f/4 ISO 1000 |
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85mm 1/60 f/4 ISO 1000 |
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