Canon EOS 6D Review
The Canon EOS 6D is the worlds smallest, lightest full-frame SLR on the market today. As a travel and landscape photographer, I was quite intrigued by the ultralight factor and immediately bought one of the first to ship.
This review is not based on marketing figures or datasheets. Instead this review will focus on real-world usage and results from the perspective of a working landscape photographer. I have no preference for Canon over Nikon, I own both and consider them equal. Price can be of major concern for many when considering camera bodies, however this factor did not influence my impressions or decisions and is therefore absent from this review.
Canon EOS 6D Features
Ready? Let’s get started! First, here is an overview of the key features:
Lightest Full-frame body on the market
Integrated GPS
3.0″ High-Resolution LCD
DIGIC 5+ Image Processor
Full HD 1080p video
ISO 50-102,400
Integrated WiFi
Image Quality
The CMOS sensor found in the Canon EOS 6D is the same found in the Canon EOS 5D Mark III. Pixel-level detail of this CMOS full-frame sensor is capable of producing incredibly detailed images with beautiful color. I have printed large format prints from the 6D, up to 40×60, and the level of detail and color rendition is excellent. Just as important as image quality is, however, is pre-visualization and getting the right information on the sensor. Image quality is only as good as visual quality! : )
Canon EOS 6D CMOS Sensor
The 6D has Canon’s most powerful image processor, the DIGIC 5+. The 6D’s DIGIC 5+ processor is 17x faster than a DIGIC 4 and 30% faster than a DIGIC 5. The image processor of a camera is responsible for reducing noise at higher ISOs, and the DIGIC 5+ represents the best to date. The introduction of DIGIC 5+ also means that JPEG processing (finally!) includes chromatic aberration correction, based on lens profiles which are stored in-camera and therefore limited to Canon’s own lenses. In addition, the extra processing power allows the 6D to apply chromatic aberration correction to JPEG images. This correction is based on Canon-created lens profiles, up to 29 of which are be downloaded and saved onto the camera in the form of firmware updates. These profiles allow correction not only of lateral CA but also of the harder-to-fix axial CA.
Hardware & Design
Holding the Canon EOS 6D for the first time the smaller form factor and lightness are both very noticeable when compared to a body in the 5D-series. It has a great balance to it and the ergonomics are excellent. The top-case construction of the Canon EOS 6D is fiberglass-reinforced polycarbonate, which was selected to permit WiFi and GPS signals. Without a built-in flash it has a very durable and rugged construction without any play or flex. The internal frame is of course metal, and the 6D’s front and rear body covers are Magnesium Alloy. Build quality here is high, and I get the sense that the polycarbonate top-case is very impact and pressure resistant.
Canon EOS 6D and Canon 17-40mm L with B+W 6-stop ND filter
Canon EOS 6D SD card door open, weathersealing
The depth of field preview button is now accessible with your shooting hand and the streamlined redesign of the button layout has nearly all controls justified to the right, also accessible from the shooting hand. All other controls and settings are where you would expect them to be. The shutter is hypersensitive, even more so than the Canon EOS 5D Mark II. There’s no lag in the shutter and the threshold from autofocus half-depression to full click is just right.
Canon EOS 6D with Zeiss Planar 50mm 1.4
The Canon EOS 6D has a very nice sounding normal shutter click, and in normal mode it’s slightly quieter than the 5D Mark III. The 6D also features the Silent drive mode, which is tech that came downstream from the Canon EOS 5D Mark III. This is significantly quieter than the standard “normal” shutter sound. I consider this feature to be a huge step forward for wedding photographers, documentary photographers, travel photographers, wildlife photographers or any other type of photography where shooting unnoticed is best. On a chicken bus in Guatemala for example, one shot out of the window with a normal shutter might draw attention from passengers, whereas with Silent mode it’s likely to go unheard. For Henry Cartier-Bresson, the anonymity that the small, quiet camera gave him in a crowd or during an intimate moment was essential in overcoming the formal and unnatural behavior of those who were aware of being photographed.
Below is a chart showing how the Canon EOS 6D stacks up in terms of weight
Weight Comparison of Canon EOS 6D versus other cameras
Canon says that the EOS 6D is “completely sealed from external contaminants”. I had a surprise experience with gallons of seawater coming down on top of me when shooting a Golden Gate Bridge sunrise. I thought the camera and lens were probably done for, however after drying it off completely all was perfectly operational. It would appear that the weatherproofing is fairly strong. On closer inspection of the doors and hinges, one may notice small sponge-like sealing which not only keeps the elements out, but prevents any play as a result of plastic-on-plastic doors or otherwise moving parts.
Find this review useful? Check out my other article on How to Pre-Visualize like Ansel Adams.
Integrated GPS
The Canon EOS 6D is the first Canon SLR to have integrated GPS. For everyday shooters, wedding or sports photographers, the value of GPS may be minimal, however the value for travel and landscape photographers is sure to be huge. In addition to having accurate location-based data for every shot, the integrated GPS in the 6D also automatically sets the timezone. Remember when you had to adjust timezones manually on import? Those days are over! An option in the Canon menu system also allows for the logging of location data even when not shooting. This can be useful when wanting to log a trip, a hike or a vehicle route. Non-Canon EOS 6D photographers can purchase the GP-E2 GPS Receiver ($242.95) to achieve the same result, however with the added bulk on the top of the camera. Another interesting development with GPS data is the inherent SEO value attached to GPS coordinates in the EXIF data. It’s been predicted by some SEO professionals that Google will place emphasis on GPS data in the near future as a way to confirm authenticity. Sounds like fun!
Canon EOS 6D Integrated GPS coordinates on Map
One of the only downsides to the integrated GPS is that even with the camera turned off, I have noticed it depleting the battery. Creating a ‘Favorite’ menu with GPS on the top makes it easy to turn it off when putting the camera away, but it’s certainly annoying. I have updated the firmware of the Canon EOS 6D and this problem still exists.
Autofocus – the Best and Worst feature of the EOS 6D
Probably the biggest feature difference between the Canon EOS 6D and the 5D or 1D-family bodies is autofocus. One of the main friction points of the 5D Mark II was it’s “older” 9-point AF system. The 5D Mark III has a 63-point AF system, and the 6D has an 11-point AF system with a center cross-type of f/5.6 with additional sensitivity when an f/2.8 or wider max aperture lens is selected. For sports, action or wedding photographers who rely on autofocus, the 11-point may not cut it. For landscape photography I prefer the simpler AF system of the Canon EOS 6D.
Canon EOS 6D Autofocus Point Grid
The 6D’s 11-point AF system also offers the strongest low light performance of any Canon AF system to date. With focusing down to EV-3, the equivalent of moonlight, subjects remain in-focus in even the most challenging lighting conditions – offering the freedom to shoot landscapes or portraits at night and capture the true atmosphere of the scene with minimal noise. This is a clear win for me as I often use ND filters (up to 10-stops of light) to push exposure times and occasionally rely on autofocus bracketing to obtain critical sharpness. It accurately and predictably locks on subjects even if the viewfinder is black. Amazing!
Canon EOS 6D with Canon 40mm 2.8
Canon EOS 6D vs. Canon EOS 5D Mark III
Many people reading this article are likely looking for a comparison between the Canon EOS 6D and the Canon EOS 5D Mark III in addition to a review of the Canon EOS 6D. I won’t be providing a comprehensive technical review of the two, as that’s been done elsewhere, however let’s start with a real-world feature comparison in order of importance for travel and landscape photographers, with GREEN having an advantage and RED having a disadvantage.
Image Quality
Canon EOS 5D Mark III
Canon EOS 6D
Size & Weight
Canon EOS 6D
Canon EOS 5D Mark III
Durability & Weathersealing
Canon EOS 5D Mark III
Canon EOS 6D
Lowlight Autofocus Sensitivity
Canon EOS 6D
Canon EOS 5D Mark III
Integrated GPS
Canon EOS 6D
Canon EOS 5D Mark III
LCD Quality
Canon EOS 5D Mark III
Canon EOS 6D
Battery Life
Canon EOS 5D Mark III
Canon EOS 6D
Integrated WiFi
Canon EOS 6D
Canon EOS 5D Mark III
Autofocus Points
Canon EOS 5D Mark III
Canon EOS 6D
Is the Canon EOS 6D Worth It?
When the Canon EOS 6D was released this past year in December 2012, there was an immense amount of chatter as to wether or not it was a worthy contender in the lineup of full-frame bodies. My impression is that this is all noise, and if you’re looking for practical rather than theoretical advantages, the Canon EOS 6D is one of the best cameras on the market, regardless of brand. Ultralight construction, incredible low-light AF and GPS are features that presently you can’t find in another camera. For professional landscape photographers who are looking to retain extremely high image quality in the smallest form factor available. I’d highly recommend this camera.
If you’ve gotten this far thanks for reading! If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to get in touch by commenting below.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What about the Canon EOS 6D’s 100,000 shutter lifecycle?
The Canon EOS 6D is rated for 100,000 shutter cycles, and with a maximum frame rate of 4.5 fps it’s unlikely that photographers will reach the advertised maximum.
The EOS app is a free iOS download that allows you to use the camera as a remote. Unfortunately it does not have any intervalometer settings and therefore I didn’t spend much time with it – it’s just point and shoot.
Wifi certainly future proofs the Canon EOS 6D, however the usability of it at the present is limited.
Did your Canon EOS 6D have the latest firmware at review time?
Yes, firmware version 1.1.2 was loaded at review time. If you are a Canon EOS 6D owner you can find the latest firmware version here.
What about the lack of CF cards?
Yes, this sucks! However, with a SanDisk Extreme 128GB SD card the Canon EOS 6D can save approximately 6,553 RAW images, or 5,242 RAW + hi-res JPEG. Although not an answer to those who own lots of CF cards (I do!), it certainly doesn’t affect how much you can store. Read more about my review of the SanDisk Extreme 128GB here.
Canon EOS 6D Image Gallery
Great review
Great review, Graham. Your findings are very consistent with my own. Some beautiful images as well. Keep up the good work!
Thanks Dustin!
You have some beautiful images. I especially like shine down on me
Graham
Very good review, to the point and simple. I am oscillating between 5D Mark III and 6D. I have tried both 5D Mark III and 6D. When I tried 6D (after 5D Mk III), suddenly I felt that the weight of the camera almost disappeared which indeed is a great achievement. I could never imagine, just a loss of 200 gms can make such a huge difference. On the flipside, on 6D I felt the the loss of flexibility (such as joy stick, more auto focus points) that comes with 5D Mark III. I am not a professional photographer but like the control and flexibility. Biggest selling point fro 6D is its weight and I am leaning towards it.
I have also tried Nikon D600. It gave great pictures but soon came the oil spots. Even though for portraits, it was not a cause of concerns, neverthless having read about the issues, travails od trying to clean the sensor did not make sense at all. So I moved away from D600 (still I have a great respect for the quality of photos came from D600).
What do you have currently?
Graham
Graham,
I had D600 and returned it after few hundred shots and few oil spots. Then I am sitting on wall trying to decide between 5D Mark III and 6D. I use the camera for travel, landscape, and people. Of course I shoot the sports that my kids are in. I liked 5D for its greater flexibility but did not like the weight at all. 6D is great to carry. Even though I had limited experience with 5D, I immediately felt that 6D is restrictive in terms of auto focus and the joy stick. So I have to yet to make a commitment on one of them. Your review tipping my balance towards 6D and some money in my pocket.
I think either way you’ll end up with a great camera! : )
Graham
I asked a Q re 6D on the Canon Rumours forum re quality of pix straight out of camera. The opinions were mixed. Finally, due to unavailability of velvia and of E6 processing in our part of Thailand, I have decided to go digital, choosing the 6D based on reviews that confirm it can produce satisfactory, well saturated ‘nature’ right out of camera. BUT, it got confusing,. Another review stated that the pix needed further ‘adjustments’ on various parameters. I was hoping that as digital has matured(?) now being 2013, why does one need to fiddle with corrections on a computor, when one had expected that onboard processors would be able to sort out these corrections.. Why cannot a 2k or more digital body make a finished/adjusted pix?? Any opinion, experience, tips??
Hello Tommy!
When I compare out of camera images between the Canon EOS 6D and the Canon EOS-3 on Ektar 100, they look very similar. I would say that if you’re shooting on hi-res JPEG with profiles enabled you can get out of camera shots that have a striking resemblance to film.
Graham
I would second what Graham said. Also keep in mind that you could take any 10 photographers and get 10 different opinions on what colors, saturation, etc, are best. I don’t have the 6D yet, but it is at the top of my short list. From all the images I’ve seen, I think that both the JPEG and RAW are quite good at their default, striking a reasonable balance. However you can adjust or fine tune all of the settings to your taste for JPEGs and if you prefer RAW and use something like Aperture or Lightroom, you can create a custom effect or preset that will allow you to make a 1 click modification to get the image close right away. Just remember that it is what “you like”, not what other photographer’s like that matters.
Many thanks for this review. I’ve been debating whether to trade in my 600D and 10-22mm to get the 6D and take advantage of the current rebates or if I should hold on until I can afford the 5D mkIII. I mostly shoot landscapes, largely using ND filters, so was leaning towards the 6D plus the money saved could eventually be put towards a 17-40mm (or some other lens) to compliment the 24-105mm I already own. However gear envy and the fear of making the wrong, expensive, decision has had me sitting on the fence. Your review has really helped calm some of those fears and I think the 6D looks the right way forward for me. Many thanks.
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Great review! I have use a 7D to photograph music artists performing on stage and would like to move up to a full-frame camera.
My concern is if the 6D would work, focus fast and get the sharpness with movements. For the light sensitivety it sound like it would be great! If I had the money, I would buy 5D mark iii. In this case i rather spend money on a nice 100mm macro, my other passion. So for that, both light and weight is very nice with the 6D. However, would 11 focuspoints be enough to get the movements from the artists on stage!? That’s my hesitate right now. Many thanks for some input, it would be helpful! :)
Graham, thanks so much for this review. Travel, landscape, nature and some documentary are my primary interests. After a lot of comparisons I felt this would be the best camera, and your review helped confirm that. Now it is just a matter of coming up with the money to buy it.
Thanks David! I’m glad you could find it useful.
Graham
Thank you for this great review.
I will acquire a 6D body soon.
Bought a 6D, heavily influenced by your review and test images. Took it to the Caribbean with a 24-105mm and a 40mm pancake, and very impressed with handling and IQ. Prefer it to the 5D lll if I have to carry it for very long!
Thanks Neil! I’m glad that you like it. I like them both equally but as you mentioned, I prefer the 6D for trips like the one you did.
Graham
Graham,
Thanks for the review. It seems well balanced an free of hype.
I have a canon 500d and thinking of moving to a full frame. I was wondering if the lack of in built flash would be an impediment, particularly for travel? Does the increased low lite handling make it largely irrelevant?
I would think that fussing about with a speed lite would be annoying when so much else is happenning.
Thanks in advance.
Mike
I had similar concerns, but I bought a Speedlite 270eXll which slips into my pocket and is vastly superior to a built in flash. The other point to bear in mind is that the low light capabilities of the 6D mean that flash is required less often.
HI Graham,
Read your review, I Use Canon 1000D with 18-55, 55-250 EF-S lenses and 50mm EF lens. Photography is my hobby and I was planning to buy 6D to move to a full frame but the below points I have read in reviews really pushing me to move to Nikon systems since i have to purchase new lenses (except 50 mm) to use with 6D or nikon D600.
Lack of Flash in 6D (May be all other canon full frame cameras do not have flash)
Flash Synchronization speed of 6D is 1/180 s only(Is less than my base model APS-C Canon 1000D-1/200 s)
Number of focus points only 11 with 1 cross type (1000D have 7 points with 1 cross type)
I am using my cam for all sort of general photography like shooting birds, landscapes, portraits, kids etc etc please advise which camera would be better for me? Canon 6D or Nikon D600 or any other model
I have been considering this 6D as a replacement for my Pentax K5. The K5 has incredible dynamic range but the politics with Ricoh, no clarity on a full frame future has left me completely disillusioned with Pentax. I shoot mostly rural scenes, abandoned buildings,people, and street photography. I want to have the smaller/lighter build of this and also want to use manual focus lenses like Voigtlander & Zeiss. How is the stock screen for manually focusing, and how is the dynamic range(in print)? Thanks for the great review.
Barry,
As far as your requirements are concerned (rural scenes etc) the 6D is an excellent choice. It is not ideal for sports photography, given the limitations of the AF system. I have tried a manual focus Zeiss f2 lens belonging to a colleague, and whilst the results were acceptable, I think the best results are from Canon lenses. I recently purchased a Canon 40mm/f2.8 ‘pancake’ lens to use with the 6D for street photography and have been very impressed with the results – IQ better than on the borrowed Zeiss f2!
Hi Graham, I was very interested to read your review, I’d like to ask your opinion if I may?
I’ve got a 6D on order and will be using it primarily for shooting behind the scenes stils for TV commercials. The sets are usually well lit but there will be situations where the light will be low and I won’t have the option to add any lighting beyond what’s being used for primary filming. So one of the big things that appealed to me about the 6D was it’s low light abilities.
I’m currently torn between pairing it with either the Canon f2.8 or f4 70-200mm L IS lenses.
I’m aware of the cost and weight differences between the two lenses but wondered whether the difference in one stop of light between the two is outweighed by the extra low light capabilities of the 6D? Given my situation and if money and weight weren’t an issue, which would you recommend?
Thanks..
Olly
As a professional landscape photographer, how do you find the image quality of the 6D & 17-40l lens combo?
franky2step beat me to it. I shoot birds (staying with APS-C 60D for that), landscape, and macro. I am considering adding a full frame camera , and my Canon 15-85mm and Sigma 8-16mm lenses are APS-C only and I will need equivalents for FF. The landscape telephoto end is taken care of by the 70-200mm f/4 L IS, and I have Sigma 35mm f/1.4 and Samyang 14mm f/2.8, which will cover wide-field astrophotography and a fair amount of landscape territory. I would like an ultra-wide to wide angle zoom for hiking and general use, and the relatively small and light Canon 17-40mm f/4L is a strong contender (others include Tokina 16-28mm f/2.8, Sigma 12-24mm, and the heavy and expensive Canon 16-35mm f/2.8 L). You have some striking images with the 17-40L. Is its image quality excellent for full frame as long as you stick to f8 or so?
Thanks for this review Graham – massively helpful. I think for me the weight is a massive bonus as I’m quite a small girl and find carrying all the kit quite cumbersome!