Canon 5D MK III

[ddk632]

Doesn't the 5DIII have built in electronic level that accounts for level and pitch? My 6D has the electronic level, but it only accounts for horizontal/vertical level, not pitch/angle.

I have the bubble level I used to use with my XTi (400D) but it has not been in use since I got the 6D.

[ibarry92]

How are you enjoying the Canon 6D? Any likes and dislikes? I'm asking because I'm thinking about picking one up.

[danniexi]

Originally Posted by ibarry92

How are you enjoying the Canon 6D? Any likes and dislikes? I'm asking because I'm thinking about picking one up.

personally, after owning it for a month or so...

likes:
- cheaper than the 5dmkiii
- lighter, smaller body compared to 5Dmkiii
- wifi/gps
- on-par image quality with 5Dmkiii

dislikes:
- 1 card slot
- basic AF-system; 11-points with 1 center cross type
- pretty slow continuous shooting (4.5 fps)
- 97% viewfinder

it's good, not great. it has a a rudimentary af-system, but at least with a very sensitive center cross-type (down to -3EV). its lighter and smaller than its other full-frame brothers, but with very slightly poorer build quality (the rear button/wheel especially). it only has one card slot with a 97% viewfinder, but the 6d also comes with wifi/gps functionality.

i could go on and on, but you can pretty much tell that Canon deliberately stuck this camera somewhere in the middle between the 60D and 5Dmkiii. it's like porsche introducing with cayman when the 911 and the boxster were already on sale. good, but could be better, but still better than the entry level, but at middle price point.

personally, i wanted to upgrade to a full frame, and but the 5dmkiii was too big of an investment. the 6d was perfect for me. im only an amateur hobbyist, and with my shooting style (mostly portraits and stills with very little sports or wildlife) the 6d was a much better option as oppose to the 5Dmkiii.

although if i wasnt so invested with canon already (already had a FF lens), i wouldve gone for the nikon d600 instead; it's overall a better camera than the 6D.

[E92M356789]

Originally Posted by danniexi

personally, after owning it for a month or so...

likes:
- cheaper than the 5dmkiii
- lighter, smaller body compared to 5Dmkiii
- wifi/gps
- on-par image quality with 5Dmkiii

dislikes:
- 1 card slot
- basic AF-system; 11-points with 1 center cross type
- pretty slow continuous shooting (4.5 fps)
- 97% viewfinder

it's good, not great. it has a a rudimentary af-system, but at least with a very sensitive center cross-type (down to -3EV). its lighter and smaller than its other full-frame brothers, but with very slightly poorer build quality (the rear button/wheel especially). it only has one card slot with a 97% viewfinder, but the 6d also comes with wifi/gps functionality.

i could go on and on, but you can pretty much tell that Canon deliberately stuck this camera somewhere in the middle between the 60D and 5Dmkiii. it's like porsche introducing with cayman when the 911 and the boxster were already on sale. good, but could be better, but still better than the entry level, but at middle price point.

personally, i wanted to upgrade to a full frame, and but the 5dmkiii was too big of an investment. the 6d was perfect for me. im only an amateur hobbyist, and with my shooting style (mostly portraits and stills with very little sports or wildlife) the 6d was a much better option as oppose to the 5Dmkiii.

although if i wasnt so invested with canon already (already had a FF lens), i wouldve gone for the nikon d600 instead; it's overall a better camera than the 6D.

Wow thats neat, I like the Wifi/gps. In the 5DIII you have to buy those components and its not cheap

[E92M356789]

I just got it today and for the price I think its totally worth it. Here are a few pics that I took of my son and his extreme rat! and a couple of pics of the beast!

[ichiban]

rodi, you've made this thread much more enjoyable. have fun with the new camera.

[ddk632]

Originally Posted by ibarry92

How are you enjoying the Canon 6D? Any likes and dislikes? I'm asking because I'm thinking about picking one up.

Don't want to thread-jack but wanted to answer your questions. First of all, I believe the 6D and the 5DIII are both amazing DSLR's. I have some specific reasons why I went with 6D that I will outline below.

I love my 6D. It is exactly what I was looking for in terms of features. The downsides of the camera are not a bother, and the AF system is actually really good. Note that I don't do much AI Servo tracking, but what little I have used with my kids running around has been quite successful, actually. The low light focusing ability is amazing, as is the high ISO capability which, until I got the camera, I thought I didn't care about. That was a nice surprise. The image quality is outstanding out of the box.

I have not played with editing raw files yet, just due to being busy. Finally got Lightroom 4.3 last week so that will change.

Some of my favorite features so far have been WiFi with EOS Remote for shooting low angles and not needing to crouch down (and shooting in the cold while sitting in my car and controlling the camera!), the GPS which I have enabled all the time but really came into its own for all the pics I took on my X6M PCD delivery and road trip through Tail of the Dragon as well as a couple of trips in December, the Multiple Exposure feature which allows for some really cool creative shots (5DIII has this also), and overall it's just a pleasure to use.

The things that I am not crazy about first and foremost are that the EOS Remote app is not a native iPad app, so for precision focus it is still better to use Live View on the LCD when possible. I am hoping Canon will release a native iPad EOS Remote updated app sometime this year to resolve this. Also, the 97% viewfinder is better than the 95% VF on my 400D, although I would have loved 100% coverage.

Things that simply don't bother me but other people seem to care about, the max 1/4000 shutter, I never really use such fast speeds or shoot at high noon; the flash sync speed or lack of PC sync, as I use OCF with Speedlite 580EXII's and am planning for an upgrade sometime soon to a couple (or three) of 600EX-RT's with the new ST-E3 as the line of sight limitation with the ST-E2 and 580EXII's bothers me more than the slower sync speed. I don't mind using HSS even though it can be a loss of flash power, because I don't use the flash at full power all the time anyway.

I don't shoot professionally and the lack of 2 card slots also isn't important to me but may be to others, and the SD card actually makes it easier to pull the card out and stick it into any laptop or my iPad via the iPod Camera Connection Kit and transfer photos. With my 400D I used an ExpressCard CF Card adapter with my big Dell laptop, but many laptops don't even have one so you'd need a card reader which is more junk lying around your desk.

Ultimately I did cross shop the 5DIII and for the type of shooting I prefer, mostly scapes, cars and bikes, and nature, and the fact that my video is limited to family stuff that I don't even post on YouTube (or anywhere for that matter), I felt that the extra features of the 5DIII when weighed against the extra features of the 6D, for me personally, didn't make sense. I had much more use for remotely controlling my camera and logging GPS coordinates when traveling than I did for sophisticated autofocus and video features.

It's a bonus that the 6D sensor, high ISO noise quality, and dynamic range have been getting rave reviews. It's been marketed as a landscape type camera and for that it delivers. So I am happy with my purchase and I also got the TS-E 17 f/4L at the same time I ordered the 6D, which in my case was a better place to stick the price differential.

Hope this helps. It's all a matter of needs and wants, but in this case it's not just a financial decision. There is a distinct difference in feature sets between the two cameras, and I believe that with the lower prices of 5DIII these days that unless one is already stretching the budget to get a 6D, the main deciding points should be the feature sets and how you will use the camera.

[rodi]

Originally Posted by ichiban

rodi, you've made this thread much more enjoyable. have fun with the new camera.

i do my best.

[Mr Tonka]

Originally Posted by ichiban

rodi, you've made this thread much more enjoyable. have fun with the new camera.

We're all proud of you as well Rodi.

[IMG]

Very nice !

[E92M356789]

Originally Posted by img

Very nice !

Thanks!

And to all of those that think that rodi's comment was funny, grow up! If this is your roll model, I hate to see what kind of life you live!

[dcstep]

If you don't do stuff like this:


Red-tail hawk flies by by dcstep, on Flickr

or sports, then I think that the 6D is the preferable body for most people. The 5D MkIII's tougher build quality may be important to some, but I think the AF system's ability to accurately acquire focus and keep focus on moving subjects is the reason to spring for the more costly camera. Most people never really put that to use. The 6D can track the kiddos and manage most situations quite well.

Dave

[E92M356789]

Originally Posted by dcstep

If you don't do stuff like this:


Red-tail hawk flies by by dcstep, on Flickr

or sports, then I think that the 6D is the preferable body for most people. The 5D MkIII's tougher build quality may be important to some, but I think the AF system's ability to accurately acquire focus and keep focus on moving subjects is the reason to spring for the more costly camera. Most people never really put that to use. The 6D can track the kiddos and manage most situations quite well.

Dave

Wow that is an amazing picture and good information, but I already made the jump!