Canon 6D - Work and Play

[midnight]

After returning from Japan a few weeks ago and having spent a lot of time there this year, I had the opportunity to return back to Japan for a final inspection of our turbine.

Luckily the 6D was let loose on the market yesterday and with some "technical" justification, I ended up getting one for work and private use.

This thing is much lighter than our 7D and although I have not put it to use yet as I am now returning home, it looks and feel smart.

I use my 7D extensively for work for hi detail photos of our engineering projects but it is showing significant signs of wear having been on high demand this year. I do have my doubts about the 6D in this department but for now the 7D will still be my work horse.

I hope to get some photo comparisons this afternoon for those of you here more suited to finer judgements than myself.

According to my Mastercard, it cost AU$1925 including the 2.9% MC international fee.

The Japanese model has an english language option (our work 7D was also bought in Tokyo).

They have sold out already in 2 stores so I was lucky. Time to put the L series glasses to work and stick this piggy back on my G11 soon and return to some 200mm and 50mm work which I enjoy the most in the piggyback astro domain;)

Firmware already 1.0.9 interestingly!

Darrin...

[Logieberra]

Darrin

I'm interested in seeing your early astro shots with this. The wife and I are in the market and looking towards the 6D, 5DMkii or the 650D with the latest Digic5 at the minimum.

A mate has the Mkiii and uses it for Astro. The results are impressive with noise reduction on. I would expect the same with the 6D.

Keep us posted please. Logan.

[midnight]

Hello All,

Trying to get a night out is proving difficult due to work but I have taken same comparison photos with some limited time tonight.

Date : 3 December 2012
Time : Approx 7:40pm WST
Lense : EF200mmF2.8L
F ratio : F8
Shutter : 1/30sec
ISO : 1600
Mirror lockup : On
Focus : Manual via liveview
Other : 2 second delay to minimise shakes.
Noise reduction : Off
Raw : ON
JPG Export : Quality of 9 in DPP (V3.12.51.2)

Each image was cropped to give 600x400 pixels but the 40D was so noisy, the jpg export was over 200kB and I ended up cropping to 500 x 400 pixels to get it under 200kB.

Cameras used :
40D, 6D and 7D.

I haven't done a comparison like this before and doing this around sunset is not ideal due to the rapid change in light. All pics were done within about 4 minutes total.

Any suggestions for comparison are welcomed.

I will be back home next weekend.

Darrin...

[midnight]

And another comparison between the 6D and 7D
EF50mmF1.4
2 Sec
F4
Manual Focus.
Mirror lockup and 2sec timer.
ISO3200
Noise reduction off
Subject : M42
Crop : 400 x 400 pixels
Captured in RAW and DPP converted to JPG quality 9

Canon 6D and 7D respectively.

Darrin...

[midnight]

And finally some more.

Set 1 : Jupiter
Set 2 : M42

No tracking, fixed tripod
EF300mmF4L
F4
ISO3200 (all cameras)
4 seconds
Manual focus via liveview
Mirrorlockup + 2sec delay timer.
RAW and then cropped and exported to JPG in DPP (quality 9)
Crops for each set are the same pixel size. Jupiter = 300x300 pixels. M42 = 500x500 pixels.
Noise reduction turned off.

Cheers,
Darrin...
PS : ISO20000 is impressive on the 6D.
There is a noticeable difference between the 7D and 6D beyond ISO1600 and no comparison to the 40D.
Notice too the change from crop sensor (esp 7D) to fullframe (6D)

[Astroman]

Looks promising... can really notice the noise levels when comparing them side by side. I would love to get one.

[LightningNZ]

Darrin, could you post a shot of M42 at ISO 20K on the 6D and 7D for comparison?

Thanks for all these pics. The 6D looks impressive.
Cheers,
Cam

[midnight]

Cam, the 7D only goes to 12500 after selecting the extended ISO option so I can only compare 12500 to 20000. Luckily last night I did just that.

But to give the images a decent comparison, the jpg compression should be the same and the 7D was that noisy I struggled to get a 600x600 pixel crop at JPG quality 5 to be under 200kB.

The 6D had no problem which indicates a more smoother picture and less work for the JPG compression algorithm.

The comparison below is therefore only 500x500 pixels both and jpg compression 6 from RAW to try and keep some similarity.

7D = ISO125000
6D = ISO20000

All other parameters as per my previous post.

The 6D appears to be a clear winner in the noise department. But something tells me that the 6D is softer in colour :shrug: and the 7D could benefit more from stacking. Interesting.

Cheers,
Darrin...

[danielsun]

Thanks for the comparison Darrin. :thumbsup: I have a 7D and have just been reading up on whether to make the jump to full frame with the 6D.
The 6D is a clear winner in the lower noise department and higher ISO but i see the it does not have the little joystick on the back like the 7D or pop up flash and a slower shutter speed f/p/sec.
Both cameras have their good and bad points but I suppose i will have to weigh it up.



Cheers Daniel.

[Octane]

Pop-up flash makes all photographs look horrible, anyway. :P

At least with a Speedlight/strobe you can bounce off the wall behind you to create flattering portraits.

H

[midnight]

You're welcome Daniel!

I do miss the joystick but it is functionally built into the dial. Have a closer look at the 6D's dial and you'll see that the inner ring of the dial operates like the joystick on the 7D.

I find the pop up flash of very little use for my needs and the higher ISO performance tends to compensate in some instances. Get a Speedlight and it opens up whole new area of photography.

The speed of the 7D will be hard to match. Given its build quality and speed, it seems to me to be targetted towards sports or wildlife photography where you're outside and you may need that high frame rate for a sudden change in the subject.

Darrin...

[danielsun]

Yeah, from what I have also read a speedlight is the way to go.:thumbsup:
But wondering how much to invest. Been looking at what seems to be an average model, the 430 EX II.


Thanks Darrin, yes I see the new joystick set up which looks pretty a similar set up and overall the 6D is looking good but another thing to consider looks like I would have buy all new glass. My current lenses wont fit and after doing a quick search it seems (I could be wrong) the range of lenses available for full frame cameras is limited.

Cheers Daniel.

[Octane]

Daniel,

The only lenses that won't fit the 6D (or, any other Canon full frame camera) are the EF-S lenses. These protrude too far into the body of the camera.

All other EF lenses will work.

And, yep, the 430 EX II is plenty. :)

H

[danielsun]

Ok cool, that clears things up for me. Thanks H.:thumbsup: