Thanks to Bryan for the excellent review of 6D

[Scott Stephen]

Thanks to Bryan and TDP for the very solid and useful review of 6D. I have been waiting for one from the small group of reviewers I feel are trustworthy (so many are just cheerleaders for their advertizers) and TDP was probably the one I most anticipated.

I believe I am going to pick one up. Had been meaning to go FF for a while. I got a little spooked by the talk of the 5D3 struggling for AF in low light, particularly with speedlite AF-assist beam, but other sites say the 6D is noticably better in that regard. The many extra AF points are obviously great for shooters of faster-moving objects, but I have several years before my kindergartener or my baby get too fast for 11 AF points. (Or if they do get extraordinarily swift very young, then maybe they will later buy their old dad a nice camera with their pro-athlete paycheck).

Think I will use some of the savings of 6D vs. 5D3 and get an 85 f/1.8, and maybe wait a year or 2 and see how the new Canon 50mm prime(s) look.

[Sean Setters]

I think that sounds like a good plan. The Canon 85mm f/1.8 is one of my favorite lenses when using a full-frame camera. In fact, I use it about as much as my 70-200mm f/2.8 L IS. Considering its price, I think it's a steal.

[Tounis]

I picked one up on Tuesday, and my first impression is that I made a really good choice. I mainly do some landscape while hiking in the alps, and the 6D seems to be a good fit for this kind of photography. I come from a XSI and when I grabbed the 6D for the first time with the 24-105 attached to it, I was glad it wasn't any heavier, as I plan to carry it a lot on foot. I won't miss the extra 200 grams of the 5D3.
I was only able to take a few shots with it, and I'm still waiting for a sunny day here, but so far the IQ looks great. I'm really looking forward to my first real use of the body.
I'll probably buy the 85 f/1.8 in the near future, as I would like to have at least one fast lens for portraits, and a Speedlight.

[Scott Stephen]

Ordered it, will have it tomorrow. Also got the 85 f/1.8. Went through TDP so Bryan gets the credit he deserves for the review, and for the rest of the valuable resources here.

[Dave Throgmartin]

Scott,

What will you use for a FF normal lens? Did you get the kit with 24-105?

Dave

[Busted Knuckles]

Ordered it, will have it tomorrow. Also got the 85 f/1.8. Went through TDP so Bryan gets the credit he deserves for the review, and for the rest of the valuable resources here.

How do you like the 1.4 TC?

Looking at the focal length coverage - pretty broad. From a FF perspective - with two bodies - 24-105 on the FF, 112-320 (70-200 on the T3i) and the 1.4 in the bag jumping the 70-200 to a 448 equiv on the T3i on the long end. Two bodies, two lenses and a TC.

jumping to the low light side, 17-55 f2.8, 85mm 1.8 so FF is 28-85 @ 2.8 or.... 50mm 1.8 on the FF and the 85 1.8 (135 equiv) on the T3i. Seems like you have a lot of options, effectively a lot of great glass..... so Scott you have precious few excuses for not being the next Pulitzer Prize winning photo guy..... ( Scott has the 1.4 TC and I don't so that is why he is 1st up for the prize ).

For those who recall some of 1st posts on TDP - I am still amazed at the power of the modern DSLR/ILC compared to the film cameras. 1976 brought to 2012, the Canon f-1 body would be right at $4,000 - not quite to the 1dx, but if were to add any of the old motor drives it would well exceed the the 1dx. 1/2000ths was the top shutter speed, interchangeable focus screens and HEAVY construction - the metering was pretty simple and certainly no auto anything.

Even though many snicker at the green box setting, it allows many, many people to enjoy the thrills of capturing images, all the extra features and functions put amazing creativity within the reach of just about any interested consumer and doesn't require a studio full of people. I look through Vimeo and Flickr and just get amazed at the images, creativity, information, and often joy they bring to the world - Ta Da to them.

Sorry for hijacking the thread and prattling romantically

[Scott Stephen]

@Dave: I got the 24-105 kit, as that seemed like a good walk-around. Even though I know that on FF, the f/4 lens will actually be 1/3 stop faster than my old f/2.8 zoom was on a crop, it still felt like I might be missing out on wider aperatures, though. That is why I got the 85 f/1.8 to kind of fill in for that, plus it gets me back to the portrait length the 50 f/1.8 used to give me on crop.

@Busted: A lot of options indeed, none of which are a Pulitzer with my name on it though. I will keep the crop body as a 2nd camera, so I can use 2 lenses at the same time. Probably the long lens on the crop and a short lens on the FF, so I have the widest range covered.

I may sell the 17-55 lens.

Also, forgot to say in response I like the 1.4x mk3 TC. I never owned any other TC, so I have nothing to compare it to. I personally can't see any degradation in IQ, but then I don't analyze the results beyond saying "I like it" or I don't like it." . It was often too long before on my T3i, but I may be using it more now with the FF.

[TheRoff]

It is a good review. I have almost sort of decided that the 6D would be my next camera rather than the 5DIII. Maybe.

Larry

[Busted Knuckles]

Scott, I too am keeping the t3i to have two cameras/lens going at the same time. I see it has the 24-105 on the FF and the 70-200 on the crop as the standard config.

One thing I did notice w/ the 5dIII and the 24-105 vs. the t3i and 17-55..... weight. So, my x-mas pics will be likely the t3i & 17-55. smaller, lighter, etc.

[Scott Stephen]

Busted: Yes, weight. 6D is lighter than 5D, but still quite heavy with 24-105 or 70-200. I am going to apply the 2% cash back from B&H I earned on these purchases towards a much more sturdy tripod. I already have their Oben monopod, which is solid as a rock. I now want the Oben tripod + Oben ballhead which is rated to support 17.6 lbs. That is a higher weight rating than 90% of the tripods B&H sells, and it is definitely the least expensive of the few other ones that sturdy.

I am really loving the 6D, B/T/W, though I have not had the chance to really do anything major with it. My biggest like is the way it shoots acceptable-looking test shots at ISO 3200 and 6400, whereas on the T3i it looked pretty grim (poor detail, noticable noise) at even 800. But also the little things, like how you can adjust ISO in 1/3 stops instead of just whole stops. And I definitely notice the shallower DOF.