From what I've read the MKii AF points were all sensitive down to -0.5 EV. The 6D has the same sensitivity for all points except the center point. They increased the sensitivity of the center point to -3.0 EV.
This means if using the 6D center point you should be able to focus with as little as 1/6th the amount of light required by the MKii.
As an interesting comparison, all the focus points on the MKiii are -2.0 EV, which makes it much better overall than both of them, but the center point is actually worse then the 6D.
All this is just spec sheet mumbojumbo, but so far the few early customer tests seem to validate it.
I wanted to do some (moderately) high ISO tests with the 6D, and today seemed a good time. It's heavily overcast, so I have some very soft light from windows and skylights in our living room. I shot some photos of one of our dogs lounging on the couch. The link goes to two versions of one of these photos, shot at ISO 6400. The original-sized images are there; warning, the "no NR" version is about 18 MB! Feel free to download and play with them in Ps.
The photo was shot as follows:
- Canon 6D body, in RAW mode with all NR turned off (including high-ISO NR)
- Canon 50/1.4 lens at f/8
- Av mode with +1 stop of exposure comp dialed in (white dog, LOL)
- Natural window light
Processing of the photo was done in Lr 4.3, with -.12 stops of exposure compensation, and -16 highlights adjustment. Automatic lens profile adjustment was also turned on. Two versions were processed, one with no NR or sharpening, and one with NR and sharpening optimized to my personal taste.
I have to say, I am just in love with the 6D's high-ISO performance. The noise at 6400 is incredibly easy to deal with, and pretty unobtrusive even without NR. I'd describe the noise as "film-like" but it's actually, IMO, nicer looking than film grain! One thing that is obvious is that there is a *complete* lack of any banding. Now that I've gotten used to the controls, I have to say that I really like the body in general. The only thing that I think is a kind of glaring omission on Canon's part is focus peaking on live view. I was shooting a little with the Zeiss 75/1.5 Biotar @ f/1.8, and I found I could actually judge focus a little better through the optical viewfinder than using live view. Focus peaking would be *so* useful when using MF lenses, and I do love the Biotar.
i hear it may be better than the 5d mkii in terms of noise. Part of the reason i m considering it over a mkiii as my second body
The complete lack of banding is, IMO a huge reason to consider it. I was very strongly considering pulling the trigger on a refurbished 5Dii for $1407 just after Xmas, but what I'm going to do instead is to get another 5D (classic) body as a backup, and continue to use the 5Ds for a while longer. When I finally do upgrade, probably in late 2013 or early 2014, I will certainly consider the 6D.
The 6D body I am currently shooting with belongs to my employer; it will spend its life attached to some industrial microscopes. I took advantage of the holiday break to get familiar with it.
Edit: dpreview lists "Above and to the left of this is the magnify button, which is used to zoom in and check focus in live view and playback. Below that is the playback button itself, with the delete key underneath it towards the bottom of the camera."
There is no option, in Live View, to artificially highlight detail that is in focus. You *can* magnify the Live View screen, but of course then you have no way to frame anything. The magnified view is, IMO, good for static scenes shot on tripod (great for astro work) but is of very limited use in hand-held shooting.
There is no option, in Live View, to artificially highlight detail that is in focus. You *can* magnify the Live View screen, but of course then you have no way to frame anything. The magnified view is, IMO, good for static scenes shot on tripod (great for astro work) but is of very limited use in hand-held shooting.
Thank you!
So is nothing different on this camera from the other Canon line. I am used to Canon 40D...
You would have liked to have something like the point and shot Canon line when in the overall frame there is a square / loupe magnifying the view where the focus is set, right?
You would have liked to have something like the point and shot Canon line when in the overall frame there is a square / loupe magnifying the view where the focus is set, right?
Not exactly... the way "focus peaking" is normally implemented is that areas that are in focus are highlighted on the LCD.
You would have liked to have something like the point and shot Canon line when in the overall frame there is a square / loupe magnifying the view where the focus is set, right?
Not exactly... the way "focus peaking" is normally implemented is that areas that are in focus are highlighted on the LCD.
Thanks for illuminating me. It would be awesome, indeed. It looks that Magic Lantern offers the function but not yet for the 6D.
Just an update for my 6D write to SD card performance! The SD card that I am using is this one.
Couple of days back I went to take some astro shots and noticed that the write time to SD card is awesome! I kept the aperture open for over a minute and I know when it comes to my 50D it takes time to write to CF card even though card rating says 90mbs when it come to 6D it did finish in 2 seconds!!!!
I also tried doing video and same performance it seems like while taking video or photograph it writes to SD card parallel and if so then definitely good when it comes to take some sports or fireworks shots!
Just an update for my 6D write to SD card performance! The SD card that I am using is this one.
Couple of days back I went to take some astro shots and noticed that the write time to SD card is awesome! I kept the aperture open for over a minute and I know when it comes to my 50D it takes time to write to CF card even though card rating says 90mbs when it come to 6D it did finish in 2 seconds!!!!
I also tried doing video and same performance it seems like while taking video or photograph it writes to SD card parallel and if so then definitely good when it comes to take some sports or fireworks shots!
You didn't have long exposure noise reduction on on your 50D and off on your 6D do you? That could account for a difference.
Just an update for my 6D write to SD card performance! The SD card that I am using is this one.
Couple of days back I went to take some astro shots and noticed that the write time to SD card is awesome! I kept the aperture open for over a minute and I know when it comes to my 50D it takes time to write to CF card even though card rating says 90mbs when it come to 6D it did finish in 2 seconds!!!!
I also tried doing video and same performance it seems like while taking video or photograph it writes to SD card parallel and if so then definitely good when it comes to take some sports or fireworks shots!
You didn't have long exposure noise reduction on on your 50D and off on your 6D do you? That could account for a difference.
good question! I will check this evening though it is on default settings right now so whatever came with it, it would have been set to that. Also I didn't see big noise on 6400 at a minute shot.
What Jason said... I bet that long exposure NR is "on" for your 50D. I had wanted to do a test for astro imaging with the 6D over the holiday, but never got to it :-P
I need to get my tracking mount re-configured and a clear night, then we will see what we can do. I'm particularly anxious to try using live view to obtain critical focus. This should be soooo much easier than the tweak, shoot, review, repeat process necessary with the ol' 5D Classic.
What Jason said... I bet that long exposure NR is "on" for your 50D. I had wanted to do a test for astro imaging with the 6D over the holiday, but never got to it :-P
I need to get my tracking mount re-configured and a clear night, then we will see what we can do. I'm particularly anxious to try using live view to obtain critical focus. This should be soooo much easier than the tweak, shoot, review, repeat process necessary with the ol' 5D Classic.
I got it! I will check on and see if that is the case.
DPReview just posted some additional test data. Here is a direct link to the RAW noise performance. Scroll down to the RAW noise performance and select the cameras you want to compare it to and hover over the ISO. For me, this confirms what I observed during the holiday break; the 6D noise performance at high ISO is outstanding, with moderate levels of very fine-grained noise. The most important think IMO, is not shown in the DPReview data, and that is the total lack of shadow banding. Kudos, Canon.
Whoa. That comparison chart makes the 5D2 look a bit long in the tooth. Thanks for the link Fritz.
EDIT: Whoops. I had the 6D set to standard NR and the 5D2 set to Off. Still the color noise is very low on the 6D and that's the hardest noise to deal with.
Whoa. That comparison chart makes the 5D2 look a bit long in the tooth. Thanks for the link Fritz.
Imagine how it makes the original 5D look :-P
If I were upgrading now, I would seriously consider the 6D. As it is, I probably will continue shooting with the 5D for a year or so.
