Canon EOS 6D Review

On 5th October 2012, the Canon EOS 6D was officially and proudly launched in Singapore, the world’s lightest full-frame DSLR for photography enthusiasts looking for an affordable full-frame image control and capturing experience. Equipped with a 20.2-megapixel 35 mm full-frame CMOS sensor with a precise 11-point Auto-Focus (AF) system, the EOS 6D is also the first EOS-series camera that offers built-in Wi-Fi and GPS support.

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I was there to witness the launch event and the Canon EOS 6D left a great impression on me, since it is a full-frame DSLR that is affordable for photography enthusiasts and professionals to own it as their main or back-up DSLR. When the opportunity came forth to me for a review, courtesy of Canon Singapore and Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide, I did not hesitate to welcome the Canon EOS 6D with open arms for two weeks. Overall, I had a wonderful and fun experience with the Canon EOS 6D and here are my stories, thoughts, views, opinions, mini comparison between Canon EOS 6D and Canon EOS 5D Mark III and target market suitability.

There are some key features inside the Canon EOS 6D that I would like to highlight to my readers. The Canon EOS 6D focusing is pretty fast and accurate, thanks to their new 11-point AF System. These 11 points boast of accurate focusing even in low light up to EV -3 rating (the first and lowest in the EOS range) for sharper photos. Moreover, exposure control in the EOS 6D is made incredibly precise due to a metering system called iFCL (Focus Color Luminance), which has a 63-zone dual layer metering sensor. After the AF system speedily determines the location of the main subject, this Automatic Exposure (AE) system then takes over to determine the optimal exposure setting for that subject. With both the AF and AE capabilities working in tandem, users will be able to take images that are sharp, focused, and with the desired level of brightness as per settings in the camera.

The feel and built of the Canon EOS 6D is good, firm and sturdy. Weighing at 680g (body only), it is not too heavy and quite manageable for most users. In addition, the EOS 6D is very durable as its magnesium alloy body is dust-proof and drip-proof, and has a long-lasting shutter unit that is able to withstand 100,000 shutter cycles.

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Built-in Wi-Fi and EOS Remote

The built-in Wi-Fi is an excellent feature that the Canon EOS 6D possesses. Together with the EOS Remote app that can be downloaded into your smartphone or tablet, the combination of the built-in Wi-Fi and the EOS Remote is very useful and handy, for both photography enthusiasts and professional photographers. When you take photographs with the Canon EOS 6D, your photographs can be viewed immediately on your smartphone or tablet with the built-in Wi-Fi and EOS Remote both switched on and paired together. This wonderful combination will be very good for

–       Group Photo taking

–       Self portrait taking

–       With Live View, can check images from remote locations

–       Placing your Canon EOS 6D on a tripod to capture photography (e.g. wildlife, street, people) movements while you are at a short distance away to observe and take photographs via the EOS Remote and Live View shooting.

–       Commercial/Wedding Photographers in their studio or outdoor location shoot can view their photographs immediately and make the necessary adjustments.

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The Canon EOS 6D built-in Wi-Fi feature along with the EOS Remote is excellent for viewing, downloading and sharing with friends and on social media platforms. For a social media enthusiast/blogger/reporter/writer attending events, imagine after shooting the photographs, you can choose and select which photographs to show your readers and the social media world in a relatively short time.

For a better understanding on how the EOS Remote works, do check out this link http://www.canon-asia.com/eosremote/ and they have diagrams showing how the steps on how to use EOS Remote

The built-in GPS function will help photographers build a more complete record of their trip by using the GPS logger function to track their route, which can be displayed using the supplied Map Utility software. Photos can also be geo-tagged with GPS data.

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Here are some of my views and thoughts on the pros and cons of the Canon EOS 6D –

Pros

–       EOS Remote app allows the photographer to control the Canon EOS 6D ISO levels, Shutter Speed and Aperture during Live View Shooting.

–       Advanced features such as HDR Backlight Control, Multiple Exposure Shots, Silent Drive mode and a single axis electronic level accessed through the viewfinder or via the LCD screen.

–       At ISO 25,600, the noise level is low and grain is not really that visible (in my personal opinion). This demonstrates the strength and quality of the Canon Digic 5+ sensor.

–       Special Scene Mode is useful and handy for photographers who are starting off to learn more about the scenes, shooting modes and capabilities of the DSLR camera.

–       Lightweight and compact full-frame DSLR packed with strong functions and capabilities.

Cons

–       The built-in Wi-Fi interface, setup and pairing is not that smooth, users might take a while to get used to it.

–       The built-in Wi-Fi drains battery life on the Canon EOS 6D and you would need to prepare more spare batteries.

–       When the built-in Wi-Fi connects to your smartphone, you would not be able to use your cellular data network. One solution is to have another spare smartphone or tablet to do the job of viewing, downloading and remote shooting.

On 15th May 2013, Canon Inc and Canon Marketing Japan Inc announced that the Canon EOS 6D has been honoured in Japan with the coveted Camera Grand Prix 2013 “Editors Award”. The Camera Grand Prix, considered the most sought-after camera and lens product awards in Japan, is organised by the Camera Journal Press Club (CJPC), comprising of journalists from major photography and camera magazines in Japan.

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For photography enthusiasts and photography professionals out there who are planning and considering which full-frame DSLR for their usage, they will research and read up on both Canon DSLR models and do a comparison between them. I have come up with my personal mini comparison between the Canon EOS 6D and Canon EOS 5DmkIII that might help in their choice of selecting between these two Canon full-frame DSLR cameras. I did a review on the Canon EOS 5DmkIII too and had great experiences with it! Do check out my review on the Canon EOS 5DmkIII here!

Mini-table of comparison between Canon EOS 6D and Canon EOS 5DmkIII

Canon EOS 6D Canon EOS 5DmkIII
Built-in Wi-Fi N.A.
GPS Support N.A.
HDR (Simple) HDR (Advanced with more options)
11 points AF 61 points AF
4.5 fps 6 fps
20 megapixels 22 megapixels
97% viewfinder coverage 100% viewfinder coverage
1/4000 max shutter speed 1/8000 max shutter speed
Scene Modes N.A.
1/180 Flash X-Sync 1/200 Flash X-Sync
SD only SD and CF
RRP: SGD $2899 (Body only) RRP: SGD $4699 (Body only)

Which target segment would the Canon EOS 6D are suitable for?

In my humble personal opinion, they would be suitable for the following:

–       Photographers who wish to purchase their first full-frame DSLR at a lower cost.

–       Photographers who wish to own a 2nd camera for their travel and as a back up DSLR.

–       Enthusiasts from the social media/blogging and Press/Writers/Reporters that would like a high quality DSLR with live coverage and updates functions to their respective distribution channels (controlled, selective and high quality photographs)

–       Photographers who are starting off in the industry especially in the commercial/editorial/fashion/portraits photography, for the affordability and capabilities of the Canon EOS 6D.

–       Dedicated landscape photographers who love and want the full-frame DSLR.

–       Travel photographers

If given a choice, which DSLR would I choose between the Canon EOS 6D and Canon EOS 5DmkIII? Personally, I would choose the Canon EOS 6D because the DSLRs combination that I am planning (in an ideal scenario that I hope to achieve some day in the future) to eventually build up to is

–       Canon EOS 1DmkIII (current DSLR model)

–       Canon EOS 1DX (hopefully someday in the future)

–       Canon EOS 6D (hopefully someday in the future and if my budgeting allows)

–       Canon EOS 100D (hopefully someday in the future and if my budgeting allows)

–       Collection of EF L lenses (hoping to add 24-70mm L and 200-400mm f/4 L to my existing setup of 17-40mm f/4 L, 70-200mm f/4 L, 300mm f/2.8 L)

For those photographers who wish to own a full-frame DSLR camera, the Canon EOS 6D is definitely a worthy consideration for you to add on into your current DSLR camera setup. Do check out my Canon EOS 6D review photographs on 500px and Flickr!


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