Anyone using EOS 6D for wedding photography

mark1616

mark1616

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Hi all,

I'm considering moving from my pair of 5DmkII bodies to the 6D as I really want the quieter shutter and better high ISO noise handling. I also see reports that the centre focus point is very strong (which is what I use 95% of the time currently).

I'm interested to hear real life experiences in the wedding situation of the 6D. If anyone has made the move from 5D2 that would be even better.

Also would like to know how the outer focus points compare to the outer ones on the 5D2, if they are no worse then for my use that would be fine, if they are better then happy days :)

Anything else I should be aware of?

I've obviously considered going 5D3, but for the difference in price, especially when buying 2 bodies, the 6D looks very tempting.

Thanks for your help :)
 
markmullen said:
The only reason I don't have one as a second body, and something to be aware of, is it doesn't have dual card slots, if it did I'd swap my 1Ds2 for one.
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Neither does the 5d ii so I doubt this will bother the op, for me dual slots is a massively over hyped feature!
 
I own a 6D and feel completely relaxed about it having just one SD slot, but I do not shoot professionally and will not suffer the consequences should someone's Big Day be spoiled by loss of photographs. I would say that for Wedding's, twin slots is more important than for any other circumstance.

However, I do think it much more likely for a tog to have his camera/kit stolen, than it is for a high quality SD card to fail. I have heard of cameras being stolen during/after Wedding's, but not of any card failures.
 
I have a 6D and 5D MK III for doing weddings... only shot one so far with this setup though as only recently purchased the 6D.

I found it a great little performer but the outer focal points didn't fare too well in lower light situations. I tried to take a shot of the speeches (I think about 4000 ISO so not THAT dark) and the 6D struggled to find focus whereas the 5D MK III locked on instantly.

Apart from that it worked great... As someone who uses nearest focal points I wouldn't want the 6D as my main body, but as my 2nd body with a 70-200mm zoom attached it worked far better than the 7D it replaced.

Would I see much benefit over a 5D MK II? Having not owned a MK II I couldn't really comment, but the thing that made me go for the 6D over one was that you could set min shutter and ISO speeds when shooting AV & Auto ISO.
 
Interesting thread and one I will keep an eye on. I'm after a 5d mkIII but having heard about the ISO performance off the 6d it got me thinking should I go for that.
 
freefall said:
Interesting thread and one I will keep an eye on. I'm after a 5d mkIII but having heard about the ISO performance off the 6d it got me thinking should I go for that.
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They are quite different cameras... for me the 5D MK III destroys the 6D, although the 6D is still an excellent camera.

The 5D MK III's focus system is just amazing in comparison, dual card slots, built better (the 6D feels like a toy in comparison)... I'm glad I have it as my main body, but the 6D is still a very good body.
 
Do you use centre focus point 95% of the time because of personal preference, or because you find the non-centred points a limiting factor on the 5D2? If you actually prefer shooting centre point and recomposing, the 5D3 may not offer very much over the 6D. Upgrading from the 5D2 to a 6D may feel more like an update rather than a full upgrade. You'll gain ~2/3rds of a stop low light performance (same as 5D3) plus a few other bells and whistles, but things will feel pretty much the same. The 5D3 is a more substantial upgrade, but whether those extras are worth £800 to £900 is something only you can decide.

I have only toyed with a 5D3 for a few brief moments, but for my (non professional) use it wasn't worth the extra money over a 6D. I use centre point AF out of preference, and I would continue to use centre point if I owned a 5D3/1DX. Old habits are hard to break, and shooting centre point just feels natrual/seemless to me.

If I was a wedding tog, the biggest selling factors of the 5D3 over the 6D for me would be dual cards slots and build. The biggest benefits of the 6D being weight and price. Some of the buttons on the 6D do feel a bit low quality for the price.

If trick mult-point AF was such a necessity, every Canon shooter would have turned to Nikon 10 years ago. I was initially wowed by the AF on my 7D, but once I started using for real I settled back into my old cetre-centric routines.

edit This real world Wedding togs review may be of use.
 
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Thanks all for your thoughts so far and I would love to hear any more.

Orville, I had spotted that one and found it very interesting.

I have mixed feelings about the dual card slots, I've only ever had them when I had the 1DmkIII, apart from that I've survived with the single and use small cards so if something did go wrong I would be find and also, as I use 2 bodies that would hopefully help if there was a problem. Having said that, I can see a benefit of having extra protection.

Part of me is thinking a 5DmkIII and 6D combo with the long lenses on the 6D.

Hmmmm...................
 
mark1616 said:
I have mixed feelings about the dual card slots, I've only ever had them when I had the 1DmkIII, apart from that I've survived with the single and use small cards so if something did go wrong I would be find and also, as I use 2 bodies that would hopefully help if there was a problem. Having said that, I can see a benefit of having extra protection.
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Whilst that technique is minimising your risk, you are still exposed if a card goes down and it is the one covering an unrepeatable moment.

If I was doing weddings professionally I'd stretch the extra and get a pair of 5D3s, for the £400-500 extra over a 5D3 and a 6D it gives you a backup and also enables you to switch seamlessly from one body to the next.
 
The difference in price between the 6D and 5D3 is closer to £800, making a pair ~£1600 more expensive. £1600 is a lot of money to insure against something which will in all likelihood never happen. The 5D3 does of course have other benefits, but do any of them really make a huge difference when shooting Weddings? The £1600 difference could buy one or two nice lenses which could provide more noticeable improvements to the final product.

Canon have been clever outfitting the 6D with just one slot. One slot is good enough for pro-sumer / enthusiast use, but not quite acceptable for professional use. This allows many people to trade-up to FF 6D goodness, but also forces pro's to spend that bit more on the 5D3. Saying all that, people have been happy shooting with single CF cards for years, and there is little reason to believe that high quality SD cards will not be as reliable as CF cards.
 
mark1616 said:
Part of me is thinking a 5DmkIII and 6D combo with the long lenses on the 6D.

Hmmmm...................
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That's what I've got:

5D MK III - 24-70mm f/2.8 lens attached
6D - 70-200mm f/2.8 attached

I did find the 6D felt a bit weird with such a big heavy lens attached to such a small light body but got used to it pretty quickly
 
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