6D with 24-105 for Weddings?

I posted this in the camera body section but someone mentioned it's more suited for here.

Anyway, I'm starting to get hired to shoot weddings here and there even though this wasn't my main goal. I've been wanting to upgrade to a 6D for some time, as my 60D's ISO are maxing out at 3200 quality-wise.

I'm thinking there'll be some great deals on the 6D next weekend so I'd like to find out that, since the 6D's ISO capabilities are so excellent, if I could use the 24-105 for the time being until I could upgrade to one of the 24-70 2.8's? I'm figuring that the extra stop to f4 is somewhat moot since I could push the 6D to 6400 or even further. I'll be borrowing my sister-in-law's 70-200 II, I'll already have the 17-40 and I have a few primes as well so I'm specifically curious about the 24-105. What say you?

dandingo wrote in post #16469905
I posted this in the camera body section but someone mentioned it's more suited for here.

Anyway, I'm starting to get hired to shoot weddings here and there even though this wasn't my main goal. I've been wanting to upgrade to a 6D for some time, as my 60D's ISO are maxing out at 3200 quality-wise.

I'm thinking there'll be some great deals on the 6D next weekend so I'd like to find out that, since the 6D's ISO capabilities are so excellent, if I could use the 24-105 for the time being until I could upgrade to one of the 24-70 2.8's? I'm figuring that the extra stop to f4 is somewhat moot since I could push the 6D to 6400 or even further. I'll be borrowing my sister-in-law's 70-200 II, I'll already have the 17-40 and I have a few primes as well so I'm specifically curious about the 24-105. What say you?

I have a 24-105 and a 24-70. The 24-105 is what i use to do most of my formals with ( i use strobes to light so im usually at F/5.6-6.3 )and its a great lens if there is enough light. That being said,Im often is dark settings and F/4 glass is too slow, so the 24-70 and the primes get more use. F/4 is not fast enough for most of my needs. Im very comfortable with the 5D3 at 6400 ISO but I would much rather be at 3200 or less.....I would say...F/2.8 is must have for indoor use.

IMO, 2.8 is the slowest I'd go.

Biggest problem is getting your shutter speed high enough to avoid not only camera shake, but motion blur.

IMO it all comes down to what you can afford now, and your upgrade path.

The 6D will give you that increased ISO performance over your 60D for sure (well more than 1 stop IMO).

Obviously faster lenses are more preferred than pushing ISO, but you've got to ask yourself - with the same amount of cash to spend, what are your other options, what will give the best result now, what will be the best result for a future upgrade path, and weigh them all up.

Check out the 6D. I couldn't believe the quality out of higher ISO's compared to my 550D (same sensor as your 6D). It really blew me away.

I use the 24-105 on my 5d2 quite a bit during weddings. To be fair I have prime lenses I can reach for in really low light, and my 24-105 gets used mainly at the wide end where I can get away with slow shutter speeds, or when I'm using off camera flash, or when I'm actually trying to get some motion blur on the dance floor. I personally love that lens, something I've never really been able to say about any zoom lens I've owned.

You say you've got some primes so I think you'll be fine with the 24-105. And for what it's worth, my shooting partner uses a 6d and the ISO performance on it is nothing short of incredible. It's probably a stop and a half better than my 5d2 and I shoot that at 3200 with no issues and 6400 when called for.

dcnats wrote in post #16472606
And for what it's worth, my shooting partner uses a 6d and the ISO performance on it is nothing short of incredible. It's probably a stop and a half better than my 5d2 and I shoot that at 3200 with no issues and 6400 when called for.

really? that much better than the markII? I rent a 5dIII every now and then, and like the upgrade to my 5dII but just have not yet been able to justify that ridiculous price. I never intentionally "dismissed" the 6D for my next camera, but I guess I did subconsciously and maybe I shouldn't have!

oh, and back to the OP. I wouldn't personally rely so heavily on the 24-105 just because you can go up in iso on the 6D. don't get me wrong, I really like that lens, but I couldn't imagine being immediately limited to f/4 for indoor wedding work. even though I don't shoot crazy shallow depth of field constantly, even autofocusing suffers with slower glass. I personally know people that do it, but it is not for me.

We've never really done a true test but just comparing shots after the wedding it seemed pretty consistent that his 6400 ISO shots had about the same amount of noise as my 3200 on the 5d2 and 12800 on the 6d is quite usable where 6400 on the 5d2 is kind of hit or miss.

I'm kind of in the same boat as you, I want a 5d3 but the cost just isn't justifiable for me at the moment so my next purchase will probably be the 6d.

I use a 6D and 24-105 for weddings and have not found a situation where I couldn't raise the ISO high enough to get a good shutter speed. It's a great combination and the 6D is an amazing camera. I've shot at 12,800 and needed no noise reduction at all.

wow, guess this all makes me think more about the 6D for an option next season

12800 with no noise reduction?! Going to go and look at a couple 6d's now I feel!!

6D does not have dual cards. deal breaker for me. also, 12800 ISO files on the 6D,5D3 and 1Dx can be usable depending on how much light you have to work with to get the shot and how far your going to want to crop in.

I would not jump on a 6D just because it doesnt have dual cards. But I know what a 1Dx can do at 12800. Its about a 3/4 stop cleaner than a 5D3. If you want 12800 clean iso, your gonna need to look at a 1Dx. I have less than a dozen 12800 ISO shots for all of 2013....Not a necessity for me.......but dual cards.. thats a must have to me for wedding photographers.

umphotography wrote in post #16479066
but dual cards.. thats a must have to me for wedding photographers.

I've never had the luxury of dual card slots (I've only owned a 5d2, 5d1, 7d, 60d) so it doesn't feel like a deal breaker to me. Don't get me wrong, I wish I had dual slots but I've learned to shoot with smaller 8 and 16 gb cards to limit any potential loss. It sure would be nice to use 64gb cards and not have to worry though.

dcnats wrote in post #16479130
limit any potential loss.

As a professional this is the only thing that is acceptable. Record to both cards on large cards and never take a chance with someones wedding. We had this argument on a 6D thread a few weeks back. I personally would not risk this for my business. I shoot with dual cards. Period.

This is 12,800 with no processing at all: