what is it on the 6D that i'll miss if i jump to the other camp?

disclaimer : this is not a canon vs nikon thread, but i'm seriously considering to jump to the other camp looking at the entry-level FF offerings both have.

i'm currently on the 5Dc and t2i now.. and i've been extremely satisfied with the IQ they've given me. another good thing about canon is also the huge user base - it's easy to find 2nd hand lenses and also sell them if necessary.

however, the things that have been painful for me are :

- lack of AF beam - very simple feature but never seen in Canon dslrs! this means i always have to lug my 580EXII around just for AF assist when shooting in real light (yes, even with my f1.4 prime)

- unreliable AF on outer points. the horizontal points just don't cut it. I often shoot children parties and the AF Servo can't track sh1t at all, even in decent lighting conditions.

the 6D has the ultra sensitive center AF pt - but sounds kinda useless to me (if it's really that dark, i'd have needed a tripod to stabilize the cam.. which means i can take my own sweet time to focus)

to me, the only pain i have to suffer by changing camps is that i must sell my whole suite of lenses and accessories; but that's a one-off thing.

what else should i take note when changing camps? what's bad about the d600? or what's better about the 6d?

i've never heard people sing praises of nikon having better IQ than canon, but it looks the same to me. comments on IQ? (a pity the full reviews aren't out yet!)


another alternative i've considered is to go mirrorless - but looking at the time they need to develop their lenses (such as the 85/1.2 equivalent or 70-200/2.8), it'd be a long wait for the prices to come down.


all comments welcome!

http://www.photography​blog.com …n_d600_-_key_differences/

based on the link above - i see everything i desire on the d600, but not the 6d. i need proof to disconfirm my liking for nikon! lol.

Currently I am also really liking what Nikon is offering, Sony has some interesting things as well. With sony some say the lens lineup isnt very good but I hear the lenses they do have are quite good. I think too many people bash sony just because they personally are shooting canon and this is a canon forum.
Anyways, for me I have a hard time recommending canon if someone is starting out fresh. Also if the lenses you do have for canon are of the type that you would be planning to upgrade anyways then you wouldnt be loosing money by selling and going to another system because you would be selling them anyways, if that make sense. Same things goes with the body. So really the only case where it would just be a bad decision to move to another system would be if you already have L lenses and one of the top tier bodies. In this case you will lose money. Thats just from a financial perspective...of course your money your decision. I guess simply put you should just see what you could get for your equipment if you sold it off and then what you could get with that money if you went with another system.

Now even though I think Nikon is putting out better cameras for better prices I dont think any images from Canon or Nikon (dont know about sony) are so dramatically different that it warrants me personally to switch (except that canon did or still does have some banding). In fact im still shooting a 50D for this reason. There is nothing that really makes me want to upgrade in the canon camp. Now if I had the money and started fresh the d800/e would be exactly what I want. In your second post you seem to like what the d600 is offering. Think it through and price it out.

Like I said I really dont think your going to see a dramatic difference. For those that do i think its alot more psychological than reality

Both 6d and d600 are failures since they've been crippled with 1/4000 shutter speed. Its quite easy to hit over 1/4000 with fast glass in bright light. I'd rather have my 5dmk2 than purchasing a new 6d. The entry level offerings of the FF line really hurt the demanding photog with the 1/4000SS aswell as even slower max flash sync (this isn't that bad but they went backwards). Demanding people have no choice but to buy 1dx or 5dmk3 since canon didn't detune them.

my mirrorless Olympus OM-D has better IQ than a 60d/7d crop and 5dc but the limitation is also 1/4000 SS and slow AF that is not as accurate as phase detect in a dslr.

Unless canon produces an incredible crop body (please better than the current crop lineup) with 7d af .....that is a potential. Otherwise the latest $$$ lineup the 5dmk3 is very future proof in excellent iq/ high ISO performance and adequate fps. The 1DX is very pricey for the average semi pro or enthusiast (but as you can see many people that have non photog occupations can purchase pro gear with their regular jobs unrelated to photography)

Best cheapest incredible body is the D800 with mammoth pig size RAW files. OR maybe if your lucky you can be one of the few that grabs a 5dmk3 when Adorama sells them for cheap $2750 on their Ebay store.

actually i'm not too bothered by the 1/4000 SS limit, or it's relatively not as annoying as the lousy AF points that my 5Dc (or for the matter ,6D) has. i read the d600 review and seem to hear people saying it has relatively lousy AF too (like the d7000, but then again i have no idea how 'lousy' it is.. never tried nikon before).

u're right - i really just need the power of 7D AF + 5Dc IQ + Nikon AF assist beam. is it too much to ask for?

5d3/d800 is good, but that'd be way out of budget for me.

in terms of losing out financially, actually i won't - because most of my lenses are bought 2nd-hand, so i can sell them and get roughly the same amount back. of course that doesn't include the time needed to do that (which would net a loss in terms of time).

the.forumer wrote in post #15057004
u're right - i really just need the power of 7D AF + 5Dc IQ + Nikon AF assist beam. is it too much to ask for?

5d3/d800 is good, but that'd be way out of budget for me.

Canon makes what you want, so no it is not too much to ask, it just comes down to cost, and your financial exposure (no pun intended). You have 4 options:

1) Wait for a great price on a 5D3 and help that price by selling your 5Dc to help fund $600 of it
2) Switch brands and the hassles thereof, and the expense (shipping, fees, time, insurance), only to find out possibly that the "grass isn't always greener"
3) Keep doing what you are doing
4) Move to a 1D series, like the 1D3 for example or 1Ds3 (which seems to be a price point near the 5D3 now and moving down)

If I were ever to consider switching camps, I would first rent a body/lens for a week/weekend and see if it exactly what I was looking for.

you want to join the dark side? shame shame shame.

I shouldn't even be answering this question, as I'm no gear head. Let me ask you this: do you actually take pictures? Or do you constantly read spec sheets? The simple truth is that in 99.99% of the shooting situations you will be able to see no difference in the performance of the two brands. You're limited by 1/4000 maximum shutter speed?? Yeah, I guess those kiddies can move pretty quickly.

But go out and switch systems. Five years down the line, you'll be champing at the bit to switch back to Canon when the pendulum swings its way. It's decisions like this that keep the industry in the big money.

I'd say the same thing to someone who was invested in Nikon gear and was thinking of switching to Canon.

Really though- you are basing your so called experience with Canon DSLR's on two very similar Canon cameras- and in my opinion, not the best for what you are attempting to do.. Cheap- yes- best - nope.

Both the 5Dc and the t2i have a known layout as far as it's AF sensors are concerned- and contribute to your "problems" - yep- the outer sensors are basically worthless. Could you get better- certainly. Go look for one of the Canon models that have all cross type AF systems... The best- reasonably affordable- imo- is the 5D3 followed by the t4i, 7D, 60D, 50D, ... Go ahead and upgrade to a 5D mark II- and you're still in the same boat.. 6D- probably- as it really only has one cross type AF point. Or switch to using Live View on the t2i. To me, if you bought the 5D and then bought the t2i thinking its af arrangement was better- shame on you.. If you bought the t2i and then thought that the 5D was going to be better- again- shame on you. You didn't do the research to figure out where the shortcomings are ! Sorry to be blunt. If you wanted the outer AF points to be better- you should have researched cameras with cross type AF points- all of them. And then bought accordingly. The more AF points you have for tracking- the better.. the more cross type AF points- the merrier.. IMO, you should have sold your 5Dc and t2i, and picked up a 7D or 5D3.. Even a t4i- represents a significant improvement over either of the your two cameras. Me, I'd rather have a single camera that does what I want it to do - well- rather than two cameras that don't. OK- I started out with a t1i for a DSLR.. Didn't like it - figured out why- moved to a 7D. After that- I had figured out what I wanted out of the cameras- and bought accordingly.

6D- I believe it is being marketed as a "portrait" or "Studio" camera. i.e. controlled conditions.. AF arrangement sort of confirms this.. Buy it for the outer AF points- well- they aren't cross type.. Has Canon improved the directionally sensitive AF points to be as good as cross-type ? I don't know. I would not bet on it though.

Sony.. I gave thought to Sony.. Lens selection was one point. Going with a company that makes everything- rather than imaging products- kind of bothered me. Hated their menu system (from a bridge camera). IQ seemed decent. Liked the idea of the EVF.. Now, if I had one- and decided to sell it- how easy is it to get rid of it ? Not too many Sony DSLR owners that I know of.. That bothered me too...

Nikon: Considered them as well. Until recently- what I saw when I looked at the Nikon line- appeared to be stagnant- behind Canon's offerings - till recently. Not opposed to them- mind you. If I decided to try Nikon- I'd probably buy it and keep my Canon stuff till I was convinced otherwise.

don't be too quick to judge, guys.

i had the t2i before getting the 5DC. I knew both of them only had 1 center cross AF and that's it. i had a budget constraint last time and 5Dc was my best bet (wanted to go full-frame and nothing else). In short, i upgraded because of the FF, not the AF points. at that point of time, 5d3 wasn't out yet.. even if it was out - the price was a killer. Nikon seems to fill these gaps (more affordable FFs) than Canon. whether it's better is not up to me to say, since i've not used it before ( the only one i used before was D40, and that was eons ago).

jodelh : i have occasional gigs/weddings, but it's not frequent enough to justify me getting a top end dslr, aka 5d3. i don't always read spec sheets, but when i do - it's for good reason. btw if you read properly, i specified i don't really care about the SS limit.

joedlh wrote in post #15057262
I shouldn't even be answering this question, as I'm no gear head. Let me ask you this: do you actually take pictures? Or do you constantly read spec sheets? The simple truth is that in 99.99% of the shooting situations you will be able to see no difference in the performance of the two brands. You're limited by 1/4000 maximum shutter speed?? Yeah, I guess those kiddies can move pretty quickly.

But go out and switch systems. Five years down the line, you'll be champing at the bit to switch back to Canon when the pendulum swings its way. It's decisions like this that keep the industry in the big money.

I'd say the same thing to someone who was invested in Nikon gear and was thinking of switching to Canon.

This is the typical useless response we seem to see too often. He is having problems with the outer focus points in in his Canon cameras...which indoors I agree with. The D600 has usable outer focus points, so this should be better for the OP. However, my suggestion would be to wait until the 6D is released and see if those outer points have been improved on. If not, you can then make your decision.

btw, i'd love to get the 650d. only problem is ever since i got my 5dc, all the aps-c pics just don't cut it. hence, i'm looking only at FF offerings.

Hogloff wrote in post #15057526
This is the typical useless response we seem to see too often. He is having problems with the outer focus points in in his Canon cameras...which indoors I agree with. The D600 has usable outer focus points, so this should be better for the OP. However, my suggestion would be to wait until the 6D is released and see if those outer points have been improved on. If not, you can then make your decision.

hey thanks for the suggestion. so far there has been no word that the outer points have changed.. but i sure hope it did.

have u used the nikon cams before? esp the d700/800 series. just curious whether it's much more improved compared to my 5dc.

imo renting isn't an option as it's expensive in the area i'm in..

Direct Print button has gone so probably nothing

the.forumer wrote in post #15057548
hey thanks for the suggestion. so far there has been no word that the outer points have changed.. but i sure hope it did.

have u used the nikon cams before? esp the d700/800 series. just curious whether it's much more improved compared to my 5dc.

imo renting isn't an option as it's expensive in the area i'm in..

I rented the D800e along with the 14-24 lens. Amazing setup for landscape photography. I did not make much use of AF as I manually focused my shots. My biggest complaint of the setup is the lousy implementation og LiveView on the D800. Images from the system were tremendous. I am waiting to see what Canon comes out with in the next while otherwise I'll be moving to Nikon. I do have a lot of glass, but I will not use this as an excuse to stay with an inferior system.