Simple Question- 5DIII v. 6D

I have a 6D and a 70D. Love the 6D as a FF. The 70D still serves a purpose in my bag because I have a couple of pieces of nice EF-S glass.

I shoot a lot of dance competitions with my little girl. Some of it is fairly high speed. Shoot mostly with a 70-200 2.8 v. 1.

With the prices of the Mk III coming into reasonable ranges for me, is it worth it to me to "upgrade" to a Mk III? Is it really an upgrade? I know the low light on the 6D is supposedly actually better than the Mk III, or so I have read. Are the extra focus points worth it? Why else?

If you were considering doing this, and I'm sure some of you have been here too, what would/did you do and why?

I'm strictly an amateur FWIW, and have no professional desires as a photographer, but it is one of my more serious hobbies and I'm quite vested in glass (for a hobbyist).

Thanks in advance for any thoughts you may be willing to share.

-bob

Heya,

I think you should just rent a 5D3 and see for yourself.

Personally I'd take the 6D over the 5D3 for things like dance comps and events. The center point -3 EV AF is why, that thing focuses in low light nicely on center point. Aside from the better high ISO handling. While it's not a lot better, it is better than the 5D3's, and when you're already at the ceiling of ISO, having a little more wiggling room on performance of ISO noise is a good thing.

What do you get with the 5D3? Well, you get a much better AF system (but not one that is better in low light; the 6D excels there). You get faster FPS (if you care about that). You get AF cross points that are actually accurate that are not center point, so you can nail focus with an outer point which is a lot harder (to impossible) on some other Canons. This can be important for some compositions while framing up and using AF. I can see an argument for it for sure.

If it were me though, when my daughter is old enough to be in low light dances, shows, band, who knows what, I'm going to want the 6D (or maybe by then a mirrorless quiet version, my kid is 17 months, so I have some time). I use a 200 F2.8L prime for my low light stuff, and having a high ISO performing camera matters for those low light moments, because I'm going to always over expose by probably +2/3rds a stop or even a full 1 stop, with ISO upwards of 6400, 12800, etc, in RAW so I can get a clean output later in post. So again for me, I would favor the better ISO handling camera. Being that the 6D focuses better in low light with center point, it just adds to the reasons why I'd use it for this purpose.

If you're specifically shooting action, in well lit areas, the 5D3 makes more sense.

Very best,

One of my favorite places to compare cameras. It lists the highlights of each camera and you can decide which points are most important to you.

http://snapsort.com …-Mark-III-vs-Canon-EOS-6D

I had the 5D II and it is a wonderful camera. Very well built and a great feel in your hands. I switched to the 6D because of the lighter weight and ISO capabilities.

The price of both the 5D III and 6D have dropped considerably as of late. Now is the time to buy, that's for sure. It really depends on what you hope to gain and if the price is worth it to you.

Both cameras will serve you well.

If you are selling both cameras to fund the 5D3 then I would say upgrade, if not stay with what you have. I would think dancing show will have enough light for the 5D3.

I have a 60D and a 6D. I wouldn't trade both of them for a 5D3. I like having both formats. I don't need the AF of the 5D3. Oh, apsc bodies work just fine with EF lenses.

Thanks guys! Lots of great information.

Point of clarification. I already own the 6D (the post above looks as if I am trying to decide between the two for a buying decision). There is nothing that I THINK I need to do that it doesn't do for me. That's why I was asking to begin with. My question is essentially this. Does the Mk III bring anything to the table of value to me for my needs that the 6D doesn't?

When the Mk IV hits, it will be out of my price range. I simply can't justify it for my needs. Since the Mk III is starting to fall dramatically, I was just wanting to know whether I Was foolish not to jump on one while "the getting's good."

I especially appreciate MalVeauX's comments as he seems to be talking me off the wall and telling me to keep my 6D and be happy. I Already am happy with it. That's sort of the point. The Mk III came after the 6D and the 6D is really better at some things, hence; the delima.

Thanks again. Keep the advice coming. Right now, MalVeauX is really swaying me to be happy with my 6D and maybe hang out for the 6D II whenever it comes.

You might consider upgrading the 70D for a 7DII and keep your 6D. Your EF-S lenses will still work with the 7DII, you will gain significant FPS and a much better AF system. A 7DII body is less expensive than the 5DIII so you would spend less money on an upgrade but still get most of the benefits of the 5DIII.

Sparky98 wrote in post #17477890
You might consider upgrading the 70D for a 7DII and keep your 6D. Your EF-S lenses will still work with the 7DII, you will gain significant FPS and a much better AF system. A 7DII body is less expensive than the 5DIII so you would spend less money on an upgrade but still get most of the benefits of the 5DIII.

Interesting thought. With Mk III prices hovering around $2k on eBay (granted, gray market), I hadn't even considered a 7DII. I love my 70D too. That is an interesting option I hadn't really considered and definitely worthy of consideration.

What are you not getting out of your 6D at those dance competitions? Are you missing shots? Is the frame rate too slow for you? I assume you're using the 6D and not your 70D because you're talking about replacing the 6D?

Even if the 6D has superior low light focusing accuracy, it's still slow. If you're trying to take a picture of a turtle crawling out of the surf in pitch darkness on a tripod... 6D will win that one. I imagine the dance competitions have enough light that any supposed low light advantage of the 6D isn't really in play. So the speed of subject acquisition will be much higher on a 5d3 and if you like taking bursts of a few photos, the 5d3 has a lot more to offer there too.

If those things aren't limiting what you're doing, just stick with the 6D - it takes gorgeous pictures and for some things the AF works just fine. I've used mine for soccer and it was perfectly usable. I also tried swimming and almost threw it in the pool I got so frustrated. So it really depends on what kind of experience you're having.

I have not used the 5D III so can't help there. Mine are the 6D and 60D. Having played with the 7F II, I envision the ideal combo being the 6D and 7D II as the near perfect for the price combo. You get virtually all the benefits of the 5D III with the 7D II, still maintain both sensor sizes for various needs, have awesome low light capabilities, great landscape abilities, long reach, capable of high speed sports usage. Really I don't see anything missing with that combo. Just use the best camera for the needs that day.

Damn - I think I just talked myself into upgrading my 60D and spending more money.

The 5D3 focuses outstandingly in low light. I often shoot action in little light during events in AI Servo. If I had a stationary subject, and moved to One Shot, it does a bit better even. The AF tracking system is quite nice as well. But for what was described as the target material, the 6D should be more than sufficient.

Tracking this guy as he hit a trampoline ramp to do a slam dunk (Benny the Bull and group from Chicago Bulls).

At the prices that you can get the 5D III right now I think they are a steal for what you are getting. These were shot at a Friday night game in a stadium that doesn't have the greatest of lighting and sitting up in the stands. I can't imagine anyone not loving the camera.

I would say, if you don't know why you need a 5DIII over your 6D, then you probably don't need it. If you aren't running into situations where your current gear is failing you, then you don't need to upgrade.

However, if upgrading to something better, whether you need it nor not, brings you more enjoyment when shooting, then sure, go ahead and upgrade.

OK. I'm hoping somebody will play the "what-if" game with me. I know you guys are busy.

What if I decide to buy a MKIII? It seems to me that there was something that the 6D actually beat the MKIII on when it was released since it was newer than the MKIII.

I need to keep the 70D. I'm vested in EF-S lenses that I just can't afford to replace at this point and I like the reach I get with the crop body, albeit I know that it's a faux reach.

So here's the deal.

What do I give up in selling the 6D and upgrading to the MKIII (Kinda the question I've been trying to ask all along, I guess.)?

What's my used 6D worth? (Assume it's a 9 all the way around and it's likely better than that since it's been babied since I bought it.)

My OOP is the difference in the two, obviously. Is it an "upgrade" that's worth the difference?

FWIW, I'm leaning towards one of the grey market deals on eBay so count the MKIII at about $2k.

Is there value in resale value later of the MKIII over the 6D? What if I decide I just have to have a MKIV when they finally ship (next year)? Won't the MKIII have better resale value than the 6D (or will it) relative to what I paid for it?

I'm about ready to pull the trigger. I'm just nervous because I know there's something about the 6D that is supposed to be better than the MKIII and I can't remember what it is. I guess if I can't remember, it doesn't matter, right? LOL

When we figure out what this is/was, are there any of you that bought the 6D INSTEAD of the MKIII because you felt this was more important than everything else the MKIII brought to the table?

I hope that all makes sense. Again, I know you guys are busy and do this for a living but I really appreciate the guidance. I don't know what I'd do as a raw amateur without this forum for support. I read EVERYTHING in this forum and it really does help. Thank you!

The 6Ds center focus point can focus in -3ev. The 5D3 is sensitive to -2ev. Also, the 6D iq is slightly better in regards to low light. Better addresses the banding issue. Those are the only two things I can think of.