6d vs 5d mark ii with my kit?

Hello,

I am a low budget wedding photographer, averaging about $1200 per wedding for service only.
My 40D backup to my 5dMark ii has given out and I am wondering if it would be best to purchase a new or used 5d mark iii, or a new 6d. I know it depends on my budget, but let's say I wouldn't mind saving $1000 and putting that into a new lens. What would you purchase if you knew you'll be doing wedding photography for years to come, but aren't necessarily wealthy.... and why?

Current gear:

580ex ii x2
5d mark ii
24-70mm ii 2.8
70-200mm 2.8
50mm 1.2 zeiss

I think that (good) auto-focus is pretty important for weddings. It certainly is the case for me. I use a 6D and a 5D3 for weddings. On the 6D, the center focus point is excellent. It's still not quite as good as the 5D3, but not much else is that good.

However, as soon as I go for a side focus point on the 6D, I get a lot more focus hunting. When I first got the 6D (when it first came out) I was also using a 60D. I found the 60D would outperform the 6D on the side (or non-center) focus points.

Personally, I wouldn't want to shoot anything that was fast-paced or time-critical in sometimes challenging lighting. For me, that would not be the 6D.

You've already got a couple of lenses that are "standard" for weddings without showing a strong need or gap there. I'd probably lean towards the 5D3 over the 6D.

The 5d3 would work very well for all areas of a wedding including reception work except for one thing.... low light AF acquisition.

The 6d will do better in those poorly lit halls during a father/daughter dance or group cha cha.

Either would be a step up from the 5d2 though.

https://photography-on-the.net …showthread.php?​p=18254242

First, thank you for your response.
It's interesting you say this because after renting out the 6D for a wedding, during the dancing (end of reception) I had to switch back to my 5d mark ii because it would take twice as long for it to focus on a person dancing than the 5d......
Could that mean the 6d was defective?
Unfortunately it was a very lit reception hall so the only time I got to test the 6d in low lighting was during the not so important guest dancing part, so I'm not sure how much of a limitation the 6d will be for me.

Thank you for your response, it's funny you bring up auto focus.. I was originally going to discuss that in my question before I decided to keep it more simple.
After renting out the 6D for a wedding, during the dancing (end of reception) I had to switch back to my 5d mark ii because it would take twice as long for it to focus on a person dancing than the 5d......
Could that mean the 6d was defective?
Unfortunately it was a very lit reception hall so the only time I got to test the 6d in low lighting was during the not so important guest dancing part, so I'm not sure how much of a limitation the 6d will be for me.
I've only ever used the center focus point alone, in case that matters.

5D3 hands down. built tougher, more af cross points... been the wedding champ for a long time with reason.
2 card slots!

6D - eh.. I use my outer points ALL the time.. and I had a 5D2 that drove me nuts on those.

Plus, ergonomically, the 5D2 and 5D3 are very similar, easier to switch back and forth.

dasmith232 wrote in post #18255106
I think that (good) auto-focus is pretty important for weddings. It certainly is the case for me. I use a 6D and a 5D3 for weddings. On the 6D, the center focus point is excellent. It's still not quite as good as the 5D3, but not much else is that good.

However, as soon as I go for a side focus point on the 6D, I get a lot more focus hunting. When I first got the 6D (when it first came out) I was also using a 60D. I found the 60D would outperform the 6D on the side (or non-center) focus points.

Personally, I wouldn't want to shoot anything that was fast-paced or time-critical in sometimes challenging lighting. For me, that would not be the 6D.

You've already got a couple of lenses that are "standard" for weddings without showing a strong need or gap there. I'd probably lean towards the 5D3 over the 6D.

I agree with everything Dave says. My 60D was better (off-center AF point) than my 6D is. I love my 6D, but it is center-point only. I don't use it for moving targets, either. I have a 1DIV and 80D for that stuff.

I don't have any experience with the 5D2. I've heard many references to the 5D2 vs the 5D3 and how the AF is significantly improved and drawing a parallel or similarities between the 5D2 and the 6D. It's interesting that you found them to be different.

To me, the center point on the 6D is excellent. But you had some difficulty with it. I'm wondering: what focus points were you using?

My perspective on the 5D3 vs the 6D comes from owning and using them both. Although, I tend to put the faster lenses on the 5D3 which gives it an "unfair" advantage.

Those are some very good points. Thank you for your feedback.
Am I missing out by not using outer focus points? I just never have... I feel like they can be unreliable when compared to center point and reframing the shot, but I haven't taken the time to really learn how to use them so I may be wrong.

Otherwise, I wouldn't mind not having amazing off-center points if I can save $1000+ on a 6d. Now a used 5diii is only a couple hundred more, that's why I'm debating.

Do you know how the center point compares to the center point on the 5d mark ii with respect to speed in locking in moving subjects in low lighting into focus? After trying out the 6d along with my 5d mark 2, I noticed the 6d would take longer to snap into focus in these circumstances. This is basically the only thing deterring me from going with the 6d, everything else seemed to work just fine, and well, compared to my 5d2, even better in some ways. 5d3 seems like could be overkill for me with 1200$ weddings.

I prefer to select focus with AF points in my composition rather than focus and recompose. There's a shift in focus when you focus and recompose. It may not be very apparent with subjects far away but it's very noticeable with closer subjects. Especially when shooting with low DOF. Some have complained of soft images and come to find out, they are focusing and recomposing.

The 5D3 may seem a bit pricey but you'll have it easily paid off after two weddings.

Luigi1234 wrote in post #18255186
I feel like they can be unreliable when compared to center point and reframing the shot, but I haven't taken the time to really learn how to use them so I may be wrong.

its not wrong, it just lets you nail focus, and not use the center point, at very shallow dof much better.

It is a very good thing you dont' use the outer points on the 5D2 - they are bad in low contrast situations. I don't know why the 6D center point was bad for you.. that center point on a 6D is suppose to be as good as the 5D2 or 5D3. But I've heard of things falling off (wheels/knobs), and the fact you'd have to go buy SD cards, instead of swapping CF cards back and forth.. but either will have the same battery, a plus...

Luigi1234 wrote in post #18255190
Do you know how the center point compares to the center point on the 5d mark ii with respect to speed in locking in moving subjects in low lighting into focus? After trying out the 6d along with my 5d mark 2, I noticed the 6d would take longer to snap into focus in these circumstances. This is basically the only thing deterring me from going with the 6d, everything else seemed to work just fine, and well, compared to my 5d2, even better in some ways. 5d3 seems like could be overkill for me with 1200$ weddings.

The 5D2 can focus down to 0EV; the 6D down to -3EV. I think the 6D is a huge improvement over the 5D/5D2 in low light. One caveat, when I was using the 5D, I used mostly consumer zooms. In low light with the 6D, I am using fast (f/1.8) primes. That results in an unfair comparison, really. It is my opinion that the 6D is much better in low light than the 5D was, but that may be biased by my choice of lenses.

Ksbal, what do you think I should use on the 6D when shooting moving subjects as during the first dance or fast pace dancing? One-Shot, Ai Servo?