Canon 6D Mark II - What the heck were they thinking?

[HDFan]

As an owner of a Canon 6D I was interested in seeing what the new 6D Mark II offered. So I looked at Tony Northrup's preliminary review:

and my reaction was what the heck was Canon thinking when they spec'd this?

His points were

1. Yes, there are 45 auto focus points - but they are all clustered in the center. Compare this to the 7D Mark II where almost the entire frame is covered.

2. No 4K! 40% of televisions sold this year will be 4K. 1080p will look like VHS (figuratively) in not that many years. All my other, less expensive cameras from Sony and Panasonic that I have had for years shoot 4K. This is for me is a deal killer.

3. No sensor stabilization, electronic stabilization only with video

4. Kit lenses are not the best

5. No OLED screen

6. No electronic viewfinder

7. Single SD card

Pros:

1. fully articulated touchscreen

2. Dual Pixel autofocus


There are other cameras in this category that do things a log better. For example:

A used Sony a7RII has 42 (vs 26) mega pixels, 4K, eye detection, sensor stabilization, and costs only about 10% more used.

 

[Mark0]

They obviously can't spec it too high, as it would tempt folk down from the 5D4. I'd been considering a 6D2 this time last year but rumours were thin on the ground and nothing solid was emerging other than it would probably appear sometime in 2017. I'd been keeping an eye on Fuji and became increasingly attracted to the Fuji X-T2 which was rumoured solidly from March onwards. When it was all confirmed a year ago I was buzzing and pre-ordered as soon as I could and committed to the system after trying an X-T1 (similar ergonomics) and X-Pro2 (similar spec).

Put it this way, whilst the 6D2 will be a good camera and I'm glad I didn't wait on it....

 

[MCAsan]

For that price point my camera delivers:

1. Sensor Effective Resolution / Type
   20.4 Megapixel Live MOS
2. Processor
   TruePic™ VIII Dual Quad Core Processor
3. Focusing System
   Dual F.A.S.T. AF (Contrast & Phase Detection AF) 121 Point (All Cross Type) On-Chip Phase Detection
4. Image Stabilization System
   5-Axis In Body Image Stabilization
5. Viewfinder
   2.36M dot LCD Electronic Viewfinder
6. Rear Monitor
   3.0" Vari-Angle Touch LCD
7. Weatherproof
   Dust, Splash and Freezeproof
8. Sequential Shooting Speed
   15fps [H] mode 10fps [L] mode mechanical shutter
   60fps [H] mode 18fps [L] mode silent electronic shutter
9. Flash
   Bundled FL-LM3 (dust & splash-proof)
10. Special Features
    4k Video Capture (30/25/24 fps)
    PRO Capture Lag-Free Electronic Shutter Mode
    In-camera Focus Stacking
    Dual SD Card Slots
    
    

 

[truettray]

Most (not all) of the people I hear complaining about the MKII are non 6D owners. Remember the huge backlash that the original 6D got? Yet there are a ton of us who love our 6Ds and will love the MKII. I'm going to not go out on a limb here and say that people who buy 6Ds and love them aren't shooting a lot of video and thus aren't dying for 4K. As for the focus points... well who wouldn't want more coverage? But they basically took a crop sensor focusing solution and applied it to a full-frame camera, so oh well. I have my 7D MK II for action, and soon my 6D MK II for everything else.

 

[kenoh]

Most (not all) of the people I hear complaining about the MKII are non 6D owners. Remember the huge backlash that the original 6D got? Yet there are a ton of us who love our 6Ds and will love the MKII. I'm going to not go out on a limb here and say that people who buy 6Ds and love them aren't shooting a lot of video and thus aren't dying for 4K. As for the focus points... well who wouldn't want more coverage? But they basically took a crop sensor focusing solution and applied it to a full-frame camera, so oh well. I have my 7D MK II for action, and soon my 6D MK II for everything else.

Also some of the points brought up in the video were not fair on it. Namely the sensor stabilisation and the EVF. They are not something that are in the psyche of a DSLR shooter. Image stabilisation on the sensor requires the removal of the mirror so it can "see" so that wont happen and most DSLR shooters I know love their OVFs.

So unfair to put them as cons.

At the end of the day it will be successful to a particular market segment and it is far from rotten right?

 

[TheDrift-]

Spec list looks pretty solid to me. I am surprised by the no 4K but for me personally I couldn't give two hoots about it.

EVF and in body IS on a DSLR? If you want in body IS look to Oly there onboard IS is awesome.

AF for me is very much practice over theory, number of points does not always equal better tracking. I suspect the 6D2 will be pretty good.

Also lets not forget it's all in the glass anyway, cameras come and go but good glass is always good glass, and canon make some great lenses.

 

[simonsi]

4. Kit lenses are not the best

Lol BIG surprise there.

Yay for no EVF, spawn of the devil. I suspect Canon concentrated on features that make better images. EVF isn't one of them.

 

[MCAsan]

Also some of the points brought up in the video were not fair on it. Namely the sensor stabilisation and the EVF. They are not something that are in the psyche of a DSLR shooter. Image stabilisation on the sensor requires the removal of the mirror so it can "see" so that wont happen and most DSLR shooters I know love their OVFs.

So unfair to put them as cons.

At the end of the day it will be successful to a particular market segment and it is far from rotten right?

Indeed there is always someone for any product. Some folks where purchase anything. For Canon the question is ...how many someones are out there.

 

[kenoh]

Indeed there is always someone for any product. Some folks where purchase anything. For Canon the question is ...how many someones are out there.

Not as many as there used to be I suspect...

 

[MCAsan]

Not as many as there used to be I suspect...

The wife and I are two less. We moved on from DSLR.

 

[kenoh]

The wife and I are two less. We moved on from DSLR.

Same here...

 

[fabianvs]

I’d be happy if the 5d mk4 had better 4K compression

 

[-hh]

Most (not all) of the people I hear complaining about the MKII are non 6D owners.

Well, I've not complained (yet?), but then again, I went the 7D route back when the 5Dmk2 shipped with an underwhelming AF system. That was a tough choice at the time because one of my primary applications was for ultra-wide angle (for underwater photography), which clearly would have been better with a FF sensor rather than an APS, but the 7D's superiority in AF performance was what won out.

Remember the huge backlash that the original 6D got? Yet there are a ton of us who love our 6Ds and will love the MKII. I'm going to not go out on a limb here and say that people who buy 6Ds and love them aren't shooting a lot of video and thus aren't dying for 4K.

IMO, 4K is interesting in that while I've not shot a lot of video with my dSLRs, I do see 4K as "soft-to-medium" grade requirement from the perspective of future-proofing. Part of the reason for this does similarly stem from my UW photo use case, where having to buy the matching UW waterproof housing results in roughly a +$2K "surcharge" each time that one changes bodies...which is why my UW system is still using my 7D, even though I now also have a 7Dmk2 (land use - long lens wildlife & hardware redundancy when traveling in remote regions, etc).

As for the focus points... well who wouldn't want more coverage? But they basically took a crop sensor focusing solution and applied it to a full-frame camera, so oh well. I have my 7D MK II for action, and soon my 6D MK II for everything else.

The APS sensor footprint is an interesting observation on probably the underlying technical reason why the focus points are clustered as they reportedly are. To some degree, I'm okay with not having a full spread from the perspective that the corners of a frame usually isn't a focus priority ... but since I happen to know a little about making chip masks for foundries, I don't see this as a factor that saves them a huge amount of money ... IIRC, on the one project I'm on, paying for a new mask is only ~$25K. But in counterpoint to what I just said, I do see that there's also going to be the rest of the software controls which use those focus points, so having a layout that's geometrically identical to an existing camera (eg, the 7Dmk2?) means that this part of the system's software doesn't have to be rewritten, tested, optimized, etc.

In any event, I hope to hear from you on what you may find in a personal side-by-side comparison of the 7Dmk2 vs 6Dmk2 ... particularly to what degree the 6Dmk2 can keep up with the 7Dmk2's for "action-y" stuff, as well as how much better it (hopefully) does on landscapes vs the 7Dmk2.


-hh

 

[Jake-1]

It's pretty easy. They were and are thinking, "Lots of people have bought into the Canon system and will keep buying regardless of what we sell. The costs of switching are high enough that lock-in effects will predominate."

And you know what? They're probably right.

Personally, I went Micro Four-Thirds a long time ago, and it's been great.

 

[ocabj]

I still have my 5D3. It has been sitting in a cabinet for several months since I use my Olympus MFT gear heavily now.

A few friends of mine that shoot Canon went medium format (Hasselblad) and a couple went Sony mirrorless.

 

[obeygiant]

I'm waiting for my 6D2 to be delivered. I got it because of the "tilty/flippy screen" and the DPAF. For video those two things solve so many issues. My medium is 1080p@60fps, I shoot in that pretty much all the time. My work flow is set up for 1080 and I don't shoot 4K much. It does have internal IS and combined with the lens IS, it should eliminate most of the shakes because I'm hand held 90% of the time.

 

[steveningle]

I actually find the 6d Mkii great for video, i get the feeling some Vloggers might like it too.. Here's my best video from it so far, a short video for the Campervan Conversion company i work with!

 

[Alexander.Of.Oz]

I have the original 6D and it's still no slouch, I regularly use it for action shots of people doing parkour and BIF's. A dear friend of mine has the 6DMk II and I helped another fellow fine-tune his 6DMk II for BIF's a couple of weeks ago. He reckons it's as good as the 7DII in regards of speed and accuracy of BIF tracking! But, he is using a $6,000 lens on both bodies! IQ wise, he reckons the 6DII trumps the 7DII by miles, but it should with the larger sensor.

Can't speak about the video and lack of 4K as I very rarely use my 6D for that purpose.

I don't understand the bad rap given for a lack of in-body image stabilisation, maybe he was overmedicated at the time he said that! It's a friggin' DSLR, it doesn't need it!

I also don't understand the harping on about an OLED screen on the back. When you are working outside in direct sunlight, even with an OLED screen, you are still going to need to block the sun from hitting the screen to view anything. To check your focus and read a histogram an OLED screen isn't going to make that much difference, really.

In regards to bang for buck, with it being a full-frame budget model, it's pretty good overall.

 

[obeygiant]

I actually find the 6d Mkii great for video, i get the feeling some Vloggers might like it too.. Here's my best video from it so far, a short video for the Campervan Conversion company i work with!

Looks great!. I've been shooting video with the 6dm2 since it was delivered in August and it works very nicely especially with the DPAF. I have found a dead pixel in the higher ISOs however.

 

[CmdrLaForge]

I think the DR is not as could as the initial 6D which is to me the biggest issue with the camera.

https://www.dpreview.com/articles/3416153698/canon-eos-6d-mark-ii-dynamic-range

 

[HBOC]

I actually sold my A7r and am going back to Canon, and most likely will pick up the 6D2. I am also looking at the 1Ds3 as well. I don't use video, and my lenses are C/Y Zeiss lenses - so full manual. I think dynamic range argument is overrated to be honest. And for $1300 for a refurbished 6D2 kit, pretty good price.

 

[bunnspecial]

The OP's criticisms of the camera read to me more like general criticisms of the fact that it's an SLR and not mirrorless...

Maybe I'm old fashioned, but I'm not giving up my SLRs any time soon. At the same time, I also still shoot film(sometimes in a view camera, sometimes in big clunky MF SLRs) in addition to digital. I use studio strobes that are older than a lot of my cameras, and also consider auto focus to be a nice convenience when it works