Purchased Canon 6D... and a little disappointed!
I purchased a 6D last week and got it in on Friday. I primarily photograph weddings and plan to use this alongside my 5DMII for personal and business use.
I have always wanted a second full frame camera to use when shooting weddings without borrowing my father's camera as a backup. As my 5DMII is at 164,xxx for the shutter count, I thought it would be best to get another reliable camera to have while shooting weddings. All I read, it seemed that I would be happy with the 6D when I have been used to my 5DMII.
I did some tests right when I got it on Friday and it seems good - the AWB seems to be a tad different, but that's all. My wife and I are expecting our first baby and we had a baby shower today. 4 months ago, my brother had a baby shower at the same location, so I was comparing the photos that I took today from the ones previously taken at the same location, but with my 5DMII. Post work is similar on both - very slight.
5DMII: 1/125 f/4.0 ISO 1600 80mm (24-105L)
6D: 1/100 f/4.0 ISO 2500 70mm (24-105L)
It just seems to me that the image quality is not quite the same and the color is less vibrant on the 6D. At this point, I am leaning towards returning the 6D and buying a used 5dMII for $500 less. Has anyone experienced this?
I have always wanted a second full frame camera to use when shooting weddings without borrowing my father's camera as a backup. As my 5DMII is at 164,xxx for the shutter count, I thought it would be best to get another reliable camera to have while shooting weddings. All I read, it seemed that I would be happy with the 6D when I have been used to my 5DMII.
I did some tests right when I got it on Friday and it seems good - the AWB seems to be a tad different, but that's all. My wife and I are expecting our first baby and we had a baby shower today. 4 months ago, my brother had a baby shower at the same location, so I was comparing the photos that I took today from the ones previously taken at the same location, but with my 5DMII. Post work is similar on both - very slight.
5DMII: 1/125 f/4.0 ISO 1600 80mm (24-105L)
6D: 1/100 f/4.0 ISO 2500 70mm (24-105L)
It just seems to me that the image quality is not quite the same and the color is less vibrant on the 6D. At this point, I am leaning towards returning the 6D and buying a used 5dMII for $500 less. Has anyone experienced this?
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On all my Canon bodies I set the contrast to +1, the sharpness to +3 and the saturation to +1 and use an alternate Style such as Style 2 and usually shoot with that. Those are basic starting values before I edit further. I have five bodies as of this writing and all display similar results. Different lenses change that equation some, but overall I don't think the algorithms can be that different on a 6D.
I shoot RAW 100% of the time. For RAWs I need to regularly set the EV to +2/3 to bump the RAW file's histogram to equal what a JPEG's histogram is. If I didn't, then most of my shots would be underexposed.
Depending on the image editor, those Style settings may or may not be carried over to the RAW or JPEG shots. In Canon's DPP they are. In most other editors you'll need to massage the shots back to where you intended with that style. All basic RAW files come out quite flat in most editors when just out of the camera.
Your second shot above looks like a challenging mixed lighting (color temp) environment. Could you be depending too much on the camera's interpretation of what proper white balance should be? Where is that set on your 6D? Do you change white balance in post?
Sorry for all the questions above. Just trying to help you out. It is possible to have a bum camera, but really that is very unlikely.
"You miss 100% of the shots you don't take" - Wayne Gretzky
like the other poster indicated, you're much better off shooting in RAW and not using the jpg picture styles. raw shooting makes it easier to adjust WB, color, exposure, etc.
Also the 6D image looks to me like it was shot with some fluorescent light around with that green cast, or is the room full of greenish walls?? I think it is the greenish wall in the background that I don't favor in the second image. Were these shot at the same time of day as well?
Interestingly, the white collar in the t shirt in the first image reads R228 G228 B232, and the white paper he is holding in the second image reads R221 G219 B228 - both ever so slightly bluish. Was there some flash added somewhere maybe? Both images can be brightened just a bit by setting a white point in the t shirt collar or the white paper in the second image.
If I was shopping for a used Canon body, I would hunt for a lightly used 5DMkIII, that is going to be a much better choice, and its ISO 2500 might be more what you are hoping for. The AF alone is dramatically better than the 5MkII's.
Moderator of the Technique Forum and Finishing School on Dgrin
Like Jim, I think the ISO and ambient light have more to do with the differences you're seeing. And for what it's worth, I think there's less flash in the 6D example as well.
I'd shoot a similar setting with both cameras/flash at the same settings and focal lengths for a fairer comparison.