HANDS-ON REVIEW

CANON EOS 6D
3
version
About the Author
Like you, Im a photographer and inspired
by beautiful photographs.
Not too long ago I nished a journey from
Alaska to Argentina by land, pursuing the art
of photography.
I quit my job recently (tech startup IT stuff)
so I could do what I love most - writing,
shooting and helping others in pursuit of
beautiful people, places and ideas through
photography.
This review wasnt easy and it took a great
deal of work. But its a gift for you, the pho-
tographer, and I hope that you nd it useful
and valuable.
2
The latest version of this review can be found at 6dreview.com
Downloadable Content
5.6GB of hi-res TIFF16BIT images and low-compression 1080p video (all watermark-free)
captured on L lenses has been uploaded for you to download and review on your com-
puter. download here
Canon 6D Video Review
After 1+ Year of Hands-on I thought it was a good time to do a video review. Check it out.
BHPhotoVideo.com | Amazon.com
GIVE BACK TO THE WORLD
If you nd this review useful or if it helps you in your buying decision, consider buying your
equipment from one of the stores below. We donate 100% of our afliate commissions to
World Wildlife Fund. Do what you normally do and give back at the same time.
You dont pay an extra dime, it comes out of the stores cut! Buy anything from the links below
and start helping make the world a better place today!
THE CAMERA
The Canon EOS 6D is the worlds smallest, lightest full-frame SLR
on the market. As a travel and landscape photographer, I was
quite intrigued by the ultralight factor and immediately bought
one of the rst copies to ship.
This review is not based on marketing gures or datasheets. In-
stead this review will focus on real-world usage and results from
the perspective of a working landscape photographer. I have no
preference for Canon over Nikon, I own both and consider them
equal. Price can be of major concern for many when considering
the purchase of a camera, however this factor did not inuence
my impressions or decisions and is therefore absent from this re-
view.
3
The rst iteration of this review was published on March, 2013. At
the time of writing I had approximately four months of hands on
experience with the 6D primarily in San Francisco, California.
Fast forward to nearly a year of consistent shooting and my expe-
rience with the 6D has yielded more accurate and balanced re-
sults. Not only have I learned quite a bit more about the intrica-
cies of the camera, but I have taken the 6D to a fair number of
wide ranging exotic and harsh environments in National Parks
such as: Pinnacles, Yosemite, Kings Canyon, Sequoia, Death Val-
ley, Grand Canyon, Big Sur (pacic ocean/coastline), Great Ba-
sin, Banff, and Jasper, Grand Teton, Glacier, Canyonlands,
Arches, Bryce Canyon, Zion, Joshua Tree and beyond.
4
KEY FEATURES
LIGHTEST FULL-FRAME BODY ON THE
MARKET
INTEGRATED GPS
3.0" HIGH-RESOLUTION LCD
5472x3648 PIXELS/20.2MP
FULL HD 1080P VIDEO
ISO 50-102,400
INTEGRATED WIFI
DIGIC 5+ IMAGE PROCESSOR
breakthroughphotography.org
IMAGE QUALITY
Canon implemented into the 6D a brand new Canon CMOS sensor
with state-of-the-art technology. Pixel-level detail of this CMOS full-
frame sensor is capable of producing incredibly detailed images
with beautiful color rendition. I have printed large format prints from
the 6D - up to 40x60 - and the level of detail is excellent. Compared
to my 5D, 5DMkII, and 5DMkIII the print quality at these sizes is in-
distinguishable. Just as important as image quality, however, is pre-
visualization and getting the right information on the sensor. Image
quality is only as good as visual quality!
The 6D has Canons most powerful image processor, the DIGIC 5+.
The 6Ds DIGIC 5+ processor is 17x faster than a DIGIC 4 and 30%
faster than a DIGIC 5. The image processor of a camera is responsi-
ble for reducing noise at higher ISOs, and the DIGIC 5+ represents
the best to date. The introduction of DIGIC 5+ also introduced chro-
matic aberration correction, based on lens proles which are stored
in-camera and therefore limited to Canons own lenses. In addition,
the extra processing power allows the 6D to apply chromatic aberra-
tion correction to JPEG images as well. These corrections are based
on about 29 Canon-created lens proles, which are stored in the
cameras onboard memory and can be updated in the future in the
via rmware updates. In theory these proles allow correction not
only of lateral CA but also of the harder-to-x axial CA.
5
In real-world results I still get the same slight amount of chromatic
aberration as I did previous to this feature implementation even with
the best glass. Theoretically it may be less than it was, but percepti-
bly its an insignicant advantage. Its possible for Canon to modify
these proles through rmware updates, so perhaps well see better
CA processing in the future.
To summarize all of that:
The Canon 6D has excellent image quality and performs as well
as all of my 5D family bodies, from the original up through the 5D
Mark III
The DIGIC 5+ delivers better high-ISO performance, the rest is
marketing
I nd the dynamic range and color rendition to likewise be excel-
lent
Maximum simplicity is always desirable. Three ba-
sic requirements should be considered: quality, func-
tion and durability. There is a great illusion among
photographers that creative work depends upon
equipment - when in fact the equipment is some-
thing to be selected for a specic purpose.
Ansel Adams
6
7
breakthroughphotography.org
HARDWARE & DESIGN
DESIGN
When rst holding the Canon 6D the smaller form factor and light-
ness are both very noticeable when compared to a body in the
5D-series. It has a great balance to it and the ergonomics are ex-
cellent. Without a built-in ash it has a very durable and rugged
construction without any play or ex. The internal frame is of
course metal, and the 6Ds front and rear body covers are Magne-
sium Alloy.
I had my doubts as to wether or not this different material would
stand the test of landscape photography, which often puts equip-
ment against harsh conditions. After a year of consistent use it ac-
tually performs very well, just as good as the magnesium alloy
9
10
Canon EOS 6D Gallery
that Ive become accustomed to over the
years.
The depth of eld preview button is now
accessible with your shooting hand and
the streamlined redesign of the button
layout has nearly all controls justied to
the right, also accessible from the shoot-
ing hand. All other controls and settings
are where you would expect them to be.
The shutter is hypersensitive, even more
so than the Canon EOS 5D Mark II.
Theres no lag in the shutter and the
threshold from autofocus half-depression
to full click is just right.
The play and trash buttons are justied
on the right for easy selecting with your
shooting hand, and in the dark theyre
easily found with a bit of practice. I do
wish however that camera manufacturers
would include more braille-like dots for
the most accessed buttons for easier lo-
cating. One of these is already included
on the ISO button on the top-case, why
not include them on other buttons?
The Canon EOS 6D has a very nice
sounding normal shutter click, with nor-
mal mode being slightly quieter than the
5D Mark III. The 6D also features Silent
drive mode, which is a feature that came
downstream from the Canon EOS 5D
Mark III. This is signicantly quieter than
the standard normal shutter sound. I
consider this feature to be a huge step
forward for wedding photographers,
11
Why limit yourself to your eyes see when you have
an opportunity to increase your vision?
Edward Weston
documentary photographers, travel photographers, wildlife photogra-
phers or any other type of photography where shooting unnoticed is
best. On a chicken bus in Guatemala for example, one shot out of
the window with a normal shutter may draw attention from passen-
gers, whereas with Silent mode its likely to go unheard. Its so quiet
that when Im out shooting, especially longer exposure shots, I typi-
cally leave Silent Drive disabled as its easier to hear when the expo-
sure has completed. Its that quiet!
The mode dial is where you would expect it to be and like the 5D
Mark III it has a lock button to depress so the mode doesnt acciden-
tally change when shooting. I didnt mind the 5D Original and 5D
Mark IIs mode dial, but this is quite nice and physically its a bit
smaller.
Like the 5DMkII and 5DMkIII, the LCD backlight button is logically
located on the edge of the body for easy nding at night. The other
buttons on the top are as you would expect.
12 breakthroughphotography.org
Durability
Landscape photography is a very unforgiving avenue when it comes
to the conditions that equipment have to endure. Salt water, sand,
high elevations, extreme cold and heat are just some of the environ-
mental conditions my 6D has experienced during the last six months
of shooting.
The top-case construction of the 6D is berglass-reinforced polycar-
bonate, which was selected to permit WiFi and GPS signals. I had
my doubts on the durability of this material, especially under pres-
sure compared to that of a metal alloy, however its proven very dura-
ble indeed. I rarely keep my 6D in a protective case when it goes in-
side my climbing backpack, and its often freely moving about with
other equipment.
The nish of the berglass-reinforced polycarbonate material is nice
and smooth, however I have found the top-case near the hotshoe to
be slightly more prone to wear than a metal alloy, and a bit faster
too. Pictured below are the small areas of wear that Ive experienced
so far, and I think that for photographers who properly protect the
body this would delay any wear by a couple years or so. Although
the wear thus far is only aesthetic in nature and barely perceptible
unless you were looking for it, I would imagine that during a couple
years of consistent use the material may become smooth, much like
the 5D magnesium alloy top-case. After years of use they lose their
tactile nish to become nice and smooth; the marks of a well used
camera.
The SD card door has spongy weathersealing material which pre-
vents any play or ex when handling the camera, giving it a nice
13
solid feel.
Weatherproong
Canon advertises the EOS 6D as being completely sealed from ex-
ternal contaminants. I had a surprise experience with gallons of sea-
water coming down on top of me when shooting a Golden Gate
Bridge sunrise. I thought the camera was done for, however after dry-
ing it off completely all was perfectly operational. It would appear
that the weatherproong is fairly strong. As for completely sealed
from external contaminants? Not so much. In fact, after a few days
shooting in Death Valley National Park I had to clean the sensor due
to extreme dust buildup on the sensor. Although the 6D has the
same vibrational sensor technology found in other cameras, any seri-
ous photographer will need a proper sensor cleaning kit to ensure
the capture of clean, sensor dust-free images.
Weight
The Canon EOS 6D ts into a special class of ultralight SLRs, and a
full-frame one at that. Take a look at how it compares to other full-
frame SLRs in the weight arena:
14
Canon 6D
Canon 1DX
Canon 5D Mark III
Canon 5D Mark II
Canon 5D
Canon 1D IV
Nikon D700
Nikon D800e
Nikon D600
breakthroughphotography.org
15
Polycarbonate
Reinforced Fiber-
glass
Justied to the Right
Full-frame viewnder
Info / Auto Level
3.0 LCD
INTERACTIVE 2.1 Canon EOS 6D Backside Features
16
Ports
Internal Mic
Magnesium Alloy
DOF Preview
Weather Sealing
INTERACTIVE 2.2 Canon EOS 6D Frontside Features
Weight & Size
The 6D ts into the ultralight category, which is perhaps one of the
biggest advantages that drew me to it. How does it stack up to
other full-frame contenders in the weight arena? Quite well as illus-
trated in the graph below! In terms of physical size its very similar
to the 1.6x camera bodies. Tap the chart above to see how the
Canon 6D compares to other camera bodies with regards to
weight.
Much of my genuine excitement every time Im out in the natural
world with a camera is due to careful moderation of gear for each
situation, even if it sometimes cost me an image I dearly want. Im
always trying to maintain a minimalistic camera setup and the 6D
has denitely helped to that end. For photographers looking for
full-frame quality and durability but the size and weight of a 1.6x
body, the 6D is an excellent choice.
Integrated GPS
The Canon EOS 6D is the rst Canon SLR to have integrated GPS.
For everyday shooters, wedding or sports photographers, the
value of GPS may be minimal, however the value for travel and
landscape photographers is sure to be huge. In addition to having
accurate location-based data for every shot, the integrated GPS in
the 6D also automatically sets the timezone. Remember when you
had to adjust timezones manually on import? Those days are over!
The 6Ds GPS unit triangulates and obtains a good location lock in
about 30-60 seconds, and maintains it well.
There hasnt been a location yet - aside from caves - that Ive shot
where I didnt have GPS signal.
One downside to the GPS is that there is no way to set an idle
threshold for automatically turning it off. So what will happen if you
put the 6D on the shelf for a week and come back to it? Its likely
the battery will die or itll be close to dead. Not very smart on
Canons part for sure. To best work around around this you can
add GPS to the fast menu and turn it on and off every single time
to ensure best power efciency. Also, for time-lapse photography,
star trail photography and other extended shooting periods where
the camera may be somewhat stationary, its best to disable GPS
as it does put an additional draw on power consumption.
An option in the Canon menu system also allows for the logging of
location data even when not shooting. This can be useful when
wanting to log a trip, a hike or a vehicle route. Non-Canon EOS 6D
photographers can purchase the GP-E2 GPS Receiver
($242.95) to achieve the same result, however with the added bulk
on the top of the camera. Another interesting development with
GPS data is the inherent SEO value attached to GPS coordinates
in the EXIF data. Its been predicted by some SEO profession-
als that Google will place emphasis on GPS data in the near future
as a way to conrm authenticity.
All things considered, this is one of the two most signicant fea-
tures one down from weight for me personally.
17
HARDWARE
18
Canon EOS 6D Gallery
AUTOFOCUS - THE BEST AND WORST
FEATURE OF THE 6D
ALL ABOUT AUTOFOCUS
Probably the biggest feature difference between the Canon EOS 6D
and the 5D or 1D-family bodies is autofocus. One of the main friction
points of the 5D Mark II was its older 9-point AF system. The 5D
Mark III has a 61-point AF system, and the 6D has an 11-point AF
system (pictured below) with a center cross-type of f/5.6 with addi-
tional sensitivity when an f/2.8 or wider max aperture lens is
used. For sports, action or wedding photographers who rely on auto-
focus, the 11-point may not cut it as it doesnt have entire frame cov-
erage. For landscape photography I prefer the simpler AF system of
the 6D. Check out the 6Ds AF grid by tapping the AF overlay above!
The 6Ds 11-point AF system also offers the strong-
est low light performance of any Canon AF system
to date. With focusing down to EV-3, the equivalent
of moonlight, subjects remain in-focus in even the
most challenging lighting conditions offering the
freedom to shoot landscapes or portraits at night and capture the
true atmosphere of the scene with minimal noise. This is a clear win
for me as I often use ND lters (up to 10-stops of light) to push expo-
sure times and occasionally rely on autofocus bracketing to obtain
critical sharpness. It accurately and predictably locks on subjects
even if the viewnder is black.
For example, when shooting star trails at Grand Canyon National
Park, I selected a focus point on a star and the 6D locked to it very
quickly. This is a huge advantage for obtaining critically sharp night
images.
So to summarize, for those shooting fast action sports where more
AF points may be better, the 6D clearly lacks those. For landscape
photographers who rely on fast and accurate AF locks in low light,
the 6D is currently unparalleled.
20
5D Mark III vs. 6D
Many people reading this article are likely looking for a comparison
between the Canon EOS 6D and the Canon EOS 5D Mark III in addi-
tion to a review of the Canon EOS 6D. I wont be providing a compre-
hensive technical review of the two, as thats been done elsewhere,
however lets take a look at a real-world feature comparison in order
of importance for travel and landscape photographers,
with GREEN having an advantage and RED having a disadvantage.
21
Image Quality
CANON EOS 5D MARK I I I
CANON EOS 6D
Size & Weight
CANON EOS 6D
CANON EOS 5D MARK I I I
Durability & Weathersealing
CANON EOS 5D MARK I I I
CANON EOS 6D
Lowlight Autofocus Sensitivity
CANON EOS 6D
CANON EOS 5D MARK I I I
Integrated GPS
CANON EOS 6D
CANON EOS 5D MARK I I I
LCD Quality
CANON EOS 5D MARK I I I
CANON EOS 6D
Battery Life
CANON EOS 5D MARK I I I
CANON EOS 6D
Integrated WiFi
CANON EOS 6D
CANON EOS 5D MARK I I I
Number of Autofocus Points
CANON EOS 5D MARK I I I
CANON EOS 6D
CONCLUSION
IS THE 6D WORTH IT?
In my opinion, the Canon 6D is one of the best ultralight full-
frame cameras on the market, regardless of brand. Durable con-
struction, excellent low-light AF and GPS are some of the key dif-
ferentiators of the 6D that are likely to be included as features in
future cameras, but for the present the 6D wins on those terms.
For professional landscape photographers who are looking to
retain extremely high image quality in the smallest form factor
available, Id highly recommend this camera.
Thanks for reading this review! I hope you enjoyed it as much as
I enjoyed writing, designing and shooting for it. If you have any
questions or comments please let me know by commenting be-
low. Some people just say that but I MEAN it! Email me directly:
graham@breakthroughphotography.org
SAY HELLO!
Did you nd this review to be useful, interesting or did it help
you save some valuable time? If so, AWESOME! That was the
purpose of this review. For more reviews, news and articles just
click on the link below to visit our website where Im constantly
coming out with new reviews, articles and videos. Be sure to say
hello.
23
breakthroughphotography.org
GIVE BACK TO THE WORLD
If you found this review useful or if it has helped in your buying decision, consider buying your
equipment from one of the stores below. We donate 100% of our afliate commissions to
World Wildlife Fund.
You dont pay an extra dime, it comes out of the stores cut! Buy anything from the links below
and start helping make the world a better place today.
Buy the Canon EOS 6D on Amazon
Buy the Canon EOS 6D on B&H