# 6D vs 7D mk II



## fotograph (Dec 4, 2014)

So my wife has agreed to buy me a new camera body + grip for Christmas (my birthday, Father's Day, Easter, and any other holiday until next Christmas). Now I just need to decide on which body. My budget has narrowed it down to 6D or the 7D mark II.

I mostly shoot sports, but this is my youngest chil's senior year so after this school year I will probably mostly do portraits, nature/macro, landscapes and the grandkids.

I have been careful to always buy lenses that would work on FF cameras (just in case), so all but the kit lens that came with my first DSLR will work on the 6D.

I currently shoot with a 60D so I would lose a bit of FPS, I do use continuous and it would suck to slow the shutter down, going from the 60D to the 6D I would lose .8 FPS. But I wonder if I wouldn't benefit more from the increased image quality of the 6D.

But then I go back to the AF system of the 7D mark II and think of some of the shots I've missed because of focus issues. In addition unless this camera ends up paying for itself, there is not much chance I'll be able to upgrade again for several years, so I wonder if I shouldn't go with the newest.

I am not a pro, no one is going to invite me to shoot a college or pro football game, although I may shoot some high school football next year, but I do want to get the best pictures I can.

I am going back and forth between the two, maybe leaning towards the 6D, but am a little worried because I have never used a FF camera before.

Help me decide please.


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## iolair (Dec 4, 2014)

> after this school year I will probably mostly do portraits, nature/macro, landscapes and the grandkids.


It's a tough one.  The 6D will have better image quality (and low light performance, but that doesn't sound like it should be an issue).  The 7D mark II has better focus and weather sealing.

Have you handled both cameras?  You should try them both in a good camera shop; take in a memory card and ask them if you can run off a few shots - see how each one feels to use.  One just might 'feel' more right for you.   And when you take the card home, see if you prefer the images from one or the other.

If you think there's going to be a lot more shooting sports in your future though, then the 7D mark II is a clear favourite.


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## goooner (Dec 4, 2014)

What lenses do you have? You mention that you only have EF lenses, if this is true you wont have many 'wide' lenses on the crop sensor. I'm also going through this process, but I have a few more months to decide.


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## ronlane (Dec 4, 2014)

If it helps any, I know a local photographer (makes his living with his camera) that shoots highschool sports with a 6D this last year and loves it. I know what you mean about this being a tough choice. I just moved from a T3i to a used 7D about a month ago to shoot sports. I did this as I contemplate what I want to do next.


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## Lumens (Dec 4, 2014)

As iolair said it basically comes down to what you shoot.  I have both a 6D and 7D and find both to be awesome cameras.  But when the light is low the 7D (and so would a 7DII) stays in the bag.  When outside looking for moving objects (Wildlife/Sports) the 6D stays in the bag.  
Bottom line the 7D provides a better focal range and auto-focus for wildlife and sports; the 6D provides better low light performance and image quality.  The 7D can do well in low light with ETTR and post processing abilities and the 6D can do well with wildlife and sports when used properly but one does excel over the other in differing areas.  Pick up the one that fits what you shoot most.  There are camera models that would provide better performance in both areas but the cost rises dramatically.


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## curtyoungblood (Dec 4, 2014)

What sports does you kid play? This could make a big difference.

If your goal is to take the best pictures of your kid's final year of playing high school sports, the 7dii is your best choice. The autofocus system makes a huge difference.


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## fotograph (Dec 4, 2014)

iolair said:


> > after this school year I will probably mostly do portraits, nature/macro, landscapes and the grandkids.
> 
> 
> 
> Have you handled both cameras?  You should try them both in a good camera shop; take in a memory card and ask them if you can run off a few shots - see how each one feels to use.  One just might 'feel' more right for you.   And when you take the card home, see if you prefer the images from one or the other.



I have not handled either camera. I live in a rural area and there is not a local camera shop. There is a best buy about an hour away, if I get the opportunity I will stop in and see if they have both cameras and see how they feel in the hand.




goooner said:


> What lenses do you have? You mention that you only have EF lenses, if this is true you wont have many 'wide' lenses on the crop sensor. I'm also going through this process, but I have a few more months to decide.




I have:
18-55 (kit lens that came with my 20d almost never use)
Tamron 28-75 f2.8
Canon 50mm f1.8
Canon 85mm f1.8
Tamron 90mm f2.8
Canon 70-300 f4-5.6 is usm




curtyoungblood said:


> What sports does you kid play? This could make a big difference.
> 
> If your goal is to take the best pictures of your kid's final year of playing high school sports, the 7dii is your best choice. The autofocus system makes a huge difference.



He is currently in the basketball season as soon as that finishes he will start baseball and track (mostly field events like pole vault and triple jump).

The toughest one is indoor basketball cause our gym pretty much sucks.


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## curtyoungblood (Dec 4, 2014)

I would say that baseball and track are two of the easier sports on the autofocus system. They tend to take place during the day, and the action is pretty predictable, especially if you are focusing on a single player. It is also fairly easy to get pretty close to the action.


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## fotograph (Dec 4, 2014)

Another thing I keep coming back to is the minimum shutter speed. 1/4000 vs 1/8000. I just did a metadata search in my lightroom catalog and out of ~30,000 photos probably 400-450 were above 1/4000. I suppose that is only 1.5%.

How much of an issue is it really, I do shoot a lot during the bright sunlit hours for baseball and track. but I would just need to stop down 1 more stop.


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## Derrel (Dec 4, 2014)

Tough call....the 6D's focus system is so deliberately crippled to keep from cannibalizing 5D Mark III sales...and the 7D Mark II is all about the focusing system...Canon is really making it tough on their customers, forcing them, to choose either speed and focus, or image quality and high ISO capabilities. The 6D's image quality is very nice; the 7D Mark II looks low-resolution/low-detail to me. That's what I see when I look at images from the two models. Shutter speed of 1/4000 second is fast enough for almost all subjects 1/1000 was fast enough for 15 years; 1/2000 was good for five years; then 1/4000 hit with the NIKON FM-2, and we were in heaven... then speeds went higher...


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## goooner (Dec 4, 2014)

I think I would go for the 6D, that way you will have both FF and crop sensor.


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## jsecordphoto (Dec 4, 2014)

I love my 6D, for landscape work. Since trying my hand at wildlife I find the AF system to be lacking somewhat though. For sports it might work fine, and it definitely performs great at high ISO/low light


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## goodguy (Dec 4, 2014)

I was thinking and thinking and I just couldnt make up my mind, either will be a good choose and neither will be.
Each has its pro and con but non is really what I would want and then it hit me, if I would go with Canon my choice would be a used 5D III
AF very close to the 7D II and IQ and High ISO par with 6D.
Probably not answering your question but either camera would live me wanting more except the 5D III which is just the perfect choice for a Canon fan.


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## fotograph (Dec 4, 2014)

jsecordphoto said:


> I love my 6D, for landscape work. Since trying my hand at wildlife I find the AF system to be lacking somewhat though. For sports it might work fine, and it definitely performs great at high ISO/low light




In what way? Why do you believe the AF may fair better with sports than with wildlife? These may seem stupid questions, but I have always been under the impression that for the most part, because of the low light and action...indoor sports would be the most taxing on an AF system, where as a lot of wildlife shots are sedentary, with some exceptions, I can see the unpredictability of wildlife in motion being an issue.


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## jsecordphoto (Dec 4, 2014)

fotograph said:


> jsecordphoto said:
> 
> 
> > I love my 6D, for landscape work. Since trying my hand at wildlife I find the AF system to be lacking somewhat though. For sports it might work fine, and it definitely performs great at high ISO/low light
> ...



Trying to track birds in flight and trying to AF on a six ft tall basketball player are two completely different animals (no pun intended). For wildlife that is just sitting there, I could practically manually focus


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## fotograph (Dec 4, 2014)

goodguy said:


> I was thinking and thinking and I just couldnt make up my mind, either will be a good choose and neither will be.
> Each has its pro and con but non is really what I would want and then it hit me, if I would go with Canon my choice would be a used 5D III
> AF very close to the 7D II and IQ and High ISO par with 6D.
> Probably not answering your question but either camera would live me wanting more except the 5D III which is just the perfect choice for a Canon fan.



I agree, but even used, they seem to be out of my price range. I have a hard cap of 2K for this purchase, most of the 5D mk III I see are 2100-2400 even used. If you know where I can get one for under (or right at) $2000 that would be something to consider. I've never had an issue buying used lenses, but for some reason I am a bit more scared when it comes to a camera body.


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## goodguy (Dec 4, 2014)

I agree about buying a used camera but from a solid seller like this offer I would seriously consider

Used Canon EOS-5D Mark III Digital SLR Camera Body, 22.3 Megapixel

I understand the price cap, let me tell you what my attitude was and what I have learned.
I used to collect fountain pens and still collect watches.
Some of these items were too expensive for me so I went and bought something I wanted less and was obviously cheaper but I felt I cheater myself.
At the end I found a way to buy what I wanted and when I went to sell the item I never really wanted at the first place I lost money at the sale and at the end I have learned if something burns me hard enough best and cheapest thing is to go and get it.
Now owning a full frame camera I can tell you it is so worth it and the 6D with its crippled AF system is just not there.
7D II is great but its got crop sensor limitations and advantages.
I would go with the 5D III, I would find a way to make it, if it meant waiting 2-3 more month collecting more money then so be it but I would go for it.

But then it's me not you  to each his/her own.


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## ygb (Dec 5, 2014)

I was debating between 6D and 7D mk ii. I found this very interesting ( I hope I pulled the right video). He actually suggested 6D over 7D for low light sports and said that tracking with the center point is pretty good. 




I currently have 60D. I wanted 5dmkiii, but our financial situation changed and I wasnt able to save for one. I was agonizing between 6D and 7D mk ii, and finally decided to go with 7D mk ii, but in your case 6D might be a better choice.
I shoot running dogs outside and dog sports  and I wanted a good autofocus, but I also shoot my girls' rhythmic gymnastics competitions that are held in schools gymnasiums, where basketball is played, for 6 months out of the year. I was shooting with 60D, tamron 70-200 f2.8, somewhere betweeh 1/500 or 1/600 of the second depending on the light and ISO 1600. and it was coming out half a stop too dark. There was no way I would have been able to do it with f4 though. So I am hoping that small bump ( about third of a stop, I have heard)  in ISO of 7D mk ii will give me what I need. 
you could also rent 6D for one game and see how it works, before you make your decision. I think you can rent it for $80 for a week on borrowlenses.com
Its a hard decision when you are tight on money. I Was all set on buying a new camera, but I just rented canon 24-70 f2.8 ii and I loved it. Now I am wondering if I should have gotten the lens instead really miss it.

Good luck in your decision.
Yuliya


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## KaPOWitsCHRIS (Dec 5, 2014)

I've had the 6D for around a year now, I mostly do street photography, land/cityscapes and it performs very nicely in these areas. I haven't done any sports with it, however I did do some concert photography with it recently. The autofocus was sufficient, not great, but it was ok - just about fast enough, it did miss a little though on occasion - I guess the poor light didn't help. It performs very well at high ISO, in fact if I recall correctly, it's even better than the 5DMKIII for this. Obviously street photographer can be another area where a faster AF is needed, but I find it works well enough for that.

If sports is something you want to do, then 7DMKII is probably the best bet. I recommend reading/watching as many reviews on both as possible. But my personal opinion for an all rounder (bear in mind I've never used the 7DMKII), I think the 6D might be a better choice. It is my first full frame camera and I won't be going back to crop ever again now (unless I have the funds for a second body).


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## fotograph (Dec 6, 2014)

OK, no one tell my wife I just purchased a 5D Mark III should be here in a week or so. I have bought cars for less than I just spent on that camera.


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