Canon EOS 6D | First Impressions

The Canon 6D is a particularly intriguing camera. Even on the day of its announcement, before anyone had even taken a single photo with it, it was already being disregarded by many, and downright written off others who compared it to its Nikon counterpart, the D600. On paper, the Canon 6D is not as compelling or feature rich as the similarly priced Nikon, and it also (based purely on specs) falls behind it’s bigger brother the Canon 5D MKII (which I own)

I, like many, did not have high hopes for the Canon 6D, but I am pleased to say I have absolutely and irrevocably had my opinion changed on the amazing little camera. It has quickly become my favourite camera ever. Here’s why.

Spec Sheet Vs Real Life

The size and weight of the 6D is pretty much perfect. It fits in my slightly small, (ashamedly girly) hands absolutely perfectly. It has the same tough build, perfect grip and fantastic ergonomics of the Canon 5DMKII, while feeling significantly smaller and lighter. Combined with all of my favourite L Primes, it balances very well.

Sure, on paper, the 6D offers a less metal, more plastic type construction, but in practice this is irrelevant. The 6D is tough little camera, regardless of what the specification say. I’ve found all of the buttons to be crisp and tactile and a joy to use, even if I do occasionally miss the joystick controller from the higher end Canon’s, but it’s not a deal breaker. The only thing you would regularly use the control pad for would be changing AF points, which brings me on to…..

….Autofocus. Perhaps the most disappointing aspect of the Canon 6D, there is no getting away from the fact that there just isn’t a lot to go around. Just 9 little points, all located in the centre of that huge, bright full frame viewfinder. But in all honesty, what the 6D lacks in quantity, it makes up for in quality.

The centre focus point of the Canon 6D is insane. Even in pitch black darkness, it locks on, first time every time. No hesitation, no missed focus and no guess work. It’s fast and responsive and nails it every time. Unless you regularly, and I mean regularly, require fast object tracking which necessitates having a gazillion AF points, autofocus of the 6D is easily good enough for any photographer.

The image quality coming out of the diminutive Canon 6D is outstanding, but only marginally better than the more expensive Canon 5DMKIII. I’ll give you a second to re-read that. Yeah, that’s right, you can save £1000 and take better pictures than the top of the range Canon.

The 20mp RAW files offer perhaps, in my opinion the best possible compromise between high ISO performance and resolution. 20mp is plenty for large printing and cropping, and the fact that this camera can shoot usable images up to ISO 25,600 should speak for itself. Don’t get excited though, dynamic range is pretty much the same as the older Canon’s, so not much improvement there. (but then, did it really need it…?)

Other things I like about the Canon 6D that took me surprise. I adore the shutter sound made by the 6D. It’s a relatively minor thing, but I really like it. It’s the quietest, most precise sounding DSLR shutter I have ever used. Taking with shots with 6D is satisfyingly addictive.

Also, SD cards are great. They are cheaper and smaller than equivalent CF cards that I have to fill my 5D MkIII with. And you can plug them straight into a MacBook, or iPad without a card reader. Bonus.

The WiFi and GPS functions really do work rather well, and although I cannot see myself using them a lot, I’m not exactly going to moan that they are there. If you don’t need them, don’t use them. Simple. But when was the last time a DSLR was released that contained a completely new feature? Go Canon, I say.

This isn’t entry level. This is entry level to full frame.

What it all comes down to, is how the camera works as a whole. And I can honestly say the Canon 6D is an absolute blast to shoot with. It is clearly a DSLR that is greater than the sum of its parts. Sure there are holes in the spec sheet, and there are things we would all like, but these are really minor, in comparison to the ability for a camera to encourage creativity and work well. And the Canon 6D does that.

It offers you everything you would need as a photographer, without the complexity and weight of a more advanced and customisable camera. It just gets out of your way,

The Canon 6D covers the basics, but does it really, really well.

The 6D misses some of the details, sure, but is still a great little camera. Anyone who has used one will know this, and anyone who makes their decisions based on the technical specs, will never know just how great it really is. and lets you shoot. Which is why I prefer it over the 5D MKIII.

I hope this gives you an idea of how well polished and fun to use the Canon 6D really is. I hope reading this will provide you with real world experiences that you can use, not some jumped up analysis of technical specifications.

If you are looking to purchase your first full frame camera, a backup to a 5D MKIII or even a replacement for the 5D MKII, then seriously consider the Canon EOS 6D. It’s awesome.

Look out for my full review soon….