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I wonder what people think of the 6D for wildlife ethusiasts?

According to the guys at the canon show today, the 6D will be coming in around the R21k mark (orms has it at R19.5k) which is more affordable then both the 5D mark II and III and more then the 7D.

Seeing as it is a full frame sensor therefore offering the full frame advantages and slightly more pixels then the 1.6 crop 7D sensor.

Perhaps the frames per second are an issue seeing as the 6D is 4.5 frames per second with compared to the 8 frames per second of the 7d and 6 frames per second of the 5D mark III.

6D does come with built-in GPS (as far as i understand) and therefore, although a gimmick, perhaps would be nice to see exactly where you took images.

I wonder what people think, will the 6D be a competitor in the wildlife photography market?

Or is the 7D still the daddy in the market in terms of semi pro to pro DSLR for wildlife photography seeing as you have the added advantage of the crop factor.

Dpreview specs lists
Canon 6D
Canon 5D mark III
Canon 7D

Greetings from the "Dark Side" This comment may be considered to be biased, considering that I am a Nikon user, but much of my view could equally be exploited by Canon wildlife users that have a substantial investment in pro-level glass.

Timbo, since the last post you made on this site regarding your equipment, it would seem that you have a substantial investment in glass across the range, but none of it seems to be at a pro level, and your camera could also be considered at consumer level. (Canon 550D?). Clearly you have both the passion and the ability and I like the images of yours that I have seen so far. However, I would suggest that you seriously consider your needs, both in the short and medium term, when it comes to photography.

So what are you currently lacking in your set-up that requires you to upgrade and what will any of the new bodies give you that you do not have, AND you would like? Would it not be better to invest in better glass, and when you have exhausted that opportunity, to then upgrade to a better, more suitable body when the need (and budget) arrives?

Have a look at the dxomark.com website to compare sensors on various DSLR cameras. On a general rating, the Nikon D7000 is rated higher than the 7d and the Nikon D600 trumps both the 5dmkII and 5DmkIII and is only 2nd to the D800, which is considered the best sensor in ANY DLSR.

As a wildlife shooter, should you move from DX to FX, you will have to get additional, longer lenses to compensate for the "loss" of the crop factor. Sure, you can crop any FX image, but that is not a viable reason to move to FX. You will lose the frame-rate that you may want, but you will certainly gain on the low-light capability.

All bodies have trade-offs in of some sort and you just need to define your needs and wants, realising that a substantial investment in glass is going to be required to extract the best out of any body that you choose. Unfortunately for you and the rest of the canon users out there, NIKON seem to be at the top of the pile when it comes to sensor performance in both the DX and FX arenas, at least for the moment.

Yeah unfortunately my body is most definitely at a consumer level being the 550D.

I do have some nice glass in the 100-400mm L IS USM and the 50mm f/1.4 and then of course the standard lenses 18-55 and 55-250 which aren't much to write home about.

I am looking to upgrade but I started this topic as more of a space for a discussion on the 6D an it's expected capabilities.

But now that you mention it, I do need to upgrade my body especially since I've just finished my second year at Vega and now I'm supposed to make a living off of photography. I would love to b in the wildlife section but that ain't happening any time soon, or a least it appears that way right now.

The reason I feel I need an upgrade is simply for the low light ability of fx format, which helps considerable in reducing noise and allowing you to take images earlier in the morning. I would consider moving over to Nikon if I had th budget and the means but seeing as I am a "student", it's gonna be a while before my budget allows it.

I'm not as concerned about frame rate as I've been working with th 3.7 frames per second the 550D is limited to and therefore both the 5D and the 6D will hav a faster frame rate.

Truthfully, I need to sit down and have a serious think about my future and what I will need from my body in order to fulfill my goals and then upgrade my body and my lenses.

On my wish list is the 1200mm canon L lens, so I shouldn't be short of distance for fx format I wish

And if need be, I may move over to Nikon.

Nikon were buying the sensors from Sony until not so long ago apparently

Hey guys,

As someone who goes to Kruger a lot for birding and wildlife photography, I would personally not go for the 6d, 5d, 1dx. Reason being it is full frame. I have just bought a 7d for this exact reason. With full frame you will need to purchase longer lenses in order to get the same zoom you would get on a crop censor. ie a 300mm on a 1.6 CMOS censor is a 480mm. you will need to buy a 500mm lens to get the same magnification, at 4 X the price. The 7d also shoots a lot faster than the 5d III and 6d.

Yes full frame is better than CMOS sensor for wide angle shots, and for low light, but you lose the "zoom" factor you get with a crop sensor which is what you need 90% of the time when shooting wildlife/birds.

The 6D construction is also a bit of a let-down, it feels to plastic and cheap, I think Canon have made a mistake with the 6D as there is not a proper need for the entry level FF. it also has less buttons which does not help for when you need to change a setting quickly for a specific shot. I once heard, the better the camera body, the more buttons it will have.

The 6d is much like the 60d, either stick with the 50D or get a 7D. Stick with the 7D or go for the 5D MK II or III.

My thoughts from Canon’s perspective are: the more camera bodies you have, the money customers you will have as everyone’s needs are different. I don’t believe in the concept, rather make better versions or current bodies, then new bodies for a market that was not there because on the divide between 7D and 5D. If you can’t afford the 5D III buy the II.

I tend to agree with you. If you simply need a camera to take images of wildlife, then the 7D is the body you use because of the frame rate and the crop factor.

But I feel that, that 7D body needs an upgrade, a mark 2 version needs to be realesed. There are of course the rumors of the 7D mark 2 being announced in feb but you can never trust the rumors.

Found Here

Which is an improvement on the current 7D model. I have also heard a rumor of the 61 point AF system currently in the 5D mark III being placed in the 7D II, which I somehow doubt will be true.