Full frame camera for portraits? (Canon 6d vs 5d II vs Nikon 600d?)

TheStupidForeigner · Jul 3, 2015

I am planning to upgrade to a full frame sensor to help me with my goal of making a living from photography, mostly through portraits but want to stay open to all kinds of photography for now, but am having a hard time deciding...

So far I have been looking at either the newer Canon 6d or the older 5d mark II which are both around the same price used. And the Nikon d600 which is a little cheaper and recommended by a friend but I am a little nervous moving from Canon to Nikon as it's not going to be easy to move back again if I wanted to some day... I'm of course open to other suggestions I haven't thought about though.

For lenses I plan to get a cheap 28-85mm (about 100 euros for either canon or Nikon) and an 85mm 1.8 for portraits, everything including the body will be used of course, probably off of ebay.

What do you guys think? Any advice is hugely appreciated, I'm looking at spending around 1200 euros (1500USD) which is an absolutely huge amount of money for me at the moment so this is a huge decision for me to make.

pixmedic · Jul 3, 2015

if your already invested in canon equipment, go with the 6D.

Designer · Jul 3, 2015

Got lights?

How are you fixed for studio space, lights, stands, modifiers, and backdrops?

If you already have the accessories, then upgrading the body might be the right move.

I might not agree with your plan of obtaining "a cheap 28-85mm" if you're attempting to upgrade.

goodguy · Jul 3, 2015

Nikon D610 is better then both the 6D and 5D II, its got better auto focus system and the better sensor, if you dont have any Canon lenses or other equipment then get the Nikon.
Once you are invested in a certain system ususally it doesnt make sense to move back to another, camera makers always make a model that WOW's everybody and few months later you see the other camera makers make an even better model, jumping from one system to another just to keep up with the latest trend it pointless, useless and silly.

I am now starting to get more serious about portraits photography, there is some equipment you need to add and not just camera and lenses, if you want to be serious then dont buy cheap crap, 85mm lens is a wonderful start (Nikon or Canon) but dont cheap out and buy something that will not do a good job.
Maybe start with 85mm and 50mm, then later you can add 24-70mm and 70-200mm

Good luck

tirediron · Jul 3, 2015

If you are seriously considering photography as a career, then start off as you need to continue. Buy quality equipment; stuff that will last. Better build quality and greater longevity are almost always a better investment than more features. If you're primarily going to be a portrait shooter, than really, the body doesn't matter all that much since you won't care about frame rates, high ISO, or the great megapixel race. Canon/Nikon is Ford/Chevy; nothing more, nothing less. Canon has some advantages and some disadvantages, and vice versa. If you're already invested in a system, stick with it. If you're not, try them all and find the one you like.

TheStupidForeigner · Jul 3, 2015

Yeah I have a bit of my own low end lighting, its not the best quality but works ok for me so far. Though more importantly I just realized that I have seriously misjudged the second hand price of a 6d, an auction I was just watching went all the way up to 1120 euros, so I think I'm now leaning more towards the d600 as its 250 euros cheaper and from what I hear has better image quality at low ISOs.

I keep hearing the opinion that; if you shoot video go with a canon, if not go with the nikon. And well, I don't think I've used the video function on my rebel once since I bought it last year so....

TheStupidForeigner · Jul 3, 2015

Well I am now reading that 1000s of people have had problems with d600s.... Probably why they are so cheap :/ Especially as I will be buying second hand its probably quite likely that I may end up with a bad one so I guess I am now looking at the 5d mark II. Any opinions on this? I know it is quite old but does the image quality stand ok compared to the 6d and similar models? The good point about it being old is also that it won't lose value so quickly, so I could easily upgrade again to a mark iii in a year or so, but still need something relatively good for that year.

pixmedic · Jul 3, 2015

TheStupidForeigner said:
Well I am now reading that 1000s of people have had problems with d600s.... Probably why they are so cheap :/ Especially as I will be buying second hand its probably quite likely that I may end up with a bad one so I guess I am now looking at the 5d mark II. Any opinions on this? I know it is quite old but does the image quality stand ok compared to the 6d and similar models? The good point about it being old is also that it won't lose value so quickly, so I could easily upgrade again to a mark iii in a year or so, but still need something relatively good for that year.

I have two D600's. love them. probably the best bang for the buck you can get from Nikon right now in the used market.
I dont know where your location is, but if I EVER get oil spots on either of my D600's, Nikon replaces the whole shutter. for FREE! and if it happens again, Nikon sends me a D610. also for free. Totally a win/win for me.
I got both D600's for less than $1000 each and i have yet to see a single oil spot on either of them.

as far as Canon cameras, which I dont know a ton about, it seems like the 6D has a lot of advantages over the 5DII.
you can compare features...Canon 6D vs 5D Mark II - Our Analysis

goodguy · Jul 3, 2015

I have recommended the D610, its a D600 but without the D600 problematic shutter mechanism, check the D610 prices, its a lot of camera for the buck andas far as I know is bullet proff reliable!

As Pixmedic said even if you get the D600 and have the oil/dust issues Nikon will fix it for free, I heard they will simply replace it to the D610 mechanism which as I said is trouble free.

TheStupidForeigner · Jul 3, 2015

Hmm, I donno... On amazon BOTH the d600 and d610 have around 20-30% of their reviews complaining about oil/dust on the sensor.. It could also be a major reason for someone to sell second hand on ebay. Also I have no idea how long it would take to fix, or if they fix it in Germany where I live. I really want the Nikon but just not sure if it is worth such a huge risk.

goodguy · Jul 3, 2015

D610 has NO oil/dust issue!
Nikon resolved it, still if you don't feel comfortable then the 6D and 5D II are ok too.

TheStupidForeigner · Jul 3, 2015

In the end I found an auction for a d600 with 100k shutter clicks for a cheap price from a very high rated ebayer and figured if it has been used for 100,000 shots it should be ok. So it's done, I have officially moved to Nikon

About d610, check the amazon reviews, it has almost the same amount of negative reviews relating to oil/dust on the sensor. Not sure how as I heard the main reason for the release of the 610 was this issue but dozens of people on amazon disagree.... :/

chuasam · Jul 3, 2015

The camera really matters quite little when it comes to professional portrait photography.
Far more important is your lights and modifiers and maybe your lenses.
Far far more important than gear is your ability to read and interact with people.

Sort out the important bits and let the rest take care of itself.

Canon vs Nikon? who cares...if you have Canon stuff...stick to Canon.

Solarflare · Jul 7, 2015

goodguy said:
Nikon D610 is better then both the 6D and 5D II, its got better auto focus system and the better sensor, if you dont have any Canon lenses or other equipment then get the Nikon.

The AF of the Canon 6D has less AF points than the Nikon D6x0, but it has better coverage and works better in low light. Thus I wouldnt call it a clear "better" for either of them.

Braineack · Jul 7, 2015

@Solarflare Every damn post about focus points--I swear you just make stuff up...

Here's the frame coverage of the D600 and 6D focus points:

Now overlayed.

If you honestly consider that "Better" coverage, you're out of your mind. The coverage is more or less identical -- slight edge to 6D on the two far points.

The 6D has 11 focus points. You can see where is has 9 vertically sensitive points and 3 horizontal--all sensitive to f/5.6 (the middle vertical is only good to f/2.8).

The D600 has 39 focus points. 9 are cross highlighted in red:

Seven points are sensitive to f/8 -- not 2.8 like the canon's middle vertical. eight.

all the remaining 32 focus points are good to f/5.6.

So to recap:

Canon cross points: 1
Nikon cross points: 9

Canon max sensitivty on cross point: f/5.6 horizontal and f/2.8 vertical
Nikon max sensitivity on cross points: f/8 and f/5.6

Canon max sensitivty on non-cross points: f/5.6
Nikon max sensitivity on non-cross points: f/8 and f/5.6

So with that being said, I'm going with the D600 working better in low light.

Side note: I would like to say that this weekend was the first time I had trouble focusing my D600 -- I was shooting portraits against the fireworks in pure darkness, the viewfinder was nearly pure black. I forgot to switch the camera back to AF-S from AF-C so I could get my focus assist to work. Suffice to say I was still able to nail focus:

IIRC that's either 3.2 or 5.6 in AF-C.