6d or 70d

[Luke345678]

Hello,

For a while I had my eyes set on the Canon 70d and I knew that's what I wanted but recently I've decided to look at the 6d as well. I've never used a full frame before so I've never really looked into them until now but I'm still not completely sure if I should upgrade to a 6d instead of a 70d. I know both cameras are great but my question is what are the disadvantages and advantages of going full frame for the kinds of shooting that I personally do?

I shoot a lot of sports in High School gyms and outside during the night on some sort of field, I also shoot a lot of portraits and some wildlife/landscape here and there. I know there is a several hundred price difference between the 70d and the 6d but that doesn't really matter for me. I have enough money for either one so that doesn't need to be taken into consideration. If you tell me to go one way or the other, please put why.

Thanks,

-Luke

 

[Lumens]

Unless you have already invested in several EF-S lenses go with the Full Frame (EF-S lenses will not work on a Full Frame). Bottom line it has a better sensor and will produce better images. "Outside during the night" I have no doubt you are at a pretty high ISO causing noise. Full Frame is the best answer for that.

The 6D does not have the highest fps out there, but is good enough for your needs and about the same as the 70D. This is important to capture the quick action of sports and wildlife. I own a 7D and love it for sports and wildlife but get a lot of noise in my images due to the crop frame sensor and low ISO performance, especially early morning and late evening. That problem goes away with the 6D, but would be the same with the 70D. The 6D is your best bet for high Image Quality.

The 70D is better designed for video, so if video is a concern then the 70D may be a better choice over the 6D, but for stills and High Image quality there is no competition the 6D reigns over the 70D.

 

[robbins.photo]

Well really I think probably the biggest, most noticeable difference in full frame is going to be the low light performance, with the full frame sensors much larger size they really do make a huge difference in low light conditions, such as shooting in a high school gym. You will lose the crop factor of course, so something to consider. The 6d will give you better dynamic range so higher image quality - However the 70d has a better autofocus system and shoots a lot faster - 7 FPS as opposed to the 4.5 of the 6d.

So I guess for me really the question would come down to lowlight shooting - if you shoot enough lowlight and you've found your current images produced in low light inadequate I'd give the 6d a serious look. If however you are happy with your current IQ even in lowlight then I'd most likely go for the 70d.

 

[Juga]

Well really I think probably the biggest, most noticeable difference in full frame is going to be the low light performance, with the full frame sensors much larger size they really do make a huge difference in low light conditions, such as shooting in a high school gym. You will lose the crop factor of course, so something to consider. The 6d will give you better dynamic range so higher image quality - However the 70d has a better autofocus system and shoots a lot faster - 7 FPS as opposed to the 4.5 of the 6d.

So I guess for me really the question would come down to lowlight shooting - if you shoot enough lowlight and you've found your current images produced in low light inadequate I'd give the 6d a serious look. If however you are happy with your current IQ even in lowlight then I'd most likely go for the 70d.

Yeah the FPS maybe faster but the buffer on the 6D is much better. The 4.5 frames can go for about 20 full RAW files where the 70D about 10ish. The AF system is much better.

 

[KaPOWitsCHRIS]

I recently bought the 6D and while I haven't had much chance to properly test it out, I am loving it so far!

 

[robbins.photo]

Well really I think probably the biggest, most noticeable difference in full frame is going to be the low light performance, with the full frame sensors much larger size they really do make a huge difference in low light conditions, such as shooting in a high school gym. You will lose the crop factor of course, so something to consider. The 6d will give you better dynamic range so higher image quality - However the 70d has a better autofocus system and shoots a lot faster - 7 FPS as opposed to the 4.5 of the 6d.

So I guess for me really the question would come down to lowlight shooting - if you shoot enough lowlight and you've found your current images produced in low light inadequate I'd give the 6d a serious look. If however you are happy with your current IQ even in lowlight then I'd most likely go for the 70d.

Yeah the FPS maybe faster but the buffer on the 6D is much better. The 4.5 frames can go for about 20 full RAW files where the 70D about 10ish. The AF system is much better.

Well in the interest of full disclosure I don't shoot either so I can only go by what I read/research - but I have noticed that buffer overrun is not nearly as bad if you use fast SD cards. I use Sandisk Pro Extremes that are rated for 95 mps read/write in my trusty Nikon D5100 - and it makes a huge difference in the time it takes for the buffer to overrun and the time it takes to clear the buffer once it is overrun.

But even so it's good information to have on the buffer sizes.. wtg Juga

 

[toughsamurai]

If you shoot sports and wildlife more often then go with 70D.
6D is great on high ISO but it lacks on continues shots with help more on sports and wildlife.

 

[goodguy]

For god sake man if you have the money to buy the 6D then get on with it and get it, its a full frame, the real deal.
Nothing can touch this camera in low light and while its not a sport beast it is simply a fantastic camera.
Its like asking do I want a Toyota Corolla or a Mercedes S class.

 

[Juga]

Robbins is right though. 70D would be your best bet. Speaking of bets who wants to bet on the number of these '70D vs 6D' threads before New Years?

 

[Luke345678]

I shoot a lot of low light stuff so what I've been grasped from some of the suggestions is that the 6d would be the way to go? I have had lots of noise issues with my Canon T3i and I really want to get rid of that issue. Most games I shoot are at night. I understand the 70d has a better AF system and it has a faster fps but it seems like the 6d would be the way to go. I've got several EFS lenses so that will suck but it seems like it might be the best idea to finally switch to a full frame. If I don't now I'll have to wait like another year or two.

 

[Juga]

Well the 6D eats light so low light won't be an issue but you might get frustrated with the number of missed shots due to the AF. Have you looked at a refurbished D600? Cheaper than the 6D, better AF, and low light will be close to the 6D. Since you would be selling all you Canon stuff a full switch might not be bad.

 

[JacaRanda]

Robbins is right though. 70D would be your best bet. Speaking of bets who wants to bet on the number of these '70D vs 6D' threads before New Years?

LOL. No doubt.

A little interested in what lenses the OP has. Hopefully if money is not an issue with the camera choice, that is or will be the same for lenses.

A lot of sports at night and in gyms. A lot of portraits. Hmmm, I would lean towards?????? What lenses? 5D mkIII.

 

[Juga]

Robbins is right though. 70D would be your best bet. Speaking of bets who wants to bet on the number of these '70D vs 6D' threads before New Years?

LOL. No doubt.

A little interested in what lenses the OP has. Hopefully if money is not an issue with the camera choice, that is or will be the same for lenses.

A lot of sports at night and in gyms. A lot of portraits. Hmmm, I would lean towards?????? What lenses? 5D mkIII.

Me too...only if money grew on trees...:sigh:

 

[robbins.photo]

I shoot a lot of low light stuff so what I've been grasped from some of the suggestions is that the 6d would be the way to go? I have had lots of noise issues with my Canon T3i and I really want to get rid of that issue. Most games I shoot are at night. I understand the 70d has a better AF system and it has a faster fps but it seems like the 6d would be the way to go. I've got several EFS lenses so that will suck but it seems like it might be the best idea to finally switch to a full frame. If I don't now I'll have to wait like another year or two.

Well I guess it sort of depends on how many EF-s lenses you have and how much you use them. If your fast glass that your using for sports shooting now is EF-S that might be a pain - but if not you can certianly hold onto the T3i for a while and use it in conjuction with the 6D for when you use your EF-S lenses, and use the 6D for lowlight. Then slowly upgrade your glass and then sell the T3I off once you get enough of them replaced.

As Juga mentioned you if you have a ton of EF-S glass and not much else then maybe it wouldn't be a bad time to evaluate the possiblity of switching systems and see if the benefits of doing so would be worth it for you personally.

 

[Luke345678]

Personally, I'd like to stick with canon. To be honest, I don't have that much glass. Currently, this is what I have...
Canon 18-135mm
Canon 18-55mm
Sigma 70-300mm
Sigma 50-500mm

Recently sold some glass off. When you say I'll be missing a few shots because of the AF system do you mean a lot of shots? How much will that effect me? I already am not a fan of the 4.5 fps of the 6d. I know it won't be as good as the 6d in low light but how does the 70d perform in low light situations?

I just feel like at some point I will need to switch over too full frame so I feel like I should do it out now rather than later. What do you think?