[QUOTE="Didereaux, post:
She NEEDS the low light capabilities of the 6D,,,NONE of the Canon XXD, nor Nikons have decent sensitivity. Remember in the arenas and such she CANNOT use a flash around those horses. Secondly, I own the 70-200 F4 and agree with you on the quality, But again it is NOT a good choice as a single lens fro what she wants to do. She will need a wide angle to mid angle in order to shoot in those confined spaces. If she is outside and more space then a 1.4X ext is the answer. The other thing about the 6D is it's weight...it is light, and easy to carry around. NO, the over-riding consideration in the OP's situation is low light sensitivity! Period....anything on the average will not produce satisfactory image quality under the conditions mentioned.[/QUOTE]
For her situation a 7D mkll would be the better choice if she chooses Canon. In terms of cameras, AF abilities, controls etc. the 6D is pretty much equlivent to a 40D with a FF sensor and a digi 5 processor.
The AF system of the 7D mkll is far superior with its 65 point focus system that is the same as used in the 1Dx.
As for other bodies, if you have read any of the recent reviews the Sony A7 tops most lists followed by the Nikon D4 & Df, and that's coming from a Canon user.
[QUOTE="Didereaux, post:70-200mm is what you need for horses. If you get wide angle you'll get too much perspective distortion unless you're getting landscape type shots; which is often not what most want from equine photography. Most horse arenas; even smaller ones, will have more than enough room for a 70-200mm to work in; though sometimes you might have to move around inside the arena[/QUOTE]
Problem is that she is NOT after portraits exclusively. She wants working arena shots, and for that many times a 70mm and up is just to narrow a view. No, 24-105+ is what you need as a single lens for horse arena work.[/QUOTE]
A college basket ball arena is 84 x 50 feet wide. My 70-200 is always on my 2nd body and is used for half court on.
A small dressage arena is 66 x 132 feet, the average dressage arena is 66 x 196 feet and standard competition arena is 100 x 200 feet. With those distances the venerable 70 - 200 would do just fine for all but the closest shots.
My suggestion to the OP is to rent both combinations and give them a try and see what fits your specific needs best. You didn't mention where you are at, but if you are in or near a large metropolitan area that should be no problem.
