Canon 6d or 80d - HELP!!

maverickusa · Jun 13, 2016

i am torn between these 2 cameras, I want to do both pictures and video, I love making home videos to share with our families and travel photos along with family portraits.
I have a Nikon D70 with 18-70 and 70-200. Although I have Nikon gear I am worried about the Video aspect on the D7100 or D7200 compared to these 2 Canons.

I already have a GoPro Silver, iPhone 6s and Canon Camcorder HV20(mini dv tapes!) I am trying to get away from carrying a second camera (camcorder), don't mind the GoPro for additional views or footage.

Currently don't have any plans for doing professional work but maybe just side work for friends.

Currently the 6d refurbished is going for $1100 and the 80d body is $1200.

I have watched plenty of YouTube videos on both cameras but hoping for more advise, please help!!

ronlane · Jun 13, 2016

It depends on what your total budget is and how much glass you are wanting/needing.

The 6D is a full frame camera and will require EF glass, which is more expensive and generally better quality (image quality). The 80D is a newer camera and and has some really great video features that the 6D can't contend with. It will also work with any of the EF or EF-S glass that Canon makes.

jaomul · Jun 13, 2016

The 80d will do everything well.

The 6d will do stills better than well

robbins.photo · Jun 13, 2016

Well the 80d has quite a few advantages over the 6d, better autofocus system for one, so if your shooting a lot of telephoto or action shots I'd tend to lean toward the 80d.

The 6d is a full frame sensor, so without knowing what lenses you have you might end up having to upgrade some of your current lenses, from what I understand EF-S lenses won't work on Canon full frame systems so that might be something to consider. However the advantage of the full frame sensor is that it will perform much better in limited lighting, so if your taking pictures say indoors a lot without a flash, the 6d might be the better choice.

maverickusa · Jun 13, 2016

ronlane said:
It depends on what your total budget is and how much glass you are wanting/needing.

The 6D is a full frame camera and will require EF glass, which is more expensive and generally better quality (image quality). The 80D is a newer camera and and has some really great video features that the 6D can't contend with. It will also work with any of the EF or EF-S glass that Canon makes.

My Budget is around $1500 for now, I just had edited my post that have a Nikon D70 with 2 lenses and willing to go to Canon due to better focusing on them for video. Although the Nikon D7200 seems to be on par the video focusing has me worried.

jaomul · Jun 13, 2016

If video is your main thing maybe Sony or panasonic might have better options in your price range

maverickusa · Jun 13, 2016

jaomul said:
If video is your main thing maybe Sony or panasonic might have better options in your price range

Thats my dilema, I love the photography side as much as the video side. I guess depending on my scenario it could be weighed at 60% video to 40% pictures, then another day could be just backwards! For the Pics and Video I would plan on shooting all times of the day.
I know that the FF 6D will cost more in the end due to having to use EF lenses so that pushes me more to the 80D.
I think i might just go down to Costco and grab the 80d kit and play around with it and return it eventually to save some $$ to put toward a different lense than the 55-250mm it comes with.

cherylynne1 · Jun 13, 2016

jaomul said:
If video is your main thing maybe Sony or panasonic might have better options in your price range

This was my thought. If video is so important that you're willing to switch systems, you probably want to look at mirrorless options. For your budget, you could get the new Sony a6300 with 16-50 and 55-210. Or the a6000 with a few more expensive lenses.

robbins.photo · Jun 13, 2016

maverickusa said:
I think i might just go down to Costco and grab the 80d kit and play around with it and return it eventually to save some $$ to put toward a different lense than the 55-250mm it comes with.

Well that will be really nice for the people at Costco - they can let you rent it for free and take a huge loss when they have to sell it as an unboxed item later on down the road.

maverickusa · Jun 13, 2016

robbins.photo said:
maverickusa said:

I think i might just go down to Costco and grab the 80d kit and play around with it and return it eventually to save some $$ to put toward a different lense than the 55-250mm it comes with.

Click to expand...

Well that will be really nice for the people at Costco - they can let you rent it for free and take a huge loss when they have to sell it as an unboxed item later on down the road.

Yeah that wouldn't be cool for me to do! Plus it's a pain the A$$ having to find time to get to costco and the long returns wait lines.

I just had another thought, what about saving lots more $$ and getting a refurb 70D instead?

espenhb · Jun 19, 2016

For what it's worth:

I've been doing photo and video both for the newspapers I've worked for and on the side for my own pleasure. Most of the time I'm shooting pictures and doing video more or less at the same time.

My go-to setup for this is the 6D with a 24-105 f/4. Add an external microphone and you'll be hard pressed to find much wrong with the videos. And the pictures are superb as well. A faster lense would be nice for photos, sure. But as a combined photo/video-kit it does the trick.

The only thing I miss on the 6D as far as video goes is a headphone output, but the meter works well enough.

Just remember to set your exposure to 1/double the frame rate, and you won't be dissapointed with the 6D.

PS: A variable ND-filter is a must have to get the correct exposure on video if you want the depth of field-effect.