Canon 6D Review

Overview

Overview and Tech Info by Shawn Barnett and Mike Tomkins
Posted 09/17/2012

Field Test by Dan Havlik
Posted 05/03/2013

Last edited: 02/08/2017

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UPDATE: 02/08/2017:
Want to know how the full-frame Canon 6D compares with its similarly-priced sibling, the sub-frame Canon 7D II? You're not alone, so we've written a head-to-head of the Canon 6D vs. Canon 7D Mark II. Be sure to read it now, so you can decide whether you're better off with an entry-level full-frame DSLR, or a high-end APS-C one instead!

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This winter the Canon EOS 6D finally emerged from behind the curtain of rumor and conjecture. The new Canon 6D is another camera -- like the Nikon D600 -- designed to appeal to the photographer who wants to step up to full-frame but has found the $3,000-$3,500 price tag prohibitively expensive. Instead, the Canon 6D body retails for US$2,000, sports a 20.2-megapixel 35mm CMOS sensor that's powered by a DIGIC 5+ processor, has a 3-inch 1.04-million dot LCD, a UHS-I SD card slot, and includes both Wi-Fi and GPS built-in.

To lower the cost, Canon naturally had to change a few of the specs. First, its sensor isn't quite as large as the 36 x 24mm sensors of the 5D Mark II and Mark III. Instead it's 35.8 x 23.9mm. Not a big deal, but not quite full-frame. It's worth noting that this smaller sensor size is nearly identical in size to the sensor in the original 5D. The Canon 6D's sensor also has 2.1 million pixels fewer than the 5D Mark III. With a pixel pitch of 6.55 microns, that could be a boon in the sensitivity department, as the 5D II's pixel pitch was 6.4 microns and the 5D III was 6.25 microns. The Canon 6D also doesn't have that wonderful array of 61 autofocus points like the 5D Mark III; instead there are 11 points, arrayed in a familiar diamond pattern.

The 6D weighs about 6.9 ounces (195g) less, so that's a good reduction. And in this case, the cost is about $1,500 less than the 5D Mark III, so if you're looking for why it seems less feature-rich, there are 1,500 good reasons. As has often happened with EOS introductions for more than 20 years, the Canon 6D leapfrogs all others in the line with two advanced features no other EOS has, regardless of price -- built in Wi-Fi and GPS radios, two features we expect to see proliferate in all manner of cameras through 2013 and beyond.

ISO sensitivity in the Canon 6D is a little higher than the Nikon D600, with regular settings ranging from 100 to 25,600, and extended settings up to 102,400. Autofocus sensitivity in the Canon 6D goes lower than the 5D Mark III, down to -3 EV (the 5D Mark III was -2 EV, and the Mark II was -0.5). So autofocusing in darker conditions should be better than ever thanks to a greater number of light-sensitive elements in the center of the AF sensor.

Design and controls. From the front, the Canon 6D has a very simple look, but a very high forehead thanks to the large pentaprism behind that logo. Note the lack of a pop-up flash, unusual for a high-end consumer camera, but consistent with Canon full-frame models. The infrared remote receiver is embedded into the contoured grip, and a self-timer lamp (not an AF-assist lamp) sits between the grip and the lens mount. Just barely noticeable to the lower left of the mount is the Depth-of-field preview button. A large lens release button sits in the usual position, and three microphone holes peek out from beneath the EOS 6D logo.

With fewer click stops than most Canon Mode dials, the 6D uses more of the dial's surface area, and has a lock button in the middle, while past dials use only part of the ring area. The Power switch sticks out from beneath the Mode dial. Like the 60D, the 6D confines the Status LCD's buttons to only one function per rather than two, which will be less confusing for consumer users.

Despite its lack of an articulating screen, the control cluster of the Canon 6D has more in common with the T4i than other cameras in the line. Gone are the five buttons left of the LCD, effectively deleting only the Picture Styles and RAW/JPEG (from the 7D) buttons from the back of the camera, as the rest have just found new locations above and right of the LCD. One reason there's more room for that kind of change is that Canon deleted the eight-way joystick, instead integrating it into the Quick Control dial as an eight-way navigation disk. We do wish Canon would decide on a control interface and stick with it, but that won't be too much of an issue to the person who owns and uses just this camera. Canon is likely leaning more on the Quick Menu to serve most of the users' needs anyway.

One control they seem to have decided was good enough is the Live View/Movie Record switch and button arrangement. Press the button to enter Live View mode, or flip the switch to Movie mode and press the button to start and stop recording. This is better than having Movie relegated to a position on the Mode dial, as we see on the Rebels, because it's faster.

Summary. With the near simultaneous announcements of the Canon 6D and the Nikon D600, owning a full-frame camera just got a little more affordable. Since many on the Internet have been wondering why they're not more affordable, we think it's worth mentioning that it costs more to make a larger sensor like this, because they get fewer sensors per wafer just due to the size. And small imperfections on larger sensors will mean fewer sensors will pass muster. You can get at least twice as many APS-C sensors from a single silicon wafer. Then you need a bigger mirror and a more robust mechanism to move that mirror, as well as a larger pentaprism and the optics to support that. And naturally all of that larger size requires a little more internal support and external coverage from your inner frame and outer magnesium-alloy shell.

For some, the 5D Mark III and Nikon D800 might be seen as somewhat overkill for their photographic needs, paying for a ton of special features that they'd likely never use. They may like the idea of a camera with fewer bells and whistles at a lower cost, yet straightforward access to basic photographic controls. Here's a comparison of the key features of the Canon 6D and the 5D Mark III to help you determine if the 6D is enough camera for you at about US$1,500 less:

In the Box

The Canon EOS 6D retail kit w/24-105mm lens package (as reviewed) contains the following items:

• Canon EOS 6D body
• Canon EF 24-105mm f/4 IS USM lens
• Eyecup
• Battery pack LP-E6
• Battery charger LC-E6
• Stereo AV cable AVC-DC400ST
• Wide neck strap EW-EOS 6D
• USB interface cable IFC-200U
• EOS Digital Solution disk and software instructional manual CD
• Camera instruction manual

Recommended Accessories

• Large capacity SDHC/SDXC memory card. 16GB Class 10 should be a minimum.
• Extra battery pack LP-E6 (~US$80)
• Battery grip BG-E13 (~US$300)
• AC adapter kit ACK-E6 (~US$120)
• Canon Speedlite flash
• Large DSLR bag

Optics

The Canon 6D is available body-only, or bundled with the EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM "kit" lens. The test images shown on most other pages of this review were taken with very sharp references lenses, so we use this page to explore kit lens quality.

Kit Lens Test Results

Zoom
The Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM lens offers focal lengths both wider and longer than the typical "kit" lens.

The Canon EF 24-105mm kit lens has a versatile optical zoom ratio of about 4.4x, ranging from a generous 24mm at wide angle to a moderate 105mm at the telephoto end, when mounted on a full-frame body like the Canon 6D. The lens also features Canon's excellent Image Stabilization system, which helps avoid or reduce image blur due to camera shake when shooting at slower shutter speeds.

Unfortunately, the weather hasn't cooperated with us thus far to take a zoom range series with the kit lens, but we'll be adding said series here as soon as possible when it does. In the meantime, see the rest of our kit lens test results below, and also visit our detailed review of this lens on SLRgear.com.

Macro
A larger-than-average macro area with slightly soft detail.

The Canon 6D's macro performance will of course depend entirely on the lens in use. With the EF 24-105mm lens set to 105mm, the Canon 6D captured a much larger-than-average minimum area measuring 5.80 x 3.86 inches (174 x 98 millimeters). Sharpness is decent though a touch soft in the center of the frame, while quite soft in the corners and along the edges of the frame. (Most lenses have some softening in the corners at macro distances, so that's not unusual.)

Geometric Distortion
Higher than average barrel distortion at wide angle and moderate pincushion distortion at telephoto with the 24-105mm kit lens.

Barrel distortion at 24mm is 1.5 percent

Pincushion distortion at 105mm is 0.5 percent

The Canon EF 24-105mm lens produced images with about 1.5 percent barrel distortion at wide angle, which is higher than average and quite noticeable in some shots. At the telephoto end, the lens produced just over 0.5% pincushion distortion, which is also slightly higher than average though not quite as noticeable.

The Canon 6D does not correct for geometric distortion in its JPEGs in capture mode, as uncorrected RAW files have identical amounts. The camera can however correct for distortion for supported Canon lenses when performing in-camera RAW conversion. Geometric Distortion is the tendency for the lens to bend straight lines outward (like a barrel -- usually at wide-angle) or inward (like a pincushion -- usually at telephoto).

Chromatic Aberration and Corner Sharpness
Low levels of chromatic aberration in the corners with the 24-105mm lens (the 6D suppresses C.A. by default). Mild to moderate softening in the corners.

Aperture: Maximum
Wide, f/4: Upper right C.A.: Low Softness: Slightly soft	Wide, f/4: Center C.A.: Very low Softness: Sharp
Tele, f/4: Lower right C.A.: Very low Softness: Moderately soft	Tele, f/4: Center C.A.: Very low Softness: Slightly soft

Chromatic Aberration. Chromatic aberration in the corners with the Canon EF 24-105mm lens is low at maximum wide angle (24mm) and very low at full telephoto (105mm), because the 6D suppresses C.A. by default. See below to see how much chromatic aberration is present when C.A. Correction is disabled.

Corner Softness. The EF 24-105mm lens produced some slightly soft corners at wide angle at maximum aperture, though performance here is actually very good given the wide 24mm focal length. At full wide angle, the right corners our test target are slightly softer than the left, though softness doesn't extend very far into the frame, and the center of the image is fairly sharp. At full telephoto, the bottom right corner is noticeably softer than the others, and the lens is a touch soft in the center at full telephoto as well. Still, this is very good performance, especially wide open.

Vignetting. Vignetting or corner shading is quite mild in the above crops, but that's because the Canon 6D's Peripheral Illumination Correction is enabled by default. See below for comparisons with PIC disabled.

Aperture: f/8
Wide, f/8: Upper right C.A.: Low Softness: Fairly sharp	Wide, f/8: Center C.A.: Very low Softness: Sharp
Tele, f/8: lower right C.A.: Very low Softness: Fairly sharp	Tele, f/8: Center C.A.: Very low Softness: Fairly sharp

Stopped-down to f/8. Chromatic aberration is still quite low, as you'd expect. Corner sharpness improved from wide open, but corners are still not tack sharp, particularly at the telephoto end. Center sharpness at full telephoto also improved, but is still a bit softer than wide angle. As you can see, the Canon 6D's Peripheral Illumination Correction over-corrected corner shading at full telephoto, producing a noticeably brighter corner crop than the center.

Chromatic Aberration Correction
The Canon 6D offers Chromatic Aberration Correction to reduce lateral C.A. with Canon lenses. The default setting is Enabled.

C.A. Correction Enabled (default)	C.A. Correction Disabled
Wide, f/4: Upper left C.A.: Low	Wide, f/4: Upper left C.A.: High
Tele, f/4: Upper left C.A.: Very low	Tele, f/4: Upper left C.A.: Moderate

As you can see, the Canon 6D's Chromatic Aberration Correction feature was quite effective at removing almost all the lateral chromatic aberration in our EF 24-105mm lens test shots above.

Note that Canon recommends turning lens corrections off for third-party lenses, though. The corrections appear to be database driven (as opposed to real-time image analysis), so they probably wouldn't work properly with most third-party lenses, if at all.

Peripheral Illumination Correction
Like most Canon DSLRs, the 6D features a Peripheral Illumination Correction feature to reduce vignetting or corner shading with Canon lenses.

24mm @f/4		105mm @f/4
Peripheral Illumination Correction:		Enabled (default)	Disabled

The Canon 6D provides what the company calls "Lens Peripheral Illumination Correction," which corrects for lens shading (commonly called "vignetting"), attempting to produce a more uniform exposure across the frame by compensating for the light fall-off seen with most lenses in the corners of the frame. Mouse over the links above to see the effect in the corners with the 24-105mm kit lens at wide angle and telephoto at maximum aperture.

As you can see, corners are quite a bit darker with PIC disabled, particularly at 24mm. We measured just over an EV of shading at wide angle,and just over 1/2 EV at telephoto when we tested another sample of this lens on SLRgear.com.

Peripheral Illumination Correction and Chromatic Aberration Correction are supported for over 85 different Canon lens models, in both RAW and JPEG workflows. For JPEG shooting, the correction is made at capture time, while RAW shooters can access the function in Canon's Digital Photo Professional software. From the factory, the 6D body ships with correction data for about 25 lens models. Canon's EOS Utility software allows correction data for lenses (including models as-yet unreleased) to be uploaded to the Canon 6D.

Canon 6D Viewfinder Accuracy

Viewfinder Test Results

Accuracy
Good coverage from the optical viewfinder, excellent from the LCD in Live View mode.

The Canon 6D's optical viewfinder accuracy is good, showing just under 98% coverage in our test, slightly better than Canon's 97% spec. Tilt and offset compared to what the sensor is exposed to are also quite low for an optical viewfinder. As you'd expect, Live View mode accuracy using the LCD monitor is excellent, with essentially 100% coverage.

The images above were taken from our standardized test shots. For a collection of more pictorial photos, see our Canon EOS 6D Photo Gallery .

Exposure

Color

Saturation & Hue Accuracy
Good saturation levels with very good hue accuracy.

ISO Sensitivity
50	100	200	400
800	1600	3200	6400
12800	25600	51200	102400
In the diagram above, the squares show the original color, and the circles show the color that the camera captured. More saturated colors are located toward the periphery of the graph. Hue changes as you travel around the center. Thus, hue-accurate, highly saturated colors appear as lines radiating from the center. Mouse over the links above to compare ISOs, and click to load a larger version.

Saturation. The Canon 6D produces images with about average saturation levels at default settings. Strong reds, orange, dark brown, dark green, and dark blues are pushed small to moderate amounts, while other colors are close to bang on or slightly desaturated. The mean saturation of 111.3% (11.3% oversaturated) at base ISO is typical for DSLRs, and remains fairly consistent through the ISO range, dropping off only at the highest ISOs. Good performance here. Most consumer digital cameras produce color that's more highly saturated (more intense) than found in the original subjects. This is simply because most people like their color a bit brighter than life.

Skin tones. When white balance is set manually, lighter Caucasian flesh tones shot with the Canon 6D appear natural, with appropriate saturation levels and accurate color, just slightly on the pinkish side. Darker skin tones show only a small nudge toward orange. Good results here as well. Where oversaturation is most problematic is on Caucasian skin tones, as it's very easy for these "memory colors" to be seen as too bright, too pink, too yellow, etc.

Hue. The Canon 6D's hue accuracy is very good, much better than average. There are the usual shifts in cyan toward blue (actually quite small compared to most cameras), red toward orange, and orange toward yellow, but all are fairly minor. (The cyan to blue shift is very common among the digital cameras we test; we think it's a deliberate choice by camera engineers to produce better-looking sky colors.) Average "delta-C" color error is only 4.36 at base ISO which is very good (smaller numbers are better), and remains low across the ISO range. Hue is "what color" the color is.

Saturation Adjustment
The Canon EOS 6D offers a total of nine saturation settings, four above and four below the default saturation, which is quite a wide range. As it should, the Canon 6D's saturation adjustment affects only the saturation, leaving the contrast of the image unaltered. (In some cameras, saturation tends to affect contrast, and vice versa.) The fine steps between settings mean you can program the camera to just the level of saturation you prefer. Well done.

Saturation Adjustment Examples
-4	-2	0	+2	+4

The table above shows alternate settings including the default as well as the two extreme saturation settings. Click on any thumbnail above, then click again to see the full-sized image.

Sensor

Exposure and White Balance

Indoors, incandescent lighting
Auto and Incandescent settings both struggled with household incandescent lighting, though Manual white balance produced a much more neutral image. Higher than average exposure compensation required.

Indoors, under incandescent lighting, the Canon EOS 6D's Auto and Incandescent white balance settings both struggled, resulting in strong reddish and orange casts respectively. Unfortunately, this is quite common among cameras we've tested, but disappointing nonetheless. The Manual setting produced nearly accurate results, though just slightly cool and a touch green overall. The 2,600 Kelvin setting which should match the temperature of our lights produced similar results to Manual, just a touch cooler with a very slight blue tint. The Canon 6D required +1.0 EV exposure compensation for these shots, which is significantly higher than the +0.3 EV average among the cameras we've tested. (Our test lighting for this shot is a mixture of 60 and 100 watt household incandescent bulbs, a pretty yellow light source, but a very common one in typical home settings here in the U.S.)

Outdoors, daylight
Color and saturation are very good,, though with a tendency to underexpose.

Outdoors, the Canon EOS 6D tends toward a slightly cool color balance, though overall color was generally very good in our shots. We prefer the slightly pinker skin tones from the Manual white balance setting in our "Sunlit" portrait shot above left, but Auto white balance was pretty close. The Canon 6D tends to underexpose a bit, requiring higher than average exposure compensation. Here, even at +1.0 EV, our "Sunlit" portrait is a bit dim, while most cameras need +0.7 EV compensation for this shot. The Canon 6D's default contrast is a little high, as most users prefer, though the camera's contrast, Auto Lighting Optimization and Highlight Tone Priority settings do help with this difficult lighting quite a bit. See below for examples of this. The Far-field shot (above right) is also a touch cool, and default exposure is also dim.

Note that different lenses were used for these shots (our very sharp Sigma 70mm f/2.8 Macro reference lens for the shot on the left, and a Canon 50mm f/1.8 II lens on the right), yet both shots were underexposed with multi-segment metering, so we don't think the third-party lens is at fault for the dim exposures.

See full set of test images with explanations
See thumbnails of all test and gallery images

Resolution
~2,400 lines of strong detail from JPEGs, slightly higher from RAW.

Our laboratory resolution chart shows strong detail with distinct line patterns to just over 2,400 lines per picture height horizontally and to about 2,400 lines vertically from in-camera JPEGs. Extinction of the pattern occurred just past 3,400 lines horizontally and vertically. Adobe Camera Raw converted .CR2 files show slightly higher resolution than the in-camera JPEGs, perhaps 100 lines more in both directions, but complete extinction of the pattern was extended to the limits of the chart in the horizontal direction, and to about 3,800 lines in the vertical direction. While ACR was able to extract a bit more detail, it also produced more color moiré than JPEGs from the camera, though that's not unusual. Use these numbers to compare with other cameras of similar resolution, or use them to see just what higher resolution can mean in terms of potential detail.

See full set of test images with explanations
See thumbnails of all test and gallery images

Sharpness & Detail
Very good sharpness with loads of detail, though some sharpening artifacts are visible. Some minor detail loss to noise reduction processing even at base ISO.

Sharpness. The Canon 6D's 20-megapixel sensor captures excellent levels of image detail when coupled with a good lens, though some edge-enhancement artifacts such as sharpening halos are visible around high-contrast edges at default settings, as shown in the crop above left. (The above crop of our "Pine" shot was taken with a Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II lens which is very sharp when stopped-down to f/8.) Pros shooting JPEGs may want to turn in-camera sharpening down a few clicks, and sharpen in post. Edge enhancement creates the illusion of sharpness by enhancing colors and tones right at the edge of a rapid transition in color or tone.

Detail. The crop above right shows some minor detail loss due to noise suppression at base ISO. You can see some smudging of lower contrast and darker strands of hair, but performance here is still quite good, especially given the resolution. (The crop above of the hair taken with our very sharp Sigma 70mm f/2.8 reference lens.) Noise-suppression systems in digital cameras tend to flatten-out detail in areas of subtle contrast. The effects can often be seen in shots of human hair, where the individual strands are lost and an almost "watercolor" look appears.

RAW vs In-Camera JPEGs
As mentioned above, the Canon 6D does an excellent job of capturing sharp, detailed JPEGs when coupled with a sharp lens, but as is usually the case, slightly more detail can be preserved while producing fewer sharpening artifacts by carefully processing its RAW files.

Camera JPEG (Fine, default settings)	RAW via Canon DPP (default settings)	RAW via ACR (sharpened in Photoshop)

In the table above, mousing over a link at the bottom will load the corresponding crop in the area above, and clicking on the link will load the full resolution file. Examples include in-camera Fine JPEG, RAW file processed through Canon's Digital Photo Professional (DPP) software using default settings, and finally, the same RAW file processed through Adobe Camera Raw (ACR) version 7.4, then sharpened in Photoshop using 250% unsharp masking with an 0.3 pixel radius.

Canon's DPP software produced an image very similar to the in-camera JPEG, as expected from a company that develops its own conversion software. The RAW image processed through ACR and then moderately sharpened in Photoshop contains improved detail compared to the in-camera and DPP-processed images, with less obvious sharpening halos. As is usually the case, users wanting to extract the most detail from their Canon 6D will want to shoot RAW and use a good RAW converter.

ISO & Noise Performance
Excellent high ISO performance, with good detail versus noise tradeoff up to ISO 6,400.

Default High ISO Noise Reduction
ISO 50	ISO 100	ISO 200
ISO 400	ISO 800	ISO 1,600
ISO 3,200	ISO 6,400	ISO 12,800
ISO 25,600	ISO 51,200	ISO 102,400

The Canon EOS 6D's high ISO performance is excellent up to ISO 1,600 in the relatively dim indoor lighting used here. Sure, there's a gradual loss of fine detail as ISO increases from base ISO, but remaining detail is still very good to ISO 1,600. At ISO 3,200 we begin to see some moderate detail loss as stronger noise reduction blurs subtly contrasting detail, as well a touch of chroma noise in darker areas, but results here are still quite good. At ISO 6,400 noise grain becomes coarser, blurring stronger, and chroma noise more apparent, but there's still a lot of detail left to work with. Noise and the effects of noise reduction really become apparent at ISO 12,800, with much stronger blurring and more noticeable grain. At ISO 25,600 and above, fine detail really deteriorates quickly, with obvious chroma blotching and high pixel noise exacerbated by relatively strong default sharpening, especially at ISO 102,400. Saturation also drops off slightly above ISO 12,800, probably in an attempt to mitigate chroma noise.

Overall, though, excellent high ISO performance that's very similar to Canon 5D Mark III's, though with slightly higher default noise reduction. See the Print Quality section below for our evaluation of maximum print sizes at each ISO setting.

A note about focus for this shot: We shoot this image at f/4, using one of three very sharp reference lenses (70mm Sigma f/2.8 macro for most cameras, 60mm f/2.8 Nikkor macro for Nikon bodies without a drive motor, and Olympus Zuiko 50mm f/2.0 for Four Thirds and Micro Four Thirds bodies). To insure that the hair detail we use for making critical judgements about camera noise processing and detail rendering is in sharp focus at the relatively wide aperture we're shooting at, the focus target at the center of the scene is on a movable stand. This lets us compensate for front- or back-focus by different camera bodies, even those that lack micro-focus adjustments. This does mean, though, that the focus target itself may appear soft or slightly out of focus for bodies that front- or back-focused with the reference lens. If you click to view the full-size image for one of these shots and notice that the focus target is fuzzy, you don't need to email and tell us about it; we already know it. :-) The focus target position will simply have been adjusted to insure that the rest of the scene is focused properly.

Extremes: Sunlit, dynamic range and low light tests
Very high resolution with strong detail, though somewhat high contrast. Highlight Tone Priority, Auto Lighting Optimization, and contrast adjustment options do a good job of dealing with harsh lighting. Excellent low-light performance.

The Canon EOS 6D produced moderately high contrast, though because of the exposure issue, our entire "Sunlit" portrait exposure series is underexposed. We obviously prefer the +1.0 EV exposure here, but it's still a bit dim in the face so a bit more exposure compensation is needed. You can see in the +1.0 EV shot that while most highlights are intact, shadows are very dark and if you look closely, very deep tones are just a touch noisy and posterized. Still, pretty good performance here (except for the underexposure issue).

Because digital cameras are more like slide film than negative film (in that they tend to have a more limited tonal range), we test them in the harshest situations to see how they handle scenes with bright highlights and dark shadows, as well as what kind of sensitivity they have in low light. The shot above is designed to mimic the very harsh, contrasty effect of direct noonday sunlight, a very tough challenge for most digital cameras. (You can read details of this test here. In actual shooting conditions, be sure to use fill flash in situations like the one shown here; it's better to shoot in open shade whenever possible.)

Face Detection
Just like most point & shoot cameras these days, the Canon EOS 6D has the ability to detect faces in Live View mode, and adjust exposure and focus accordingly.

Face Detection, 0 EV
Aperture Priority Face Detection: Off	Aperture Priority Face Detection: On	Scene Intelligent Auto

As you can see from the examples above, it works, as the center image with face detection enabled is better exposed for the face (though still slightly dim) than the left image where face detection was not employed. Scene Intelligent Auto (right image) produced an image with slightly better exposure than our default image, though it's still quite dim, unfortunately. Auto mode also selected a much wider aperture (f/5), making the depth of field shallower which helps to isolate the subject from the background, though the camera seemed to focus on the flowers in this case while leaving the mannequin out of focus. (When shooting portraits at wide apertures, it's best to manually place the focus point over an eye.)

Contrast Adjustment
We really like it when a camera gives us the ability to adjust contrast and saturation to our liking. It's even better when those adjustments cover a useful range, in steps small enough to allow for precise tweaks. As was the case with its saturation adjustment, the Canon 6D's contrast setting meets both challenges very well.

Minimum Contrast
Contrast set to lowest, +1.0 EV	Contrast set to lowest, 0 EV

At its lowest contrast setting, the Canon 6D did a good job of preserving highlight detail at +1.0 EV compensation, while bringing out shadow detail. It also helped with highlights and dark shadows in our Far-field shot at default exposure. Overall, very good results here, with the contrast adjustment working on both highlights and shadows.

Contrast Adjustment Examples
-4	-2	0	+2	+4

The Canon 6D's contrast-adjustment control offers a very broad range of control in usefully fine gradations, and does a good job of adjusting contrast without affecting color saturation in the process. (As noted earlier regarding saturation adjustment, something that not all cameras manage to do.)

Highlight Tone Priority
The Canon 6D's Highlight Tone Priority (HTP) option did an excellent job of preserving highlight detail, as shown below. (Mouse over the Off and On links to load the corresponding thumbnail, histogram and crops.)

Highlight Tone Priority, +1.0 EV
HTP Setting: Off (default) On
Highlights
Shadows (Levels boosted to reveal noise.)
Histogram

Both shots above were captured at +1.0 EV (the default exposure was underexposed, and had few highlights to protect), the only difference being that HTP was enabled for the second shot which necessarily increases the ISO to 200; part of how HTP works. The result is evident in the histograms and crops above, clearly showing the superior highlight preservation when HTP is enabled, while shadows were only minimally impacted. As you can see from the shadow crops, an increase in noise is however the price you pay when ISO is boosted from 100 to 200. (Note that levels were highly boosted in the shadow crops to reveal the increase in noise.) Except in the very deepest shadows, though, visible noise is so low at ISO 200 that this is really a negligible tradeoff.

Auto Lighting Optimization
Like other recent EOS models, the Canon 6D offers three selectable levels of Auto Lighting Optimization (ALO), plus Off. In Auto exposure mode, ALO is automatically enabled at the Standard level. All four shots below were taken with the same +1.0 EV exposure setting.

Auto Lighting Optimization, +1.0 EV
ALO Setting: Off (Default) Low Standard High

Mouse over the links on the left to load the associated thumbnail and histogram, and click on the links to load full resolution images. As you can see, ALO has the effect of shifting shadows and mid-tones in the histograms to the right, brightening shadows and indeed most of the image without clipping additional highlights, making it a useful feature for high contrast shots like this. We liked the results the higher settings yielded here. ISO is not boosted for ALO so increased noise is not an issue, though it may be slightly more visible in shadows that have been boosted significantly.

HDR Capture
The Canon 6D has a High Dynamic Range (HDR) capture mode where the camera takes three images (underexposed, normal, and overexposed) in quick succession and combines them in-camera into one image. If performed properly, this method should result in much higher dynamic range, without the additional noise penalty that comes with boosting sensitivity when using the HTP option. (In fact, it can reduce shadow noise by combining shadows from the overexposed shot.) There are four HDR settings available: Auto, ±1 EV, ±2 EV, and ±3 EV. There are also options for Continuous HDR (1 shot only or Every shot until cancelled), and Auto Image Align (Enable or Disable). The Canon 6D does not save the three individual images, and as you'd expect, RAW format is not supported.

Far-field HDR Examples, 0 EV
Off	Auto	±1 EV	±2 EV	±3 EV

Rollover the links above to compare the available exposure settings, and click on the links to access full resolution images.

As you can see, dynamic range is improved with shadows boosted and strong highlights tamed, however the resulting HDR images are still a touch dim overall. Watch out for ghosting and other artifacts when the scene is not entirely static (for example, you can see ghosting of the flags in the above images). For this reason, HDR is not recommended for live or moving subjects.

Dynamic Range
A key parameter in a digital camera is its Dynamic Range, the range of brightness that can be faithfully recorded. At the upper end of the tonal scale, dynamic range is dictated by the point at which the RGB data "saturates" at values of 255, 255, 255. At the lower end of the tonal scale, dynamic range is determined by the point at which there ceases to be any useful difference between adjacent tonal steps. Note the use of the qualifier "useful" in there: While it's tempting to evaluate dynamic range as the maximum number of tonal steps that can be discerned at all, that measure of dynamic range has very little relevance to real-world photography. What we care about as photographers is how much detail we can pull out of the shadows before image noise becomes too objectionable. This, of course, is a very subjective matter, and will vary with the application and even the subject matter in question. (Noise will be much more visible in subjects with large areas of flat tints and subtle shading than it would in subjects with strong, highly contrasting surface texture.)

What makes most sense then, is to specify useful dynamic range in terms of the point at which image noise reaches some agreed-upon threshold. To this end, Imatest computes a number of different dynamic range measurements, based on a variety of image noise thresholds. The noise thresholds are specified in terms of f-stops of equivalent luminance variation in the final image file, and dynamic range is computed for noise thresholds of 1.0 (low image quality), 0.5 (medium image quality), 0.25 (medium-high image quality) and 0.1 (high image quality). For most photographers and most applications, the noise thresholds of 0.5 and 0.25 f-stops are probably the most relevant to the production of acceptable-quality finished images, but many noise-sensitive shooters will insist on the 0.1 f-stop limit for their most critical work.

JPEG. The graph at right (click for a larger version) was generated using Imatest's dynamic range analysis for an in-camera Canon 6D JPEG file with a nominally-exposed density step target (Stouffer 4110). At default camera settings and base ISO, the graph shows 11.5 f-stops of total dynamic range, with 8.38 f-stops of dynamic range at the "High" quality level. These are pretty good numbers numbers for JPEGs, and slightly improved over the Canon 5D Mark III which only managed 7.8 f-stops at the High quality level, though the High quality score is still quite a bit lower than the best full frame models. Note though that this measurement has a margin of error of about 1/3 f-stop, so differences of less than 0.33 can be ignored.

RAW. The graph at right is from the same Stouffer 4110 stepchart image captured as a raw (.CR2) file, processed with Adobe Camera Raw using the Auto setting then tweaked from there. The Canon 6D's RAW file scored 1.5 f-stops more in total dynamic range (13 vs 11.5 f-stops), but the score at the highest quality level decreased slightly to 8.23 f-stops which is an insignificant difference compared to JPEGs. This is due to the somewhat higher noise in the 6D's darker shadows, as indicated when comparing the bottom-left Pixel Noise plot in the Imatest chart. These numbers are again a slight improvement over the 5D Mark III which managed 7.87 at the highest quality level and 12.5 f-stops total, however still not as good as the best full-frame cameras from competitors. The Nikon D600 for instance managed a significantly better score of 10.5 f-stops at the highest quality level.

	1 fc 11 lux	1/2 fc 5.5 lux	1/4 fc 2.7 lux	1/8 fc 1.3 lux	1/16 fc 0.67 lux	1/16 fc No NR
ISO 50	4 s f2.8	8 s f2.8	16 s f2.8	32 s f2.8	32 s f2.8	32 s f2.8
ISO 100	2 s f2.8	4 s f2.8	8 s f2.8	16 s f2.8	32 s f2.8	32 s f2.8
ISO 200	1 s f2.8	2 s f2.8	4 s f2.8	8 s f2.8	16 s f2.8	16 s f2.8
ISO 400	0.5 s f2.8	1 s f2.8	2 s f2.8	4 s f2.8	8 s f2.8	8 s f2.8
ISO 800	1/4 s f2.8	0.5 s f2.8	1 s f2.8	2 s f2.8	4 s f2.8	4 s f2.8
ISO 1600	1/8 s f2.8	1/4 s f2.8	0.5 s f2.8	1 s f2.8	2 s f2.8	2 s f2.8
ISO 3200	1/16 s f2.8	1/8 s f2.8	1/4 s f2.8	0.5 s f2.8	1 s f2.8	1 s f2.8
ISO 6400	1/32 s f2.8	1/16 s f2.8	1/8 s f2.8	1/4 s f2.8	0.5 s f2.8	0.5 s f2.8
ISO 12800	1/64 s f2.8	1/32 s f2.8	1/16 s f2.8	1/8 s f2.8	1/4 s f2.8	1/4 s f2.8
ISO 25600	1/128 s f2.8	1/64 s f2.8	1/32 s f2.8	1/16 s f2.8	1/8 s f2.8	1/8 s f2.8
ISO 51200	1/256 s f2.8	1/128 s f2.8	1/64 s f2.8	1/32 s f2.8	1/16 s f2.8	1/16 s f2.8
ISO 102400	1/512 s f2.8	1/256 s f2.8	1/128 s f2.8	1/64 s f2.8	1/32 s f2.8	1/32 s f2.8

Low Light. The Canon 6D performed very well on the low-light test, capturing bright images at the lowest light level (1/16 foot-candle), down to the base ISO of 100, though ISO 50 shots are dim at the lowest light levels (limited by the longest non-bulb mode shutter speed of 30 seconds).

As expected, noise increases as ISO goes up and light levels go down, but noise remains well-controlled to ISO 12,800. There were a few hot pixels at low ISOs, but nothing unusual. Some faint banding can be seen in darker areas at very high ISOs, especially with noise reduction turned down, but that's not unusual either, and shouldn't be a problem for properly exposed subjects. Some minor heat-blooming can also be seen in the lower-right corner at very high ISOs, but that's also not unusual at such high sensitivities.

Color balance was pretty good, just a touch cool with Canon 6D's Auto white balance setting even at high ISOs, though at lower light levels white balance shifted slightly towards magenta.

When using the optical viewfinder and phase-detect AF, the Canon 6D's autofocus system was able to focus on the subject down to below the 1/16 foot-candle light level unassisted with an f/2.8 lens, which is excellent. Note that the Canon 6D does not have an AF assist lamp (it uses the one provided on most flash units). In Live View mode using contrast-detect AF, the Canon 6D was able to focus down to just above 1/16 foot-candle unassisted, which is very good.

Multi Shot Noise Reduction
ISO 25,600, Default NR	ISO 25,600, Multi Shot NR

The Canon 6D's Multi Shot Noise Reduction mode takes a burst of four images and blends them together to average out noise. It really makes a difference at higher ISOs, making very high ISOs like 12,800 and above much cleaner. Compare the crops above taken at the same light level (1 foot-candle) at ISO 25,600.

As always, keep in mind that the longer shutter speeds here demand the use of a tripod to prevent any blurring from camera movement. (A useful trick is to just prop the camera on a convenient surface, and use its self-timer to release the shutter. This avoids any jiggling from your finger pressing the shutter button, and can work quite well when you don't have a tripod handy.)

How bright is this? The one foot-candle light level that this test begins at roughly corresponds to the brightness of typical city street-lighting at night. Cameras performing well at that level should be able to snap good-looking photos of street-lit scenes.

NOTE: This low light test is conducted with a stationary subject, and the camera mounted on a sturdy tripod. Most digital cameras will fail miserably when faced with a moving subject in dim lighting. (For example, a child's ballet recital or a holiday pageant in a gymnasium.) Digital SLRs like the Canon 6D do much better than point & shoots, but you still shouldn't expect a quick autofocus lock with moving subjects.

Output Quality

Print Quality
The Canon 6D prints superb images. Stunning 30 x 40s at ISO 50/100/200; an excellent 16 x 20 at ISO 1600; and a good 5 x 7 all the way to ISO 25,600.

ISO 50/100/200 images look terrific at 30 x 40, with sharp detail and rich colors. Makes a nice wall display print up to 40 x 60.

ISO 400 prints look great at 24 x 36 inches, crisp and vibrant, and are fine for wall display up to 36 x 48.

ISO 800 prints remain sharp up to 20 x 30, introducing some minor luminance noise in shadows and softness in our red swatch at 24 x 36 inches but still quite usable for less critical applications.

ISO 1600 makes an excellent 16 x 20 inch print, while 20 x 30s here show some noticeable loss of contrast in our target red swatch.

ISO 3200 prints a very nice 13 x 19, with 16 x 20s losing some contrast in our mosaic bottle but still fine for wall display prints.

ISO 6400 yields a good 11 x 14 inch print, with good color renditioning for such a high ISO.

ISO 12,800 prints a good 8 x 10, though is starting to introduce some loss in color fidelity and a bit more noise in some shadowy areas.

ISO 25,600 makes a nice 5 x 7 inch print.

ISO 51,200 prints a good 4 x 6, if just a bit on the grainy size.

ISO 102,400 does not print a usable 4 x 6 and is best avoided.

With a full-frame sensor and 20 megapixels, it should come as no surprise that the Canon 6D prints look excellent in comparison to all but the best cameras out there today. But with its relatively low price tag for a full-frame camera, this model will surely draw attention to anyone wanting to step up to this level of quality without breaking the bank to do so.

The images above were taken from our standardized test shots. For a collection of more pictorial photos, see our Canon EOS 6D Photo Gallery .

Not sure which camera to buy? Let your eyes be the ultimate judge! Visit our Comparometer(tm) to compare images from the Canon EOS 6D with those from other cameras you may be considering. The proof is in the pictures, so let your own eyes decide which you like best!

Performance

Image Quality

Below are crops comparing the Canon 6D with the Canon 7D, Canon 5D Mark III, Nikon D600, Nikon D800 and Sony A99.

NOTE: These images are best quality JPEGs straight out of the camera, at default settings including noise reduction. All cameras in this comparison were shot with our very sharp reference lenses.

Canon 6D versus Canon 7D at ISO 100

Canon 6D at ISO 100	Canon 7D at ISO 100
We put the 7D into the comparison to show the relative advantage of stepping up to a full-frame sensor over an APS-C sensor. The results are obvious in all 3 images, as the depth and detail of the 6D crops are head and shoulders over the 7D.

Canon 6D versus Canon 5D Mark III at ISO 100

Canon 6D at ISO 100	Canon 5D Mark III at ISO 100
The 5D Mark III has 2.1 more megapixels than the 6D, but also costs a lot more. For the money the 6D actually stands up fairly well here to its highly touted older brother, including looking perhaps slightly sharper on the lower pink swatch, though the 5D III's representation of the mosaic is incredible.

Canon 6D versus Nikon D600 at ISO 100

Canon 6D at ISO 100	Nikon D600 at ISO 100
The D600 renders our red fabric swatch about as well as any camera in its class, but notice how the 6D outperforms on the pink swatch. Interesting.

Canon 6D versus Nikon D800 at ISO 100

Canon 6D at ISO 100	Nikon D800 at ISO 100
The 36-megapixel D800 is a monster for good image quality and makes the comparison difficult due to the size difference. Across the board, the D800 demonstrates phenomenal detail though the 6D is no slouch.

Canon 6D versus Sony A99 at ISO 100

Canon 6D at ISO 100	Sony A99 at ISO 100
The A99 has almost 4 more megapixels than the 6D, but the 6D not only holds its own but is sharper and clearer in some areas, especially the Mas Portel bottle.

Most digital SLRs and CSCs will produce an excellent ISO 100 shot, so we like to push them and see what they can do compared to other cameras at ISO 1,600, 3,200, and 6,400. Recent advances in sensor technology have made ISO 1,600 look a lot more like ISO 100, but there are still cameras whose quality starts to fall apart at this setting. We also choose 1,600 because we like to be able to shoot at least at this level when indoors and at night.

Canon 6D versus Canon 7D at ISO 1,600

Canon 6D at ISO 1,600	Canon 7D at ISO 1,600
Again, the 7D's APS-C sensor has less than half the surface area of the full-framed 6D, and the disparity is clearly on display here. 7D owners interested in stepping up should find these images intriguing.

Canon 6D versus Canon 5D Mark III at ISO 1,600

Canon 6D at ISO 1,600	Canon 5D Mark III at ISO 1,600
The 6D stands up admirably here against its big brother the 5D Mark III (which is just a bit better), both of which handle ISO 1600 with good image quality across all target areas with no obvious weaknesses.

Canon 6D versus Nikon D600 at ISO 1,600

Canon 6D at ISO 1,600	Nikon D600 at ISO 1,600
The 6D outperforms the D600 here with less noise in the shadows behind the bottle and a clearer mosaic imager. The D600 wins the battle on the tricky red swatch, and yet loses most of the detail from the pink swatch.

Canon 6D versus Nikon D800 at ISO 1,600

Canon 6D at ISO 1,600	Nikon D800 at ISO 1,600
The D800 also shows more shadow noise, although the image size difference due to the disparity in resolution makes an accurate comparison more difficult. The red swatch is certainly clearer and much more detailed.

Canon 6D versus Sony A99 at ISO 1,600

Canon 6D at ISO 1,600	Sony A99 at ISO 1,600
The 6D wins every battle here against the A99, with a cleaner representation of the Mas Portel bottle and the shadows, a crisper mosaic pattern and a more detailed representation of our red swatch.

Today's ISO 3,200 is yesterday's ISO 1,600, so below are the same crops at ISO 3,200.

Canon 6D versus Canon 7D at ISO 3,200

Canon 6D at ISO 3,200	Canon 7D at ISO 3,200
Yet again, the older 7D with its APS-C sensor clearly can't stand up against the 6D at higher ISOs.

Canon 6D versus Canon 5D Mark III at ISO 3,200

Canon 6D at ISO 3,200	Canon 5D Mark III at ISO 3,200
Another very tight race between these two relatives, but the 6D costs much less in comparison, so if low light performance on a relative budget is your goal, the 6D should certainly make your short list of full-frame cameras to consider.

Canon 6D versus Nikon D600 at ISO 3,200

Canon 6D at ISO 3,200	Nikon D600 at ISO 3,200
Similar to the comparison results at ISO 1600, the 6D handles most of the elements with more clarity and less noise than the D600, with the red swatch being the one notable exception.

Canon 6D versus Nikon D800 at ISO 3,200

Canon 6D at ISO 3,200	Nikon D800 at ISO 3,200
The 6D shows a remarkably low amount of noise in the shadows behind the bottle in the first image, and is clearer in the mosaic image. It does however start to loses detail in the red swatch at this ISO.

Canon 6D versus Sony A99 at ISO 3,200

Canon 6D at ISO 3,200	Sony A99 at ISO 3,200
As with ISO 1600, the 6D clearly wins the battle for ISO supremacy against the Sony A99 in virtually all respects.

Detail: Canon 6D versus Canon 7D, Canon 5D Mark III, Nikon D600, Nikon D800 and Sony A99.

Canon 6D ISO 100 ISO 3,200 ISO 6,400	Canon 7D ISO 100 ISO 3,200 ISO 6,400	Canon 5D Mk III ISO 100 ISO 3,200 ISO 6,400	Nikon D600 ISO 100 ISO 3,200 ISO 6,400	Nikon D800 ISO 100 ISO 3,200 ISO 6,400	Sony A99 ISO 100 ISO 3,200 ISO 6,400
Detail comparison. High-contrast detail is also important, pushing the camera in different ways, so we like to look at it, too. Overall the Canon 6D performs admirably here, and tends to be a bit sharper across the ISO range than most of its competitors, with the 5D Mark III being the only exception and clearly better in the details.

The Canon 6D prints superb images. Stunning 30 x 40s at ISO 50/100/200; an excellent 16 x 20 at ISO 1600; and a good 5 x 7 all the way to ISO 25,600.

ISO 50/100/200 images look terrific at 30 x 40, with sharp detail and rich colors. Makes a nice wall display print up to 40 x 60.

ISO 400 prints look great at 24 x 36 inches, crisp and vibrant, and are fine for wall display up to 36 x 48.

ISO 800 prints remain sharp up to 20 x 30, introducing some minor luminance noise in shadows and softness in our red swatch at 24 x 36 inches but still quite usable for less critical applications.

ISO 1600 makes an excellent 16 x 20 inch print, while 20 x 30s here show some noticeable loss of contrast in our target red swatch.

ISO 3200 prints a very nice 13 x 19, with 16 x 20s losing some contrast in our mosaic bottle but still fine for wall display prints.

ISO 6400 yields a good 11 x 14 inch print, with good color renditioning for such a high ISO.

ISO 12,800 prints a good 8 x 10, though is starting to introduce some loss in color fidelity and a bit more noise in some shadowy areas.

ISO 25,600 makes a nice 5 x 7 inch print.

ISO 51,200 prints a good 4 x 6, if just a bit on the grainy size.

ISO 102,400 does not print a usable 4 x 6 and is best avoided.

With a full-frame sensor and 20 megapixels, it should come as no surprise that the Canon 6D prints look excellent in comparison to all but the best cameras out there today. But with its relatively low price tag for a full-frame camera, this model will surely draw attention to anyone wanting to step up to this level of quality without breaking the bank to do so.

Field Test

by Dan Havlik

I was pretty excited when I first got a chance to play with a prototype Canon EOS 6D at the Photokina imaging show in Germany last year. Along with the Nikon D600, which shares more than a few traits with the 6D (don't tell that to Canon or Nikon!), Canon's latest prosumer DSLR seems to solve a problem that has confounded camera manufacturers for years. How do you create an affordable full-frame sensor DSLR? Both the 20.2-megapixel Canon 6D and 24.3-megapixel Nikon D600 seem to answer that question by offering pretty sophisticated full-framers at virtually the same price tag.

You might say, "Well, $2,000 isn't exactly affordable, now is it?" And you'd have a point. But considering the costs of manufacturing a full-frame chip versus an APS-C size sensor, or even the pinkie-nail sized chips in compact cameras, Canon and Nikon have priced the 6D and D600 surprisingly competitively for the category. The $2,000 range of the 6D and D600 may just hit a sweet spot for prosumers and advanced amateurs.

At least that's what the companies hope, and after shooting with both of these cameras, I can say you do get a lot of bang for your buck with these "affordable" full-framers. We've already reviewed the Nikon D600, so let's take a look at Canon's offering, the EOS 6D, which adds two features its Nikon rival doesn't have: built-in Wi-Fi and GPS.

In the hand. My initial impression of the Canon 6D -- which still holds true now -- is that it looks and feels like a mini 5D Mark III. And, for me, that's a good thing. The step-up 5D III model is a solidly built HD-DSLR, combining the serious and durable aesthetics of Canon's professional 1D line with the portability and accessibility of 5D models before it. In terms of looks and camera build, the Canon 6D sits just below the 5D III and the APS-C-sensor-driven 7D, which both have full magnesium alloy bodies. The 6D features an aluminum alloy and polycarbonate chassis, while the shell is part-magnesium alloy. The top panel is polycarbonate, likely a necessity because of the integrated GPS and Wi-Fi radios.

With dimensions of 5.7 x 4.4 x 2.8-inches (145 x 111 x 71 mm) and a measured weight of 27.4 ounces (778 g) with SD card and its proprietary, rechargeable battery loaded, the 6D is certainly on the small side for a full-frame DSLR but it does not feel slight. (Incidentally, the 6D's size puts it closely in line with the Nikon D600, though the Nikon camera's body is a bit deeper and about 3 ounces heavier.)

The Canon 6D is about 20% lighter than the 5D Mark III and if you've held that model before, the 6D won't feel quite as robust with a slightly less solid build overall. But if you're moving up from an entry-level DSLR, such as a Rebel, the 6D will feel impressive and almost luxurious. The body has extensive textured rubber on the exterior, both on the handgrip and the opposing side. There's also faux-leather rubber on the back of the camera, including the thumbrest. Overall, the 6D feels refreshingly lightweight, comfy and well protected.

To help keep the weight, size and cost down, Canon decided to forgo the pop-up flash with the 6D, a feature that's standard on most prosumers DSLRs. Some novice photographers stepping up in class to the 6D might miss the built-in flash but there is, of course, a hot shoe on top if you want to add an external flash. The 6D is not quite as fully weatherized as the 5D Mark III but it's on par with the 7D, and can withstand a few raindrops and splashes.

It should be said that while both the Canon 6D and Nikon D600 are noticeably smaller and lighter than other current full-frame DSLRs on the market, don't expect to be able to fit either of these cameras in your pocket (possibly in a large coat pocket if you have a short prime lens attached, but even that would be a tight fit).

When I attached a few zoom lenses, including a Canon 16-35mm f/2.8 and a 24-70mm f/2.8, the 6D didn't feel that different than a 5D Mark III. Sure, there are less expensive, lighter zoom lenses out there that would make the 6D a more portable package, but the reason one buys a full-frame camera is to get the most out of your glass. So, therein lies one of the paradoxes of the 6D: the full-frame camera body might be relatively lightweight and reasonably priced but the top-notch lenses you'll want to use with it definitely won't be.

Overall, the Canon 6D is an extremely comfortable and surprisingly sturdy DSLR to use. While pros might scoff at the 6D's build, they're not who this camera is designed for. Anyone moving up in class from compact cameras and consumer or APS-C-based DSLRs will find the design of the fully-framed 6D to be just right.

Controls. In terms of controls, as you might suspect, the Canon EOS 6D mimics the 5D Mark III but with some distinct differences. For one, the layout on back of the 6D is more Spartan than the 5D Mark III, with the buttons moved from the left panel next to the LCD monitor over toward the center-right side of the 6D's rear. This is not a big deal, especially since most people interested in this camera will not have shot with a 5D Mark III previously. Some of the buttons, including those for playback, magnify, and trash are small and slightly scrunched though, and I don't like the smaller Quick Control Dial. Along with being diminutive, the wheel is stiff and not very responsive. The multi-direction pad in the center of the wheel is also tough to press when you're in a hurry.

Another victim of cost (and size) cutting with the budget-friendly 6D is the useful, multi-direction joystick from the 5D Mark III. That's a bummer, especially for beginners moving up to the 6D, but you've got to get rid of something. Canon Rebel users will likely already be familiar with the rear Quick Menu button (identified by the Q icon), and it has become my preferred method for making fast changes to important functions such as ISO, exposure compensation and white balance. While the 6D has an ISO button on top, there's no physical white balance button, which is disappointing. One thing that I did like was that Canon included the Live View/Movie Record switch and button cluster on the back of the 6D. It's a really simple and fast set-up, which appears on the 5D Mark III but not on the lower-tier Rebels.

Like the 5D Mark III, the Canon 6D's knurled mode dial on top of the camera has a central locking button and most of the familiar settings. But while the 5D Mark III's dial looked strangely half filled, the 6D piles on the options including a Scene (SCN) mode setting, which lets you pick from a variety of pre-sets including familiar ones such as Sports, Close-up, Landscape and Portrait, as well as less common ones including Night Portrait, Handheld Night Scene and HDR Backlight Control.

The Canon EOS 6D's mode dial also offers a Creative Auto (CA) mode option, which I actually found to be a little more confusing than it should be. When CA mode is selected you can choose from one of nine "Ambiance-based shots," including Standard, Vivid, Soft, Warm, Intense, Cool, Brighter, Darker or Monochrome. Scroll down though and you can also select whether to blur or sharpen the background. The CA mode also lets you choose the Drive mode, including Single, Continuous (approximately 4.5 shots per second), Silent single shooting, Silent continuous shooting, Self-timer (10 sec./Remote control), or Self-timer (2 seconds/Remote control). That's a lot of combinations to choose from and, hopefully, more adventurous novices will take advantage of them. I'm not sure how much I would on a regular basis, though they were fun to experiment with.

In terms of controls, the most important of them all (at least in my book), is placed front and center in slight indent on top of the Canon 6D's handgrip: the responsive and well-positioned shutter button. The 6D loves to take pictures, which is a trait any photographer should appreciate.

LCD Screen. The LCD monitor on the 6D is quite nice, as is true on all of Canon's latest DSLRs. It's a 3-inch, Clear View LCD panel with 1.04-million dots of resolution, and images looked sharp in playback and the video feed was crisp with a good refresh rate. Again, no real surprises here since most of Canon's DSLRs have sweet LCDs. The 6D's screen is not a flip-out, articulating display, which is harder to weatherproof. It's also a slight downgrade in size from the 5D Mark III, which has a 3.2-inch LCD.

The Canon 6D's screen has a good 170-degree viewing angle if you want to let others see what you've shot, while Live View mode offers 100% coverage. Speaking of Live View, the 6D has a decent digital, single-axis level gauge function that you can use during live view. It'll help you keep your horizons level -- I'm admittedly poor at eye-balling without the gauge -- but it's a step down from the dual-axis level on the pricier 5D Mark III, which also shows front and back pitch.

The 6D display's Clear View designation is a notch below the Clear View II screen that's on the 5D Mark III, and the main difference is the higher-end screen fares better in outdoor lighting, with higher contrast and less glare. Truth be told, I haven't used any camera LCD that doesn't wash out somewhat in bright light and the 6D is no exception. But, of course, that's what the 6D's optical viewfinder is for. Like the LCD screen, it's a good one, offering about 98% coverage in our testing, which is actually a tick higher than Canon's 97% advertised spec. The 6D's optical viewfinder offers 0.71x magnification, 21mm eyepoint, and a -3 to +1 diopter.

Autofocus. Along with being smaller and less expensive than the 5D Mark III, the Canon 6D has a different, somewhat less sophisticated autofocus system. Where the 5D Mark III boasts a pro-level 61-point High Density Reticular Autofocus System (with up to 41 cross-type points and five dual cross-type points), the 6D's employs a rather basic 11-point system with one cross-type point in the center. However, the 6D's center AF point has a working range rated at -3 to 18 EV, while the 5D Mark III's AF system is rated at - 2 to 18 EV and Nikon D600's -1 to 19 EV. This means the Canon 6D should be able to focus in lower light when using the center AF point.

While on paper that might sound significant, it's less noticeable in real-world use. I think most prosumer photographers will probably find the 6D's 11-point AF to be more than enough to handle most shooting situations, though.

However, there's some bad news. In certain circumstances, such as when shooting in very low light and in extremely low contrast situations, the Canon 6D struggled, a bit, to find focus. Such as when some sample shots taken in a bar and around the pool table (see above and below) captured by my co-tester, pro-photographer Jordan Matter. I say "a bit" because it still achieved focus lock but was just not as quick in these situations as both the 5D Mark III and Nikon D600 were. (It's worth noting that the Nikon D600 has a 39-point AF system, with 9 cross type points.) Consequently, if you're an aspiring wedding or sports photographer who might have to deal with tricky lighting on a regular basis -- such as during a wedding reception or in a poorly lit stadium -- the Canon 6D might not be for you.

Otherwise though, I was actually quite impressed with my results from the Canon 6D's 11-point AF system. I expected it to feel slower and less responsive than Canon's other higher-end EOS DSLRs, but it was surprisingly spritely. In good, outdoor lighting, you'll have no complaints about the 6D's AF. I also deliberately shot with the 6D in low-contrast settings and swung the camera quickly from subject to subject to see how fast it would take to refocus, and the 6D hung in like a champ. Those shots, which were captured using a rather high-end 24-70mm f/2.8 Canon lens, had very good sharpness when reviewed later on my computer.

Performance. The Canon 6D is a decent performer for a prosumer, full-frame DSLR. (Ok, at the time of this writing there are only two cameras that qualify in this category, but the 6D was still reasonably fast all around.)

Start up and shut down times for the 6D were fast enough -- 0.5 and 0.3 second, respectively -- that they were difficult to measure. The 6D also did well in clearing its buffer, taking just two seconds to get ready to take a photo after we fired off 20 consecutive large/fine JPEGs. It took about 9 seconds to clear the buffer after shooting 17 RAW images and 7 seconds after 7 RAW+L/F JPEG photos. Of course, it helps to have a fast card (which we highly recommend), and we tested the 6D with the blazing fast SanDisk Extreme Pro 95MB/s SDHC card, which is UHS-I compliant.

Our lab timed the Canon 6D's autofocus shutter lag, using single center-point AF, at 0.290 second, which is actually slower than average for a prosumer DSLR. It's hardly noticeable in real world-usage, however, and I found the 6D to be generally quick to lock in on a subject and snap a photo when I pressed the shutter.

When using the full 11-point Auto Section AF mode, the 6D was faster, according to our lab tests, averaging 0.206 second (though it varied widely, between 0.1 and 0.3 in our tests.)

As with most cameras, prefocusing by half pressing the shutter is the way to go with the Canon 6D. This produced a lag time of just 0.059 second, which is quite fast for a DSLR. On the other hand, AF lag in Live View mode was longer, which is no surprise. We clocked it at about 1.7 seconds using the phase-detection based AF "Quick Mode." Strangely, using Live Mode, (contrast-detection AF), it was a lot faster at 0.7 second.

Bottom line: If you're moving up in class from an entry-level DSLR or even a compact or point-and-shoot camera, the Canon 6D is going to feel hella fast.

In terms of shooting speed, the 6D is capable of firing off up to 4.5 frames per second in burst mode (the lab measured 4.4), a fair tick slower than the 5D III's 6 frames per second, and about a frame per second slower than the Nikon D600. But it's just enough for shooting basic action, such as capturing modeling poses, candid photographs and low intensity sports. For faster action such as basketball, soccer or anything at the Olympic level, however, you'll want to step up to Canon or Nikon's pro DSLRs. The 6D's generous camera buffer also lets you keep shooting JPEGs until the SD card fills. When shooting RAW, you get a decent 17-frame buffer until the camera needs to pause to catch up.

Image quality. The Canon EOS 6D's CMOS sensor is a smidge smaller than the 5D Mark III's - 35.8 x 23.9mm vs. 36 x 24mm -- so it's not technically full frame. That's not that big of a deal, however. It didn't seem to compromise image quality during our testing. I actually found that image quality from the 6D was about equal to the results I got from the 5D Mark III and that's saying something: the 5D Mark III was one of the best cameras I shot with last year.

Photographers moving up in class from compact cameras or entry-level DSLRs will really appreciate how well the Canon 6D does in low light at high ISOs. This image was shot at ISO 5,000 and noise is relatively minimal. (Photo by Jordan Matter)

While the Canon 6D's chip might be a fraction smaller, the individual pixel size is larger because the 6D has slightly less resolution. The 20.2-megapixel 6D's photosites are 6.5 microns a piece vs. 6.2 microns in the 5D III's 22.3-megapixel sensor. But how do these numbers translate into the real world? Quite well, it turns out.

As I noted before, I had a professional photographer friend, Jordan Matter, co-test the 6D with me to get another perspective on the camera. In short, we were both impressed with the 6D's skills as an available-light camera.

Jordan is the photographer behind the "Dancers Among Us" project, where he photographs professional dancers performing in everyday settings, typically without artificial light. Last year, "Dancers Among Us" was published in book form by Workman Publishing but Jordan continues to work on the series. He used his 5D Mark III for some of the shots, and was curious to see how the 6D stacked up against it.

With the Canon 6D paired with a Tamron SP 70-200mm, f/2.8 Di VC USD lens, he captured images of a dancer performing on a Manhattan street at night (above) and hanging out inside a dimly lit bar that were virtually noise-free up to ISO 3,200. Shots at ISO 6,400 were also quite nice: crisp and clear with only a bit of color noise in the shadows. Realistically, you can easily get away with pushing the 6D to ISO 12,800 if you need it, which gives you a lot of versatility. (Maximum ISO, in the 6D's expanded mode, is 102,400, while the minimum is ISO 50. In contrast, the D600's expanded range is ISO 50 to 25,600.)

Part of the credit should be given to the DIGIC 5+ image processor, which, on the 5D Mark III and elsewhere, has proven to be fairly good at tamping down noise when images are output from the camera's sensor. The Canon 6D uses 14-bit analog-to-digital conversion on its sensor to produce images that have great color and dynamic range while keeping noise in check. In daylight and with strobes, results were even better.

I also tested the Canon 6D while shooting publicity portraits of a children's book author/illustrator, which she could use on her book jackets or to promote herself in print or online. In this case, I paired the 6D with a Sigma 35mm F/1.4 DG HSM and shot in bright natural light outdoors and dim hallway lighting indoors. My results were quite good, with the 6D's full-frame chip and the Sigma lens' wide maximum aperture combining to produce images with tack-sharp center focus and attractive, background blur (aka bokeh) to make my subject really stand out.

While some DSLRs produce images with colors that are too oversaturated -- nearly all cameras oversaturate to some degree, simply because people tend to prefer brighter images -- the Canon 6D struck a good balance, by capturing the robust colors of my subject's scarf, without making it look garish or fake. More importantly for portraits, the author's Caucasian skintones were natural and healthy looking in my 6D shots. (Some consumer DSLRs can make skintones look excessively pink and almost doll-like.) I also shot some indoor hallway portraits, but found the 6D had some problems handling the incandescent lighting using the camera's Auto White Balance, a problem we also came across in our lab testing. In our testing, both the Auto and Incandescent White Balance produced strong reddish and orange casts, respectively. Adjusting White Balance using the Manual setting was much more accurate, but photographers who are moving up in class from a point-and-shoot, compact or consumer DSLR might not want to fiddle too much with that setting.

On the plus side, though, the Canon EOS 6D's excellent high-ISO performance helped me capture relatively clean images at up to ISO 6,400. In low-light test in our lab, the 6D performed very well, capturing bright shots at the lowest light level (1/16 foot-candle), down to the camera's base ISO of 100. Overall, despite a few issues with indoor lighting (which is not uncommon but disappointing nonetheless), the Canon 6D and its full-frame sensor produced excellent images in a range of lighting conditions, with superior detail and sharpness.

Video. The Canon 6D's HD video quality was stellar, about on par to my results with the 5D Mark III. Photographers who are moving up in class from another entry-level or compact camera should love the video results they get along with how easy the 6D is to use for quickly shooting video on the fly. As mentioned earlier, I really appreciate Canon's Live View/Movie Record switch and button cluster on the back of the 6D. Just flip the switch to the red movie camera icon, press the center button and you're off and recording a movie.

Full HD movie. 1920 x 1080 video at 30p. Click to download or play (73MB MOV).

More experienced videographers, however, might miss a few features from the 5D III that have been left off the 6D. In particular, there's no headphone jack for checking audio levels as you shoot. (The 5D III has a built-in headphone jack.) Otherwise, the 6D can shoot full 1080p (1,920 x 1,080 pixel) HD with manual exposure control at a range of frame rates including 30, 25, or 24fps. You can also shoot 720p at 60 or 50fps. And you can shoot with the 6D in the high-quality ALL-I intraframe video format but you'll need a UHS-I compliant SD card to do that. (It's also worth noting that you have to disable the 6D's Wi-Fi when shooting video, so there's no way to monitor a live video feed on an iPad or iPhone while you shoot.)

The Canon 6D's big image sensor produced luscious video results for me, with eye-catching shallow depth of field and creamy color. I also saw very little of the rolling shutter effects that produce a wobbly, jell-o distortion when you aggressively pan while shooting video with some DSLRs. In some early reports on the Canon 6D, some reviewers complained that the camera had issues with producing moiré -- which are strange, multi-colored stripes that can occur in subjects with intersecting grid-like patterns -- in the video. During my testing, I deliberately shot with the 6D in situations where moiré might occur, such as the intricate brickwork on a building, intersecting power lines and the suspension cables on a bridge. I was able to produce instances of moiré, though not as easily as I had expected. One place it turned up severely was in the vents of window air conditioners, however it's highly subject-dependent, and needs just the right repeating detail to trigger it.

Wi-Fi and GPS. The Canon 6D offers two unique features not available on its main rival, the Nikon D600, or on the step-up Canon 5D Mark III model: built-in Wi-Fi and GPS tagging.

In-camera wireless connectivity -- especially on a DSLR -- is something I see big potential for. Camera manufacturers have been trying to implement it for years but, so far, with no great success. Most of the set-ups I've tried have been glitchy, and the built-in Wi-Fi in many of Canon's own compact PowerShot cameras is not very user-friendly.

Luckily, Canon has updated the Wi-Fi interface on the 6D, making it a lot easier to use, especially when connecting the DSLR to an iPhone or Android smartphone or tablet with the help of Canon's free EOS Remote app. I was able to easily share images with my iPhone -- at a reduced size, of course -- get a live view from the camera on the phone, and control several functions on the camera via the app, including firing the shutter, focusing by touching the iPhone's screen, and adjusting ISO, aperture and shutter speed. (Note: You can also transfer photos from the 6D to your computer by pairing it over a wireless network, but you have to use the Canon EOS Utility software that comes packaged with the camera. The software also allows you to remote control the camera much like you can with a smart mobile device.)

Here's a video demonstration of the EOS 6D's remote control capabilities, with Canon's Chuck Westfall walking us through many of the 6D's exciting Wi-Fi capabilities, which you'll see seriously up the ante of what a camera can offer in terms of built-in wireless functionality and convenience.

Additionally, the 6D's built-in Wi-Fi is IEEE 802.11 b/g/n capable with a reported range of 100 feet, which I found to be fairly accurate. Many pro photographers -- as well as enthusiasts who take nature photographs or a lot of self-portraits -- should love this sizable range when paired with the 6D's considerable remote control features. You can also send your shots to a wireless printer from the 6D, but I don't know of many photographers who would do that often, that is, without editing the images first.

Despite the 6D's leg up on many of its competitors, there's still room for improvement with the camera's Wi-Fi capabilities. To post your images on social networking sites, you either need to send it to your smart device first and upload from there or transfer them through the Canon Image Gateway online photo service -- an additional step that some new point-and-shoots can now skip.

While some photographers will like having a GPS receiver built into their DSLR, it's not a must-have feature for me. I (usually) know where my images were captured and have no strong desire to put them on one of those digital maps in the included Map Utility software or Apple Aperture, and see where I've been. For those who do like this feature though, the 6D's GPS is solid, recording longitude, latitude, elevation and universal time code in your shots while also sporting a GPS logging function.

Canon EOS 6D gallery images shot with the Canon EF 24-105mm IS kit lens
The above gallery was shot by our lens specialist Rob Murray to demonstrate how the Canon 6D performs when paired with the EF 24-105mm IS kit lens. Read our IR Lab Optics test results for much greater detail about the lens including macro performance, geometric distortion, chromatic aberration and more.

Video

The Canon 6D is an interesting camera in Canon's lineup in that its video features are very similar to those of its more expensive brother, the 5D Mark III. The 6D is Canon's lightest and smallest full-frame DSLR with the ergonomics feeling like a mixture of the 7D and 60D. Nevertheless, the 6D packs a punch when it comes to video recording, including Full HD 1080p and 720p HD recording with the choice two video compression formats (ALL-I and IPB) as well as manual audio recording controls and visible audio levels while recording.

The 6D features both automatic and full manual exposure controls in video recording mode giving both beginner DSLR video shooters and the seasoned advanced amateurs or pros ease of use and customization, respectively. Unlike the Canon T4i and the new T5i and SL1 consumer DSLRs (which all feature on-sensor phase-detect AF capability), the 6D does not offer full-time autofocus during video mode, which might dissuade users looking for a camcorder-like experience.

Regarding audio recording on the 6D, this camera again shares a lot of features with the 5D Mark III. Aside from the internal monaural microphone, you have the ability to attach an external third-party microphone with the 3.5mm stereo mic jack. In terms of control, the 6D features automatic and manual audio level adjustments. Users are given 64-step level adjustment increments for fine-tuned control. There is also an optional wind noise filter and an attenuator, which helps reduce over-blown sound (aka clipping) in very noisy environments.

Sure, there are a few features missing from the Canon 6D that advanced and professional users will find very important and might make them pick the 5D Mark III over the 6D. The Canon 6D lacks a headphone jack for monitoring audio, dual memory card slots and the touch controls for near-silent exposure and audio adjustments during recording. The 6D also isn't as good at avoiding moiré, and doesn't offer uncompressed HDMI output. However, for most users who are looking for a full-frame DSLR with very good video quality while not making as severe a dent in their wallet, the 6D will fit the bill quite nicely.

Canon 6D Basic Video Specs

• 1,920 x 1,080 (Full HD / 1080p); 1,280 x 720 (720p); or 640 x 480 (VGA) recording
• MOV file format, with variable bitrate MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 encoding
• Choice of two compression types; ALL-I (intraframe) or IPB (interframe)
• Manual exposure mode possible
• Manual mode allows automatic or manual ISO control; sensitivity is controlled automatically in all other modes
• Exposure compensation and lock are available
• Shutter speeds range from 1/4,000 down to 1/30 seconds
• Sensitivity ranges from ISO 100 to ISO 12,800
• Features like color space, white balance, picture control, auto lighting optimizer, peripheral illumination correction, chromatic aberration correction, and highlight tone priority are all available for video
• If an external flash unit has an LED light, the 6D can automatically enable it in low-light shooting
• TTL (through the lens) evaluative or center-weighted average metering using the main image sensor
• Single autofocus with face detection and adjustable AF point, available before or during movie recording; continuous autofocus is not possible
• Manual focus is also available
• Capture can be started and stopped with dedicated movie button or optional RC-6 remote control
• Seven-step LCD brightness adjustment available
• LCD brightness must be adjusted before capture starts
• If lens supports optical image stabilization, this operates at all times before and during capture unless switched off on the lens
• Optional 16-bit, 48KHz, 1,536 Kbps Linear PCM audio from internal monaural microphone or external 3.5mm stereo jack
• Automatic or 64-step manual audio level control
• VU (audio level) meter display before and during recording when manual control is enabled
• Optional wind cut filter function reduces levels for low-frequency audio
• Records time code, and can be set to continue to increment code regardless of capture status, or only while movie capture is underway
• Time code is recorded in hours, minutes, seconds, and frames, and can be reset, set to camera time, or set freely
• Time code can be displayed on-screen during capture and playback
• Drop frame function will correct time code slip at 29.97 or 59.94 fps, but not at 23.967 fps or PAL frame rates of 25p/50p
• Cannot output uncompressed feed via HDMI
• Movies can be "trimmed" in-camera, selecting just the portion you want and optionally saving it as a new file, but edits can only be made in one-second increments, not at specific frames
• Video duration limited to 29 minutes, 59 seconds
• File size restricted to 4 GB maximum; new file is automatically created when the 4GB limit is reached and recording is not interrupted
• If sensor temperature threshold is exceeded, shooting may stop before either limit is reached; camera warns before threshold is reached
• Single SD memory card slot. Uses SD, SDHC, SDXC cards.
• Full-resolution still images can be capturing during video recording if your flash card is fast enough, but will interrupt the video feed for approximately one second, and won't fire an external flash
• Continuous bursts of stills can also be shot, but they won't be reviewed on the monitor, and the video (obviously) pauses longer
• Histogram is available in manual mode, but only before capture starts
• Single-axis level gauge is available in all exposure modes, but only before capture starts, and not if using face-detection autofocus or HDMI output
• Three grid displays (3x3, 6x4, and 3x3 plus diagonals) are available, but only before capture starts

Canon 6D Video Speeds & Feeds: Image size, frame rate, and file format

The Canon EOS 6D, like the 5D Mark III, offers three different video resolutions and five frame rates, although only two or three rates are available at any given resolution.

The Canon 6D, like all of Canon's video-capable DSLRs, shoot in progressive scan high definition formats. Although television broadcast video works well with interlaced formats, progressive video is more suited for computer playback, as well as the "Full HD" standard nowadays being a progressive scan format (hence the "p" in 1080p).

As we saw with the 5D Mark III, Canon's new DIGIC 5+ image processor gives the 6D capability for both 1080p and 720p video recording. The previous-generation processor in the earlier 5D Mark II meant its users were stuck with only 1080p HD video at frame rates at 30p/25p/24p for high definition video. With the 6D, users now have the benefits of a full frame sensor and the ability to shoot 720p HD video at 60 frames per second, which is great for videos with lots of action and fast movement. Nevertheless, the 6D, along with all Canon video-capable DSLRs (with the exception of the $12,000 EOS 1D-C cinema DSLR) still do not provide the option of full 1080p video at 60 frames per second, which could be a drawback for more professional shooters who need that video format.

Many advanced shooters welcome the inclusion of the 24p mode, which has pretty much become a standard feature for video-capable interchangeable lens cameras. This frame rate comes from the days of motion picture film cameras, as the de facto standard frame rate for cinema. This is the frame rate movies have been shot in for many decades. Nowadays with video, the 24p frame rate gives videos the "film look and feel" that many filmmakers and video shooters want. It can, however, be difficult to use in fast action scenarios, with the lower shutter speed and frame rate making subjects susceptible to motion blur or, conversely, choppy if used with a faster shutter speed.

The 6D limits the minimum shutter speed depending on the frame rate. For 30p/25p/24p, users are limited to 1/30th of a second. For 60p and 50p video, you are limited to 1/60th and 1/50th of a second, respectively.

The inclusion of 720p HD video at 50/60 frames per second is a nice feature, which allows users to more easily film fast action scenes. The faster frame rate also helps should you want to produce some slow-motion video in post-production. It might not be the best format to use in low-light scenarios due to the slowest allowable shutter speed being 1/60th of a second.

The Canon 6D records all video using MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 encoding, at variable bit rates in the .MOV format. Like the 5D Mark III, the 6D gives users the option for two compression schemes in the HD resolutions, ALL-I or IPB. The difference comes from how each frame of the video is compressed. There is no uncompressed "RAW" video capability in the 6D. ALL-I format yields a higher image quality by compressing each frame individually, at the expense of memory card space, whereas IPB is an "interframe" scheme and compresses multiple frames at a time. This results in a slightly lower quality picture, but saves space on the memory card.

Most computers and editing programs made within the last few years should be able to play 6D files with little problem, but high-def files may strain older systems, especially during editing of IPB video. For users shooting video destined for video editing software, ALL-I format video is the format to pick if your memory card can handle the space and increased bit rate. File sizes for the 6D's ALL-I clips can be massive; expect around 10-11MB/second of video shot. Canon specifies approximately 685 MB/min for 1080 24p video, for example. IPB compression produces much more manageable sizes, with around 3-4MB/second of video. ALL-I video does capture noticeably more detail than does IPB, though. If you can handle the storage requirements, choose ALL-I. Canon recommends using at least 20MB/second or faster Secure Digital memory cards for ALL-I, and 6MB/second or faster for IPB. Even faster cards will be needed if you plan on shooting stills during video capture, which happen with a brief interruption to the video feed. If your card is not fast enough, a five-step buffer fill warning will appear on the LCD screen.

Canon 6D Video Quality

Here are some examples of video shot with the Canon 6D in ALL-I mode. Since YouTube does not support ALL-I video natively, please download the full-resolution video in order to assess the image quality:

The 6D produces very high image quality in video, with great, crisp detail and accurate color rendition. The contrast in bright daylight, for example, looks under control and not overly "contrasty" even on the Standard Picture Style. Shadow areas were not crushed and had detail. Even in low-light scenes, the 6D did fantastically well with great detail overall and a clean, low-noise image.

We saw much-improved handling of moiré and aliasing effects in the 5D Mark III compared to its predecessor, and had hopes that we'd see similar behavior in the 6D. Alas, that wasn't the case. In our test videos, a fair number of moiré pattern artifacts could be seen in the standard problem areas like window screens, roof shingles, and fine patterned fabrics. In some cases, moiré artifacts look similar to those seen on the 5D Mark II. This isn't a deal breaker by any means, but be careful where you shoot and of the patterns of people's clothing, etc.

Below you can see our standard array of sample videos for the 6D (in IPB mode):

Canon 6D Video: Focusing

The full-frame Canon 6D does not provide full-time autofocus with video. Shooters can use single-point autofocus prior to recording video to set focus on their subject. The 6D does provide the option of magnifying the Live View display by factors of 1x, 5x, and 10x to get a precise look at manual focusing prior to the start of recording, but users looking for simple, camcorder-like video recording with full-time autofocus should look elsewhere.

• Single autofocus operations can be triggered before or during movie recording by half-pressing the shutter button or pressing the AF-ON button
• Depending on the lens in use, on-camera audio will likely pick up significant autofocus drive noise. This can be minimized by using an external microphone, however
• Continuous autofocus is not possible for movies
• Face detection autofocus is available prior to recording, and continues to track face locations during capture, but does not adjust focusing
• AF point can be positioned with the joystick before or during recording, but cannot be placed at the extreme edges of the frame
• Manual focus is also available during movie recording

Canon 6D Video: Exposure Control

Like most previous Canon DSLRs with video recording, the 6D allows for full manual exposure settings and adjustments including full control of shutter speed, aperture and ISO before and during recording. In all modes, except for M, the 6D switches to automatic exposure adjustments while in live view movie mode. As such, the 6D is very user friendly for both kinds of shooters: those that want a simpler video shooting experience and more advanced users who want more control over how their videos look.

• Defaults to fully automatic Program exposure in all modes except for Manual mode
  • Aperture and shutter priority modes revert to auto-exposure when recording video. ISO, Shutter Speed, and ISO are set automatically
• Manual mode gives access to both shutter speed and aperture, and allows automatic or manual ISO control
• ISO sensitivity is controlled automatically in all other modes
• Exposure compensation adjustment is available with a +/-3EV range in 1/3 EV steps in Program or priority modes, but not in A+ mode
• Exposure can be locked with the * button and canceled with the AF point button, except in A+ mode. This also applies in Manual mode if shooting with Auto ISO sensitivity
• Adjustments to all exposure variables can be made either before or during recording, but they are applied immediately, so the effect is not subtle. Aperture mechanism noise will vary depending on the attached lens
• Available shutter speeds range from 1/4,000s down to 1/60s for 60p or 50p, and 1/30s for 30p, 25p or 24p
• Apertures depend upon the lens in use
• Sensitivity varies from ISO 100 to ISO 12,800
• Highlight tone priority is available, but disables the ISO 100 position
• Color space, white balance, and Picture Control settings apply to movie recording. Picture Control types are Auto, Standard, Portrait, Landscape, Neutral, Faithful, Monochrome, and User Def 1-3, and each can be adjusted for sharpness and contrast, plus saturation and color tone for color styles, and filter / toning effects for monochrome
• Picture Control, white balance, exposure, auto lighting optimizer, peripheral illumination and chromatic aberration correction, and highlight tone priority effects are all previewed on LCD monitor
• If an attached flash strobe has an LED light, the 6D can automatically enable it in low-light shooting in all except Manual mode

Canon 6D Video: Audio Recording

The Canon 6D has similar audio recording features to the 5D Mark III. Like many previous Canon video DSLRs, the 6D gives users the choice of recording audio with an internal (mono) microphone or a third-party external stereo microphone via a 3.5mm mic jack. Audio levels are fully adjustable, with wind-cut filter and attenuator options.

The big downside to the 6D's audio capabilities is that, unlike the 5D Mark III, the 6D does not feature a headphone jack for monitoring audio. This was a much-lauded feature when it was finally introduced into the Canon DSLR lineup with the 5D Mark III. Many advanced video shooters will surely be a little disheartened to find this feature missing.

• Audio is recorded as 16-bit, 48KHz, 1,536 Kbps Linear PCM
• Internal monaural microphone
• Defaults to automatic level control (aka Automatic Gain Control)
• Manual level control available via Shooting Menu item, with 64 levels available. Left/right balance is not adjustable
• VU (audio level) meter display is displayed on the same menu screen, and includes peak hold indication
• VU meter display is also available as an overlay during recording by pressing the Info button
• VU meter only available if using manual audio levels
• External 3.5mm stereo mic input. Use external mics for better sound quality, control over stereo effect / directionality, and to eliminate camera / lens noise
• Audio can be turned off entirely
• Optional wind cut filter function reduces levels for low-frequency audio
• In A+ shooting mode, audio levels are controlled automatically, and the wind cut filter is always active

Canon 6D Video: Rolling Shutter Artifacts ("Jello effect")

Like all video-capable DSLRs and interchangeable lens cameras on the market today, the Canon 6D has to contend with rolling shutter artifacts. These image distortions are caused by the way the image is read from the camera's sensor. Data is read line-by-line, rather than the entire frame at once, so the top of the image is recorded at a slightly different time than the bottom. Therefore, when panning or moving the camera side-to-side quickly, vertical lines in the image can appear to bend and slant back and forth in a "Jello-like" effect.

The 6D did pretty well controlling the amount of rolling shutter distortion. At the 1080p resolution, rolling shutter distortion was noticeable but minimal, and even less so at 720p. As long as you are mindful of this effect, and avoid quick pans or back-and-forth motions, particularly around objects with vertical lines like trees and buildings, you will probably not notice the rolling shutter distortion.

High ISO Noise Reduction

Canon 6D High ISO Noise Reduction

The Canon 6D offers four High ISO Noise Reduction settings: Disable, Low, Standard (default), and High, allowing you quite a bit of flexibility in choosing how you want to make the tradeoff between subject detail and noise levels in JPEGs. The Canon 6D manual says noise reduction is applied at all ISOs, working mostly in shadow areas at low ISOs, so we've included crops from ISO 50 up here.

See for yourself how the four noise reduction settings work. Click on any of the crops below to see the corresponding full-sized image.

High ISO Noise Reduction Comparison In-Camera JPEGs Simulated Daylight
	Disable	Low	Standard	High
I S O 5 0
	Disable	Low	Standard	High
I S O 1 0 0
	Disable	Low	Standard	High
I S O 2 0 0
	Disable	Low	Standard	High
I S O 4 0 0
	Disable	Low	Standard	High
I S O 8 0 0
	Disable	Low	Standard	High
I S O 1 6 0 0
	Disable	Low	Standard	High
I S O 3 2 0 0
	Disable	Low	Standard	High
I S O 6 4 0 0
	Disable	Low	Standard	High
I S O 1 2 8 0 0
	Disable	Low	Standard	High
I S O 2 5 6 0 0
	Disable	Low	Standard	High
I S O 5 1 2 0 0
	Disable	Low	Standard	High
I S O 1 0 2 4 0 0

The above crops show the effects of the four levels of high ISO noise reduction, under the HMI lighting we use to simulate standard daylight. As you can see, the High ISO Noise Reduction setting has little effect below ISO 400. At higher ISOs, the tradeoff between detail and noise can easily be seen. We'd probably tend to shoot with the Disable or Low setting to better preserve detail, especially in subtle reds.

RAW Files

Below are crops from Canon 6D raw files converted with Adobe Camera Raw with no noise reduction or sharpening applied, compared to raw files from competing full-frame DSLRs:

Canon 6D versus Canon 5D Mark III, Nikon D600, and Sony A99 Raw, no Noise Reduction, no Sharpening, Simulated Daylight
	Canon 6D	Canon 5D Mark III	Nikon D600	Sony Alpha A99
I S O 5 0
I S O 1 0 0
I S O 2 0 0
I S O 4 0 0
I S O 8 0 0
I S O 1 6 0 0
I S O 3 2 0 0
I S O 6 4 0 0
I S O 1 2 8 0 0
I S O 2 5 6 0 0
I S O 5 1 2 0 0			N/A, ISO 51,200 not supported.	N/A, ISO 51,200 not supported.
I S O 1 0 2 4 0 0			N/A, ISO 102,400 not supported.	N/A, ISO 102,400 not supported.
	Canon 6D	Canon 5D Mark III	Nikon D600	Sony A99

Here, we can see the Canon 6D's raw noise performance appears to be very similar and even slightly better than that of the Canon 5D Mark III and Nikon D600, thanks in part to its slightly larger pixel pitch (6.55 microns versus 6.25 for the 5D Mark III and 5.9 for the D600). All three SLRs do better than the Sony A99, which is likely handicapped by its translucent mirror in the optical path. Overall, impressive noise performance from the Canon 6D's new 20-megapixel sensor.

Technical Info

Canon 6D Technical Info

by Mike Tomkins

Sensor. Canon has developed a brand-new full-frame CMOS image sensor for the EOS 6D. With an area of 35.8 x 23.9mm, it's microscopically smaller than the sensors found in the 5D Mark II and Mark III. The effective resolution is 20.2 megapixels. While that lags Nikon's 24.3 megapixel D600 just slightly, the Canon has a bit of an edge in photosite pitch. The Canon 6D's sensor spaces photosites at 6.55 microns, versus a 5.9 micron pitch for the D600.

Processor. Output from the new sensor is handled by a DIGIC 5+ image processor. That's the same type seen in the more expensive EOS-5D Mark III. Canon says that the EOS 6D uses 14-bit analog-to-digital conversion.

Performance. The Canon EOS 6D falls behind Nikon's entry in terms of burst shooting performance. Where the D600 was capable of 5.4 frames-per-second burst shooting in our tests, the Canon 6D provided a slightly less swift 4.4 frames per second, a difference of around 18%.

Canon rates shutter lag as around 60 milliseconds (we measured 59), which is near-identical to that of the EOS 5D Mark III.

Sensitivity. Although it's not the same sensor used in the EOS 5D Mark III, the Canon EOS 6D offers the same sensitivity range. By default, everything from ISO 100 to 25,600 equivalents is available. An ISO expansion function unlocks a wider range of 50 to 102,400 equivalents. By contrast, the Nikon D600 has an expanded range of ISO 50 to 25,600, of which the standard range is just ISO 100 to 6,400 equivalents. The Canon 6D's Auto ISO feature lets you specify the minimum and maximum ISO as well as minimum shutter speed, or you can let the camera select.

Autofocus. One area in which there's a very clear differentiation between the EOS 6D and Canon's more expensive full-frame models is autofocus--but interestingly, it's not a clear sweep for the 5D Mark III. Sure, that camera has a 61-point autofocus array with 41 cross-type points, where the Canon 6D has just eleven points in a diamond-shaped array, with the center point being the sole cross-type. (In that respect, it's closer to the 5D Mark II, which had a 15-point array with single cross-type, but relegated six of these as merely assist points.)

Where the Canon EOS 6D wins is in terms of low-light performance: it matches Pentax's recently-announced K-5 II and K-5 IIs with the center point being able to lock focus down to -3 EV. That's a full 2 EV further than Nikon's D600, although that camera offers a much more generous 39 autofocus points, of which nine are cross-types. The Canon 6D's increased center point sensitivity comes thanks to an increase in the number of light-sensitive elements making up that focus point.

Viewfinder. According to Canon, the 6D's optical viewfinder has approximately 97% coverage, which is just slightly behind the 98% of the EOS 5D Mark II. The 5D III and Nikon D600 both have about 100% coverage.

Displays. There are two main displays on the Canon EOS 6D, as you'd expect of a camera at this price point. The top panel is a monochrome LCD status display, handy for saving battery life and time as you check or change camera settings.

The rear panel, meanwhile, is a 3.0-inch Clear View LCD panel with a resolution of 1,040,000 dots. The Clear View designation means it still has an air gap, unlike the Clear View II screen on the EOS 5D III, so in like conditions, contrast will likely be lower and glare higher than that camera. It's also slightly smaller than the displays in the 5D III and Nikon D600, and has a wider aspect than the screen on the 5D II. Compared to that in the D600, though, the 6D's screen has a slightly higher dot count. Like that screen, the EOS 6D's panel has wide 170-degree viewing angles. There's also a high-transparency multicoating.

When framing in live view mode, Canon says the display has 100% coverage.

Flash. As you might expect, there's no built-in flash strobe in the EOS 6D. The Nikon D600 does have one, so if you're the type who likes to travel light, that's a potential advantage--but if you always carry an external strobe then it's merely an added expense and potential point of failure. Both cameras, not surprisingly, have standard hot shoes.

Exposure modes. The selection of exposure modes on offer in the Canon EOS 6D almost exactly mirror those in Nikon's competitor. There's a choice of Program, Aperture-priority, Shutter-priority, and Manual exposure modes that most enthusiasts and pros will seldom leave, plus consumer-friendly Auto+ and Scene modes. There are also two Custom modes. The Canon adds a dedicated Bulb mode, and its Creative Auto mode, which aims to provide a little control without using terminology confusing to amateurs.

Metering. The Canon EOS 6D meters exposures with a 63-zone, dual-layer iFCL metering sensor. First seen in the EOS 7D, it's the same chip used in the 5D Mark III. The top layer is sensitive to red and green, while the bottom layer detects blue and green. This full-color metering allows better subject detection, information which is also fed back to the autofocus system to further aid subject tracking. Nikon, by contrast, has a much finer-grained 2,016 pixel RGB metering system, branded as 3D color matrix metering II.

Shutter. Another point of differentiation between the Canon EOS 6D and 5D III can be found in their shutter mechanisms. Where that in the 5D III is rated as good for a lifetime of some 150,000 cycles, just like that in Nikon's D600, the Canon 6D's shutter is rated for a much shorter life of 100,000 cycles. That's not to say it's a certainty not to outlive 100,000 shots--these values aren't set in stone--it's just less likely to do so than the shutter in the other cameras.

Creative. There are a couple of handy creative options on the Canon EOS 6D that mirror--but don't quite match--those found on the 5D III.

The first of these is the high dynamic range mode, which captures three separate images with varied exposure, then combines them into a single image with greater dynamic range than is possible in a single shot. The HDR mode is similar to that in the EOS 5D III, but doesn't allow the source images to be saved. Instead, the merging is done solely in-camera, and if you're not happy with the result, you'll need to reshoot the scene. (With the 5D III, if you change your mind and decide to create the HDR manually on your computer, you have the option to save the source images that were used to create the in-camera composite.) There's also a smaller variety of HDR effects in the 6D than can be found in its pricier sibling.

The other creative option that's particularly interesting is the Multiple Exposure mode, which overlays multiple images upon each other. It's a technique that's useful to simulate a longer exposure, to reduce noise, or simply for the effects that can be achieved. You can overlay up to nine images, and you can use an existing raw image file as a starting point for the series. There are two compositing methods: Additive and Average, yielding a different look. Cleverly, you can preview the compositing result on the LCD panel, and can choose to undo the most recent addition to the multiple exposure if you didn't get the result you were after. There are more compositing modes in the EOS 5D III (it also has Bright and Dark), but this still seems a great tool for EOS 6D shooters.

Level gauge. Another point of differentiation between the Canon EOS 6D and the 5D III can be found in their respective level gauge functions. The Canon 6D offers a single-axis level gauge, indicating only side-to-side roll. That's plenty if all you want to do is ensure horizons are level, of course. The 5D III has a dual-axis level gauge, though, which can also show the degree of front/back pitch. That's great for architectural photography, panorama shooting, and other areas where you want to ensure your verticals don't converge.

Dust reduction. The EOS 6D includes Canon's EOS Integrated Cleaning System, which uses a piezoelectric element to shake dust particles off of the low-pass filter in front of the sensor. The dust is then trapped by an adhesive strip along the base, preventing it from causing further nuisance. The camera can also map the locations of stubborn dust spots that remain on the sensor after cleaning, then store their locations as Dust Delete Data that can subsequently be used to subtract the spots during post-processing.

Movie. Canon has included much of the video capture feature set that made its 5D-series models so popular with videographers in the new EOS 6D. That includes Full HD (1080p; 1,920 x 1,080 pixel) recording at 30, 25, or 24 fps; 720p (1,280 x 720 pixel) capture at 60 or 50 fps, and VGA (640 x 480 pixel) at 30 or 25 fps. Movies are limited to 29 minutes, 59 seconds of capture, and automatically partitioned at 4GB intervals. ALL-I intraframe video requires a UHS-I compliant flash card, while IPB interframe-compressed video can be recorded on regular SD cards. Exposure and audio levels can be controlled manually, and there's both an internal, monaural microphone and an external stereo microphone jack. So what's missing from the 5D III? The most significant thing is the lack of a headphone jack, meaning you can't monitor audio at capture time.

Wireless networking. There are quite a few places where the Canon 6D bests even its more-expensive sibling, however, and one of these is its inclusion of built-in Wi-Fi connectivity. To be fair, the 5D Mark III still wins on range: the IEEE 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi radio in the 6D isn't terribly powerful, with a rated range of just 30 meters. That's barely 20% of the range possible with the 5D III and the optional WFT-E7A Wireless File Transmitter, which is said to work with a 150 meter range in ideal conditions. However, the 6D doesn't need to rely on a clumsy, external device to provide Wi-Fi networking. If you're shooting with the intent of transferring images to the internet via a smartphone in your pocket, 150 meter range is overkill. If you're more than 30 meters from your phone, chances are you've lost it. ;-)

It's not only smartphones with which you can communicate. Canon says the 6D's Wi-Fi connectivity supports WPS security, and that the camera can connect to certain PowerShot-series cameras and Android or iOS tablets as well as smartphones and PCs. You can also share images on social networking sites. They're transferred to your chosen destination via Canon's iMAGE GATEWAY cloud service, which requires registration.

Better still, it's not just sharing of images that's possible. You can also remotely control your EOS 6D from the attached device, using a free Canon EOS Remote application (you'll need an iOS 5 or Android 2.3+ / 4.0+ device for this), or from a PC running Canon's EOS Utility.

Geolocation. Another area where the Canon 6D offers something its pricier sibling doesn't is its built-in GPS receiver. This allows the camera to determine its location, then record the latitude, longitude, elevation, and UTC time stamp in the EXIF data of each image. The 5D III requires a separate device to achieve this. Once tagged, you can view the capture locations of your images on a map using the supplied Map Utility software. There's also a logging function to track movement at set intervals, and you can even set the camera's internal clock to local time via GPS.

Connectivity. In addition to the aforementioned built-in Wi-Fi and GPS radios, the Canon EOS 6D includes several connectivity choices. There's a combined USB 2.0 High Speed data / standard-definition composite A/V output, a high-definition Mini HDMI (Type C) video port with CEC support, a 3.5mm stereo microphone jack, and a wired remote terminal. The 6D also supports Canon wireless infrared RC-6 remote controller. As mentioned before, what's missing compared to the 5D Mark III is a headphone jack for monitoring recorded audio. And, unlike the 5D Mark III, the Canon 6D's HDMI port does not output uncompressed HD video. Also note that the WFT-E7A Wireless File Transmitter is not compatible with the 6D, for obvious reasons.

Storage. The Canon EOS 6D is compatible with Secure Digital cards including the higher-capacity SDHC and SDXC types, however there's only one card slot (competing models offer two). It also supports -- and indeed requires -- the higher-speed UHS-I cards, if you intend to shoot ALL-I Intraframe-compressed video. Unlike the EOS 5D II and III, there is no longer any support for CompactFlash cards.

Battery. If you're shooting with the EOS 60D, 7D, 5D Mark II, or 5D Mark III already, you're in luck. The EOS 6D uses the exact same proprietary LP-E6 lithium-ion battery packs, so you can share batteries between your cameras. Canon rates battery life to CIPA testing standards as some 1,090 shots at 23°C/73°F, and 980 shots at 0°C/32°F when using the optical viewfinder. Battery life when using GPS and Wi-Fi isn't stated. A dedicated LC-E6 battery charger is included in the bundle.

If the battery life isn't sufficient, or you just want duplicated controls for portrait shooting, an accessory BG-E13 battery grip is available. The grip supports up to two LP-E6 battery packs or six AA-size/LR6 batteries. As you'd expect, an optional AC adapter kit is also available (ACK-E6).

Availability. The Canon 6D became available in December 2012. Two choices were offered -- a body-only version that originally listed at US$2,100, or a kit including the EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM zoom lens that originally listed at US$2,900. The body can now be readily purchased at US$2,000, and the kit at US$2,400.

Conclusion

Despite a few quibbles, the 20.2-megapixel Canon EOS 6D lives up to its promise of housing a glorious, full-frame CMOS sensor inside a smaller, lighter, and more affordable digital SLR camera body designed for prosumers, enthusiasts, and even novice photographers. Are we in love with everything about this camera? No, but Canon's done a great job of not dumbing down, or cheapening the 6D to fit its $2,000 "sweet spot" pricing.

First, the good stuff. The 6D's 35.8 x 23.9mm CMOS image sensor might be a bit smaller than the imaging chip in the Canon 5D Mark III, but its individual photosites are bigger since it has slightly less resolution. The result is exceptional image quality, in both good and poor available light, that puts it on par to the 5D III, which was one of our favorite cameras of 2012. We got bright, punchy color in good lighting from the 6D, which wasn't too oversaturated as with some DSLR models. Skintones also looked healthy and life-like, unlike some cameras which tend to pump up the pinks and reds to produce an artificial, "doll-like" look.

Our portraits, particularly those shot with fast lenses with wide apertures, produced stunning results, with the 6D's big imaging chip producing an eye-catching shallow depth of field, which made our subject pop. But the 6D really shined in low light at high ISOs, producing clean and visually appealing images at up to ISO 3,200, and very usable results at up to ISO 12,800. The camera did have some issues when shooting in dodgy, indoor incandescent light, particularly when we used the Auto or Incandescent White Balance settings. Things got much better when we manually adjusted the White Balance, but some novice photographers who might be drawn to the 6D may not want or know how to do that.

Photographers of all backgrounds, however, will likely be drawn to how fast the 6D is to use and how logical its menu system and controls are. While the 6D is $1,500 less expensive than the 5D Mark III, it still has a solid, rubberized camera body with a comfortable hand grip and a well-placed shutter that just begs to be pressed. We also found the 6D's excellent HD video quality to be on par to the 5D III, with the ability to produce creamy clips with very little rolling shutter when we panned.

On the downside, Canon has had to nip and tuck a few things to meet the 6D's more affordable pricing and smaller and lighter build. There's no pop-up flash on the camera. And there's no handy, multi-direction joystick control on back or headphone jack. It also particularly bothered me that Canon omitted a button control for White Balance on the camera. Additionally, the 6D's 11-point autofocus system is not as advanced as the Canon 5D Mark III's system -- nor that of the directly competitive Nikon D600 full-frame DSLR. And last but not least, the 6D's burst speed is a little on the slow side. But the Canon 6D adds a few tricks that the competition doesn't have, including a full-featured, built-in Wi-Fi system that allows for sharing and remote control, as well as built-in GPS with geotagging.

Overall, Canon squeezes so much good stuff into the trim and affordable full-frame 6D, it's an easy Dave's Pick.

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