6D or 7D Mark II?

[robertw900]

Have off-loaded my 5DIII for smaller, lighter gear.  Choosing between the 6D and 7DII.  95% of my shooting is vacation, landscape, family, but occasionally shoot daytime professional baseball with a long lens (Tamron 150-600mm probably).  My main lens is the 24-105 L.  I'm striving for max IQ, small size and light weight which all seem to favor the 6D.  Is there a noticeable difference in IQ between the two sensors?  I recognize the 7DII is a beast for action, but imagine the 6D could probably handle the occasional ball game?  Any informed opinions are welcome as I live in a rural area and can't check the cameras out in person locally.   Thanks for any input.

[TCampbell]

The wegith difference between a 5D III and 6D is 195g (.43 lbs).  This is based on CIPA measuring standards which require that one battery must be installed and the recording medium (memory cards) must be installed (take those away and it weigh a little less.)

This makes the 6D body about 20% lighter than the a 5D III body.  

The weights are:

5D III 950g

7D II 910g

6D 755g

You can see by this that the 7D II isn't much lighter than a 5D III... only 40g (that's less than 1/10th of a pound).  In other words, the 7D II difference in weight is so insignificant that if the main reason for the switch is the weight... don't bother.

BUT... that's without the lens... and the lens is really significant.

The Tamron 150-600mm f/5-6.3 Di VC USD lens weights in at 1951g (the 5D III body weights 950g).  That puts your lens at nearly 2kg (it's 4.3 lbs).  

Add it up and the 5D III plus that lens weighs 2901g (nearly 3kg -- it's actulaly 6.4 lbs) and by switching to a 6D body you'll shave off .43 lbs and still weigh about 6 lbs. 

In other words... the weight of the body isn't really a big deal compared to the weight of the lens.  You probably wont notice much difference.

My advice would be to look for a comfy "sling" style strap.  When I used a traditional neck strap, the weight of a full-frame body with a heavy lens would get to if I had to wear it on my neck for more than a few minutes.  But once I switched to a sling style strap... I happily wear my full-frame body and big heavy lenses and I walk around all day with this on and it doesn't bother me. A comfortable strap makes a BIG difference in your perception of weight.

I use a Black Rapid strap and they're probably the most common among the sling type straps.  The strap is worn over one shoulder and the camera rests on your hip on the opposite side from the shoulder.  It's never on your neck.

The 5D III and 7D II certainly have the better focus system.  For most shots (vacation, landscapes, family, etc.) you wont really care about the focus system.  If you're shooting sports... or any fast moving action, the better focus system certainly has an advantage.

As for image quality... the difference in image quality is almost entirely in the lens and not the sensor. 

[robertw900]

Thanks for sharing your analysis. I've ordered the 6D which saves me 7 ounces off the 5DII which will make it a better walkaround camera. The weight with the Tamron will be heavy, but its only occasional use, so I can use a monopod for my ballgames. I appreiciate the time you took to help me out.

[robertw900]

Thanks, TCampbell, for sharing your analysis. I've ordered the 6D which saves me 7 ounces off the 5DIII which will make it a better walkaround camera. The weight with the Tamron will be heavy, but its only occasional use, so I can use a monopod for my ballgames. I appreiciate the time you took to help me out. (Prviously posted as a quick reply, but you may not have recognized it as related to your post)

[robertw900]

Thanks, TCampbell, for sharing your analysis. I've ordered the 6D which saves me 7 ounces off the 5DIII which will make it a better walkaround camera. The weight with the Tamron will be heavy, but its only occasional use, so I can use a monopod for my ballgames. I appreiciate the time you took to help me out. (Prviously posted as a quick reply, but you may not have recognized it as related to your post)

[ebiggs1]

So many people get caught up in the, this camera is best for this and that one is best for that.  Truth is any camera will take any picture.  Yes, some do excel in certain areas but for the vast majority of us, there is slight difference.

Neither the 6D or the 7D Mk II, which very closely resembles a 5D, is going to have a real noticable weight difference.

You said, " I'm striving for max IQ, ...".  You had the best camera, the 5D Mk III, for IQ between your stated choices.  But here again the difference is going to be slight.

"Is there a noticeable difference in IQ between ..." This only you can answer.

However, I see the 6D as a watered down 5D, so I am going to favor the 7D Mk II, IMHO of course.  It and the Tamron 150-600mm lens should be fantastic together.

[Skirball]

You likely won't notice a difference between the 5d3 and 6D unless you're a serious pixel peeper or you're really cropping a lot.  They're very similar with regards to IQ.  The one main area where you see the biggest difference is in astrophotography, and it's the 6D that is markedly better.

In bright daylight you likely won't see much difference between the 6D and 7d2 either, but at high ISO the 6D is about a full stop better.  Depends on what you shoot, and your tolerance to noise.

You seem to mostly shoot static subjects, so I'd think the 6D would be a good fit.  THe AF isn't terrific, but when I think of baseball I don't really think of action, I'd think it could be ok.  The 7d2 of course would be better, unless you need high ISO to freeze the action.

If weight is truly that influential perhaps you should look at the Rebel line, especially considering that crop cameras like the Rebel can use smaller lenses than a full frame camera.  But at that point you're really trying to shave off ounces.  If it's that important, I'd get a nice compact camera for travel, and pull out the big guns for baseball.

[robertw900]

Thank you for addressing the IQ issue. It's my first priority, though weight and bulk are almost equally important to me. Most of the action in baseball comes in fast spurts when the play is happening. It's cool to capture the ball in midair in front of the glove or bat. The 5DIII certainly was great for that. The 7D2 also seems tailor made for that purpose as well. However, you are correct about my shooting a lot of static subjects. Architecture, mountains, mesas and Indian ruins are my most common targets. It was interesting that you mentioned astrophotography since it's an area I have always hoped to try. I have the telescope, so perhaps the 6D will see service on the night sky someday. I also do enjoy shooting family photos of dogs and kids running around, but I'm also assuming the 6D will handle that OK as well. I appreciate you sharing your knowledge and helping me with an expensive decision.

[robertw900]

Thank you Skirball for addressing the IQ issue. It's my first priority, though weight and bulk are almost equally important to me. Most of the action in baseball comes in fast spurts when the play is happening. It's cool to capture the ball in midair in front of the glove or bat. The 5DIII certainly was great for that. The 7D2 also seems tailor made for that purpose as well. However, you are correct about my shooting a lot of static subjects. Architecture, mountains, mesas and Indian ruins are my most common targets. It was interesting that you mentioned astrophotography since it's an area I have always hoped to try. I have the telescope, so perhaps the 6D will see service on the night sky someday. I also do enjoy shooting family photos of dogs and kids running around, but I'm also assuming the 6D will handle that OK as well. I appreciate you sharing your knowledge and helping me with an expensive decision. (I'd previously posted a quick reply, but failed to indicate I was responding specifically to your message.  I'm new to the group and didn't see how the thread works)

[robertw900]

Thanks for addressing the IQ. I live in a small town and can't really see these cameras in stores before buying. Your answer helps fill in a gap in my knowledge. When I traded up to the 5DIII from an older APS-C Canon sensor, I did see a material IQ difference, but have wondered whether the newer APS-C sensors might be more comparable to FF. I think if I were doing more sports, the 7D Mark II sounds like the way to go, but a watered down 5DIII actually sounds desirable given the weight tradeoff and smaller body size. I found the extra 7 ounces and bulk of the 5DIII caused me to leave it in the bag too often. I also didn't like the attention it attracted on the street.

[robertw900]

Thank you ebiggs1for addressing the IQ issue. It's my first priority, though weight and bulk are almost equally important to me. Most of the action in baseball comes in fast spurts when the play is happening. It's cool to capture the ball in midair in front of the glove or bat. The 5DIII certainly was great for that. The 7D2 also seems tailor made for that purpose as well. However, you are correct about my shooting a lot of static subjects. Architecture, mountains, mesas and Indian ruins are my most common targets. It was interesting that you mentioned astrophotography since it's an area I have always hoped to try. I have the telescope, so perhaps the 6D will see service on the night sky someday. I also do enjoy shooting family photos of dogs and kids running around, but I'm also assuming the 6D will handle that OK as well. I appreciate you sharing your knowledge and helping me with an expensive decision.