6d mark ii VS 7d mark ii

[StressLess]

First Post Ya'll,

I'm an outdoor enthusiast on a budget trying to decide between the 7d ii and 6d ii. I'm thinking better light with 6d, full frame. 

I hike alot and backpack... so need it Weather Sealed. I do take some moving animals: geese, owls, deer, bear but not like a sports photographer. Occassionally video but not much. (water falls)

Can anyone help steer me in the right direction with my budget for the body being 1000-1200 or so? 

Thanks so much!

MG

[kvbarkley]

Sometimes when shooting bear *you* become the sport. 8^)

I would suggest whatever is smaller, probably the 7D. Crop frame gives your lenses a little more reach.

[ebiggs1]

"I hike alot and backpack... so need it Weather Sealed. I do take some moving animals: geese, owls, deer, bear but not like a sports photographer."

I am a big 7D and 7D Mk II fan.  It is my choice for you.  It is built very much tougher than the 6 series line. The fact the 6D Mk II may have a tiny edge over the 7D Mk II in a few specs, it can't match the build quality. Plus in real world daily use these small advantage don't really show up. Being mostly tech paper stuff. The next big advantage for the 7D Mk II, besides built, is the tele factor. Free telephoto for wildlife! 

So we have better build for hiking, tele factor for wildlife shooting but the weather sealed thing!  No camera is water proof.  You get either one wet, it is a problem. The 7D Mk II will take some rain drops pretty well. It will survive better in any comparable wet situation than the 6 series. But it can't really get wet either.

Bottom line either will do the job, both fine cameras. I just would pick the 7D Mk II.

BTW, I don't know if you might be considering used but I would avoid buying a 6D. 

[Waddizzle]

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@StressLess wrote:

First Post Ya'll,

I'm an outdoor enthusiast on a budget trying to decide between the 7d ii and 6d ii. I'm thinking better light with 6d, full frame. 

I hike alot and backpack... so need it Weather Sealed. I do take some moving animals: geese, owls, deer, bear but not like a sports photographer. Occassionally video but not much. (water falls)

Can anyone help steer me in the right direction with my budget for the body being 1000-1200 or so? 

Thanks so much!

MG

---

Having used both of them quite a bit for sports like football and baseball, and hiking the woods in search of hides holes to shoot wildlife.  Given a choice between the 6D2 and 7D2, I would recommend the 6D2, despite the highly advanced AF system in the 7D2.  I think the 6D2 has a much better AF system.  I do not need 6 AF preset case settings.  

The main advantage the 7D2 has over the 6D2 is build quality of the chassis.  The 7D2 has a full magnesium alloy chassis, while the 6D2 uses a polycarbonate on its’ top section.  Both bodies are sealed against weather and dust.  The 7D2 has a much higher frame rate, which is good for moving subjects.  The 7D2 also has dual card slots, one of which is a faster CF card slot, which is what plays a major role in the faster frame rate compared to the 6D2, which only has one SD slot.

Likewise, the 6D2 has a few advantages of its’ own.  The main advantage is the full frame sensor in 6D2, which is what enables it to have better low light performance.  The 6D2 also has 30% more resolution, 20MP vs 26MP, which almost offsets the natural crop factor of the 7D2’s APS-C image sensor.  The 6D2 has 45 AF points, compared to 61 AF points in the 7D2.

When the 7D2 was introduced, it featured Canon’s most advanced AF focusing and tracking system.  The AF system in the 7D2 has been equaled, and surpassed by some ways, by a couple lower tier APS-C camera bodies.  While the lower tier bodies have only 45 AF points, they have a next generation of the AF system.  Canon has vastly improved upon the AF system pioneered by the 7D2.  The newer bodies have more cross type AF sensors for sharper focusing.

I think the 6D2 AF system surpasses the 7D2 in all ways except number of AF points and preset AF cases.  Most causal shooters do not make use of the AF cases.  They usually shoot only one or two types of action photography, and only use just one of the AF case settings.

I think the most significant difference between the AF systems in the 7D2 and 6D2 shows up when you use a telextender.  When I use the 7D2 with the EF 1.4x III with the EF 100-400mm f/4.5-4.6L IS II USM lens and EF 1.4x III extender, the AF system in the 7D2 is reduced to one f/8 AF point.  And, AF speed takes a significant hit in speed.  Never measured it but the frame rate drops by at least a third, maybe even by half.

When I use the 6D2 with the EF 1.4x III with the EF 100-400mm f/4.5-4.6L IS II USM lens and EF 1.4x III extender, the AF system will have 27 active AF points, which is GREAT for tracking BIF.  Also, I do not notice any reduction in AF speed with the 6D2 compared to the 7D2.  In fact, the 6D2 feels like it has a faste frame rate.

I still carry both bodies, but the 6D2 sees a lot more use.  The only time I will go for the 7D2 is on nice bright sunny days, and I am shooting a sport where the subject pretty much stay in the sunshine.  Woods can have plenty of dark and light spots, so I am using the 6D2, shooting in Manual mode with ISO set to Auto, AI Servo, and Continuous Drive, and all AF points enabled.

I set my AF to always begins with the center AF point, and expand to surrounding points as needed for AF tracking of moving subjects.  There nave been many complaints about the 6D2 having its’ AF points cluster in the center of the viewfinder, but I have found that I can put more AF points on a subject, which means more data for the AF tracking system, and the result is EXCELLENT tracking of moving subjects.

To sum it all up, each body has undenaiable advantages over the other.  I think the features that matter the most when it comes to  capturing quality images favor the 6D2.

[47greyfox]

I'm late to the game, but I own both a 6d2 and a 7d2. Yes, the build quality of the 7d2 is marginally better and has two card slots and can rattle off 10fps.... However, the 6d2 is touch screen enabled, bigger sensor, and quite honestly, I get consistently, sharper images (raw and jpeg) from the 6d2. If one had to go right now, it would be the 7d2. 

[RobertTheFat]

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@47greyfox wrote:

I'm late to the game, but I own both a 6d2 and a 7d2. Yes, the build quality of the 7d2 is marginally better and has two card slots and can rattle off 10fps.... However, the 6d2 is touch screen enabled, bigger sensor, and quite honestly, I get consistently, sharper images (raw and jpeg) from the 6d2. If one had to go right now, it would be the 7d2. 

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I'll admit up front that I've never used, or even seen, a 6D or a 6D2. So you can take what I say for what it's worth.

But my wife has a 7D2, so I do know something about it. Basically it's a 5D Mk III with a smaller sensor and slightly lighter weight. The controls are nearly identical; in fact, my wife once used my 5D3 for an hour, thinking it was her 7D2 until I pointed out the error.

Now that I think of it, the 7D2 has one very nice feature that the 5D3 doesn't have: a full-time level in the viewfinder, I don't know whether the 6D2 has it, but if you tend to get sloping horizons, you'll really appreciate it.

[Waddizzle]

Bob,

The 6D2 has the same level display in the viewfinder.  The 6D2 has both Bluetooth and Wi-fi, which means you can connect wireless to the camera with a phone or tablet without disconnecting your Wi-Fi from the internet.  The 5D4 uses obsolete NFC.

The 6D2 has the same auto WB modes as the 1Dx Mark II.  It has 27 f/8 AF points, while the 7D2 has only one, which takes a major hit in AF speed when it goes into that AF mode with an extender.  The 6D2 does not take a hit in AF speed when it is in f/8 mode, even though it has a slower frame rate.

Just about the only real advantage the 7D2 has over the 6D2 is weather sealing and dual card slots.  The advantages of the 5D4 over the 6D2 are similar.  It would be nice to a camera that it more robust than I am, but I am too old and frail to fight Mother Nature.  I own both a 7D2 and a 6D2, and the 7D2 gets far less usage than the 6D2. 

I have not used a 5D3 or 5D4.  I opted for a used 1D4, instead.

[WendyNash]

It is built very much tougher than the 6 series line. The fact the 6D Mk II may have a tiny edge over the 7D Mk II in a few specs, it can't match the build quality. Plus in real world daily use these small advantage don't really show up. Being mostly tech paper stuff. The next big advantage for the 7D Mk II, besides built, is the tele factor. Free telephoto for wildlife! So we have better build for hiking, tele factor for wildlife shooting but the weather sealed thing! No camera is water proof. You get either one wet, it is a problem. The 7D Mk II will take some rain drops pretty well. It will survive better in any comparable wet situation than the 6 series. But it can't really get wet either.

[ebiggs1]

I could have wrote that!   Your points are well taken.

[ebiggs1]

"The fact the 6D Mk II may have a tiny edge over the 7D Mk II in a few specs, ..."

You see some folks are so narrow minded they only see specifications that they deem important.  Like full frame. No matter what another camera may  offer it is not FF so it isn't worthy.  The next argument they will offer is, well you can do wildlife with a 7 series but you can't do landscapes.  Pure fantasy but they will continue to propagate it. Another big one is you can't shoots sports with this or that camera, also nonsense.

Sure certain models excel at certain things but it desn't mean they can't do more.