Need Help on New Camera Selection

[xzebra]

Hello all - I am having a very difficult time deciding what to do for a new camera and was wondering if some of you might be able to assist/shed some light?

My current camera is a 50D and I own all FF lens (shown below).  I want to upgrade and get the best camera I can without regrets.  I cannot afford a 5D, however the 6D mk ii would be within my range. 

I like most of what the camera offers outside a few details which keep me searching and has me thinking about the 7d mk ii.

1) Low dynamic range at low ISO

2) Only 1/4000 shutter speed

3) Slow Burt Rate and AF compared to 7D mk ii

4) Small amount of vertical AF grid compared to 7d mk ii

5) Build quality not the best

I also like the 7d mk ii quite a bit, especially seeing how I like to do some birding, although not as much as I truly have time for.  I  some kids in sports, although I find my 50D at 6.3 frames per sec. is ok not great (slow compared to now 😉 ).  It is also not as good in low light indoor events.  Outside of this I am not a one category photographer, but more-less like to shoot whatever and tend to change it up from time to time (portraits, landscapes, sports, birding, nightscapes and architectural).

My last concern is the future of the mirrorless and possibility of the 7d mkk iii / 7d mk ii is now 4 + yrs old

[Waddizzle · Accepted solution]

1) Low dynamic range at low ISO -- That is nonsense.

2) Only 1/4000 shutter speed --  How often do you use 1/4000 shutter speed now?

3) Slow Burt Rate and AF compared to 7D mk ii --  The 7D2 is quick, but some settings slow it down.

4) Small amount of vertical AF grid compared to 7d mk ii -- Nonsense.  The 6D2 puts more AF points on a subject.

5) Build quality not the best  -- The best is a 1D Series.

There are a lot of myths out there about 6D Mark II.  I own and use both a 7D2 and a 6D2, and the 6D2 gets a lot more use when it comes to action photography.  The only time I will use the 7D2 is on a bright sunny day.  For just about any scenario with less than bright light, I am using the 6D2.

The 7D2 has the faster frame rate, there is no doubt about that.  But, the 6D2 has the lower noise, especially in less than optimum lighting conditions at higher ISO settings.  You get the fastest frame rates shooting JPEG, not RAW.  I set Image Priority for Focus Priority, which can slow the frame rate even further at times.

The 7D2 may have more AF points, but the 6D2 has a tight cluster of AF points that is just a little smaller.  It can put more AF points on a subject, which directly translates into more data to the tracking software.  The result is excellent tracking in AI Servo mode, even in low light conditions.  The 6D2 also has 27 f/8 AF points, compared to just one f/8 AF point in the 7D2.  The 7D2 is good at action photography, but the 80D and 6D2 give it a run for its' money.

If you want the best built camera from Canon, go with a 1D series.  The 6D2 is better sealed than the 6D.  It lacks the full magnesium alloy chassis found in the 7D2, though.  The 7D2 is better sealed up, too.  The 7D2 was a great camera when it was introduced.  But, it has been surpassed when it comes to AF performance and AI Servo tracking by the 80D and 6D2.

[wq9nsc]

I agree that the 6D2 is a great choice.  Unless you are regularly shooting in conditions that regularly pushes the dynamic range to its limits, any of the current mid to better grade DSLR bodies will work well for you.  Better dynamic range is desirable whether you are looking at cameras, audio systems, or communications receivers but for all of these different electronic products the concern under typical usage conditions is performance either at the noise floor or the overload area of system limits but not both simultaneously which is dynamic range. 

With the noise performance of most current sensors, especially the current crop of full frame sensors with their usually larger individual pixel size, you can expose so as not to blow out the highlights and still have plenty of detail without too much noise in the shadows and judicious post processing will stretch that capability further.  In other cases where you need extreme dynamic range you are often dealing with static situations where multiple exposures can be taken and overlaid in post to greatly increase the effective dynamic range of the system.

I shoot more sports than anything else and it is a demanding subject for the system (and user).  Since getting a full frame 1DX M2 in February as a move from my 1.3X crop 1d series I have realized that several times the larger area captured by the full frame sensor made up for lack of ability on my part; sometimes it is something on the edge of the frame that turned an average capture into a keeper and when trying to follow fast moving action I will take every bit of help the camera system can provide.  The 6D2 has sufficient pixel density that you can take an aggressive crop and still have sufficient data for very nice prints.  For your comparison purposes, cropping the 6D2 image to the area of a "crop sensor" you effectively have a 16.4 MP crop sensor with very good low light performance.

I only shoot in RAW because you aren't shedding data that can be very helpful in post.  It looks like when shooting RAW the 6D2 buffer will fill in about 3 seconds of 6FPS shooting before dropping to a slower rate.  My 1DX 2 and 1DX bodies have better performance than this but I am not sure I have ever done a 3 second sustained burst with either body.  The old adage, "work smarter, not harder" is very applicable to photography and discipline in capturing the right moments rather than the "spray and pray" approach results in simultaneously better quality of your keepers and a lot less garbage to sort through in post.  I am very glad that I started during the film era when each exposure had a real and not insignificant cost because that instilled important discipline to the process.  I expect some of the old time programmers who worked with the earliest personal computers feel the same way when they see the current garbage coming out of Redmond with its appetite for memory akin to an obese person at a free buffet.

The current 6D and 7D bodies are both fine tools but I think you will be happier with the 6D2.  And I haven't run into a situation where I have needed the 1/8000 shutter speed of my 1 series bodies.  For any product, the only comparison of specs that matters are the specs that are important to what you do; choosing a competing choice because it can do something better that you will never use will often lead you into making a suboptimal decision.

Rodger