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Own D-60 (6.3mp) w/ L 24-70 and 100-400 lenses. Want to buy new body. Advice? Soft focus issues?

ShereeVT
Apprentice
 
5 REPLIES 5

TCampbell
Elite
Elite

What, primarly, do you shoot (landscapes, portraits, action photography, etc.) and do you have a budget?

 

You have some high-end lenses.  The EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM (which is what I'm thinking you have) is still current and the EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM was only recently updated to a verion "II" about a year ago (I own the original -- which would be the same lens you have.)

 

I'm guessing you probably do not want an entry level body, and the 24-70 is mostly used by those with full-frame body cameras (like a 6D or 5D III or a 1 series body (though not all 1 series bodies were full-frame)).

 

 

Tim Campbell
5D III, 5D IV, 60Da

Tim - I originally bought the camera for action photography...just got tired of small photos of 4 active kids.  I spent my $$ on the lenses, as I knew those would "last a lifetime" and grew into the camera body.  Most previous part-time "work" was weddings, sports, natural senior portraits and some landcapes.  Now retired in FL with a little more time on my hands...would like to purchase a good macro lens for the plants/insects, shoot landscape/seascapes and the rest of the abundant fauna around here -- while waiting for grandchildren!  I do have a budget (two kids still in college!) - so the 6D would be my max.  Would like something a little lower in price (or if I can find it out there on cyber Monday!)  I am getting cold feet when I started reading the reviews and saw all the focus issues.  Soft pics are not for me...artistic or not!

I like my D-60, but just get intrigued by all the new advances and mpix increases...

The gripe on the 6D (which is otherwise a fantastic camera) is that like the 5D II before it, it's focus system only includes a single "cross type" focus point.  A cross-type point performs phase-detect autofocus on two perpendicular axes rather than just along a single axis.  When you have a single axis focus point, it's possible to trick the AF system into believing it achieved accurate focus IF your subject has edges of contrast which primarily run parallel to the axis of the focus sensor (e.g. photographing tall grasses.)  The cross-type point typically will NOT be fooled because at least one of it's focus axes will not be parallel to a subject's edge of contrast.

 

It is frustrating that even after we "smeared Canon's nose in it" over the 5D II focusing system... they went and did it again with the 6D.  (Note to Canon:  Whoever is making these product decisions clearly suffers from "delusions of adequacy" and needs to be moved to some other part of your company where they have absolutely no input on product direction.")  It's basically inexcusable to sell any camera with a body price greater than $1000 that only has a single cross-type focus point.

 

With that said, the 6D certainly is capable of tack sharp focus.  But it certainly helps to not be in a hurry.  You can always force the camera to use only the center focus point (and honestly... MANY photographers I know would never allow their camera to auto-select the focus point.  They always want control.)  If a camera consistently misses focus in one direction (e.g. always front focuses... or always back-focuses) that can easily be corrected with the auto-focus micro-adjust feature (which the 6D supports.)

 

The 70D, 60D, and T5i all have 9 AF points and all 9 points are "cross type" for more accuracy.  Those are crop frame bodies and will not have the low-light (high ISO with low noise) capabilities of the 6D (I'll leave the 5D III out of this since you mentioned the 6D is probably the most you'd be willing to spend).  The T5i and 60D do NOT support auto-focus microadjustment, but the 70D _does_ support that feature (the 50D had it, Canon removed it when they introduced the 60D, and after much shrieking from their customer base, they decided they'd better put it back in for the 70D.)

 

Incidentally, CanonRumors.com has been tracking the Black Friday / Cyber Monday deals.  So you may want to wander over there to see who has the best offers.  I've noticed that some of the offers on a 'new' 6D are basically very close to what a refurb body normally sells for.

 

 

Tim Campbell
5D III, 5D IV, 60Da

Am off to CanonRumors!! Thanks so much for your thoughtful, knowledgeable insight! I still have my old Bronica...but do like digital so much more!

As always, Tim has given great advice. I'm a gear nut who owns both a 6D and a 70D, and I can honestly say that the shooting experience with the 70D is superior for me. It just feels better in my hands (your hands, and mileage, may vary).
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