Ron Martinsen's Photography Blog

Showing posts with label 6D. Show all posts

Wednesday, August 30, 2017

REVIEW: Canon 6D Mark II - Fantastic In-Camera JPEG Results

Canon 6D Mark II and 24-105mm f/4L IS II USM Kit Lens

I was a fan of the Canon 6D because its sensor performance was identical to the 1D X I owned at the time I did my review, so the idea of a second body that could get the same high quality results was very appealing to me. Yeah, it was a dated body but all could be forgiven at the time it came out.

Fast forward to 2017 and the world of photography has changed quite a bit. iPhones are capable of outstanding images, the a7R II is the undisputed king of the sensors by which other cameras are judged, and even cameras like the Fujifilm X-Pro 2 have excellent autofocus.

As a matter of disclosure, the camera I reviewed before this was the incredible Sony a9 which may have been a really bad thing for Canon because I got to see what cameras should be capable of in this day and age. As a result, when I unboxed and shot the 6D Mark II for the first time my first thought was WTF?!!!

To be fair I decided to extend my review time a little longer than normal to see if I could judge this camera fairly based on what it offers instead of comparing it a very different and far more expensive a9. I think I accomplished that goal, but that said I still found myself scratching my head at how much this camera has been forced to used outdated technology compared to what I've seen in the 7D Mark II.

Camera Body Thoughts

I love joystick controls so when I first got this camera and saw it didn't have one I almost boxed it back up and refused to review it. This body is almost identical to the 80D and I didn't review it for that same reason, but my appreciation of what the original 6D did forced me to give the 8 way multi-selector a shot. While I still much prefer a joystick, it was usable - but I still don't like it much.

The articulating touch screen was excellent and makes macros, difficult shots of children down at their level, and selfies (including group shots) all very easy to do. Honestly, I wish all cameras had this type of screen. I also like how it can be closed up so that the LCD is protected.

This camera also features a WiFi, BlueTooth, NFC, built-in GPS and the anti-flicker technology. The later helps keeps flickering lights from ruining a shot, so there's good tech in this camera. However, you only need to look at the limited AF points and the range of those AF points from the edges to feel like you've been transported back to 2007! Why this camera has such a small cluster of AF points is unforgivable in 2017, but with that said the AF was reliable and worked well.

The construction of the body was excellent and the controls, aside from the lack of the joystick, were nicely placed and easy to use. The addition of a touch screen helped make up for some of the stupid features removed like the ability to rotate a dial to change the AF selection modes. Seriously Canon, why disable this functionality?!!!!!

Another software imposed block is for HDR that only works in JPEG only mode and doesn't allow you to keep the original shots that are captured to render the in-camera HDR (which typically looks lame). As a result, they took a handy feature from the 5D Mark IV and ruined it making it utterly useless. I'd suggest ignoring this feature and just do bracketing and external processing of your HDR shots.

Overall I was very disappointed in this body because a lot of things are made intentionally harder for marketing rather than technical reasons.

Real World Shots

The following shots are 100% unedited in-camera JPEG's that can be clicked on to view the full-size original. All images are copyright Ron Martinsen - ALL RIGHTS RESERVED and may not be used for any purpose, copied, printed, linked to or edited without written consent.

Most of these shots are taken using Aperture Priority or Manual with Auto ISO (so metering still comes into play). The shots that seem overly yellow are ones where I had Landscape Creative Style turned on along with Shade White Balance under the wrong lighting conditions, so that's user error. I always shoot RAW+JPEG, so these are all salvageable shots.

f/5 @ 50mm for 1/200 sec at ISO 200
The evaluate metering mode did a good job of taking everything in this scene into consideration and coming up with a reasonable balance between the dark and bright areas. This is one area that Canon really shines in a significant way over Nikon and Sony

f/5.6 @ 105mm for 1/1000 sec at ISO 400
While this is definitely NOT a sports camera, it didn't suck as much as I thought it might so casual photographers looking for a better sensor than 80D should be pleased

f/5.6 @ 105mm for 1/500 sec at ISO 5000
While this was just the kit lens, this sensor is capable of delighting macro photographers

f/5.6 @ 50mm for 1/100 sec at ISO 2500
Canon is famous for great in camera color especially in the warm tones and reds. The orange tones in this flower were excellent right out of the camera even with auto white balance

f/5.6 @ 91mm for 1/200 sec at ISO 640
I forgot to reset my white balance from shade to AWB, but I was pleased with the texture and details in the beard and hands so I thought it was still worth sharing this shot

f/5.6 @ 56mm for 1/125 sec at ISO 125
Again, the textures and tones in the linen on this fair maiden and her cotton demonstrate the strength of lugging a DSLR like this around instead of relying just on a cell phone

f/5.6 @ 35mm for 1/60 sec at ISO 10000
One of my typical torture shots and the exposure and tonal range were great, but the guy who photo bombed wasn't so great

f/7.1 @ 105mm for 1/500 sec at ISO 250
Using Highlight Tone Priority (D+) with auto white balance and aperture priority,
it did a good job with the sky, bright boat and dark areas in the woods.
It doesn't have the tonal range of a a7R II but this is a great starting point for post-processing

f/4 @ 105mm for 1/640 sec at ISO 200
Again a brilliant metering of a darker foreground and a bright background with good preservation of the pink tones

f/5.6 @ 30mm for 1/640 sec at ISO 6400
HDR mode did a good job bringing detail back on the walls that was lost in a default exposure

f/5.6 @ 105mm for 1/200 sec at ISO 12800
Another excellent example of evaluate metering nailing the exposure as the bulb is exposed nicely while still preserving details in the background. The dynamic range of this sensor is quite respectable so combined with a fantastic meter, your artistic vision for a shot is easily captured. Doing this shot with any other brand of camera requires a lot of effort or full manual mode to get the exposure right.

f/6.3 @ 24mm for 1/250 sec at ISO 1600
A metering torture test that performed well but definitely shows the limits of the range on the bright side, but also the improvements Canon has made in the preserving shadow details

f/4 @ 40mm for 1/40 sec at ISO 25600
Okay quality for ISO 25,600 but the colors definitely suffer at this ISO

f/5.6 @ 50mm for 1/100 sec at ISO 10000
Colors are great at ISO 10,000, so I'd have no reservations about shooting at up to ISO 12,800

f/5.6 @ 105mm for 1/250 sec at ISO 3200
I hate to keep harping on the great metering, but this was another one where I thought it was just bang on - first try - with evaluate metering and no user intervention - anyone could get this shot. The anti-flicker technology probably played a big factor on this one too.

f/5.6 @ 31mm for 1/60 sec at ISO 6400
One problem I did notice is that starting at ISO 6400 and up the built-in noise reduction is terrible about smearing the details, so I'd disable the built-in if you aren't shooting RAW

f/5.6 @ 29mm for 1/80 sec at ISO 25600
Hand-held and aside from the high ISO smearing, I was quite pleased with the result

f/4 @ 105mm for 1/200 sec at ISO 5000
I love the new 24-105mm but my copy definitely needed an auto focus micro adjustment with this camera body. Too bad there isn't an auto feature to do this like Nikon is starting to offer!

f/7.1 @ 105mm for 1/200 sec at ISO 4000 Auto White Balance
If you are in to shooting reds, you'll enjoy this Canon a lot more than other brands

f/7.1 @ 40mm for 1/60 sec at ISO 640
The tiny range of AF points made this a tough shot to get without doing a focus and recompose

f/9 @ 55mm for 1/100 sec at ISO 1600
Again, textbook perfect metering that balances the darkness inside of the building with the outside to render perfect red tones and utilizing all of the dynamic range from the darks to the whites.
If this meter was on a a7R II, then HDR wouldn't be necessary for most shots anymore!

f/7.1 @ 55mm for 1/125 sec at ISO 200
Gorgeous details in the texture and once again excellent metering

f/7.1 @ 64mm for 1/160 sec at ISO 200
At this point you know what I'm going to say, but you have to admit that this is impressive for an in-camera JPEG with default camera settings!

f/9 @ 95mm for 1/200 sec at ISO 400
The metering is so good that it makes the most of the dynamic range that this sensor has to offer to create in-camera JPEG's that are way better than the auto exposure you get with Lightroom from a RAW image. As a result, I'd encourage shooting RAW+JPEG!

f/5.6 @ 93mm for 1/200 sec at ISO 1250
This is a camera where I'd shoot RAW for insurance, but JPEG as my starting point for most of my images as you'd be hard pressed to get results this good with Lightroom without a lot of manual effort

f/4 @ 38mm for 1/500 sec at ISO 200
The articulating touch-screen LCD was excellent for getting shots like this at odd angles while I was high and dry and not killing my knees

Click here for a gallery of more unedited images taken during my testing.

Conclusion

If you are a JPEG only shooter who wants good in-camera results, but you aren't satisfied with the beauties you can get from Fujifilm cameras, then this is definitely a great camera choice. This a good camera for photojournalists or people who shoot a lot of images that need to be ready to go clients straight out of the camera as that's the strength you get out of this body.

With that said, if you are a "I only shoot RAW" type then go with a Nikon D750 instead. Canon has artificially neutered this camera, whereas the D750 is an excellent example of an affordable camera body where Nikon threw a ton of technology into it. It's one of the best cameras on the market, BUT the metering leaves a lot to be desired and you won't get in-camera JPEG's like this so you'll commit yourself to a lot more time doing post-processing.

Where to Buy?

CLICK HERE to learn more or buy today.

Disclosure

If you make a purchase using links found in this article, I may make a commission. It doesn’t cost you a penny more, but it does help to support future articles like this.

Sunday, August 28, 2016

Canon 6D & 7D Mark II Printer Bundle 4 Day Sale & New Product Announcements

If you make a purchase using links found in this article, I may make a commission. Thank you very much for your support!

Wednesday, April 15, 2015

REVIEW: Nikon D7200 + 18-140mm Lens–The Perfect Camera for Parents?

Nikon D7200 DSLR Camera with 18-140mm Lens

I’ve been a big fan of the Nikon D7xxx series ever since I reviewed the D7000. It’s always been a solid performer, so when I reviewed the D7100 I was considered picking one up for myself. I’m a Canon shooter, so I didn’t need another camera – especially one that couldn’t use my existing lenses, but that’s just how much I liked the predecessor to the Nikon D7200.

After some seat time with this camera I’ve discovered that everything that I liked about the predecessor returns plus it gets a EXPEED 4 processor, WiFi & NFC included as well as much improved buffer to hold more images before you have to wait for the files to write to the memory card. Click here to see a complete comparison chart.

What the improvements really mean is that you’ll be able to take 3x the number of photos (compared to the D7100) before you are waiting on the camera to finish writing, and you’ll be able to use much higher ISO’s with acceptable performance. How high is subjective, but I personally found ISO 25,600 to be usable for personal use and even 12,800 to be quite good.

What I’ve always really loved about the D7xx series is that it has a great balance of ease of use with a wide spectrum of advanced features. This means that even the most advanced photographer will likely get excited about D7200 features like:

An 4 level adjustable Auto ISO that comes in handy in Aperture Priority because you to control how aggressive the camera is at shooting slower or faster shutter speeds. At its fastest setting faster shutter speeds will be chosen to minimize blurry shots or having to use an arbitrarily high minimum shutter speed setting (or manual mode). I wish all cameras had this (especially my Canon’s!). It should also be noted that this feature is supported in Manual mode with exposure compensation too for the maximum in flexibility!
An auto white balance that favors warm temperatures (Auto2) so skin tones look healthier rather than technically correct (although still not as warm as you’ll get with Canon – which some people love, and others hate).
Fast physical button access to exposure compensation, flash exposure compensation, bracketing, metering modes, video recording, and more.
A usable built-in flash. While off-camera and hot shoe flashes are better, it’s good to have something when in a pinch and Nikons popup flashes perform better than the competing products I’ve tried.
51 focus points accessible quickly via multi-selector button along with support for remembering separate portrait versus landscape orientation points.
Built-in intervalometer for doing time lapse photography
Two user programmable mode dial points for your favorite settings (U1 & U2)
Scene and Effects modes for amateur photographers who want to leverage the internal technology to its fullest so they can focus on shooting instead of camera settings
Programmable buttons for when you’d rather move things around or expose functionality that would otherwise require a menu visit.

While many of these feature are neither new nor available only on this camera, what I like about the D7200 is that it is a great bridge between features offered on more advanced pro bodies while retaining some of the ease of use features of the entry level bodies. It really is a camera that you can grow with from first time DSLR shooter all the way to the semi-pro level. The burst mode performance also makes it great for both wildlife shooters as well as parents who have been struggling with blurry shots of their little bundle of joy indoors. The great high ISO performance also means those shots won’t suck when you go to edit them.

Kite Test

I don’t typically do a kite test on a camera in this price range because it requires a sophisticated AF system that isn’t easily confused, but after spending time with the D7200 I began to have confidence it could handle it. Here’s a good example of where the D7200 performed admirably:

f/2.8 @ 75mm for 1/2000 sec at ISO 720 with Nikon 70-200mm (unedited)

Photographing people with kites is tough because you not only have to worry about tracking your subject, but also keeping the kite in the frame. As a result you leave extra space when framing, so having some extra megapixels to spare when you crop will come in handy! I ended up with usable shots like the ones above and below, but I definitely could use a much tighter crop. Thanks to a good image file size, it is quite easy to crop without losing any important detail from the image (assuming your output isn’t a huge print).

Click here to see 36 images from my kite testing including my favorite one below…

Kai’s first lift off with a kite
f/2.8 @ 70mm for 1/2000 sec at ISO 2200 with Nikon 70-200mm (unedited)

The value of 24 megapixels

Megapixels are often overrated because in reality people rarely print anymore, so the largest output most people often see their images displayed is on their 1080p HDTV (which is only 2 megapixels!). Even a UHD 4k display only requires 8 megapixels, so generally speaking we often discard megapixels when downsizing our images to the web or in small prints.

With that said, having some extra megapixels around does have one advantage and that’s to crop and still have a usable image for displaying on the web. I mentioned this above, but here’s a much better example:

f/11 @ 200mm for 1/640 sec at ISO 280 – Edited to show detail
100% crop – See full-size original below

While the shot above isn’t going to win awards because it is bad on so many levels, what is interesting is that I wasn’t out shooting eagles. I was shooting something else entirely when I spotted something huge flying overhead. I raised the camera and fired off a couple shots (hence the unnecessary f/11!). As you can see from below, I had no clue it was kind of bird it really was:

Uncropped original

Despite being in full automatic AF mode I was able to successfully capture this image and with the bring enough detail out to see the underbelly of the bird using only the JPEG (RAW had been disabled when I was testing something different).

While this lame image won’t be appearing in any wildlife photography magazines, it does show the value of megapixels when cropping and the strength of the D7200 AF system. I had the wrong settings and wasn’t ready, but yet I came away with a shot that I could clean up and post on Facebook as proof that I saw a eagle circling above me.

When people ask me why they need a DSLR in these days of great cellphone cameras and mirrorless systems, I use cases like this to show that the DSLR still has great value. Yes, other cameras may have the megapixels and resolution, but few have everything they need to pull it all together. While poor, this shot clearly identifies the eye of the bird and the separation of wings from the in-camera JPEG.

Now imagine if I had a 400mm lens and was actually ready for this shot with better camera settings! On this camera that would be the 35mm (full-frame) equivalent of 600mm thanks to the 1.5x crop factor which comes in handy in scenarios like this. Wildlife shooters on a budget are going to enjoy what this camera brings to the table!

Swing Test

f/4 @ 86mm for 1/1000 sec at ISO 2000 with Nikon 70-200mm (unedited)

When a camera shows signs of being good for parents I get my kids to be my swing test subjects. If you’ve ever tried to take photos of kids on swings then you know what a challenge it can be getting a decent shot, so in the world of real life shooting it’s one of the bigger challenges for both the parent and the auto focus system.

While this is certainly no D750 or D4s caliber performer, it did do a very good job for a fraction of the cost. The AF system was by no means flawless as I would see a few missed focus shots in most series, but I’d occasionally get an entire burst that was usable.

f/4 @ 86mm for 1/1000 sec at ISO 800 with Nikon 70-200mm (unedited)

Click here to see the beginning of 83 swing test shots I did including this one which is the beginning of a continuous burst of 65 straight images (JPEG only) that were done without releasing the shutter button.