Canon 6D good for video?

MileCreations

MileCreations

Ok first up I need to say that it is important to me that I can take photographs and film with the same device. I don't have enough money to have one dedicated photography camera and one dedicated film camera.

Secondly I'm pretty happy with Canon and whatever I purchase will 95% chance be a Canon. As you might know I currently use a 600D (t3i) however due to the shared nature of the camera in my household, and the fact that I am moving out of home next year, I need to purchase my own. I know for sure I'm not getting anything at the baseline (600D) with it being a minimum of a 60D. I also already own Canon lenses..

So 5D M3 is always labelled in budget short films, but for what I see in the 6D it offers all I need but I haven't seen many people flaunting around that they use a 6D for video. Obviously its a newer camera, and perhaps 6D buyers are the type less likely to advertise that they have a little bit of money.

I also want it to last quite a few years which is why I intend on spending a little bit more (but I don't think the differences with the 5D M3 warrant enough more ...6D is at least $500 cheaper WITH an L-series lens)

I do have a friend who uses a 6D for photography which I intend on attempting to borrow for a trial.

So... Is the 6D a good one for film makers?

I'm aware this post is kind of all over the place but I hope you understand what I'm trying to decide...
 
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The 6D is fine for video, and the GH2/3 are fine for photos.

As always, it's about the person behind the camera, not the camera itself. You could buy an Alexa, and still not shoot anything good if you have no idea how to expose a shot.
 
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I didn't think that smaller codecs were bad for the big screen. Wasn't some of Black Swan shot with the 7D? That is H.264, but no one complained that the codec was too compressed looking and looked bad on screen. Unless I am wrong?
 
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6D is great for video. Of course, the 5D is better all around but if that's your bidget then that's your budget. You get an option for a better codec than what you have on the 60D and a full frame sensor, choosing between IPB & All-I.

You'll get better Magic Lantern support on the 5Diii, but since you are using it for stills too the built-in wifi on the 6D is pretty sweet. Low Light is also better on the 5Diii, but again, it's a more expensive camera. It's hard to beat full frame for photography.
 
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I use a 6D, have shot two features and two shorts with it.

If I had had the budget, I would have purchased a 5Dm3.

But the 6D comes a damn close 2nd to the 5Dm3.

Price-wise you get a lot for your $.

Here's a great review: 6D vs 5Dm3 for video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5eiFBV70Z5E
 
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What's the purpose of the photos?

For the cost of a 6D body alone, you could buy a Blackmagic Pocket and a 1100D and have change to spare.

In fact for the same cost as a 6D body from Ted's, you could buy a Blackmagic Pocket body, and a 600D body.
 
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jax_rox said:
What's the purpose of the photos?

For the cost of a 6D body alone, you could buy a Blackmagic Pocket and a 1100D and have change to spare.

In fact for the same cost as a 6D body from Ted's, you could buy a Blackmagic Pocket body, and a 600D body.
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For fun. Mostly. I ocassionally do band shoots. I'm also open to the idea of selling my photos as stock images for websites, or canvas prints as I sometimes get approached for.

http://www.milecreations.com/?portfolio=photography

I'm not sure if I'm for the Blackmagic Pocket... you've used it now haven't you? What were your thoughts?
 
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MileCreations said:
For fun. Mostly. I ocassionally do band shoots. I'm also open to the idea of selling my photos as stock images for websites, or canvas prints as I sometimes get approached for.

http://www.milecreations.com/?portfolio=photography

I'm not sure if I'm for the Blackmagic Pocket... you've used it now haven't you? What were your thoughts?
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So, you could get away with a $369 body (1100D) that takes decent images and has an EF-S mount?

The Blackmagic Pocket is really a no-brainer, IMO. If I can find some time over the next little while, I might write up a bigger post about my thoughts on it.

It's no Alexa, but the images out of it are better than a DSLR. I guess it depends what you're shooting. If it's events, weddings or things with quick turnarounds, a BMPC is probably not the best choice.

Without going into too much detail here, if I had to choose based on the final (graded) image alone, I'd go for a pocket any day. It's not incredibly sensitive in low light, if that's important, but it's native ISO is 800 so that makes up for quite a bit. I was even relatively happy pushing to 1600. On a DSLR, 800 is way too much for me, and it would take a lot to get me to push higher than ISO 640.
 
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jax_rox said:
So, you could get away with a $369 body (1100D) that takes decent images and has an EF-S mount?

The Blackmagic Pocket is really a no-brainer, IMO. If I can find some time over the next little while, I might write up a bigger post about my thoughts on it.

It's no Alexa, but the images out of it are better than a DSLR. I guess it depends what you're shooting. If it's events, weddings or things with quick turnarounds, a BMPC is probably not the best choice.

Without going into too much detail here, if I had to choose based on the final (graded) image alone, I'd go for a pocket any day. It's not incredibly sensitive in low light, if that's important, but it's native ISO is 800 so that makes up for quite a bit. I was even relatively happy pushing to 1600. On a DSLR, 800 is way too much for me, and it would take a lot to get me to push higher than ISO 640.
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Mhmmm I'm not sure. I am happy with the 600D which I currently use but I don't have claim over it when I move out, so I feel like going to the 1100D could be a step backwards.

I also feel like I'd need to try the Pocket before purchasing. In fact any of these cameras I would want to trial before buying as it's a bit of money and as there are a lot of options I'd like to find what works best. That being said realistically I would make do with whatever I had even if it I hadn't given it a trial run.

Your thoughts on the pocket are better than I expected.. The issue I'd have with it is I do a lot of steadicam work and I'm worried how it would handle being so light. I think I missed your small review, do you have a link?

Then there is the issue of lenses

I've pushed my 600D to iso1600.. For video.

Despite all my comments you have opened my mind to a few more possibilities..
 
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I just got a 6D and a 70D, love them both, but am thinking I could have got away with the 70D alone. At $1100 usd it does everything in both areas +. The action focusing in video is phenominal, the low light ability is great, and the photo quality is too. If the 70D is ever hacked by ML, it could become the poor mans C300... 6D is great, don't get me wrong, but as said before, the camera as a tool goes only so far. Spend money on lenses instead, makes WAYYYY more difference!!!
 
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I agree with jax - if you're shooting video, the highest quality you can get in this price class is from the Pocket. Zero Three in Melbourne has a couple of them in stock for $1199

The challenge for EF/MFT shooters is lenses. If you do get both a $529 600D and the $1199 BMPCC, you might want to stick to EF mount manual cine lenses and share them with the BMPCC via an inexpensive EF to MFT adapter.

That said, it has been an adjustment for me to go back to carrying two cameras.

For serious stills I carry a GH3, and for serious video, the BMPCC. On the way back from a shoot the other day, a lady asked me "got enough cameras?" :)

Hope this is helpful and best of the holidays!

Bill
 
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icba pictures said:
I just got a 6D and a 70D, love them both, but am thinking I could have got away with the 70D alone. At $1100 usd it does everything in both areas +. The action focusing in video is phenominal, the low light ability is great, and the photo quality is too. If the 70D is ever hacked by ML, it could become the poor mans C300... 6D is great, don't get me wrong, but as said before, the camera as a tool goes only so far. Spend money on lenses instead, makes WAYYYY more difference!!!
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Fair point but the OP needs to also be aware of:

The Canon 70D is a great camera, especially for it's continuous autofocus capabilities. I mainly shoot myself, so the flip-out screen and auto-focus have made my workflow a lot easier.

There are some drawbacks though. Under optimal lighting conditions, the video image quality of a full-frame camera and an APS-C cropped sensor camera are minimal, but under anything but the best conditions and you see a big difference. If you aren't familiar with "noise", you can definitely see the difference in this video. Noise is often introduced when shooting at a "high" ISO. High is relative to the camera and some cameras have less noise at higher ISOs, as in this case.

Getting the best possible lighting isn't always an option and can sometimes be a hassle to setup a bunch of lights. Using a wide-open aperture helps, like f/1.4, but being able to shoot at a higher ISO can also make a big difference. I've recorded on several Canon APS-C cameras and anything over ISO 600 and I start to get nervous about noise. Not with the Canon 6D or other Canon full-frame cameras, like the 5D mkII or mkIII.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AEPwtAt_lDY
 
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MileCreations said:
Hi Paul, assuming it's similar to the 600D then it's nothing I'm not used to anyway
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The basic operations should be similar.

The 6D will just have more menu options, better low light and higher-ISO filming ability etc.

I'm sure you already know this but just in case...

Just bear in mind that the 6D has a full frame sensor whereas the 600D is cropped.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=71Jlmd2fVg0

Impact of sensor size
http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials/digital-camera-sensor-size.htm

.
 
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