Canon EOS 6D vs Nikon D600 – Battle of the Budget Full Frames
Yo Kerry, How come we never see any Nikon news on The Dojo? Well..its fairly simple…Nikon doesn’t have me on their press release list and since I don’t shoot with Nikon equipment, I don’t often go scrounging around for news bits. I am a Canon shooter but I am not some religious zealot about Canon, it’s just what I started with and have invested in. That disclaimer aside, The new Canon EOS 6D and Nikon D600 are the newest in full frame sensor cameras from both companies and have a lot in common, even the names are eerily similar. Let’s put these two rookies into the ring and see what the tale of the tape says.
Canon EOS 6D
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Nikon D600 |
| Effective pixels 20.2 Sensor Type: CMOS ISO: 100 – 25600 plus 50, 51200, 102400 Focus Points: 11 LCD: 3.2″ Fixed
Screen Resolution: 1,040,000 pixels Viewfinder: 97% Minimum Shutter Speed: 30 Sec Maximum Shutter Speed: 1/4000th Built In Flash: No Continuous Rate: 4.5 fps Video Features
Mic: Mono
Speaker: Mono 1920 x 1080 (29.97, 25, 23.976fps) 1280 x 720 (59.94, 50 fps) 640 x 480 (25, 30 fps) Storage: SD/SDHC/SDX
USB: 2.0
HDMI: HDMI Mini WiFi: Yes GPS: Yes Weight: 1.70 lb
Weight: 5.71 x 4.37 x 2.8″
Price: $2,099
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Effective pixels 24.3 Sensor Type: CMOS ISO: 100-6400 plus 50, 12,800, 25,600 Focus Points: 39 LCD: 3.2″ Fixed Screen Resolution: 921,000 Viewfinder: 100% Minimum Shutter Speed: 30 Sec Maximum Shutter Speed: 1/4000th Built In Flash: Yes Continuous Rate: 5.5 fps Video Features
Mic: Mono
Speaker: Mono 1920 x 1080 (30, 25, 24fps) 1280 x 720 (60, 50, 30, 25 fps) Storage: 2 x SD/SDHC/SDX
USB: 2.0
HDMI: HDMI Mini WiFi: No GPS: Optional Weight: 1.6 lb
Weight: 5.6 x 4.6 x 3.2″
Price: $2,096.95
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Talk about some close specs here, there is really no clear winner right off the top so let’s break this down and see if we can narrow it down a little.
Sensor
The D600 squeezes out 4 megapixels more out of the sensor. This is a minor win for the Nikon but not a significant advantage. The Canon EOS 6D on paper has better ISO capabilities but really, once we get into those high numbers we all know they aren’t really usable so I am going with a tie on the ISO ability until we see some side by side comparisons of real images.
ViewFinder
The D600 scores another win with a 100% viewfinder. While 97% and 100% doesn’t seem like much, it is often the difference of having to crop a photo (or worse, a video) in post production versus getting it right in-camera. I love my 7D for it’s 100% viewfinder and this is a clear win for the D600.
Auto Focus Points
This is going to be a touchy point here. The D600 has 39 focus points compared to the 6D’s 11. On paper this is a significant win for the Nikon. Canon is making some pretty bold claims about the “all new auto focus system” in the 6D but until we have the camera in our hands, this round goes to the Nikon D600.
LCD Screen
The Canon 6D swings back with a higher resolution LCD which is really nice when checking focus. This is a minor win for the 6D.
Shutter Speed
Both cameras clock in at 1/4000th shutter speed making this part a dead heat. In the continuous shooting mode the D600 sprints ahead at 5.5 fps vs 4.5 fps on the 6D. One frame per second sure doesn’t sound like much but in sports photography, it can be a make it or break it deal so a minor win to the Nikon D600 on frame rate.
Pop-Up Flash
The D600 pulls out a Pop-Up flash while the 6D loses it just like the rest of the Canon full-frame cameras. While I harp on and on about off-camera flash, I will occasionally use the built-in flash for just a little amount of fill light. I’m giving this one to the Nikon.
Video Modes
For video shooting, the specs may be identical but the new touchscreen on the 6D allows for quick-touch focusing and focus pulling when recording. This is a minor win for the 6D.
Storage
And the D600 knocks one out of the park by having dual SD card slots where the 6D has a single slot. For professional shooters, this built-in redundancy is a big win for the Nikon.
WiFi & GPS
Canon retaliates with built-in WiFi and GPS functionality which have to be done via add-ons on the Nikon. Whether you think you will use these features or not, they do score one for the 6D.
Whose The Winner?
As far as I can tell, the clear winner here is the customer. The feature wars are going strong and bringing full frame cameras into striking distance of the $2,000 mark, which is pretty amazing. For some people the extra frame rate will be important, for others the WiFi and GPS will be game changers. Either way, consumers have two great cameras to choose from.
Canon EOS 6D: Amazon.com
Nikon D600: Amazon.com
Plus, in the Nikon, you get more than 3 times the focus points. Having used a 5dmk2 and mk3, and a D300, I can tell you more focus points makes a HUUUUGE difference.
Canon has made some pretty big claims about the new focusing system needing less points to still be accurate. Can't wait to put that to the test.
Let's hope! The focusing in the 5Dmk3 is light years better than the mk2, which was just horrible. Horrible to the point that instudio modeling stuff, I couldn't trust it and had to manually focus every shot.
Kerry,
You forgot the one item more people are commenting on the 6D, 11 af points with one cross type. That may be a deal breaker for some shooters. Nikon D600 has 39 af points.
Until we have the camera in our hands to test, this is a win for the D600 on focus points. Canon, however, claims this is a breakthrough in AF technology so it isnt the disadvantage it appears to be. The reality remains to be seen.
This is doubtful. I believe the official specs state that the Canon 6D's only cross-type sensor reverts to non-cross sensor with lenses slower than F2.8. Meanwhile, Nikon has 9 cross-type sensors which focus with lenses as slow as F8. We're talking about a barebones AF system vs. a pretty speced out system.
Also some of your other specs are wrong. Nikon has a 100% view finder, not 97%. Also Canon weights 1.7lbs with battery, nikon weights 1.8lbs with battery (not 1.6lbs). Go double check your list against the dpreview hands on previews.
According to the specs, the Nikon has NINE TIMES better screen resolution than the Canon, yet you say the Canon is higher resolution. Am I reading this wrong?
How is 24.3 9 times more than 20.2? The Nikon would have to have 181.9 megapixels. The difference between 20.2 and 24.3 is almost insignificant.
Karry you listed the Canon LCD resolution @ "Screen Resolution: 102,400 pixels". is it "1,040,000"? I think that's what they were referring to.
Is the shutter 1/4000 or 1/8000. DPreview listing as 4000. http://www.dpreview.com/news/2012/09/17/Canon-ann…
Fixed the LCD resolution specs. The Canon press release said 1/8000.
An important (to me) item that is missing here is the relative flash sync speed. I think that the canon is 1/180th and the nikon is 1/200th. Both are a bit of a let down but that number is important if you like to shoot wide open (or close to it) outdoors with strobes. I'm currently a pentax shooter and being stuck at 180th has been taxing.
My 7D syncs at 1/250 which certainly has it limits already, dropping to 1/180th is a real bummer.
You really should double check your specs for the 6D against Canons website.
6D shtter speed is 1/4000.. screen is 3.0 inches (3:2 aspect ratio) and NOT touchscreen..
You also forgot to mention that the D600 has a shutter life of 150,000 and the 6D only has 100,000.
And also the flash sync as Trevis said. Makes a huge difference being able to stop motion, and having a pop up flash makes taking photos of my son much easier.
http://www.usa.canon.com/cusa/consumer/products/c…
I used the specs that were sent originally to me. There obviously are some differences to the final released specs. Sync speed is only an issue with manual flash. With both Canon or Nikon you can use high speed sync and use the maximum shutter speeds.
Kerry,
Sorry but you are wrong to give the Canon 6D a win for video. The D600's uncompressed video output via HDMI is a huge advantage that few cameras have. It allows live monitoring of video recording using a separate monitor or even recording of the streamed data on another video recorder for serious video work.
Given the adjustments or new info regarding differences posted by readers so far, including the 1/4000 error, the flash sync speeds, the shutter activation numbers, and this uncompressed video output, shouldn't your opinion (suggesting a tie between these cameras) be adjusted?
Thanks
Mage
If you are doing commercial video production, then I will agree, that the video output is a win for the D600. If you don't have the budget for external recorders, than I will leave the video win with Canon.
Really? Because the lack of full manual control in video mode for the D600 makes it practically unusable for commercial or low budget shoots.
Excellent point Jim. I didn't catch the lack of manual controls on the D600
Hope to see the battle of the REAL pictures at high ISOs soom. This will be the answer!
Those cameras looks very similar in terms of specs.
Also the 6D doesn't have a headphone jack out and the D600 does. There are already sample images of high ISO performance from the D600 on Flickr, very impressive, rivals the D800. Not to mention the overall score from DXO mark of 94. On paper it doesn't look like the 6D stacks up to the D600. Once the 6D hits the market in December (I think), I'm sure there will be tons of comparisons between these two cameras. BUT the 11 auto focus points with one cross type?? REALLY?
canon 6d is not a touch screen capable:)
Excellent post Kerry! I have been looking for a blog like this for some time. It's a tough one as both cameras are giants in the industry.
But, if I hate to choose it would be the 6D because I have always been a Canon man although the new Nokon D800 is pretty awesome. Is it time to switch?
Looking for the best DSLR for video?
I wish the next nikon FF wiil have no auto- lub sensor, as the actual D600 has!